Travels of the Advanced 4-Her!: August 2008

Hallo All,
My first day with my 3rd host family was my (& my twin-Laura's) 23rd Birthday!!! I was going to downplay it or perhaps not even mention it...but, to my surprise I was awakened on August 12th with the beautiful soft sound of my 2 little host sisters singing me Happy Birthday (in German, of course)! It was still a moment that I will remember forever and that wasn't all! They guided me upstairs where the family had breakfast ready in the dining room and tea candles lit in the number 23!!!! I was smiling from ear to ear from the point at which I awoke till the end of the day I think! Anyway, I blew out the candles in one go and after breakfast the parents of my host father Matthias were taking the girls and I 'somewhere.?.' So, I got ready and we left with 'Oma & Opa' for the unknown!!! How exciting!!! Then, we drove about 45 mins. to the hills near Thale and went to an open-air theater to watch, "The Jungle Book!" The view was AMAZING, there wasn't a bad seat in the house. So, it was one of my lovely geburstag (birthday) gifts! The performance was ALL in German, but that didn't really bother me, since I have 2 younger siblings and I was once young myself...I have seen the movie enough to know the story pretty much by heart!!! It was loads of fun and Oma even had a sandwich (brötchen)for us to snack on during the show. The girls and I loved it and I couldn't get over the view! When the show ended, we drove to Thale and ate a delicious lunch at a local hotel. It reminded me a bit like 'The Shining' because there was NOBODY else there besides our party and the waitress!!! LOL (Gina, I know you will appreciate that!!!)
Anyhow, we made it back to Nelben where another surprise was awaiting me, my host family threw a BBQ in my honor and invited the 2 other U.S. IFYES (Ashley Watson & Sarah Snyder) that are in the same area to come with their host families to celebrate with me. It was utterly fabulous! When I first saw Ashley, I couldn't speak for a few moments because it was a real shock!! They brought me flowers and enough chocolate to feed the 5 thousand!!!! So, needless to say it was an exceptional birthday! I want to thank everyone who was a part of it!!! :)

Now, onward to other things...
I have seen many beautiful places here in Sachsen Anhalt so far! My first trip was to Halle with Ashley's host family...(it is great being so close to other ifyes because we can go together and our families don't always have to take us everywhere, they need a break now and then to). Halle is the second largest city in Sachsen Anhalt and was a very friendly city. We visited the Marktkirche St. Marien and the Rot Turm Clock Tower as well as the Beatles Museum! I was surprised that they had a Beatles Museum, but they were REALLY popular, so I guess it isn't that odd. The rest of the day we spent walking around, looking in shops and I tasted my first ever Döner (Turkish) fast food and I couldn't get enough of it! Delicious! So, that was a great trip.
Next, My host mother Martina and the girls Johanna & Marie took Ashley and I to Köthen. A small village where Bach composed and performed his beautiful music. We went into the church of St. Jakob and visited a two museums. The Historical museum of musik & schule (music & school)and then the Naumann-Museum, which had a large bird exhibit. The girls fed the ducks in the shlosspark and it rained the whole time so we were actively using our umbrellas.
On the 16th of August, Sarah's family (host mother Beata, host sisters Louisa & Charlotte), Ashley & I went to visit Leipzig! We went into St. Nicholas Church and what do you know, there was a wedding going on and we were lucky enough to see the beginning entrance and first paragraph by the pastor. So, that was neat! We had lunch at a cute outdoor cafe, Bacon Crepes...what a meal!!! Then, right in front of the museum we were going to there was a fabulous brass band performing! We are just getting so lucky with all this activity. Anyhow, we visited the Forum of Contemporary History (mainly focusing on the Berlin Wall & the separation and state of East and West Germany). I learned many new things, but was a bit disappointed that I couldn't take pictures to share with you all...strict museum. We visited another church and the organist was playing, there were many people there and I can't blame them for the music was incredible!
My next adventure, was to Quedlinburg with Sarah, her host family and mine! The village is a good size and the houses were wonderfully ornate. It seemed that all the houses were unique in their own little way and I kept finding ones that I wanted to capture on camera. We wandered the streets for a while, then hiked up to the Schloss, it was being renovated so we didn't go in, but the view of the town was exceptional! So after several pictures I decided to entertain the younger kids and we played a game of 'hide & catch,' sadly I was the seeker...so, quite exhausted and ready to leave when we descended! We walked around the circumference of the schloss and it ended up being a great idea because we saw the most beautifully situated set of houses in the village as well as some fun rock climbing (small rocks, we have kids with us don't forget)!!! My only disappointment as we walked back to the car, is that I didn't get a good picture of the castle. But, for my birthday my host family gave me a book on Sachsen Anhalt and it has the Quedlinburg schloss in it, so I guess that will have to do!
So, that sums up my activities here at my third family so far...but, there is definitely more to come. Next week the kids start school and all the host families of 'us IFYES' will be busy with work and school, so they have given us the opportunity to take the train together to Berlin for a 2-day sightseeing extravaganza. We are in the process of planning that trip. Well, that is all for now...I have FINALLY gotten up to date with my slide shows, I decided to do one per family so far and hope you enjoy! Thanks! Tschüss!