Homecoming

Today is my last day in Straelen, Germany. I can hardly believe that my time here is ending, but I have had an unforgettable experience and could not have asked for more. This will be my last blog entry, so I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for taking this journey with me. Thank you for reading these blogs, making comments, sending me encouragement, and praying for me. I appreciate your support throughout the past months, and I am truly thankful for you. I love you all and cannot wait to see you again face to face! I would also like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He deserves all the glory! He provided me with this opportunity, prepared the way, and then graciously led me through every step of it. He has been so faithful, filling me when I was empty, being my friend when I felt alone, and showing me great and unsearchable things I did not know. He is the Word, and the Word is alive! I lack the words necessary to thoroughly express my thoughts and feelings at this moment, but I am full of anticipation. Although I am saddened by the ending of this chapter, I know that such an end leads to another beginning. I am looking forward to the next chapter in my life, and I can hardly wait to see what God does in and through me in the future! I am anxious to get home and begin the next journey. I can taste the homecoming, and it is truly bittersweet.

Saying Goodbye

Goodbyes are not easy. I have spent nearly four months in Straelen, living, working and getting to know new people. And I have seen those people on a regular basis, becoming accustomed to seeing them and having conversations with them. But in two days, that will end. In two days, I will leave Straelen, spend the night with a colleague, and then fly back to America the next morning. Once I am on that plane, I will no longer see these people who have become my friends. I will not talk to them every day. And the time of making memories will be over. Although I hope to return to Germany and to Straelen one day, I cannot anticipate when that will be. I am leaving this town, not sure if I will ever see these wonderful people again. I feel so strange. Part of me is beyond excited to leave Germany and return to the states, my family, and my friends. I look forward to reassimilating into the familiar and comfortable. The other part of me, however, is grieving. This part of me is incredibly sad to leave. During my stay here, Straelen has become my home. Although I do not want to live here, I have fallen into a routine, which will soon be interrupted and replaced. I have begun saying goodbye to my colleagues and friends, and Tuesday morning will be my last opportunity to do so. But even after the final goodbyes, this place and these people will remain in my heart for the rest of my life, and I will always smile when I remember the time I lived in Germany!

I Am Famous!

My newspaper article came out today in the Rheinische Post, a widespread newspaper in this area of Germany. It is the same article that I translated previously. However, if you would like to see me in all my glory, you can check out the Wasserstraelen website at http://www.wasserstraelen.de/aktuelles.html. Click on "pdf" and view the newspaper layout with picture and article.

With The End In Sight...

On Friday night, some of my dormmates and I grilled out in the backyard of our dorm again. We sat around for a while, until it got dark and cold outside, cooking wurst and bread and talking. On Saturday, my mom's cousin, Gabi, and her husband, Mannfred, took me on a day trip to see some interesting sights. First, we visited Dernau, a small town hidden between mountains and surrounded by vineyards. The wine vineyards covered the hills on every side, and it was really beautiful. We walked through them and stopped at a restaurant on the top of the mountain. The restaurant was built after a famous architect whose name I cannot remember. But it was a Mexican style, bright orange and yellow stucko with smooth, rounded edges. After eating on the deck overlooking the vineyards, we drove to a little town called Ahrweiler that was quite old and had homes proudly displaying that fact. The homes were white cement with brown or black wooden panels crossing along the front, very much the stereotypical German style, and above the doors were the dates the homes were built. Next, we drove through Bonn, the old capital of Germany, and then to Düsseldorf. We stopped here, drank coffee/hot chocolate at a cafe, and took a walk along the Rhein River. The weather was beautiful with lots of warm sunshine and fresh breezes. We ended our adventure in Mönchenbgladbach, where Gabi and Mannfred live. We ate dinner at Palace St. George, a fine restaurant that was previously a church. The chef is a one star expert, and after visiting our table, he cooked us a delicious meal. That night, I watched a couple of movies with Christian and his best friend, Tom. Since they spent six months in California, we talked about the emotional rollercoaster that one rides in the last days before going home. One day I am psyched about going home, and the next day I am sad to leave. Of course, I am excited about going home and being with my family and friends again. But it will also be hard to leave this place and these people, since both have been a sort of home to me in the past three and a half months.

A Morning In Straelen

Underneath a clear blue sky, the market place was coming alive with fresh produce, blooming flowers, and potted plants. Men and women hustled and bustled to set up their tents, displaying their colorful goods for potential customers. The sound of the water fountain was drowned out by large carts rolling seasonal inventory over the cobblestone below. The sun warmed my skin, a cool breeze rustled through the tall, thin trees all around me, and I realized that I am in love with this place. Its simplicity and easy-going nature have built a special place in my heart, and I have no doubt that it is here that these treasured memories will stay.

Fun In The Sun

I had a lovely weekend. On Saturday I came up to Wasserstraelen to work out. There is a track that circles the building, so I walked for about 45 minutes, and then I did some arm exercises on a bench. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining brightly, a cool breeze kept me comfortable, and I even got some sun on my winter-worn face! On the bike ride home, I smelled a cookout. The smell of grilling meat reminded me of summers in Georgia, and I wished that I could take part in a cookout that night. Well God heard my wish and granted it oh so sweetly. Late afternoon, my dormmate, Nicholle, invited me to join her and her boyfriend, Thomas, for a cookout in the backyard of our dorm! I was ecstatic. We sat outside, talking while we waited for the coals to turn white. When the food, meat and bread, was ready, it was already dark, so we moved the party inside. Dinner was delicious, and the companionship much needed and appreciated after a homesick Friday. But the fun did not stop there. Let me be vulnerable with you readers. Sunday was a really lonely day for me. I was not sure of the source of that loneliness, but I was fully aware of its presence. Sometimes, in these moments, God puts a song on my heart which helps me express myself. I opened my mouth, and this song escaped: "When the loneliness creeps inside, when the heaviness rests upon my shoulders, would you come? Would you come? Would you fill me up with companionship. Would you fill my heart with your love." I felt better just singing these words, but I also knew God was listening, and I wondered what He would do with my prayer. Soon thereafter, I took a walk. I ran into my dormmate, Svenja, who had just returned from her hometown. She asked me what I was doing, found out that I was bored, and invited me to get some icecream with her. So we sat outside a small cafe, eating icecream and lauging at the hysterical antics of a small dog. All day, I had been sulking, thinking about how boring Monday would be. I do not work on Mondays, but I had nothing fun planned, so I anticipated sitting around all day. On the way back to the dorm, Svenja said that after work on Monday, she was going to visit a place called Blue Lagoon, and she invited me along. She said that the park makes one feel as though one is on vacation! Of course, I jumped at the opportunity. So Monday, we loaded up on our bikes and rode about 30 minutes to Blue Lagoon in a nearby town. This park can be compared to the lake at Callaway Gardens or the intramural fields at UGA. There was a lake, beach, volleyball, snack shack and water skiing, which was not done with boats but rather a sort of machine that attached to a person via rope and carried him or her around in a circle back to the shore. So we settled down on a blanket in the sand and decided to try the water. I stepped in up to my ankles, but the water felt like icecubes, so I could not go in any further. My feet started to go numb, and then Svenja splashed the freezing cold water all over me, and I screamed like a little girl. We layed out on the beach for hours, talking and laughing like old friends as we watched people dive into and react to the frigid water. It felt like a summer day, and as we basked in the warm rays of the sun, we dreaded the idea of going back to work. Before nightfall, we rode back to Straelen, played soccer in the backyard, and then ate dinner. After dinner, full of baked potato and salad, I noticed that my loneliness was gone, and in its place was companionship and love, just as I had prayed.

Easter

I spent Easter weekend with my family in Wüstensachsen. I had a lovely time, but it was much too short. Friday was a relaxing day. I played with five year old Lennard until he went to a friend's birthday party up the street. Then Peter and Sonja and I sat outside, enjoying the hot sun on a perfect Spring day. I ate chocolate icecream, they drank green tea from China, and we nibbled on a lamb. Well, not a real one. At Easter, Germans make a sort of pound cake with powdered sugar on top in the shape of a lamb. This is in remembrance of Jesus, but it is also a tasty treat. That night, Lennard invited me to take part in his bathtime ritual. Once he was up to his neck in fluffy, white bubbles, we brought out the characters from "Finding Nemo." Although plastic, they came to life in our hands, meeting each other, swimming together in the ocean, and becoming friends. To our delight, these characters could gulp water and spit it back out with just a light squeeze of the belly. Lennard and I both giggled as we squirted each other, quickly filling and refilling our little playmates with water. At bedtime, Sonja read Lennard a story, and then we said our prayers. First, Sonja prayed while Lennard repeated. Then he got to add anything he wanted. A smile spread across my face as he began to thank God for me and my visit. Lastly, I prayed in English what Sonja had prayed in German. We all said goodnight, and a motherly warmth spread throughout my heart as I looked forward to repeating the scene with my own children some day. On Saturday, Peter and Sonja took me to nearby Fulda to shop. I had a great time buying gifts and souvenirs. We also saw the Dom there, which was really beautiful, coated floor to ceiling in white and gold. Randomly, we came across three people dressed as chickens. Head to toe, they were brown and feathered with big, yellow beaks. They were playing music and walking and pecking just like real chickens. It was hilarious! Later, in Wüstensachsen, we went up a mountain to the Wasserkuppe. There was a slide that started at the top of the mountain and continued down the hill like a ski slope. It is hard to describe, but it was as if the mountain was sticking out a bright, silver, tin tongue with both sides cupped upwards. And in the middle of that tongue-like track was a little cart that had a big, red stick shift, like something from a Nintendo controller. Forward meant go faster, and backward meant slow down. Knowing I would use the break too much as a first-timer, Peter and Lennard rode together on one track, while I drove on the one next to them. Although they beat me to the bottom of the hill, I laughed and squealed the entire way down, doing my best to throw caution to the wind. It reminded me of Water Wiz but with a flat black cart in place of a mat and of course minus the water. I bought some souvenirs, and we took a coffee break (hot chocolate for me) before heading back down the mountain. Sunday began with an Easter egg hunt. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Easter Bunny had left me a basket full of chocolate goodies! After breakfast, we went to church, where I enjoyed a traditional Catholic service. We ate lunch at Rolf and Helga's house, where Helga served delicious pineapple chicken, salad, and two forms of potatoes-one shaped like little balls and one more like hashbrowns. After lunch, we all went up another mountain to Kreuzberg, where we met Sonja's sister, Beatrix, and her boyfriend Klaus. Kreuzberg is a place where monks make their own beer in a monastery. I bought souvenirs and gifts, and then we stopped by a cafe on the way home. That night we all went to dinner at an Italian restaurant where we ate pizza, pasta, and played the German version of Paper, Rock, Scissors with Lennard. The centerpiece was a lit candle, and since Lennard was like a moth to a flame, the game distracted him from lighting the table on fire! I relaly enjoyed having everyone together in one place. On Monday, also an Easter holiday here in Germany, Sonja cooked lunch. Traditionally, Beatrix, who is Lennard's godmother, brings a bundle of presents for her godson, and Sonja cooks her a meal. So we ate delectable green noodles with a salmon and cucumber sauce that was too yummy to resist seconds, which barely left room for dessert of vanilla icecream and chocolate mousse. Lennard played with his new shield that completed his knight ensemble, and Beatrix gave me a pretty necklace and bracelet! Sadly, it was then time to say goodbye. This was difficult to do, beacause I will not see them again soon. I held back tears as Rolf and Helga drove me to Fulda to catch my train. But once I settled into my reserved window seat on the comfortable ICE train, facing the vast, green countryside that I have come to cherish, I let go. I cried as the train pulled away from the German relatives I have come to know and love. At that moment, I made a promise to myself. I will be back. I do not know when or how, but I will be back!