Footprints

eleven

I know I always talk about going home, but I'm also kind of afraid. No, not afraid...anxious, maybe? I don't really know how to describe it, there's not an exact word to use. I am looking forward to going back, obviously, but I also know that when I do go back, everything will start. I'll have a month of summer, and then high school will begin. Before I know it, I'll be graduating as a senior in 2019. Okay, I may be getting a little ahead of myself...but that's how everything seems to happen.

I guess I just don't want to grow up, not yet. I don't want to get a job, have thousands of responsibilities, and do the same routine over and over again, every single day. That seems so...dull. And I don't want a dull life. However, perhaps it's not really like that when one grows up. How would I know, anyway?

Anyways, spring break was a lot of fun and it was amazing seeing my family. I remember waiting for them to arrive on that Saturday morning, anxiously excited. Jochen and Steffi had gone to pick them up at the airport. When they got here, they rang the doorbell and I went down to answer. It was surreal. When I opened the door, they were actually there, my parents and Kiersty, standing right in front of me. After seven months of not seeing them, I was pretty overwhelmed. I gave them all a huge hug. When we went upstairs, I was even more speechless. Jacqueline and Audrey, who were supposed to stay in Spokane, had snuck in through the back door. They were actually here. It was the best surprise. I ran over and hugged them and I could feel tears well up in my eyes, tears of some bittersweet happiness...but I held them back.

The next few days were easy so my family could get rid of their jet lag. We didn't do much, just looked around Bad Boll and Göppingen. On Monday we drove to the Neuschwanstein Castle. The weather wasn't very good the first week; windy, cloudy, rainy...but although it rained, we still had a good time. I do, however, wish there would've been clear skies so I could've gotten better pictures of the castle. Oh well, it was really cool anyway. We spent the night in Seeg, a town that Lea's family loved, as it was their last name as well.

The following day we drove back to Boll. On the way, we stopped by some stores. One of them had a huge climbing/ropes course built into the ceiling. Lea, Tom, and I did it. Kiersty was going to, but she got too nervous. It was a little out of my comfort zone at first, but I got used to it, and I don't regret it at all. It was so much fun. After that, we drove to Munich. We tried to look around the city but it was pouring rain, so we ended up half walking, half running our way to the Hofbräuhaus where we ate dinner. On Wednesday, we were in Boll again. I got my ears pierced that day (finally). Then, we drove to Strasbourg, France on Thursday. It was right next to Germany's border, so it didn't look much different, but we walked through part of the town and went into an old church.

On Sunday, we drove up North for six hours to Braunschweig, where Steffi's mom lives. It was Easter that day, but it didn't feel like it. Even though some of my family was with me, it was different than being home and doing the usual traditions. That's okay, though, I didn't really notice. The weather started warming up, and on Tuesday we drove to Berlin. That was really cool. We walked around and went to the famous sites such as the Reichstag building and the Berlin cathedral. I took a lot of pictures. The following morning we visited remains of the Berlin wall. It was surreal to stand there and see the wall that separated people during such a challenging time. I couldn't begin to imagine what it was like during that time.

After Berlin, we drove to Lüneburg, where we stayed for two nights. This was definitely my favorite part of the trip, and part of it was because of the hotel. There was a huge swimming area with a slide, wave pool, bathtubs, and a lazy river which went outside as well. But my favorite part about our stay there was walking in the town with my family. I got to be alone with them, which I hadn't done in a long time. We looked around trying food and playing on playgrounds until sunset, finishing the day off with gelato. 

On Thursday we went to Hamburg. It was really pretty there, right by the sea with the sun shining. We walked along the harbor and went on a boat that took us along the shore. When we got back from Hamburg, we walked around Lüneburg eating gelato (again) and swimming later on. I was so happy then. Really, genuinely happy.

On Friday we went swimming one last time that morning and then said goodbye to Northern Germany. The Seegs had already left a couple hours earlier. We started driving the five hours to Frankfurt where my family would fly out the next day. That evening we went to an Italian restaurant which had really good pizza and then we swam for a bit in the hotel's pool.

Saturday was hard. My family left early that morning. I hated seeing them go. We hugged each other before they drove off in their shuttle, but to me it all seemed rushed. I didn't expect it to be so challenging to say goodbye again but somehow it was almost as hard as the first time. It put me in a mood for the rest of the day, as if I had this little gray cloud hovering over my head. I became more closed off to my host family, but not on purpose...I just didn't know how to feel. I had known that spring break would pass quickly and my family would leave again, but the day was still very long and bleak. However, I got through it, and here I am. Writing it all down.

Now, April has come to an end and today is the first day of May. I unbelievably only have three months left in Germany until I return home. August will be here so soon, even though it still seems far away. I don't know where the time goes, but it sure does a good job of flying.