We had a really cool send off at the old AIB to start the day, where we met with our teams and got to eat a good breakfast before heading out. Although it was not as big or as crazy as the send off for Big Event back at home, it was much better in that it didn't take us an hour and a half to leave the parking lot when we were ready to go do our jobs. Sarah, Haley, and I met some really cool Viz kids from A&M as well as some nice kids from LMU as well as Penn State and were tasked with helping paint a school. We got to work with some of the students at the school and got to learn more about the schooling in Germany, which was really cool. I had never painted on such a large scale before, and I was actually really impressed with how well everything turned out by the end of it. Sarah, Haley, and Haley's mom did an amazing job of painting the school logo in the front entrance, and I was just amazed that the rest of us managed to paint the rest of the school white and gray without messing anything up. It was a really cool experience to be able to give back to the community, and I am so thankful to have worked with the students as well. I also got to see some of the school work that some of the kids had been working on, and I was amazed with the intelligence and creativity that these kids exhibited. The thing that impressed me the most, however, was a piece of art that a first grader had posted on the wall in regards to the bombings in Paris. The drawing showed the Eiffel Tower in front of the French flag with the caption: "I see humans, but no humanity." This really struck me, especially since I probably didn't even know what the word "humanity" was when I was in the first grade, and it really made me appreciate the German school system.
This weekend, Andre also came home from Holland, and it was very cool to be able to hang out with him again. I feel like he is really my brother, and I am so thankful to have someone that enjoys hanging out with us just as much as we enjoy hanging out with him. He really is my brother, and I cannot speak highly enough about him. On Saturday night, we also got to celebrate three of the Viz kid's birthdays and met a lot of new friends. This trip has really made me appreciate just how awesome people are and how open Europeans and people in general are to making new friends and showing compassion to strangers.
As our day of departure grows closer, I find myself looking back at all the good times that I have had here with my family, and I cannot believe how far we have come since I have first arrived. It is going to be really hard to leave them, and I feel like I have found my home away from home. I cannot thank Gunnar enough for being my American brother, and for Amelia, Andre, Marianna, and Chico for being my new German family. Since I don't have any pictures from the Big Event Weekend, I want to end this blog with a picture of my German family, who will always be my family and will always have a special place in my heart.
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