Homecoming

So, I'm home now. Back in the good old U.S. of A. It's definitely good to be back. It's nice to not have to translate everything before I try to speak. And having properly sunny days more often than not has certainly done quite a bit to help my mood. And, of course I am really glad to be able to see all my friends and family again.

There is stuff I'm going to miss though. I enjoyed working on the project. I'd be surprised if I have such an easy time of hanging out with all my new friends, even once we're all back in College Station again. And my host family was wonderful. They were great people, and I'd love the chance to see them again.

Anyways, the week was really nice. On Monday we took a cruise down the Rhine. A 'Rhinecruise', if you will. There's a surprising number of tiny villages and old ruins along the banks. Maybe it's just because we were moving fairly quickly, but I'd thought settlements would have been more spread out than they were. The castles in particular I thought would have been more spread out, held control over more territory, you know? At the end of the cruise we visited the Marksburg Castle, notable for being the only castle in the region that was never conquered or otherwise taken by force. We learned a lot about daily life in the castle, and got some amazing views of the Rhine River Valley from the top of the mountain the castle was built on.

After the cruise, we went back to the AIB one last time to fill out final surveys and forms, and say our goodbyes to (most) of the staff. Then, some of us went to a Lumineers concert! Which was fantastic, by the way. Unfortunately, my favorite song of the night, Scotland, isn't on any official release yet. I might have to do some digging to find that one again. Then, at the end of the concert we said our goodbyes to Kristin, our coordinator.

Tuesday was uneventful. I spent the whole day packing and making sure I hadn't left anything behind, and then proceeded to not get enough sleep. I got up at 4 in the morning on Wednesday and my host brother drove me out to the bus. Frankfurt was nearly empty when we got there, and we wound up sitting around for our plane for a while. The plane ride home was quiet, and I managed to get most of the way through Ghost Trick in one sitting. Once we landed, I gave everyone else who's flown into Dallas one  last goodbye, got rib-crushing hugs from my family, and headed home.

Spookwave - Toby Fox