Mas Fiestas

Finals week here is difficult without reading days, but I think we managed pretty well! I felt a little overwhelmed at all that we had to do, but the tests are done. Yay!! We also had to finish the presentation booklet for enmodes, with all of our design information. This took quite a bit of time, but I didn’t mind. I really missed messing around with InDesign and Photoshop, and I had a ton of great help and support. I was a bit sleepy for Remagen, however, and I was dragging a bit through the museum at the Remagen Bridge that I had heard so many wonderful things about. I do admire the mission for peace and the impact the museum has had on veterans and their families.

The Farewell Party on Friday was rock and roll, especially the band. We had some fabulous dancing, food, group pictures, and German friends. It was really cool to see how everyone had meshed with his or her host families, compared to how we were at the Welcome Party. I don’t really want to think about saying goodbye, and so I am done with this Farewell talk.

This Sunday was my host sister Naja’s baptism, a celebration which took a while for me to figure out because we had some humorous translation issues. I had to control myself from giggling throughout the service, because I could not follow any part of the German liturgy or hymns to save my life. My host brother, Leon, and I would laugh at my poor German singing (not just my singing) and the dark translations of some of the songs. However, it was wonderful to be a part of Naja’s special day and journey as a Christian. The extended family and neighbors joined us for an indoor barbeque to hide the classic Bonn weather and enjoy a massive amount of food. I felt so welcome already, but I also met our American neighbors, both dads of the adjacent families had married German women and set up camp in Bonn. It was really cool to hear their stories of how life has brought them here; one was a professional basketball player from Brooklyn and the other a mechanical engineer from Ohio. Talking to them helped increase an understanding that I could easily be back in Europe, or even Germany, in ways that I can’t anticipate but should seek out. I’m definitely counting on being back.