After a eight-ish hour plane ride full of uncomfortable positions, English tea and Disney princess coloring books, I found myself in Germany. If you had any communication with me that last month or so before school started, you knew I kept an avid countdown. As the number of days shrunk dramatically from 200-something to mere double digits, my excitement grew.

I knew my trip to Germany would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Not many 16 year old’s can say they left the comforts of their home and the security of their parents safety to travel across the globe to live in a house with a family you had never met. I loved my exchange partner, Selina Ruhnke, from when she had come with her school to participate in the District 219 German Exchange in October of 2010. We bonded instantly for the 12 something days she lived with me. But to stay with her parents? In her house? It’s safe to say that I was a nervous wreck. But even more wonderful then I could have possible imagined.

There were little things: how Germans always kept doors closed that boggled my mind at first. This doesn’t mean that they didn’t want to talk to you, or wanted to be alone. It just meant they liked having a door closed. A lot of Europeans are extremely environmentally aware. There was three garbage bins in my host family’s house. Confusing? Yes. It all took some getting used to. In my personal opinion, everything tastes better in Germany, even things we have here in the good ole U.S. of A. I tried to stay as open as possible and try everything on my plate. Ordering something wacky that I normally wouldn’t try at a restaurant. I tried to soak up the culture as much as I could. I was a human sponge. Using the European Euro, speaking in German when I bought something, even reading price tags on clothes helped me make the most of this opportunity.

The three German Frau’s that came along with us planned a variety of interesting and super fun activities that gave us freedom to explore and discover historic German cities and places. We visited the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart, rode a gondola in beautiful Tubingen, and made cuckoos clocks in the Schwartzwald or “Black-Forest.” One of the most exciting activities was the mountain tobogganing. It was basically a go-kart on a track that led down a mountain. You had control of the speed, so of course, I had it set to go as fast as possible! It was like a mini-roller coaster, perfect for the average adrenaline junkie.

My host family was incredible. They were generous and caring, which helped ease the transition from one continent to the next. I’d sit at the kitchen table and have culture discussions with her father, who spoke almost perfect English. My exchange partner, her mother, her sister and I would ride down the rural roads in their convertible BW yellow Bug blasting American Pop music. They were incredibly kind to take me to cities and castles, France and Italy. Oh yes, can’t forget that.

My very first day with them, my host family surprised me by taking me across the border to a tiny town. They were also gracious when I got carsick in France. Don’t they sound fabulous? The second weekend I was staying with them, they took me out of the activity planned with the other Americans and the Niles West German teachers and we took a six and a half hour car ride through Switzerland and into Italy where I spent three beautiful days on Lago Maggoire. The beautiful Italian town was the epitome of charm and beauty. I didn’t want to leave, especially after I had authentic Italian spaghetti. Yum!

We said goodbye to our host families (tearfully) and began touring around southern Germany and Salzburg, Austria. Staying in youth hostels, living out of our suitcases and spending hours on a bus. It sounds like a drag but every moment was amazing fantab-u-lus. Even when I got a bloody knee in Munich or lost a brand new bracelet, every minute was exciting. The bloody knee was an injury that I inflicted on myself, after I served to hit a civilian while on a bike tour in the capital of Bavarian, Germany. I didn’t hit the pedestrian, but a brick wall instead. Fun stuff.

All in all, I want to go back. My German is superb and I miss my exchange partner. I made a life-long friend, all thanks to Niles West. She is coming to stay with my family for a week hopefully during Thanksgiving, seeing as how she is participating in a year- long exchange with a host family two hours away from Skokie. I had the summer of a lifetime.