Jena/Dresden

So today we are in Dresden. We left Jena yesterday about 10am, Germany time.

What I find most interesting about being in Eastern Germany is that there is an obvious difference, and the remnants of the former DDR are still present, especially in Dresden. There are beautiful, Baroque churches and opera houses next to newer Soviet-style apartment buildings, usw.

Rhineland-Pflaz (the bundesland where Mayen is) is so much like the midwest that it is easy to feel comfortable there, but coming to Eastern Germany really is like going to another country.

I am warming up to this side of the country, and I am glad that I am able to see the differences I learned about first-hand, but it is really quite un-nerving at times. My cultural knowledge of Germany has grown so much in the past five and a half weeks (Has it really been that long??), and I now feel a little more confident about teaching German in high school. I would feel irresponsible teaching German if I had never come to Germany.

This country makes me incredibly happy, and I am not ready to leave, but I am starting to miss things about home. For example, I really miss chocolate chip cookies and Taco Bell. I miss my cats a little, too. I miss playing cards with my cousins, and I am looking forward to going to Ludington and South Haven with Emily shortly after I get back.

But there is, and will always be, something special about my first trip to Germany.

Some famous author said that you can't go home again, and I believe that is true for this situation. Mayen will always be there, hanging out in der Eifel, but the Mayen that I experienced will never be there again because I have changed, and I will never be in Mayen with these crazy 21 people again. I know that I will go back to Mayen, and I can't wait to take my high school classes there. I am also planning on going back next summer to visit Christina and Frau Göbel. I also think I'll go to Salzburg on the next trip.

I feel so out of touch with life in the US, but I am not really sure I care all that much.

I can't wait to get to Berlin.