The June Update

Hi friends. We’re finally at the June Update, or the more sadly dubbed Final Update. As you can most likely tell, writing this has taken me a long time. I would love to lie and say I was too busy, but the more honest answer is that this was a little too painful for me to dive into until now. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to accept this ending, but the blog most go on. Lastly, thank you all for your support this year, it has always meant the world to me.

June started off with a last-minute 9-Euro-ticket-inspired trip to Munich with my friend Elizabeth. After seven hours of crowded trains to Munich, we ended our night with pizza and late-night conversations. The next morning, we woke up early to beat the crowds to sightseeing. We started at the Rathaus and then explored the Viktualmarkt. Seeing all the produce, meats, and food stands at the Virktualmarkt was super cool. We walked to St Peter’s church to climb to the top next. Elizabeth wasn’t thrilled about the ascent, but we agreed the bird’s eye view of Munich was well worth the creaky old stairs.

We spent the next few hours doing a self-directed Third Reich-themed walking tour of Munich. Seeing the places where the Nazi party rose to power in Munich was surreal; I am so thankful that I was so entrenched in history during my time in history. I think it will influence the way I see the world and modern politics forever.

During the afternoon, Elizabeth and I met our friend and fellow CBYX-er, Lucia, in the Englisher Garten. First, we watched the famous surfers ride at the front of the park. I am definitely adding that to my bucket list. We walked further into the park and settled in for a picnic. We watched little kids play in the shallow areas and adults float in the stream. The cold water was so enticing on the June day, so I naturally set my sights on a nice swim. After a lot of coaxing, Elizabeth agreed to go into town to buy swimsuits and a towel with me. We bought cheap bikinis and a towel and then headed back to the Garten. We set up our things once again and then hopped in. The water was refreshing, and it is one of the most fun memories from my exchange. After our swimming endeavors, we all returned to the Virktualmarkt to have a traditional Bavarian dinner. It was so filling and delicious that we went straight back to the hotel to sleep afterward.

On our last day in Munich, Elizabeth and I went to Olympiapark, where the 1972 Olympic Games were held. As ex-swimmers, we both obviously wanted to start off in the natatorium. It was crazy how small the spectator section was, especially compared to modern Olympic stadiums. Afterward, we walked to the top of the park’s giant hill. On our way out of the park, we stumbled across paddle boats. So we obviously had to do it. We paddle boated across the pond together, and it was a blast. Then, we headed back to the Munich Train Station to start our journey home.

A few days later, I took my host sister, Miray, to Mainz. Mainz is the capital of my state, Rhineland-Pfalz, and the home of Gutenberg's printing press. Miray and I explored the city together, including the crazy huge and beautiful cathedral. It was crazy. We also obviously had pizza and fro-yo after walking along the Rhine. It was an awesome day (excluding the sucky Deutsche Bahn).

Over the next few days, I wound up in Heidelberg several times. On the first day, I was supposed to meet up with some friends, but the plan fell through, so I decided to go solo. I got on my regional train to Heidelberg right after school, and then took the Strasse Bahn into Alt Stadt. I found a falafel restaurant to eat at, walked through Alt Stadt, picked up a tea, and then sat by the river for an hour or so. It was really relaxing, and what I thought was a proper goodbye to a city I spent so much time in during my year in Germany.

While I thought it was a goodbye, Emma and I wound up in Heidelberg the next day. We originally went to Mannheim to have our favorite Asian food (Emma’s favorite curry and my favorite sushi). Then, we rode the train an extra fifteen minutes to meet another CBYXer in Heidelberg. We ended up only walking them through Alt Stadt back up to the main train station, but it was a fun hour or so. Despite the randomness of the evening, it was good.

The next week was my last week in gymnasium. This meant a lot of goodbyes. I had lunches with friends and we made a picnic, which was really nice. Unfortunately, I woke up sick on my last day of gymnasium. I tried really hard to go to school, but I couldn’t stop getting sick. It was devastating to me. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to make a proper goodbye to a lot of my friends, which was sad. But I recognize I was lucky to have met so many kind souls while living abroad, and I hope I can carry their kindness with me wherever I go.

My last few days in Germany were a long weekend, but one of my host sisters was out of town on a school trip. On my first day, I took a little “biking tour” of Neustadt. I went to a few favorite spots and soaked it in. I tried to be gratuitous of the peace they had provided me. I still miss the pond out in the woods and the little ducks that would swim in the river in the park by my school. Then, I picked up ice cream in the Alt Stadt at my favorite Eis Cafe, even if my friend quit working there. That evening I hung out with my host family and went swimming with my host sister.

The next day, I went on a solo trip to Karlsruhe to do some sightseeing and check out an International University. I walked through the main part of the town to the castle. Then, I picked up a drink and walked through the palace gardens before finding a peaceful spot to sit and journal for a few hours. Afterward, I had one of the best Doners of my life. It was full to the brim and AMAZING. I am still drooling. Once my belly was full of doner, I took the U-Bahn to the International Uni. I love the area and am seriously considering it as a university choice.

That night, my host family got me my favorite calzone from my favorite pizza restaurant one last time. It was absolutely delicious and perfect, and I miss it dearly. To top the night off, I took my walk. I have been taking the same route almost daily since November, so my last few walks were quite sentimental. I watched the sunset over the mountains and the vineyard, one of my favorite sights in the world. I remember watching the sunset and taking a deep breath and just thinking “I did it.” The feelings of sorrow and pride were so intertwined and immense. I will not lie, this goodbye has been difficult, starting weeks before I even left.

On my last Saturday before leaving, I woke up early and went for a hike (can it be called a hike?). I basically walked from the train station to Mussbacher Schloss, a castle in Neustadt. Despite seeing the castle from my window every day, I had never been. Walking might have not been the smartest idea, but it was still fun. Once I was home from my hiking adventure, I went into the city to get some last-minute things. Afterward, my host family and I had lunch together and hung out talking.

That evening, I took the train a couple of towns over for Emma’s going away party. We sat around together and talked while assembling kinder egg toys. Emma’s host parents made us a delicious pasta dinner. It was lovely. I watched the sunset on the train ride home, and in total transparency, I sobbed like a baby.

It was so painful to imagine saying goodbye to everything so soon. A whole life uprooted. I can vividly remember the feeling of leaving for Germany. The feeling of the wheels touching down in Frankfurt. I had no clue what to expect. And just 10 months later, I built a life from the ground up. I had a completely different feeling when the plane took off from Frankfurt; it was a feeling of knowing exactly what you were losing.

The next morning was my last morning in Germany. I woke up to watch the sunrise from my window, an old Friday morning tradition in wintertime. Afterward, I completely finished packing everything up. My host family and I spent a couple of hours at the pool together. We toed the awkward line of knowing it would all be over soon and pretending all was normal. I’ve never been great at goodbyes and this was no exception.

I went to Neustadt for one last time to say goodbye to a few friends and drop off a gift to another friend. At the beginning of my exchange, Neustadt felt huge. I didn’t go alone until October. But once I began to make friends and feel comfortable in Germany, it began to feel smaller. It filled up with errands and lunches with friends and shopping on the weekends. Walking through it for the last time felt like seeing a reel of my exchange year flash before my eyes. I felt a lot of pride for growing and surviving, but it was devastating to know that I had to move on.

That evening, we picked up my host sister from her school trip and then had our last family dinner. My host mom made my favorite, Knodel with white mushroom sauce. It was absolutely delicious. We had coffee after dinner, like always, and then hung out for a few hours before bed. That night, I watched the sunset over the vineyards and mountains one last time.

After a bad dream about overweight luggage, I woke up in fright on Monday morning. I weighed my luggage, and surely, my intuition was right. I chucked my old rebooks and moved on. I got ready super quick and then packed it all up for good. I had my host mom’s musli for breakfast, then I took a walk around my host house and just soaked it all in a little; goodbye to my little corner of Germany.

The drive to the airport was quite somber, and I actually got really car sick. Well, car sick or just sick in general. My host sisters and I sang “Greischer Wein” together, and it was a good time. When we got to the airport, we found YFU and my host family helped me get my luggage checked. Then it was time for my hardest goodbye.

I was really lucky to have such an awesome, loving host family. Really, I can’t imagine what my exchange year would’ve been without them. I don’t think I could’ve done it. Since the beginning, they have made me a part of their family and loved me. They taught me German, fed me, took me on vacation with them, and most importantly, spoke and laughed with me. After 10 months, I consider them my second family. It’s simply not fair that they’re an ocean away, and that we had to say goodbye in such a permanent way. But I think we both know it was really a “see you later”.

My best friend Addison and I sat next to each other on the plane. We alternated between crying and laughing at each other for crying. We were a big fat mess. But I wouldn’t have rather done it with anyone else by my side. For the rest of the cursedly long flight, I journaled, watched “The Summer I Turned Pretty”, and then read a little.

We touched down in DC around four in the afternoon and then were bused to American Universities’ campus. We had a quick dinner and then hit the hay. We were up at 5 AM the next morning and outside by 6 for our day on Capitol Hill. We started off at the State Department where we had breakfast and networking. We were able to talk to many members of staff for the Department of State and a few CBYX alumni. My favorite discussions were with a former diplomat about his several deployments in Russia and a member of the Department of State’s press team, with who we discussed the role of the press in the Ukrainian War.

Afterward, we were prepped for our meetings with our congressional representatives. We prepared sales pitches for CBYX and then discussed how to best communicate our experiences in Germany. Next, Senator Roy Blunt from Missouri spoke to us. He is in charge of the committee that continues to monitor and fund CBYX. I respect his commitment to the program and cultural exchange, but other than that he was incredibly poorly spoken. I was shocked at his lack of prose and public speaking skills. It is a shame that man has a platform. After Senator Blunt left, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to us. It was a much more positive experience, and I was really thankful he took the time to come to us.

That afternoon we dispersed onto Capital Hill for our congressional meetings. Unfortunately, my representative, Greg Pence was unable to meet with me. Instead, I met joined my fellow Hoosier CBYXers at their meeting with Indiana District 1 Representative, Frank Mrvan. We didn’t meet with Representative Mrvan himself, but we did get to go into his office and meet with two of his staffers. The staffers were super nice and we talked about CBYX and then how they got their jobs in Washington. It was a really positive experience.

That evening we had more seminars and dinner together. It was nice to all be together one last time and digest the year we’d been through. That night around 11, my friend Andrew called me to tell me our flight back to Indy the next day was canceled. There was a lot of back and forth, but long story short, Andrew and I got stuck in DC for an extra day.

On Wednesday, I said my goodbyes to my friends. It may sound silly because I’ve only known them for a year, and we only got to hang out for a total of maybe 12 days altogether, but this was one of the hardest goodbyes for me. These were the people that were truly there for me during my exchange year. Through late-night google meets kind texts and Pizza Milano dates. They may not have been German, but when I remember Germany, my American counterparts will always be a huge part of my experience for me. I don’t think I could have ever done it alone. We traveled all way from Paderborn to Amsterdam to Heidelberg to Berlin to Munich together, and they will always have a special part of my heart.

And finally, on Thursday, June 23rd, I touched down in Indianapolis. My parents picked me up from the airport and we went to Costco. American grocery stores are weird. After that, we went to our local Mexican restaurant, and then I fell fast asleep. The next few days were a blur of catching up with family and friends.

Only three days later, I was off to church camp. I spent the last week of July rock wall climbing, kayaking, playing games, swimming in the pond, and reconnecting with Jesus. Coming home from Germany has been a rocky transition, but I think camp is exactly what I needed. I so desperately wanted a new purpose now that CBYX was done, but God told me it was time to grow for a little bit and to stand under his shade. Camp Shiloh has always been a really peaceful, Holy Spirit-filled place for me, and it did not disappoint this summer.

Well, that was June. The 180 is kinda crazy, isn’t it? At the beginning of the month, I was traveling around Munich by myself, and by the end, I was back home, business as usual. I know you’re probably expecting a dramatic send-off now, but I think I’ve got another blog post in me for that.

Until next time,

XOXO

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