Hallo from Deutschland!

Hallo everyone!

I have been enjoying Germany for about 2 weeks now, so I guess it is about time I get to blogging. Clearly the procrastinating doesn't stop when school stops.

My host family leaves on the coast of Lake Constance, in a small German town. We're right across from Switzerland and just north of Austria. Least to say, it is incredibly beautiful here.

This is what I look at while running :P

The family is really fantastic, I have three little German boys to look after- ages 9, 6, and 2 1/2 (insert obligatory Von Trapp reference here). They are all very sweet and fun to play with. Especially on the giant trampoline (seriously, I think this has been my favorite thing so far). We live near all of their family (we all get together for lunch every day), so there are always extra kids running around to hang out with us.

The biggest challenge so far (or one of them at least) has been making myself at home in someone else's home. I realize acting like I feel weird makes other people feel weird about me feeling weird, so I've been doing my best to make myself at home, even when I do feel weird about it. I'm not saying I'm just acting ridiculous and putting my feet on the table and jumping on beds. I mean more that even if I initially feel weird about leaving my toothbrush in the bathroom I make myself do it because that is what normal people who feel at home do. Also I don't share the bathroom so no one would know if I left it there or not. (So calmate, Sara). It's a work in progress, and I still ask if I can have a glass of water or have yogurt for breakfast or whatnot, but I am definitely settling in quicker than I had expected or thought possible.

Whew. I will try not to use the word "weird" so much.

The next biggest challenge is unsurprisingly the language. Although my German is coming along and I have definitely picked up more since being here, it is also a work in progress. I'm also getting better at expressing myself in less exact terms, and making do with the limited vocabulary I have. My pantomime skills have also gotten better. I would make a joke about a back up career, but I hear that that is how it all starts....

Ice cream from Ravensburg, more on that soon!

So far, I have visited several little towns and eaten lots of ice cream. And pretzels. I have made the ice cream my obligatory snack in each town I go to. Partially because it's hot and I just wander around for hours outside, and partially it's delicious and there are so many places to try! I am not sure if it's ice cream or gelato-usually the places display it like a gelataria, but (depending on the place) it tends to have more of the consistency of ice cream. Either way it's delicious, and I know how to order it in German. Usually just one scoop, the picture on the left features an exceptionally delicious exception

Anyway. I will post more soon, but there was some pressure to get going. So here you go for now!.