I Have Friends Now! (Please Hold Your Applause until the End)

The short version of what you’re about to read: I made three new friends this week! One from northern Germany, one from Ireland, and one from Oklahoma in America. I ate a lot of ice cream, but it made me so happy to have some interaction with people my own age! I also met three new people from France, but they were all adults (you’ll have to read further to get the details). In addition to that, I toured the catacombs in my city and I went on a carriage ride in another German city. Also, pretty much everyday I wake up and eat breakfast.

16 September: I woke up, ate breakfast, and then I went to the grocery store and I bought coffee and chocolate bars. Three, two caramel and one Oreo flavored. They are called Milka bars and they are the most addictive chocolate bars I have ever eaten, which is why I ate all three of them on this day! When the kids came home from kindergarten we ate lunch on the back porch and then we went inside and the older boy and I listened to music and read some story books. This was the first day that I had to babysit both boys by myself with no parents at home and it went GREAT! We played together for three hours and nobody cried, not even me! I was very proud of myself for this. We played with cars, ran around, jumped on the bed, and read more books. I was honestly surprised it went so smoothly.

17 September: I woke up, ate breakfast, and I honestly just spent this whole morning relaxing. I tried to plan some trips for the future and I went to the bakery and the grocery store. I ate a pretzel and I also bought three more Milka chocolate bars (which I also ate all of this day.) At home I drank coffee, watched Netflix, and talked to my mom on the phone for a while. Then I rode my bike to pick the older boy up from kindergarten and when we got home I was left alone with the baby girl for the first time for one hour. It was fine in the beginning, but eventually she started crying and so we went for a walk and it was going well, but then she started crying again and she didn’t stop until her mama came home. We ate dinner as a family and then I went to my room, relaxed, and wrote some letters.

18 September: This is where my week started to pick up. I woke up, ate breakfast, and then I went to the post offie and the bank to have a meeting to set up my debit account. (I would later get this account locked when I tried to set up my online banking at home.) Afterwards, I rode my bike to the city center and I did a little bit of shopping. I met someone for coffee who I had met on a page for people who are new to my city and want to make friends. We talked a lot about our cultural differences and how nice our town is. It was nice to feel like I had a friend who wasn’t four years old. I ate french fries from a truck for lunch this day. When I got home, I talked to my mom again. After I picked the older boy up from kindergarten we played games on the trampoline for a few hours. Then the mom, the older boy, and I rode our bikes to this garage that sells fresh fruits and vegetables. It was really strange to me that there is just an expectation that people will actually pay the correct amount for the food and not just steal it because no one is watching. After dinner, I went down to my room and relaxed.

19 September: I woke up, ate breakfast, and then I rode my bike to the bank to fix my account that I locked the previous day. I just relaxed until the boys came home and then I played with the older boy for a few hours while the younger one napped. Then the Grandparents Edith and Kallie (different from the ones last weekend) came to pick up the kids and take them to their home in Schweinfurt. We talked with them for maybe 25 minutes and then they left. After this, the mother showed me how to use their iron and gave me the pile of clothes I needed to iron. It was this day that I realized how much I hate to iron and how bad I am at it. I spent maybe 2 hours ironing and I wasn’t even halfway done. (Granted, I tend to move a little slowly when I’m new at something.) That evening I ate dinner at a pizza place five minutes away from my house and I got ice cream from a truck that is also right by my house.

20 September: I woke up, ate breakfast, and spent 3 more hours ironing. (I don’t know how I am so slow/challenged at it). At 12 Oma and Opa (from last weekend) came to the house and they brought three friends. This weekend Oma was celebrating 50 years of friendship with her friends from France, Peter, Fran, and Elaine. It was a huge mixture of languages because Peter and Fran speak French, English, and German, but Elaine only speaks French and English, but Oma only speaks German, and I only speak English fluently and German a little bit. This group of people made my brain a little tired! We were a group of 11 and we went to look at the catacombs in Bamberg. It was very interesting to go underground and see everything that was there. The tour was in German so I didn’t entirely understand what everything was, but I had the gist. After the tour of the catacombs, we went to a rose garden for drinks. Since I was already in the city center, I broke away from the group afterwards and met up with a girl from America and her roommate who is a guy from Ireland. We got delicious ice cream and then we just walked around Bamberg. We talked a lot about the travels we’ve had and the ones we want to have. They’re both more experienced travelers than I am because they are 24 and 22 years old, so it will be good for me to have some mentors and friends who can give me some guidance.

21 September: This was such a fun day! I woke up pretty early and we drove to Oma and Opa’s house. We picked up the kids on the way, and when we got there Oma had prepared the most amazing breakfast for us and the French! There was every type of bread you could imagine and caramel, chocolate, Nutella, homemade marmalade, cheese, butter, you name it! I ate so much, it was a life changing event. After breakfast I went with the French girls and Oma to the grave yard and we looked at the graves. We laughed at how almost half of the tombstones had the name Schneider on them. We also looked inside the church that Oma plays the organ for which was beautiful. When we got back to Oma’s house, I sat on the terrace with Peter and Elaine and Opa Gunther and we talked more about places I could travel and they gave me advice on smart ways to travel. Elaine also complimented me on being 18 and already having such a strong grasp on how to see the world. That made me so happy! After this everybody loaded up in the cars and we drove to another town. When we got out of the cars we were picked up by horses and a carriage! It was so much fun, we went through the forest, the vineyards, and other areas. The boys were even able to sit on the front bench and pretend to be driving the carriage. Peter brought the accordion and played music and sang during part of the ride. I think everyone really enjoyed the ride. When we went back to Oma’s house, I played in the backyard with the younger boy and there was only a little bit of crying, but he got over it really fast, which I was thankful for. We took our dinner to go because it was getting close to the kids’ bedtime. We said goodbye to the French and I told them it was such a pleasure to meet them! We stayed the night at Opa Kalli and Oma Edith’s house.

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22 September: Today we ate a delicious breakfast and then Opa Kalli, the boys, the dad and I all walked to the playground. We played for a little while and then we walked to the fire station. They were having an open house to celebrate 150 years of volunteer firefighters, so the boys were able to play in a bouncy house. Then there was a small parade that showcased every type of vehicle the fire station drives. There was also a marching band and a few clubs from the city who sported their traditional, professional wear. After this, we all drove to another city and met Opa Kalli’s parents for lunch. They were nice, but I didn’t have the opportunity to converse with them too much. And now, I am back home.

This was a really great week! I really enjoyed all of the new people who I met and all the new experiences I had. I’m excited for the coming week and for all the future has in store for me!