Our day started with breakfast at 9 am, which consisted of croissants with Nutella and coffee. Needless to say, I enjoyed it very much. Even though Kyla S. and I hardly speak German, we managed to have a conversation about the differences in the German and American school systems. We also discussed their cat, Norris, who sleeps in my room most of the day and is named after the famous Chuck. (So it's obvious how cool my family is.) After breakfast, we went to church, which was beautiful even though it was completely incomprehensible. The best part was that it was only a five-minute walk from their house (which you can see below).
We also took a walk through their beautiful town - they live in Sachsenheim, which seems to be a sort of suburb of Beitingheim if I am not mistaken. I have never seen anything like this in my life! The only way I can attempt to describe it is through pictures:
One of the most interesting parts of the day was attempting to play board games that none of us were familiar with, especially since we had that small issue of being unfamiliar with each other's language, too. However, it ended up being really fun and a great way to get to know our family. They are all very kind - I am borrowing Johanna's computer right now so that I can post pictures. Also, they took us out for dinner at a beautiful restaurant which employs "special" people, as they said - everyone who worked there was disabled in some way. I was extremely touched by this because my older brother has autism, and it was wonderful to see that people with disabilities are so accepted here. The food was also delicious, which is always good! Below is the restaurant, and Kyla S. with our German family - Anna, Johanna, and Mr. and Mrs. Dinkel:
Finally, after dinner and ice cream (who knew hazelnut ice cream was possible?) Anna took Kyla and I to the "public viewing" - a gathering of people in the church basement to watch Germany play in the Euro Cup. It was very exciting, especially because they won! However, after such a long day, I am exhausted (and I think I've written almost too much). Guten nacht, Germany - I can't wait for tomorrow!
