So, today I did a final bit of shopping for Germany related items... which today included tank tops, a frisbee, a map of europe, and map pins. It seems as if I finally have everything on my list, but this could change. I also did a bit of shopping in my closet and figured out what shirts/pants/etc/etc I'm going to bring with me (not a whole lot).

My creation of a SchülerVZ account was quite productive, as I received a friend request and wall post from a boy with whom I'll be going to school next year. If I'm correct in my assumptions, we'll even be in the same grade. He is a vegetarian and likes punk rock. I am very excited about this, even though he is sixteen (I will have to get used to this). A potential friend, indeed.

In other news, I have also created a SmugMug account (per the constant badgering of a certain Jeremy Willette) for my photos of the upcoming year. It's much cheaper than an external harddrive and puts my pictures on display for all to view. The link is daniellesmith.smugmug.com. Clearly there are no Germany photos yet, but I've put up some lovely shots of my American friends, my family vacation to Hungary, and my graduation. I figure folks in Germany may be interested to see these things.

The official countdown to departure for DC is fifteen days. I have no idea what I'm going to do with myself until then, but at least for the upcoming week I've got lots of friends to say goodbye to. Quite sad, but inevitable I suppose.

That's all for now.
Dani

Today I spent the day gathering my belongings and making a big pile of everything I'm bringing to Deutschland. I even did a test pack and weighed my suitcase for kicks, it came in at only 25 pounds! And I have 44. So maybe I can bring those rainboots after all, or soccer cleats. I then talked to my host sister on Facebook for a while and set myself up a SchülerVZ account (German equivalent of Facebook).

I'm getting excited! Only three weeks until I leave the country... craziness!

Above are some more photos from my host family! They have a beautiful yard and garden and a super cute dog named Bruno! Also, the bedroom is mine. It is cute and wonderful and I love it. I have been emailing back and forth (in German!) with my host sister Maria and we're also facebook friends. I went through my closet yesterday and have really started to think about packing... it's three weeks until I leave! I'll be on the same flight to DC as my friends Sorrel and Nate. More updates and details on packing as I get closer! Tschüss!

Big news! I got my host family! I received an email from them yesterday and I spoke with my host sister on facebook chat today. I'll be living in Spremberg, which is in the state of Brandenburg. I'm in between Berlin and Dresden (both are about an hour and a half away) and 25 km from the Polish border. I'm really happy to be in the north and the former East Germany.

I have a host mom (Ramona) and dad (Jörg), a 22 year old host sister (Maria), a 24 year old host brother (Martin), a yellow lab (Bruno), and a cat. I'll be living with my host mom mostly since my host dad and siblings live in Berlin during the week for work and school, but everyone comes back to Spremberg on the weekends.

Maria's boyfriend lives in Leipzig, and he's in a band! Maria said that I can go with her to his gigs and other concerts there. She also likes soccer and will take me to the stadium to watch FC Energie Cottbus, her favorite team.

I'm so excited! This finally feels real. She sent me some photos of their house and yard, which I'm trying to figure out how to post. Check back for them, I suppose.

Getting closer...

This weekend I finally found out my official flight information! I will be leaving the USA on September 10th and arriving in Frankfurt, Germany on September 11th. I've also bought my flight ticket to Washington DC for my CBYX orientation that begins on September 7th.

Unfortunately, there's still no word on a host family for me, but many others have found out so I should hear any day now. I'll update again as soon as I find out.

In the meantime, I'm working at Bowdoin Day Camp and trying to learn some more German... I'm getting really excited!