At the end of class, after cleaning up our room, we were all presented with certificates of completion.
After a delicious lunch, I Skyped with my parents and then we did yet another group bonding activity. The 49 other students and I have become so close to each other over the past few weeks!
That evening, we had a talent show and every single act was spectacular! I sang “You & I” by Ingrid Michaelson (with some lyric changes so that it talked about camp) with Kaitlyn, Charlotte and Emma. After the show, we all hugged everyone else. We all got special keepsakes from camp and then I went to sleep to prepare for the following day.
Saturday morning, I woke up and finished packing my carry-on. After breakfast, we received our train tickets and said our goodbyes. I told myself that I wouldn’t cry but as soon as I got on the bus to head down to the train, I started sobbing. I miss all my friends from camp so much!
I had an 8 hour trip from Bad Laasphe to Neukirchen. I rode the train to Marburg and then boarded one to Frankfurt with five other CBYXers. The lady sitting next to me on the Zug (train) was very sweet. She did not speak much English but she shared a couple granola bars with me!
Upon arriving in Frankfurt, I had an hour until my next train departed. I said goodbye to three of my travel buddies and then Mikayla and I boarded our next train. The seat next to me was not reserved so Mikayla moved to sit with me. We were on that train for forever! She got off at Plattling but I kept going until Passau.
Once I got to the platform, I immediately recognized my host family as soon as I saw them! They even brought one of their six dogs (named Thyson) to greet me! Upon our arrival at home in Neukirchen, I met the rest of the dogs along with the cats, horses, donkeys, goats, and chickens!
Dinner was delicious (meat, cheese, potatoes, etc.) and I got to drink Orangina! My first night in my new bed was very good as well!
This morning, I was able to sleep in and then we had bread and eggs for breakfast. Then, my host father and I went walking around the area with two dogs. I also met the 11 birds (I’m not sure what kind they are) that are kept in the barn. We had a light lunch and are about to head out to do a demonstration with the dogs because some of them are rescue dogs!