Friday, June 29 - Clarah

Hello all blog readers, it's Clarah!  Today we went to Dachau, a concentration camp.  It was very surreal and sad. 

After that we went to lunch and a lot of us got ice cream.  We then traveled to the Deutches Museum (NB from Frau S - Germany's Smithsonian) and we saw a reconstruction of a mine, information about oceans, and solar systems (NB from Frau S - there is also lots more to see but we had limited time).  We then had a few hours for dinner and a little shopping time before bed.  We all spent time starting to repack our suitcases to head home.

Friday, June 29 - Zoe

I knew today was going to be rough.  I expected to cry my eyes out and be depressed for the rest of the day.

Today we visited Dachau, the first concentration camp.  Inside the camp, the perimeter walls still stood.  Two barracks were reconstructed and the crematorium haunted the back corner.

Everyone knew the mood of the day.  We thought we were prepared, but as soon as you stepped past the gate, which states "work makes you free" the air felt hotter, heavier.  No one, and nothing, can prepare you to visit a World War II concentration camp.  We watched a heart wrenching documentary, walked through the museum, the barracks and the crematorium.  I think for everyone, the crematorium was the hardest part.  First you walked through a forested area which hosts mass burials of ashes.  Thousands upon thousands of human remains lay right beneath your feet.  Then, you walk past execution sites, paths are worn into the ground where tourists will walk 5 feet back to the wall to touch the surface that was once stained with blood.  I don't know if anyone from our group did that, no one wanted to get that close.

The crematorium consisted of maybe 6 rooms.  Rooms where piles of bodies were once stored.  Rooms where clothes were stripped from the deceased.  Rooms where prisoners would shovel fellow prisoners bodies into coal burning stoves.  You can still see the ashes. Each step I took tightened a knot in my stomach, chipped away at my emotional strength, and reaffirmed my lack of faith.  We all asked ourselves how and why.  I want to share this experience with you, but if I write more I will cry again.  I get chills just thinking about it.

Leaving Dachau lifted a weight from everyone's shoulders.  We went to lunch afterwards.  Just a quick meal near one of the train stations.  I felt really, really drained.  I fell asleep 3 times on the 20 minute ride and if you know me, you know that I NEVER TAKE NAPS.  I became exhausted just climbing the 15 steps in the station.  After lunch I went back to the hostel.  I couldn't do any more except sleep.  My whole being was emotionally drained.

Okay.  I know I've written a lot.  But I like to write.

The whole day wasn't bad.. Hannah and I shopped for souvenirs at the Marienplatz, and navigated around our second major city together.  We make a pretty good team.  We shared some laughs and bonded while eating crappy pizza then rushed to our meeting point to find the rest of the group.

Now I am packing.  Tomorrow is our last day, then home.  Honestly I am so ready to hug my parents and sleep in my own bed.

Thursday, June 28 - Hannah

Today we got up early, ate breakfast, and made our way to Mike's Bike Tours.  We rode 2 hours on a bus until we got to Neuschwanstein Castle.  After arrival, we hopped on our bikes and took a one hour bike tour through the woods along the mountain.  The scenery was beautiful and despite the rain we all survived the bike ride.  Post bike tour we ate a yummy lunch at a restaurant and I ate the beef goulash.  After lunch we faced the biggest challenge of the day, the dreaded hike up to Neuschwanstein Castle. This hike is 20 minutes up a steep hill that never seemed to end.  On the way up we were all jealous of Frau and Mrs. Laufenberg because they got to take the bus up (NB from Mrs. L - we have done the climb on previous trips LOL) but in the end I felt proud that I conquered the hill.  The view on the top was also a bonus.  We then went on a bridge and saw a view of the castle and then toured the interior of the castle.  We got o see the detailed mosaic floor of Ludwig's throne room and other cool paintings throughout the castle.  After the tour we hopped on the bus and went back to the youth hostel.  All in all it was a good day.  :)

Before the hike up to the Castle

Schloss Neuschwanstein

Bavarian Countryside Bike Ride

Wednesday, June 27 - Caleb

Hello all!  We spent the day today taking in the sights of Munich.  After breakfast, we walked down to the Marienplatz, one of the central locations of Munich.  From there we split into groups to do a scavenger hunt.  We went throughout the city in search of historic sights.  We saw quite a few churches that were really beautifully built.  After that, we started on the bike tour of the city.  (NB from the Frau's - we had a private guided bike tour of the city with Mike's Bikes and the most amazing tour guide ever Dani - she did the tour 2 years ago as well and remembered us!) My favorite sight of the bike tour was the English Garden.  Its this massive park, larger than Central Park in New York with a manicured lawn and a small stream running through the middle.  After that we got lunch at the world's second largest biergarten.  After lunch we went to see the river surfers.  After the tour we spent the rest of the day at the Modern Art Museum (NB from Frau S - Pinakothek der Moderne).

Wednesday, June 27 - Peter

On Wednesday, I did a walking tour around the city and go to see most of Munich (pictures included).  I was able to see many of the amazing buildings and memorials including a community made memorial for Michael Jackson.  Later on we went to the Modern Art museum in Munich and we saw lots of weird looking objects and many famous paintings too.  We were there for about 2 hours.  After returning to the hostel, some people decided to do makeovers.

Tuesday, June 26 - Emma

Today we woke up in Salzburg, Austria and left for Munich, Germany on a train.  The trip was 2 hours long, and when we arrived we had a busy day ahead of us.  After checking in to the youth hostel, we went to the Schloss Nymphenburg gardens and looked at the scenery.  My favorite part of the garden was the statues of the Roman gods around the fountain at the back.

After the gardens we went to the Olympic Tower and the Rock 'n Roll Museum.  The view was breathtaking from the terraces at the top, and the jukeboxes had some great songs.  It took a while, but eventually we got the jukeboxes working, and listened to "Hound Dog" by Elvis, "Under Pressure" by Queen, and "Imagine" by John Lennon.  By the time we finished at the tower, it was getting late, so we rode a couple of trains and walked back to the hostel and finally went to bed.

Monday, June 25 - Izzy

On Monday we went and saw the Hohensalzburg Fortress.  It was beautiful.  Frau S, Kira, and I did the audio tour.  We went into the torture chamber, which is the only access to the castle dungeon.  Then we went to the watch tower and we could see all of Salzburg!  We could see everywhere we went on the Sunday bike tour.  You could see the old city walls.  The audio tour was actually really cool and informative.  After that, we walked through the King's quarters which did not have a heat source. After that we walked through the marionette museum.  Once we finished at the fortress we went to lunch and shopping.  Elisha and I found an ornament store and it just kept going.  The store was massive. Once we got back to the youth hostel we did face masks and it was super awesome.

Monday, June 25 - Kat

Today is our last full day in Salzburg.  We woke up pretty early to get a good start on our day.  We first started off by taking a cable car to the top of a mountain where a huge fortress stood.  We had 2 hours to go off in groups to explore it more in depth.  We looked a lot at the exterior and were only able to go into parts of the inside, but it was very beautiful everywhere.  After that, we broke up into groups and got to go see things that we wanted to.  I was in a group with Peter, Caleb, and Gabe.  Our first stop was this Asian restaurant and we ate some really good ramen.  After lunch, we went shopping and we all found some good finds at H&M.  After we had our shopping at a few other places too we met back up with the rest of the group and headed back to the hostel.  At the hostel we all gathered together and did face masks.  It was super fun and even all of the guys did it!  In addition to this we packed and hung out in our rooms due to some quite noisy neighbors.  Then Hannah and I cleaned up our room, jammed to some music, and just enjoyed our last night in Salzburg. 

<3 Kat

Sunday, June 24 - Kira

On Sunday, we started our day off by going up in a cable car to the top of a mountain! It was really cool and really pretty and we got to explore on top of the mountain for a bit and take pictures.  We had yummy cheese pizza for lunch and then we headed to our bike tour!  It was a 2 hour bike tour all around the city learning about the places where scenes from "The Sound of Music" were shot.  It was super cool and really interesting!  I almost crashed a couple of times, but it was fun and the ride was my favorite part.  We saw the river where the kids were playing with Maria, the Abbey, the gazebo where Sixteen Going on Seventeen happened, the place where they sang Do Re Mi, and we got to see an old cemetary and try an apple strudel pretzel (delicious!!!).  It was a great day!  I can't wait for the rest of travel week!

Sunday, June 24 - Emma

Today we woke up in the Youth Hostel in Salzburg, Austria.  We ate breakfast at 8:00AM and then got on a bus to head to the mountain.  Most of the group took a cable car to the top, but those that were afraid of heights stayed on the ground.  The top was very foggy, but during the ride up and down the group took some great pictures of the town and scenery.

Once we descended, we ate lunch an Italian Restaurant.  Kira, Gabe and I  split two pizzas, on margherita and one four cheese with spinach, and then I had apple strudel for dessert.  After lunch we went on a bike tour around the town that featured the landmarks shown in the movie "The Sound of Music".  We saw the Abbey, the Pavillion, the river, and other famous scenes from the move.  Then we got ice cream and went back to the hostel and ate dinner.

Saturday, June 23 - Caleb

Today we said goodbye to our partners.  We left for the train station at 10 in the morning, with a really sad car ride.  Once we got to the train station we met up with the rest of the GAPPies and started saying our goodbyes. There was a lot of hugging and a lot more crying.  I don't think anyone was really ready to leave their host families. After one final group hug with all of the GAPPies, we got on the train and left for Salzburg.  After a very long train ride, and some more crying, we arrived at the Youth Hostel and settled in to our rooms.

Saturday, June 23 - Gabe

Today was a super sad and emotional day.  We are leaving our host families and taking a very long train so Salzburg, Austria.  Almost everyone cried except Caleb.  After the extremely long train trip, we arrived at Salzburg JUFA Youth Hostel and ate dinner.  After checking in to our rooms we went downstairs and hung out to watch Germany win their match.  We hung out in the rain on the patio and celebrated before returning to our rooms for a night of rest.

Saturday, June 23 - Gareth

Today is the first day away from our homestay.  We all had to say goodbye at the train station and it was really sad for everyone.  It was really hard to leave my partner Clara and her parents Frank, Suzanne, and Phillip.  We had an 8 hour train ride.  We had a little stressful moment on the train when we ended up in the wrong cart of the train and we had to drag our suitcases through the crowd.  It was awkward.  The train ride got better once we got settled and we played Head's Up and other games on the train.  We got to Salzburg, Austria and the hostel around 7.  We had dinner and then settled into our rooms.  We watched the World Cup and Germany won their game that night! I am excited for travel week.

Bettkastel 2018 Slideshow

All of the kids were asked to submit photos they took during the homestay and Kat and Kira put them into a slideshow that we played on Thursday night during the farewell party.  

Friday, June 22 - Elisha

School today was soooooo boring.  All everyone did was sit around and hang out if they didn't go to church to wait for their final grades, so I stayed in the classroom to do my bullet journal for July, which was peaceful.  The last day of school seemed like ours in watching the seniors leave, except everyone seemed like a senior.  Everyone in GAPP met up at a local ice cream shop down the hill form the school for a treat, which turned into a 2 hour hangout, but it was very nice.  After eating and talking, half of us walked to a local grocery store to buy snacks.  German grocery stores have a lot better food than us, and they are just cooler in general, but not sure how though.  The shelves seem shorter than American grocery store shelves and there's no aisle just for cereal!  I'm not sure how they live without cereal, but they do.  They have a super small selection of boxed mixes for cakes, muffins, etc, which was nice to see compared to us having anything you can think of in a box.

Our original plan was to see a German rapper in Saarbrueken that night with Mona and Hannah but we were all too tired so we just went to the big shopping are with Gabe and Flo tagging along.  We all rode the train together and we split into two groups where we all just shopped.  I spent 70 Euros on one sweater and have no regrets.  We went into H&M and all tried on ice cream hats and played awards with them.  We almost missed the train again (we nearly miss it almost every time), so we had to walk really fast and we made it.  When we got back home we went to the local garden to meet up with everyone again and have one last hangout in Germany.  We played star tipping and took Polaroids of whoever got spinned to make them blind and dizzy and to get a funny Polaroid out of it.  We all made our way to the Doener and pizza shop to eat and get warmed up since it was colder out.  This night was also a bittersweet moment.  At midnight everyone sang happy birthday to me and gave me a big group hug and then everyone gave me a hug individually.  They planned that beforehand and it made me cry.  I usually hate my birthday but everyone in GAPP made it the best one yet.

Friday, June 22: Last day of school @ VdL - Peter

We started the day off by going to a church service dedicated to the students moving up by graduating their grade.  We later went to school for the students to get their report cards.  Their grades go from a 1 -15 with 15 being the best.  After all of the school stuff we went to go eat ice cream with the big group and then I hung out with some of Seb's friends.  At night we had a party with the Americans and the Germans at the Orangerie.  Late at night we decided to star tipping which was really fun, then we wished Elisha a happy birthday by singing to her at midnight.  We then called it a night and said goodbye to some of the people we wouldn't see at the train station the next day.

Thursday, June 21: Kira (Farewell Abend)

Thursday morning we went to school and practiced for our "talent" show that night and then I went to go play a game for the last lesson of the day.  We played a game from France where you had to throw a big ball as close to a smaller ball as you can.  My team lost but it was really fun!

(NB from Frau S:  today was "Wandertag" at school, so there were no classes.  Each class decided with their form (homeroom teachers) what they were going to do for the day.  Frau Buhr's 7th grade decided to hike and then get ice cream after, the 5th graders were playing group games such as tug-o-war and blind man's bluff, the 10th grade was learning how to play boules).

Bettkastel 2018!

Later that night, we had our goodbye party.  We had Emma singing "Riptide", the Spice Girls, Drew sang "Demons", Peter played guitar, Gabe sang "A Whole New World", Emma and Drew sang a duet and then our group dance.  Everyone did really well and the Germans loved it!  We also had a fingerfood buffet and gave our host moms flowers and just hung out talking about the trip.  It was bittersweet because it was so much fun but it reminded us we have to say goodbye in a couple of days.

I am definitely going to miss my host family, more than I thought I would, but I am excited for travel week!

Thursday, June 21: Selfie Day!

Hannah & Mona

Thursday was Selfie Day, so I asked the students to take a selfie with their partners to put up on the blog.  I have to transfer pictures from my phone, but here are a few to get started...

Clarah & Jill

Zoe & Pauline

Drew and Sofia

Gareth & Clara R.

Kat & Sophie

Elisha & Clara K.

Izzy & Michi (Michelle)

Gabe & Florian

Peter & Sebastian

Emma & Nalie

Friday, June 20th - Drew

Today was school project day.  We worked on our posters and hung out.  My groups poster was focused on Amish people.  After we worked for a while, we had an American meeting and wrote letters for our host families.  A few people broke down crying and I helped comfort some of them.  It was very emotional for some of us.  We had to come back to school later in the day for Schulfest, which is a bunch of different projects that were put together by classes to raise money and fill the last few days.  The GAPP group sold hot dogs and sweets.  I spent a lot of time with my friends just enjoying each others company while we were there.  Towards the end of Schulfest we went into Blieskastel to get ice cream and finally headed home to bed.

Wednesday, June 20th: Gareth

Today was project work day.  We worked until 1:00.  Our project was a poster about Bettendorf High School.  This poster was for the Schulfest later this evening.  It was to teach people about Bettendorf High School (NB from Frau S: other groups made posters about the Quad Cities, Chicago, Sports and Customs in the US, etc.  Each group was a mix of German and American GAPPies in groups of 5 or 6).

Later that night, we went back to school for the Schulfest from 6-8.  Most of us went around visiting the different stations and bought different foods.  It was all to raise money for each project.

(NB from Frau S:  Schulfest is the culmination of Projekt Woche at VdL.  Students finished all of their classes the week before and are required to attend a set number of days of school per year, so the final week of school is spent on different projects.  Some class forms choose a charity to support, some beautify the school by building benches and other outdoor furniture, others are focusing on raising money for the Abitur class (rising seniors for the next school year) and our GAPP group did the poster presentation and also sold "American Hot Dogs" and desserts to raise money for their trip to BHS this fall. )

Tuesday, June 19th: Hannah & Clarah

The whole GAPP gang in the Roman gate

Hello!  It's Hannah & Clarah! Today we visited Mainz and we visited 2 different churches and a Roman Gateway.
(NB from Frau S:  the entire GAPP group of 31 students and 4 adults went on this field trip, which was led by my good friend and former GAPP Partner Josef Zeimentz.  Josef is a retired English teacher from Gymansium Nieder-Olm, which is near Mainz).






In one of the churches , we walked around the path in the Kloister where the monks would go to read and recite passages from the Bible.

(NB from Frau S:  St. Stephan's is the home of the Chagall Windows, created by the Jewish artist Marc Chagall as a reconciliation gift between Germany & France.  Chagall's windows that he created during his lifetime are all colored stained glass mixed with blue, ones created after his death are just panes in different shades of blue.  Learn more here: https://st-stephan-mainz.bistummainz.de/)

St. Stephen's with some of the Chagall windows

Chagall Fenster (Altar): Frau S

Kloister Walk

Interior of the Mainzer Dom

And the other church (NB from Frau S:  the Mainzer Dom *cathedral) we saw was much older style of church (Romanesque).  Both churches were  approximately 1000 years old.

Mainzer Marktplatz with Dom on the right

This crucifix was carved in 748. Moved to the Dom from a nearby village for "protection".
It is housed in a side chapel in the cathedral.
Photo: Frau S

The Roman gateway had 2 divots where carts used to pass into the city

Southern Gate of the Roman fortress at Mainz

Mogontiacum

(NB from Frau S: Mainz is a city that has more than 2000 years of history.  See the link above, if you'd like to learn more!  The gate the students are standing in was the southern gateway into the city and was found while digging the basement levels of the apartment complex that now exists on the Kupferberg)

Then we spent a few hours hanging out and shopping.  On the train ride home we all tried German and English tongue twisters and had  a good laugh whenever one of us would mess up.  We arrived home late, and Mona, Ina and I (Hannah) had a barbecue and watched the sunset over Blieskastel.  It was a very relaxing way to end our busy day.  😊

Friday, June 18 - Izzy

Today was the start of project week.  We (Germans and Americans) researched Bettendorf High School, the I80 Truck Stop, Chicago, American sports and culture, and the Amish.  We were sort of productive, but we really were just talking (NB from the Frau's - DUH we knew that the whole time LOL).  My group researched facts about Bettendorf High School.  We taught our partners all about the high school.

After school Michi, Marie, and I went to Sankt Ingbert and ate lunch. It was a delicious vegetarian burger.  After we headed home, and then Michi and I took a nap.  After we woke up, we ate dinner and hung out on the balcony and talked until we went to bed. 

Monday, June 18: Kat

Today at school we made posters for Schulfest, which is on Wednesday.  I was tasked with making a poster for the Quad Cities and I was in a group with Peter, Elisha, Carina and Anna.  We wrote down info about the QC and wrote down attractions that we thought were the best to have.  We were only at school until 1:00, so after we went home and ate lunch.

After lunch, Sophie and I went on a bike ride to France!  It's crazy how close it is!  We hopped on a bike path and took about a 30 minute ride and then we were in France! 

The rest of the night was pretty relaxing.  We finished watching Beauty and the Beast and then called it a night.  It's weird to think we only have 5 days left with the people I would call my best friends. 

Thursday, June 21 - Elisha

Elisha again.  Today was our going away party.  We practiced our talent show twice and cried a lot. For our little party we had a talent show.  5 Americans did a performance which was singing, playing the piano, playing guitar, and then all of the Americans danced to a song and grabbed everyone's partners to dance together which caused a big crying fest.  After the show we gave our host families a bouquet of flowers as a thank you as well as taking pictures of everyone in groups and with friends that were made during the month.  Then everyone sat down and ate pizza and whatever food each family brought.  Once everyone was finished, the GAPPies went to a local garden to hang out and then down to one of the local ice cream shops down the hill.  It all lasted a few hours.  It was a real bittersweet moment because it was nice being with everyone and just enjoying ourselves but everyone also knew we would be leaving soon.  Jonas, my host brother, and I walked back to the house to watch Pulp Fiction since I was feeling down about leaving, and then I went to hang out with Clara more.

Sunday, June 17 - Kira

Sunday morning I got to sleep in and play board games with Frau Sevenin until we had to go to a celebration of Marita's gymnastics group. There were kids of all ages showing us the skills they learned this year.  First there was a group of the youngest kids walking across a balance beam, jumping over bars and through hoops, and doing somersaults.  Then, there was a group of kids from 6-16 doing trampoline tricks and flips.  Finally, Marita's group went and it was a group of older kids from about 10-18 years old.  They did cartwheels, jumps, somersaults, and flips.  They also did leapfrogs and all of the kids laid down on the mat and  one of the older boys jumped over all of them and then ended with a flip. It was really cool and really impressive! They had a couple of other acts go like a band and group of older people doing a workout with music on stage.  At the end there was a huge group of people, including Marita's dad, that was a gymnastics group who did a show with different stunts and really impressive flips.  There was also a band in the background playing for the show group and Carmen's boyfriend was the drummer.  It was really fun and interesting to see.  We went home and watched the World Cup and we were really upset that Germany lost.  The weekend was really fun and full of a lot of interesting things about German culture. 

Saturday, June 16 - Caleb

Hello again, Caleb here.  Today my host family and I went on a trip to Heidelberg, a large city in southwestern Germany.  There we visited Heidelberg's castle and various shops in the old town. 

The castle is a massive stone fortress set high up on a green hill and from it you have the perfect view of the entire city, which was very beautiful.  The architecture of the castle itself was very beautiful.  Unfortunately the only part of the castle open to the public was the wine cellar.  Throughout town there were various sculptures and fountains, and there are also 2 very large, very old churches in the city.

While we were there, we visited quite a few little touristy stands and shops.  We had lunch at a restaurant with an interesting fairy tale theme, which had an interior that looked like a forest.  After having burgers, we went to this really cool little record shop.  Overall it was very interesting to experience the city.

Friday, June 15 - Gabe

Today I didn't go to school because Florian's family had a funeral for their grandma, his mom's mom.  We drove up to Mainz early to meet up with his uncle and grandfather.  His grandfather used to be an English teacher so he liked talking to me in English about my experiences here and in America. 

The funeral was an uncomfortable scene for me so I instead sat at the restaurant that we were gathering at afterwards.  During the lunch gathering I met a lot of cool people in Florian's family.  When it started to wind down, Flo took me to a free zoo that you could walk by and see different animals living in massive forest scenery.  I saw tons of deer, sheep, and even rabbits.  Flo also took me around an awesome park that had a lot of cool sculptures and old architecture.  Towards the end of the day we traveled to Marburg where we met up with friends of Flo's parents who are from American and we ate dinner at a small Italian diner. 

Saturday, June 16 - Drew

Today was fairly laid back and chill.  After the normal school day we got ice cream with Emma and Nalie, which is nothing new.  Afterwards we caught the bus home, ate delicious noodles, and laid Sofia's garden for a bit.  Then it was time for Emma and Nalie to go home so we walked them to the bus station and then walked Sofia's dog.  We talked about what countries we had visited while we walked home.  I then lay in bed for about 20 minutes then Nalie and Emma showed back up at our house because their bus never came. They chilled out for a bit, and then they finally got picked up.  Then a few of Sofia's friends came over and we listened to music and watched Deadpool.  By the time it was over I was wiped out and went to bed.

Friday, June 15: Frau S

Well, no one who was assigned to blog today actually attended the field trip we went on, so I will fill you, our devoted readers, in on last Friday's adventures.

A group of  23 GAPPies and Frau Buhr and myself boarded a train at Homburg at noon and took a leisurely ride across Saarland to Mettlach, which the the home of the world renowned porcelain manufacturer, Villeroy and Boch.  We arrived about 45 minutes before our tour, so we walked into town and scoped out the lunch possibilities.  Frau Schaefer met us there and we teachers grabbed a quick Latte Macchiato at one of the bakeries, while most of the students grabbed a quick snack or headed to one of the 3 Eiscafes (ice cream parlors) on the main pedestrian street.  (All we seem to do on this trip is eat...😉)

After some refreshments, we headed back to the factory for our tour.  The original factory, now headquarters, is housed in an old monastery which was liquidated and sold by France to the Boch family in 1809.  The company itself has been in business since 1742.  Our tour guide was very entertaining and informative and accompanied us through the Erlebniswelt for about an hour and a half.  We learned about "bone" china and how the word was derived, how color for ceramics developed over time and even saw tiles that were left over from the outfitting of the Titanic.  Our students were dragging a bit towards the end and rested for a few minutes on a gigantic teddy bear bean bag on display in the children's area.  (Does anyone have a photo of that they'd like to share?  I don't have one!)

After our tour, we thanked our guide and gave students an additional hour or so to go back into the pedestrian zone and do some shopping or more snacking (see the corollary above about eating!).  We teachers stopped in at the V&B outlet center and purchased a gift for a friend and former GAPPie.  This year I didn't see a tea service or new dinnerware I absolutely couldn't live without, so I will not have to worry about an overweight suitcase in a week or two. 

If you'd like to learn more about V&B and their beautiful location, here is their website: https://www.villeroyboch-group.com/de/gaeste-tourismus/erlebniszentrum-alte-abtei.html

Friday, June 15: Clarah

Hello all blog readers!  This is Clarah.

It was a cloudy day Friday and we are all excited for this next weekend.  Jill and I left for Paris after school while many others went on a field trip to Mettlach (NB from Frau S - we had a guided tour of Villeroy & Boch.  Hopefully our other blogger will have a report on the field trip.)

Thursday, June 14th - Kira

Today in school we had music class and we got to watch an orchestra concert and sing together.  Then I had homeroom for 2 lessons and after that I went to go talk to the 5th graders during their English class.  They had questions ready to ask us in English and we asked them about some of their favorite things and their families.  Frau Steiner also taught them a little bit of Chinese.  It is only their first year speaking English but it is already so good!

When Marita and I got home we had homemade cherry pie and then her mom and I went to the visitors center to learn about Blieskastel's history while Marita was at practice.  We walked around the town looking at old businesses and houses and finding monuments on our map.  We had coffee with ice cream at a local Eiscafe and then we went home.  We played 3 games of Rummikub and I lost every time but it was still fun!  I also got to eat fresh chocolate bread and it was delicious! I am excited to see another village tomorrow and Marita's gymnastics competition on Saturday!

Thursday, June 14th - Hannah

Hello it's Hannah :)  Today was a pretty cool day.  First I joined in on Mona's music class and we sang all of my favorite classic American songs like "Country Roads". Later we all went to visit Frau Schafer's 5th grade English class!  They were all so sweet and thought that American money was cool.  For the second part of class Frau S taught them Chinese and they were so excited to learn Chinese! It was adorable.  After school Mona, Ina and I visited her grandma and ate some really good chicken.  Then we went hiking on a trail known for having beautiful wild orchids.  The views of the valleys and villages were amazing but my favorite thing as the black and white butterflies.  There were so many of them and as I walked by the would fly around me.  It was a peaceful way to end the day :)

Wild Orchids & View of Village

Selfie w/black butterfly

5th Grade English Class

Wednesday, June 13 - Gabe

We had an easy day today at school.  We got to sleep in an extra hour and only had to go to school for one class.  Instead of laser tag with the other GAPPies, Florian and I went to a tennis lesson with Peter and Sebastian.  I went to Florian's tennis lesson and that was a bad idea because I am terrible at sports.  Everyone I played against was really good but I improved during the lesson and I had a lot of fun. After the tennis lesson we went home and ate dinner and then my friends showed up and we hung out for a few hours.  We sat outside of Florian's house and talked for a while.  Caleb also lost his phone, but its all good because he found it again.

Wednesday, June 13: Zoe

Today was a pretty basic day, which was nice after a long week of traveling, sightseeing and adjusting to culture.  Now that I have seen more of Germany and Europe, I can conclusively declare that Europe is BEAUTIFUL.  The full effect of the dancing sunshine, rolling hills, and historical buildings cannot be accurately captured in any photo that I have taken. 

School was normal, Latin, Biology and German.  It is interesting to meet each new teachers as we switch classes in Gymnasium.  For the most part, classes are boring.  The teachers speak too fast to understand and the students discuss topics unknown to Americans.  Mostly, we pass the time by playing silent games (MASH), reading or writing.  My favorite past time, however, is playing trivia games and/or gossiping with other students.  It is so fun to learn about the quirks of both American and German culture.  We laugh a lot and share embarrassing/cute moments of discovery.

After school, I met yet another member of Pauline's family, her cousin, Julian. I feel as if I am part of the family now.  Everyone is so inviting and interested in the exchange.  They even make jokes about and around me.  For example, after being told the GAPP group will be going bowling tonight, Julian said, "Bowling, how boring.  You should go drinking."  I completely understood him and laughed along with the rest of the family. 

Thirteen members of GAPP went bowling; we laughed at our inability to hit more than 7 pins at a time and ate ice cream for the billionth time since arriving in Germany.  Everyone gets along so well in GAPP, and we all really enjoy each other's company.  It will be a harsh goodbye when the time comes. 

I think I blog again on Friday, so

bis spaeter!

Tues June 12 - Gareth

Today is Tuesday the 12th and my partner and I just went to a normal day at school.  Today we had Sport (PE). We played two German games, volleyball and dodgeball.  During homeroom we worked on our dance for the Germans and Frau asked us questions about how our homestays are going.   We went to get Doener for lunch that was amazing.  After that, we went home and before orchestra we played Mario Kart and listened to music.  Clara had Orchestra from 5:15 -7:15 PM.  She showed me a video of what they did and what songs they played.  We had chicken spaghetti for dinner which was really good and then we basically hung out until bed.

Tuesday, June 12: Kira

On Tuesday, we drove to school with Kat and Sophie and then we had French for the first two lessons of the day.  We had to research our favorite celebrity and then translate to German for our partners and then they had to translate it into French and present it to the class.  Then I went to homeroom to work on the dance for the goodbye party .  Marita and I had math for one lesson and her last lesson of the day was German.  Finally, we had a meeting with GAPP talking about our project for next week's Schulfest.  Marita is going to bake a cake with an American flag on it and I am going to make a German flag cake. 

When we got home, we had eggs, rice and salad for lunch and then Marita, her mom and I played Rumikub.  Marita won once and her mom won once.  Marita had gymnastics at 4:00, so her mom and I went shopping for the ingredients for the cakes.  Her mom and I came home and played more games until she had to leave for volleyball.   Marita came home later and we watched "The Longest Ride" together.  It is a romance movie and Marita's favorite.  It was a relaxing and fun day and I am looking forward to going bowling on Wednesday night. 

Update from Frau S.: Tues June 12

Hello, Everyone!

Saarland and the Saar-Pfalz has been experiencing some severe weather the last few days and may have made the American news.  I want to reassure parents and our blog readers that Blieskastel and environs, where we are staying during our homestay,  were not as affected as some of the other parts of the region.   Areas north and west of us have been experiencing torrential rains and the Autobahn was closed for some of the afternoon due to water on the roadway.  Many town centers were also flooded and the fire departments are busy pumping out people's flooded basements (German homes are generally not equipped with sump pumps).

Although there were heavy rains Monday afternoon and also this morning (Tuesday), we are just damp around the edges.

Das Wetter macht muede!  (This kind of weather makes you tired).  For the rest of the week, we should have a friendlier weather forecast with some cooler days and hopefully some sun and less humidity.

Bis bald!

Frau S😊

Tuesday, June 11 - Izzy

Michi and I went to class and while class was going on I wrote in my journal or did sudoku.  The classes are really hard to pay attention to when you really don't understand, but it was cool to sit in on their classes and see how they are run.

After school Michi, her brother Robin, and I all hung out and ran around.  We also played Mario Kart.  All in all, it was a good day.  I really love my host family and they make me feel a part of their family.

Monday, June 11: Kat

Hello, everyone!  It's Kat. Today was a pretty low stress day after a busy weekend.  I started off my day with Broetchen with Nutella and orange juice.  After that, Sophie and I headed to school again.  At school, we had German, homeroom, a free hour and English.  In our free hour, some of the other GAPPies and I went down to the ice cream shop at the bottom of the hill.  I got coffee ice cream in a cone and Sophie had "Cherry Mania". 

We had 6 GAPPies in English class, so we were happy to help in any way (although we might not have been the best help 😏).  After school we went home and had lunch.  We had potato-hash brown things stuffed with a creamy sauce that also had some kind of green stuff in it and a tomato-mozzarella salad.  After lunch, Marita and Kira came over and we went for about an hour walk  They showed us a park (which had a pretty cool spider-web looking swing), their elementary school and their kindergarten.  We also saw a fountain and we all splashed Kira, so she got pretty wet.  It really didn't matter though because it was also sprinkling.  I kept singing a song because I wanted it to rain harder, but it didn't work.  My song went as follows:

"rain, rain come on down, please get Kira's hair all wet"

Not very rhyming but maybe that is why it didn't work.  Of course, as soon as we got back inside there was a downpour.  After this we had a pretty relaxed rest of the day and over the course of the whole day, I had read 2 1/2 books.  For dinner, we had bread and I tried Butterkaese on it.

Well, that was my Monday.  See you next Monday blog!  :-)

Sunday, June 10th: Peter

I first started off the day  by waking up late after coming back late from Paris (we got home at 3:00 am).  We then had breakfast and then we planned to do an activity with the rest of the group.  We decided to go to the "Fun Forest".  It was a climbing area in a forest and we all enjoyed it (even though some of us didn't do as much as others).  

We then decided to rest afterwards and we had Flammkuchen for dinner.  Finally, we decided to just take a break for the night and get things ready for school on Monday.  

Saturday, June 9 - Elisha

Hello, Elisha again.  Today nothing big really happened.  We had Clarah's birthday party with her family though.  All day Clarah and I hung out in her bedroom doing nothing besides messing around on our phones and listening to music like normal until about 4:00.  Then we had to set up tables inside the house since it was raining and the whole family helped.  The party itself was kind of awkward, but there were 2 family members who lived in American and spoke English fluently so it was nice to have a conversation without it being awkward.  My housemom made everything homemade and had 3 different desserts and it was so good!!!  After attending 2 birthday parties I realized they are the same as American birthday parties.

Mom made a bunch of food for this birthday party.  There was this pork chop type of meat with a slice of American cheese, pineapple and a cherry (it looked a little odd but it surprisingly tasted too good) steamed veggies, a different type of veggies with some cheese and beans on it and it was baked, rice, and some cold tomato soup. Dessert was homemade marzipan cake from grandma, tiramisu and a yogurt with sliced strawberries.  EVERYTHING was homemade and it was amazing.  I have no idea how mom did it all in one day, she's like a chef.