Leaving

I'm sorry to tell anyone who actually reads this that I will be returning to America earlier than planned. It's a long, complicated story, but I have decided to go home and will be flying out within a matter of days.

The hardest part of this is walking away from my friends. A lot of them think I should be happy to be going home, but the thing they don't understand how hard it actually is. I don't know if I'll ever see any of them again. That's the hard part. Walking away from a second home. A second life. A second family made of some really great friends and some of the best people I have ever met. This past week has been harder than I could've ever imagined. Telling all my friends that suddenly I was flying home just broke my heart. I can already feel the pain of saying goodbye to them in person, of boarding that flight, of sitting on that plane for hours knowing that I might never again see any of the amazing people I'm flying away from, and of those first few days back when it all starts to set in that I'm no longer with some great friends. I keep asking myself why it hurts so much to say goodbye to people who were complete strangers to me less than a year ago. Now that I know these people, I just can't picture my life without them in it. It's hard to think about going to school and walking through the halls without them being there.

I do not regret a single moment of my time spent in Germany. I have grown so much in such a little time. I have experienced another culture in a way that most people never get the chance to. I became integrated with another culture. My German is definitely not perfect, but it improved so much throughout my time here and so much more that it ever could've in a year in a German class in America.

To any of my German friends: Ich wollte nur sagen...danke. Ihr habt dieses Jahr das beste Jahr meines Lebens gemacht. Ich kann euch NIE genug für alles danken. Ich wünschte, ich konnte die nächsten 10 Wochen bei euch bleiben, aber leider kann ich nicht. Deutschland ist jetzt meine zweite Heimat und ihr seid meine zweite Familie. Wörter können nicht beschreiben, wie viel ich euch vermissen werde :( Ich hab euch so viel lieb. ♥ Vergesst das nie.

P.S. If anyone who goes to Tallwood High School happens to be creeping on my blog and reads this, DO NOT TELL LIZ OR KATE!!!! I'm planning on surprising them. In fact, don't tell anyone. The more people I can surprise, the more fun it'll be. Thanks :)

Next Year's CBYXers

I know some of the people coming to Germany next year through CBYX are reading my blog. I already know a few of you through facebook, but for any others who have any questions, want any advice, or just want to talk to someone who understands how EXCITING this is, feel free to contact me either through my blog or my facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rachel.tempesco

Good luck to everyone who will be able to enjoy this truly amazing, once in a lifetime experience next year! :)

-Rachel

Frohes Neues!

Well, I think it's been about 3 months since I actually took the time to type up something, but Monday was New Years Eve, or Silvester as they call it in Germany. Definitely loads of fun! I went to a party with some friends, got a little drunk, smoked a little shisha, and shot of fireworks in the street at midnight.

The moment when 2013 hit and everyone was hugging everyone saying "frohes neues", was full of emotion. I have to admit that I did tear up a bit, not because I was sad or anything, but because when that moment hits, you think about everything that has happened in the past year. Last New Years, I had just submitted my application for CBYX and this time, I was in Germany with some of the most amazing people ever. This year has definitely been the fullest year of my life. I have done so much! I have fortunately made so many new life long friends, but I have unfortunately drifted from others. It is in that moment that you realize just how truly amazing your life is. How many other people have two lives? Well I do and I love them both.

I'm extremely excited to spend the next half year in Germany, but I am freaking out at the moment about how my year is half way over. I just want to go back to August, so I can have my whole year back. Time just goes by way to fast and I'm going to wake up tomorrow and be on the flight home. I am no where ready for that! I am no where ready to leave my new life here and the amazing people who were strangers to me in August, but mean so much to me now.