Surprise visit in the States 🫢🇺🇸

Hi! 🤗 

First of all, sorry that nothing has come for so long. 😅 But you know, there were all the university finals in June and July and then I also had to pack for my 'little' trip. So, I visited my friends in America at the ranch and my host family in Virginia. Once again it was a really nice time. ☺️

I took the train from my home to the Munich airport. It was really convenient, so I could leave my car at my house. After 11 hours and 15 minutes and a layover in Iceland, where I almost missed my connecting flight, I landed in Washington D.C. 🛬 Picked up by my host family, I went to my second home in the States. Arriving in Richmond at night, I then had to lie down. 💤

I had planned my time to be with my host family a few days before and a few days after, and fly to the ranch a week in between and surprise all my friends.

One day we went to the mountains in Virginia. ⛰️ The Blue Ridge Mountains are really beautiful! 😍 It took us a little while to get to the top of the mountain, but it was definitely worth it. We also visited a small abandoned village where people used to live. The deer 🦌 there are not shy at all and do not run away when you approach them. Quite different from the deer here with us in Germany. 🇩🇪 So I was able to make my first selfie with a deer. Unfortunately it did not look. 😂

After this trip we strengthened ourselves in a restaurant very close by. When I got the pizza Margarita, my eyes widened. 👀 The pizza was much larger than I had thought and could have been for two to three people. But yeah, it gave me lunch for the next day. 😅

Another day we went to an arcade in Richmond. 🎰 ♠️ The place was called 'Short Pump.' I had never been to an arcade before. Quite loud in there. We played game after game until all the chips were used up. At the end you could buy some little things with the points you got. So all kinds of toys, sweets or small helpful items. For technical devices, of course, you needed to win a very high number of points. But most of all I enjoyed the time with my host family during the time there. 😁

On July 24th, I flew to the ranch. From Richmond I went to Erie. 🛫 Once there, I was picked up by a friend. Only she knew from the ranch that I was coming. Since the ranch was full due to summer camps being held again and there would have been no room for me, I slept at the house from a former staff lady in the next town over. 🛌

As we all know, the first day at the ranch was the best. You should have seen all the stunned faces. 😂 🫢 I really had my fun with it. I pretended I never left the ranch and got right back into character. The time was way too short, but my opinion is if you don't go, you can't come back.' 🤷🏼‍♀️ Next time I will probably not come in the middle of summer camps, but during the school year. There was definitely enough time to catch up with each other and catch up on things. 😊

One morning I helped Christina, the girl I stayed with for the time, sell her vegetables. There is a market in the park every Friday morning. And poof, I was at the cash register collecting with dollars. 🧾💵

Then back at my host family I had 6 days left of my trip. I went with them to the horse farm and was able to ride again. 🏇🏻 The mother of the student is a riding instructor and had offered me to participate in one of her lessons. There I was of course! 🤗

The next weekend we went to a funeral. The aunt had passed away during the time I was at the ranch. Funerals are actually almost the same as we have in Germany. It was just a memorial service, though, because the body was cremated. ⚱️ That was a difficult time, but we got through it well together. I also knew the aunt and was able to have some good conversations with her. 😢

Then it was time for me to say goodbye again on August 7. So fast, as the time ran, you can not even look. 🏃🏼‍♀️ But we said goodbye with the words: See you! 🙋🏼‍♀️ I think we all know that this is only a temporary goodbye - the ranch and my host family. 😜

The trip back was a bit exhausting. 🫠 My flight was supposed to leave Washington D.C. at 8:35 pm. Due to severe thunderstorms ⛈️ we had a delay. Then there was another technical problem in the cargo hold, which caused the unloading and reloading of the suitcases again. 🧳 With a delay of two hours, we could finally take off at 10:35pm. 🛫

Arriving in Iceland I missed my connecting flight in the morning and had to wait for the next flight, which would fly three hours later to Munich. I was really lucky that there was still a flight to Munich that day. 😬✈️

Arriving in Germany, I of course also missed my booked train. 🚆 So I had to clarify first, how that looks now, whether I get a new ticket as a replacement or would have to buy a new one. Luckily I just got a cancellation of my train commitment of the old ticket. Since I could never really sleep on airplanes, I was accordingly very tired, so it also happened to me that I asked an airport employee in English where to get to the trains. But yes, otherwise I was glad to be back home. Two hours later as planned, but still on the day. I fell into bed for the time being. 🛏️

The next morning I had to work again. So I could feel a little bit of jet lag. But now it goes again. 🤭

So what do my next few weeks look like? My 3rd semester only starts again on October 2. 👏🏻 At the moment I'm just going to work and at the end of August I'm going to spend a week with my family in the Sauerland. My brother is celebrating his 25th birthday and I don't want to miss a third time. Besides, it's been two months since I was last there. 🫣

So folks, studying is when you slide from stressful phases into relaxed phases. The results of the last semester will be announced in mid-September.

Until then for now. This has been the July blog entry. But the August blog entry will also come. 😉 This time I was really late... That's why I set the date back to July 31th. That way no one gets confused.

See you soon. 😃