What you've all been waiting for.... PHOTOS!

Here is Lotta, Gundel and Peter´s daughter, and me in Leipzig going for a walk.

(Left to right): Jonathon, Simon, me, Leonora, and Johanna in Dresden.

This is me before the world´s biggest cuck cuck clock... it is the house!

Here is inside the house/world´s biggest cuck cuck clock in Schonach.  

Here is a big statue of a Bollenhut, a hat which is known as "typical Black Forest".  In a few towns in Schwarzwald the women would where this hat, normally to a wedding.  Women wore a similar hat in Sankt Georgen, too!

Here is an original locomotive which stands next to the train station in Triberg.

Here is delicious ice cream in an Eis Café (ice cream shop).  Eis Cafés are commen in Germany, but are actually from the Italiens.  It is always so yummy and lots of people go just to hang out with friends and talk. This past week I have actually been to an Eis Café three times!  Shhhh....

Emotion Overload

As you can see by this post title... things have been crazy.  With less than 2 months in Germany, a whirlwind of thoughts are going through my head.  How has the time gone by so quickly?  Just a couple days ago it was Christmas... and now I have to go soon?  How to I get all of my things back to the US?  Then, stir in some stress.  In less than 6 weeks (vacation takes up two of those weeks) I have a test in almost every subject, I have to give presentations to the 8th and 9th grades about an exchange year and the US, and I have to do a big presentation that counts as almost my entire German grade.  And then sprinkle some sadness and excitement on top.  The friends and family that I have here are wonderful.  The school, the town, the people, the delicious food, beautiful Schwarzwald, and the amazing public transportation... I dont´t want to leave them!  They have made my time in Germany so spectacular and I know it will be hard to say goodbye.  Well, technically it´s not "goodbye", because I will come back to this town nestled on the mountainside in the Black Forest.  So instead, I am just going to say "see you later".  But mixed in with this sadness is also excitement.  Excitement to see my friends and family in the US again.  Excitement to see my town and Hoppy High.  Excitement to see how things have changed in the past year and excitement for the things that will change next year.  During my time in Germany I have given my future a good amount of thought.  I am excited to graduate next year (hopefully!) and to see where things lead me after that.  I am also looking foward to Japan this summer and experiencing a new culture!

But enough about emotions.  Three weekends ago (May 4th through May 6th) I was in Mainz and Frankfurt.  Germany, as I am sure you know, is known for its soccer.  So of course I had a goal to see a live German soccer game.  Not only did my wish come true, but I was also able to see my favorite team play and win!  Most people laugh at me when I say that Mönchengladbach is my favorite soccer team, but that doesn´t deter me.  I personally think they are the best, even though they didn´t win the Deutscher Meisterschaft (that was Dortmund).  However, they did come in 4th place from 18 teams.  I must admit, it is a bit strange that I am a ´Gladbach, especially since they are from northwest Germany and they are not that common.  But I am not a fan because they have won every year, no, I´m a fan because they have spirit.  They are the underdogs and surprised many people this year.  Last year they were almost kicked out of the Bundesliga because they were so bad, but then they got a new goalie: Marc-André ter Stegen.  He is only 19 years old and is already one of the best.  (He is my favorite player!  And Dante Bonfim Costa Santos, too!)  My first ever German soccer game that I saw (on TV) was on my birthday: Mönchengladbach vs. FC Bayern.  FC Bayern is, debately, the best team in Germany.  Well, not "best", I would say the team with the most wins overall and they are very popular.  ´Gladbach beat FC Bayern, sparking my love for the team.  Anyways, enough about how amazing ´Gladbach is... more about the game!

A very generous and cool family friend, Tim (who spent the summer by us in the US) lives in Frankfurt and was able to get two tickets to the last season game.  However, there was a problem... the game was in Mainz and he was only able to get tickets in the Fan Section for Mainz!  This section has no seats (just standing spots) and is for the die-hard Mainz fans.  It even said on the ticket that nobody was allowed to wear a jersey from the opposing team in the Mainz Fan Section.  Despite that, I had a great time.  ´Gladbach won 3:0 and in the second half of the game I was able to cheer a little bit.  (Next to me were some other ´Gladbach fans, so I figured I was safe in a group if a Mainz fan tried to beat us up...)  :)  Ah, German soccer is the best.

Before the game, Tim and I walked through Mainz a little and enjoyed the warm but rainy weather.  Mainz is a neat city with cool vibes. It is right on the Main River and has many college students.  I like Frankfurt, but there is something about Mainz that draws me in more.  Frankfurt is a big city with a skyline and all, like a mini New York.  But Mainz has a pretty inner city with some old buildings and an old cathedral.  I also think the people are friendlier and on Saturday there was a cool market in the center.  After the game, we went to the movie theater and saw Cold Light of Day.  I am proud to say, that I am able to understand German movies without German or English subtitles without a problem.  In the beginning of the year I also went to the movie theater and needless to say, I had a lot of questions.  (Normally I like to watch German videos with German subtitles.)

On Sunday, May 6th, Tim and I traveled to Bad Dürkhiem and Speyer.  Bad Dürkheim was a cute town known for the wine barrel in the world.  (Once we were there, however, we realized that there was never actually wine inside the barrel and that there is now a restuarant inside.)  Let down.  We also saw a Saline, which is a long (330 m) structure with trees and saltwater.  (It´s hard to explain...)  But this saltwater/tree structure is supposedly good for the lungs and breathing.  Many people that are sick or have asthma come here.  We then drove to Speyer, another cute German town.  Speyer has a really pretty cathedral, but it is more plain and simple, which is why I like it.  The inner city in Speyer is just for pedestrians and the road is made of cobblestones (like most German cities).  The sun decided to shine while we were in Speyer and there also happened to be a market.  Normally all shops are closed on Sunday in Germany, except for a couple Sundays in the year, which are known as "Verkaufsonntag", or Sundays on which people can sell stuff and the shops are allowed to be open.  It was nice to walk through the inner city and see different stands and the old German buildings.  It´s hard to describe, but one of my favorite things is just walking and observing old German cities with the cobblestone streets, ice cream cafés, markets, and other people who are just spending time together on Sunday.  Which is another good point.  Sunday is considered as a day of rest, but in the US not that many people follow this.  In Germany, however, this is pretty common.  Many people relax on Sundays, go for a walk or hike, or just spend time together drinking coffee and eating cake.  It was a difference for me at the beginning, because in the US I tend to always have something to do on Sunday.  Either homework, chores, or working.  But here in Germany my host family respects Sunday as a day of rest and we often just spend time together.  I enjoy sitting out in the garden with my host family and eating delicious German cake or going for a walk through Schwarzwald.  It is nice to rest before the start of the busy week on Monday.

After Speyer we drove to Mannheim, where I took the train back to St. Georgen Schwarzwald (Ausstieg in Fahrtrichtung rechts).  It was a pleasant 3 1/2 hour train ride back home, on which I read a book, did some homework, and slept.  I always love riding on the train!  It is so cool watch the scenery rush by and realize that you could go anywhere in Germany.  One time, I was with Anita, an exchange student friend of mine from Latvia, and we were on the train to Freiburg.  However, the train that we were on kept going to Basel in Switzerland after Freiburg.  We looked at each other and debated staying on the train and going to Switzerland for the day!  We almost did it except for the fact that we didn´t have our passports with us.  Bummer.  But that´s what I mean.  You can just stay on the train and going to a different country!  The public transportation in Germany is wonderful and I will definitely miss it in the US.  With the trains and buses (and walking and biking!) in German, people can travel easily from one place to the next.  It also makes it easier on the parents, because they don´t have to constantly shuttle there kids from one place to the next.  As a result, kids in Germany are, in my opinion, more independent than in the US.  But I also think that they have more responsibility too.

Also, two Sundays ago (May 13th) I had an 18.4 km race!  It is called the "Schluchseelauf" and I ran around the lake, Schluchsee.  This entire race was pretty spontaneous and I decided I would just sign up without really thinking about what I was getting myself into.  I ran cross country last year, so I had some experience but I had never run 18.4 km!  I started running several times a week, which was good because I have eaten wayyyyy too much chocolate and bread here.  And Döners!  A Döner is a Turkish food which consists of delicious meat in a pita pocket with lettuce, peppers, onions, etc. and a delicious sauce!  Anyways, I decided to run a little longer one day (for training) and I ended up getting lost and running for 3 1/2 hours!  The thing is, I live in Schwarzwald, meaning it is not flat, at all.  I don´t know how many kilometers I ran because I was randomly running through the woods hoping to find my way back home.  The day of the race came and I was dreading it.  I mean, 18.4 km is pretty long and I had no idea what my time would be and how much pain I would be in.  I started in the last group and realized that I still had some energy to go faster.  After the big hill (there are 3 km of just uphill running) things were pretty easy and I kicked it.  From kilometer 5 until the end I passed people and felt pretty good.  Up until the last 2 kilometers things were going pretty well.  Then I realized that my legs were dead.  Oh well, I pushed it up the hill to the finish line and even got a medal!  (Everyone that finished got a medal.)  I had participated in the race with some other students and teachers from my school and we all had cool "TSG Running Team" jerseys.  I finished with a time of 1:41.45 (1 hour, 41 minutes and 45 seconds).  I realized that an almost-half-marathon can be fun and I enjoyed the race, despite the length.  It was also a really nice course because we ran right next to the water almost the entire time.  The weather was perfect and overall it was a great experience.  Johanna, my host sister, also wrote me a poem for the race, so that I wouldn´t be nervous:  "Die Blumen sind bunt, das Gras ist grün, du laufst ´ne Rund, und wirst dabei dünn."  :)  (Translation: The flowers are colorful, the grass is green, you run a lap/loop, and will then be thin.)

The next two weeks are vacation!  So excited!  This Saturday and Sunday I am attending the Pfingstjugendtreffen in Aidlingen.  This is a Christian event where many teenagers come together and there are bands and speakers and lots of fun!  I am going with a couple friends.  :)  Then on Monday I am leaving with my host family for Bayern!  We are going to be spending ten days in Allgäu.  While there we will visit Munich, Dachau (a concentration camp), Lindau, and Neuschwanstein (a castle that looks like the one from Disney).  After that I will visit Anne, an exchange student friend from the US, in Regensburg for five days.  On Sunday I will come home, go to school for two days, and then leave again.  This time I will be traveling to Berlin for five days with my organisation, CBYX.  It is our End-of-Stay-Camp and we will be meeting some people from the Bundestag (German government).  Things are going to be very crazy in the upcoming weeks, but I am looking forward to it all!  :)

Anyways, I have to go study for a Gemeinschaftskunde (Social Studies) test tomorrow.  Yipee.

Have a great week!
Tschüss!
Judith

My new favorite city... Leipzig!

I just have four words to say... LEIPZIG IS UTTERLY SPECTACULAR!!!!! Honestly, this is my new favorite city in Germany, maybe even in the world! There is so much history here it's crazy! I was in Leipzig from Tuesday, 1.3.2012, until today (Saturday, 1.7.2012)! I stayed with Gundel, my mom's cousin. She is married and has three adorable little kids. Gundel also plays in the Gewandhaus Orchestra, which is a very good and famous orchestra founded by Mendelssohn a couple hundred years ago. She plays oboe and English horn. Her husband, Peter, plays double bass in a orchestra in Chemnitz. Both are great musicians. They live about 15 minutes away from the center of Leipzig and were very accommodating during my stay. Overall, I had an absolutely wonderful time! Here is a brief summary of what I did each day:

Tuesday, January 3:

I left Sankt Georgen at 6:50am with the train. (I had to first walk to the train station though at 6:30 in the morning! It wasn't bad though, just neat to walk through the quiet German town.). I didn't arrive in Leipzig until 2:45 after many train complications. But, in the end, everything worked out!

I then spent the rest of my evening playing with Gundel and Peter's children. Carla is 10, Joel is 6, and Lotta is 4. All are so sweet! Lotta was very shy at first and then suddenly she dragged me up to her room to play doctor. (I had a problem with my heart...she said it stopped beating!). :).

Wednesday, January 4:

I left early with Peter to see Leipzig! He showed me the Nikolaikirche, which was a key place in the falling of the wall between east and west Germany. Leipzig, was in east Germany, otherwise known as the DDR (Deutsche Demokratik Republik). The pastor at the Nikolaikirche held prayer services every Monday during the time of the DDR. More people began going to these prayer meetings and eventually, in 1989, there was a protest march that was held. The Stasi (aka the "police" at this time) set up guns and got ready to shoot. But then, the march began and the thousands of people that participated were holding candles and shouting "Wir sind das Volk!", which means "we are the people". The Stasi weren't able to shoot because the protestors were simply holding candles. This march was a turning point in the Soviet Union's ruling of East Germany.

We also went to the Thomaskirche where Bach was buried! The neat thing about Leipzig, is that it is not too big (it's about the size of Boston). It is a lovely city. In the center there are some streets with stores and such where cars are not allowed. There are also many old buildings from the time of Bach, but there are also buildings from the time of the DDR. For example, there is a big Post office with graffiti and it looks pretty run down. But then, towards the back of the building there is a smaller, darker building that is attached. This was where the Stasi opened all of the letters from people to make sure they didn't write anything against the government. The history in this city is amazing!

Leipzig is also known for it's printing houses. Many books and sheet music are published here. Leipzig is also called the "Messa Stadt" which means the "Trade city". Here in Leipzig there are many buildings that are a bit like a mall. It is like a tunnel through the building with stores so you can shop. Peter said that in Leipzig many people sold their wares and such. They had these buildings so that they horses with the wagons could walk through, stop at shops, and then keep going because there wasn't enough room to turn around. Peter and I then went to a Zeitgeschichte museum about the DDR. It was very well done and informative.

Then we went back to the house, had lunch, and I went back into Leipzig in the afternoon with Gundel. She had practice at the Gewandhaus orchestra, so I did some shopping and spent about and hour in a bookstore! I ended up buying a really cool poetry book with poems from Goethe and Heine. :)

Thursday, January 5:

Today I went into the city with Gundel because she had Music rehearsal. Before her practice we went to a museum called the "Runde Ecke" (translation: "Round Corner"). It used to be the Stasi office. That was interesting to see and to actually be in the Stasi office. In the museum was a lot of paraphernalia that the Stasi used. I could see tiny microphones and cameras that they put in people's homes or on the street to watch what they were doing. There was absolutely no privacy. It was crazy to see what they did and how at points it was a little similar to Hitler's Youth. The Stasi forced children in schools to shoot guns and get prepared to serve in the Stasi or army. If the children said no, their name would be written down and they would most likely be watched. In the DDR everyone was made equal. Everyone had the same amount of money, same furniture, same cars, same everything. There was no individuality. After the museum we had lunch at a neat restaurant with great food! :)

Then, while she practiced, I went to the art museum and saw a Max Beckmann exhibit. That was cool! I also ate some delicious ice cream at an Eis Cafe. (I am definitely going to miss those when I go back to the US). :). Leipzig is also nice because at all of the museums that I went to, the entrance was free!

Gundel and I then took the Strassenbahn (like a trolly/small train) back to her house.

Friday, January 6:

On Friday I visited the Völkerschlacht Denkmal. This is a monument that was built after the Napoleon battle in Leipzig in 1813. It is a massive stone structure/building and I even climbed the stairs to the top! There are huge statues of people carved into the stone they all look sad, because "Völkerschlacht" means "people battle" or a battle of the Nations. At the top it gives a beautiful 360 degree view of Leipzig! What was neat, was that almost all of the houses have red roofs giving the city a cool look.

I then took the Strassenbahn into the city and went to another bookstore and had lunch. After that I met Gundel at the Gewandhaus orchestra at I listened to her practice. She is playing a beautiful piece with a small string ensemble. It was gorgeous to hear her play. We then went home, at dinner, and then Gundel and I went back into the city because she was playing in an Opera! It is called the Rosenkavalier and I went to my first opera! I didn't stay for the entire four hours though because Gundel said it would be too long for me and the music was a bit heavy. But it was still neat to be there! And the building was built in the DDR style. It was pretty and simple, but Peter said that there are other opera buildings in Russia that are in the same style. I think that the history in Leipzig is unbelievable!

Saturday, January 7:

My last day in Leipzig (well, at least for the month of January... I have been invited back in the spring... Who knows? Maybe I'll go. I would honestly love to visit again!.). :). My train was brutally early in the morning... 5:49. But, I made it and so far, my train connections have been going smoothly. I am on the last leg of my journey from Leipzig to Schwarzwald. Right now it is raining but I expect snow in Sankt Georgen because it is in the mountains.

By the way, the weather in Leipzig was good. A bit cold and very windy, but no rain except on one day. However, there was a huge storm on Thursday night but by Friday it was partly sunny again.


This was a great vacation and I am sad that it has to end, but I am so happy and grateful that I able to visit Leipzig and what was East Germany! I might even go back to Leipzig. After all, I saw a really cool university there. I am thinking that I might want to study in the beautiful city of Leipzig. :)

In the end I left Leipzig with a satisfied feeling. I kept telling myself that I was in Germany. In Leipzig! It is crazy to think that! I am so thankful for this opportunity and everyday seems like a dream come true to me. And although Leipzig was wonderful, I am still excited to go back to my new home, Sankt Georgen im Schwarzwald. I am so happy here in Germany. I feel like the luckiest girl to be in Sankt Georgen. I have a wonderful host family that is my new family, amazing friends that I can be myself with, my German is improving, and I am in a beautiful part of Germany that also has it's own history! Perfect!

What's not perfect is that school starts on Monday. :). But that is not too bad. I think I have a Spanish test that I need to study for though! (School is actually great though, not to give the wrong idea.)

Also, as a side note, I participated in a program this past summer called HSD, or High School Diplomats. It took place at Princeton University and it was an exchange between Japan and America. I had an amazing time and I still keep in touch with my Japanese roommate. This year I applied for the second part of the program, USHSD, where I would have the opportunity to go to Japan this coming summer and tour some cities, participate in a home stay, and then go to class and have a Japanese roommate. And I am happy to announce that I got one of the 20 scholarships to be in this program! I will be going to Japan on the 21st of July, so roughly ten days once I get back from Germany!

Hope you guys have a great weekend!

Dreaming in German...

Hello everyone! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and I wish you all a blessed new year! Sorry that it has been a while. However, as a new years resolution I want to try to post more often. I am thinking once every two weeks, possibly even once a week.

And now moving on to some great news! I made a goal for myself before I came to Germany, and that goal was to dream in German by Christmas. In the first couple months that I have been here, I know that my German has improved greatly and I reached a point in November where I didn't have to translate most things from German to English or vice versa. However, that wasn't my goal, but I had a problem... I wasn't dreaming at all. Well, at least I didn't remember my dreams. But, on the night before Christmas eve I finally achieved my goal! It was actually a pretty weird dream but at least it was in German! And the reason that I know it was in German was because in my dream there was a girl that said I was American because of my accent. :(. Now that is my next goal... Get rid of my accent! Oh, and speaking about accents, two people asked me while I was helping out at a ski lift if I came from another country. I said yes and both people said they thought I was from a country in Europe! (the one said Spain!). Yeah! I was very excited, but then my host brothers assured me that I still sound like an American and that I cant pronounce the word "brötchen". The only good thing, is that here in the Blackforest they use the word "wekli" instead of "brötchen".

Right now I am on an ICE train heading to Leipzig to visit my mom's cousin for four days! I am so excited to go to Leipzig!! However, my train is late and I am going to miss my connection in Fulda, but hopefully everything will work out.

Also, I have vacation now until the 8th of January. As for Christmas... It was spectacular! Although I celebrate a German Christmas with my family in America, it was still neat to be here for Christmas in Germany! We celebrated on Christmas eve and we also put up the Christmas tree on the same day. What was really cool, was that my host mom put real candles on the tree! I have to convince my dad to do that now too! And we had a very typical German meal for Christmas dinner: meat and potatoes. I also went to church with my host Oma in the traditional evangelical church. That was really neat and beautiful. They had an amazing organ player and a great choir, so needless to say, the traditional German Christmas carols that we sang were absolutely gorgeous! Than we opened presents! I got a sweatshirt and polo shirt from my school from my host mom. I have to admit, this was the one year where I didn't expect a lot gifts and then I received so many! It sounds a bit stupid that I just figured this out now... but this year i was really able to see what Christmas is about and that the presents are just a way of showing people that you love them. I realized this Christmas that it isn't necessarily about how much you give a person, but instead, the thought that you put into the gift, even if it is only a card. It's not always about buying someone the biggest expensive gift, rather giving them a gift that shows you care about them. It also snowed on Christmas eve!

On to New Year's Eve (which is called Sylvester here)! I spent Sylvester with my friends at Anne's house. Anne lives next door to me in a big building that is like an apartment building, only that there is a big kitchen and people eat meals together. Around midnight (only 6pm for east coasters!) we went up to her balcony to watch the fireworks. I must admit, this was more exciting than watching the ball drop in Time Square! In Germany it is illegal for people to set off fireworks on every day, except Sylvester. So you can imagine that things began with a bang! (pun intended). All around me people were setting off fireworks. Some even launched some on the streets! It lasted for half an hour and the old church bell was clinging too. Definitely cool! And to top it off we toasted the new year with a glass of Sekt, like champagne. (which was legal, no worries). :).

Tschüss!

Two Weeks and Two Days

Please forvige me. I apologize for taking this long to post, but I have been busy. I know I shouldn't make excuses, and instead make improvements, but it has been absolutely crazy here. The good kind though.

So... where to begin?

I guess I will do this in a (somewhat) systematic order. First, auf wiedersehen.

On September 6th, 2011, I said goodbye to people that I have spent 16 years of my life with. Yes, I am referring to my family. It was definitely hard and it didn't quite hit me what was going on. I hadn't realized that I would be leaving these people that I love so dearly for ten months. On one hand, it is only ten months. And I will see them again, so what's the big deal? But on the other hand, ten months is almost a year. Ein ganzes Jahr. One year away from people that I love and am totally comfortable with. But that's part of life. We all go through stages and spend time together and time apart. Right now, for me, it is my time apart. But that's okay. And instead, I want to focus on the year ahead. Of course I will think about my family (I do everyday!) and I DEFINITELY miss them. But that is not the point of my year abroad. The point is to immerse myself in a different culture, make new friends, improve my German, learn important lessons, and become part of a new family. And I can assure you that there are times when I just imagine what it would be like if I were at home right now. Probably doing homework, going to school, running cross country, carrying on with my life as usual. And I think about how I feel comfortable with that routine. How I feel comfortable with the people that I have gotten to know over the years. How I feel comfortable with my life, nothing too out-of-the-box. But that's the thing. Nothing is new, or different, or truly out-of-my-comfort-zone. And at moments like those, when I don't feel 100% comfortable, those are the moments when I learn the most. The moments that I learn about myself and just who I really am. And I learn about things that I could improve and talents that I didn't know existed. So, sure, I could be spending this year at home and continue on with my life as usual. And feel comfortable and natural and understand what people are saying. But instead, I chose to spend a year in Germany. And I encourage you to do the same. It doesn't have to be year, it can be a couple weeks, or months, or even days just immersing yourself in a different culture. Or even try something new. The point is to put yourself out there and be willing to learn and observe. And so, this year I am trying to look forward, and not back. Forward in a lot of ways. I want to look forward to the next day, look foward to this year, look forward to that moment when I start thinking in German, and look forward, into Germany and my life here. Sometimes I might glance back and think about my family, friends, and hometown. But only for a little bit. Never long enough to dwell on those things and make myself homesick, because that would only hinder my experience here. Of course I will keep in contact with everybody back home and I will never forget you, but for right now, I want to focus on Germany as much as possible. And I keep reminding myeself that, hey, it is a year. And I can look at it so many ways. But the most important, I think, is that time flies, whether you're having fun or not. (Thanks, Aunt Dorit!) And I know that this year will fly by. Trust me, it already is. So, I want to make sure that I make the ABSOLUTE MOST out of my time here.

As a side note: Absence really does make the heart grow fonder. When saying goodbye to my family and friends, I hadn't realized that I was leaving for a year and so I didn't cry. But once I saw them drive away, it hit me that that would be the last time for ten months that I would see them. And that's when the tears started flowing. And now here, I am also realizing just how much I love you guys. And I feel bad that I took you guys for granted. I now understand that I should not take anything for granted, even my family and friends, because in a moment they can be gone forever. Now, I want to treat everyone like a gift. Something precious that is not mine for the keeping. But instead, for the time that that person is in my life, I want to make sure that I spend time with them and show them just how much they mean to me. Anna, you mean the world to me. And I didn't realize just how special you are to me know that I have my own room. :) You are a very unique and precious gift from God. I love you girl and just remember, we are never far apart. (And enjoy this time when you have your own room!)

Love you guys!

The Impossible Endeavor of Packing

44 pounds. My checked bag, for an entire year, can weigh no more than 44 pounds. And I'm a teenage girl. Impossible?

But then it makes you think. How much do I really need for a year? I read an article a little while back about a woman that wore the same gray shirt-dress for a year. And it took people at least a month to notice that she was wearing the same thing everyday. Of course she washed it and changed the accessories, but still, it took people a while to realize what she was doing. And then the lady gave the extra money, which she would've spent on clothes, to a good cause. I love this story because it can be interpreted as fashion wisdom and a life-lesson.  The fashion lesson is that by changing your accessories you can make an outfit look completely different. And it is always good to have a plain, simple piece of clothing which you can do many things with. The more important lesson, however, is the fact that clothes are not everything. Of course clothes are a necessity, but we do not need an extravagant amount. I'm not saying that it's bad to own more than one outfit, because it is always nice to look presentable. What I am talking about is when clothes became the biggest priority in people's lives. What really matters are the relationships that you form with people and the experiences that you have. Also, if everybody is focused on the clothes that they are wearing, they don't normally notice your clothes because they are thinking about their own.  And as shown in the story, other people don't tend to notice what you wear everyday, so does it matter what your clothes are like? Or does it matter what YOU are like?

Still, it's hard for me to fit everything into one suitcase under 44 pounds.  I just got to keep reminding myself that clothes are not as important as I have made them out to be.  And I owe a lot to my mom (shout out!) for putting up with my emotional roller coaster and for helping me with my terrible packing skills.  You are the one that puts my head back on my shoulders.  Mother darling, what will I do without you next year?

Also, I leave tomorrow and I'm not even fully done packing!  Gahhh!  So nerve-racking.  But so far, I think I will (miraculously and barely) be able to make it all work.  I'm just worried about coming back...