So here it is. The last blog post before I am back home in Texas! I can't say that I am not excited, because I AM BEYOND READY to see my family, friends and DOG again :) But right now, I can;t stop thinking about my life in Germany. Is it really over? Wednesday I had my farewell party and said goodbye to ALL of my friends and saw them all for the last time. I won't see them again because I am going to the North Sea this weekend for a wedding from family friends of the Burgdorfs. I will return Sunday afternoon, and I leave for Frankfurt Monday afternoon. It is all just way too unbelieveable, I still can't wrap my head around the fact that I AM LEAVING Germany. I have said so many goodbyes, but this time, it really is Goodbye. There are no more "Oh, I might see you at so and so's party" or "Oh, my train is going through Goslar, maybe we can meet up for like an hour." It is really hard to think I won't go to school on Monday, sit in class with my 3 best friends, go get some ice cream together after school. Then Tuesday go to German lessons, go to volleyball, and go on a walk with my best friend and her dog. My routine is over. It is the ending of what I thought was just beginning. German is getting easier and English is getting harder. I must say, the last month of my exchange was by far the best. I met some of the best people in my last weeks, and got really close to everyone. But I ask myself, WHY in the last month?? I guess that is just how the cookie crumbles. Ok, so here is the overview of my last month in Germany.

I want to do this entry a little different. Not by date and the things I did. But by the people I met and the memories I made with them.


I met one of my best friends. Her name is Rachel and she is from Chicago. Right from the beginning i knew we would get along greatly. But more than that, after talking to her for a little, I realized she is one of the first from all the people that i have met that REALLY gets me. And I get her. We talk about exchange student problems, and loosing our English, and boys, and life, and I feel like I am just talking to myself, but she is agreeing with me! It is really a match made in heaven ;) I just can't believe we met each other in our LAST month. :( I said goodbye to her yesterday after we hiked the tallest mountain in the Harz mountains together. I am so lucky that she lives in the same country as me, I know I will see her again.

Also, I got really close to another girl, another one I would love to call my best sister. Her name is Gabriella (Gabi) and she is from Brazil. She is here with Rotary, and I have known her my whole year, but in these last (two) months, we have made some of the best memories together. One of the best ones, was when we went to HoliFest in Braunschweig together with a lot of other exchange students. Holi fest is the Indian festival where you throw the colors in the air. They had live music and it was just perfect! 

But that was only one of the things we did together. Another favorite would have to be when we went to a Theme Park called "Heide Park" together. Gabi has never ridden a "real" rollercoaster, or one that goes upside down. I sat beside her on all the rides and held her hand so tightly I was afraid it would bruise! She was so precious, and scared! We went to Farewell parties together, I went to hers, and she came to mine. I cried to hard when I had to leave yesterday because all the exchange students that came to my party spent the night at my house. I had to leave early in the morning to go on the hike, so that meant I had to leave my house before they did. I BAWLED.  She has become like a sister to me. I promised her I will meet her again. Either in Brazil (MY DREAM), the USA, Germany, or somewhere in this vast, yet neighborly world, our paths WILL cross again. I am sure of it. 

Now for my German friends. A whole other category of memories. Maria, my ABSOLUTE best friend in Germany. She lives about 5 minutes away from me, and we have spent countless evenings together doing each others hair, backing all kinds of things, going on walks, taking pictures, and just bonding. She is really a true friend. I am so incredibly lucky that she lives in the same tiny village as me, it is amazing! If we are ever bored, I just ask her what she is up to and she comes over, or we go on a walk. That is one of the things I will miss the most. I love her so much! This is a picture of us at "Abiball" it is like the German version of prom. It is not as big, and anyone can go, you just have to buy a ticket. You also don't really go with dates. It was really fun! 

The 4 Musketeers. My 3 great friends that I have spent everyday in school together with. They were all in my class, so I saw them every single school day. Tina, Melina, and Sabrina. :) We always did everything together, partner work in school, sleepovers, we went swimming together, class trip to Berlin, etc. I really spent so much time this year with them. They made me the most precious going away present. A video with pictures of all of our memories, and then they played it in school on our last day. You can't even imagine how much we all cried! Then, they played it AGAIN at my going away party with everyone there... and it was no different. Even worse. They all three spent the night at my house before the last day of school and helped me pack.. I am almooostttt finished, but it is really difficult with all the small things and I also have everything seperated for this weekend, so everything will be REALLY finished Sunday night. The fab 4 won't ever be together again before I leave, and that is really hard to wrap around. NEED to get a fixed date of when I am coming back to Germany again! 

This photo is from Melina's Musical production. Her and Lena were both in the same Musical and it was awesome! I was so proud of both of them :) 

Now there is an amazing thing that happened in the last 2 weeks of my exchange. A group of Americans all came to Goslar for a school exchange. They are staying with a lot of my German friends and I have done a lot of things with them. I am like the bridge between the Americans here and the Germans. I love knowing both cultures and being able to translate and help out! I have been like their tour guide for Goslar and tell them where to buy the best Döner, the best hang out places, and stores they can't miss! I have really gotten to love them, and it is so weird because that just gives me about 10 more people I have to say bye to! They are from Ohio, right outside of Cleveland, and the Germans will be doing their exchnage there in October... That means my best friend will be in the USA!! I have already looked at flights to Ohio, because to drive it would take about 23 hours. I will try and do everything I can to go! All the Americans leave the same day I do from Goslar, and continue their Germany tour in Berlin and Munich. 

So now here I am. About to leave for a wedding by the North Sea, and it is freezing cold again. Every day about 50-60 degrees and rain! I guess Germany just wanted to show me really what it is made of in my last days. My emotions are running wild and I could not describe how I am feeling in a way that makes sense in German or in English. It is a feeling that only exchange students can relate to. People can only imagine how hard it is to leave your whole new life behind, to return to your old one. I say "new life" but really it has become my life. Somehow we will all have to learn how to balance these two lives, many groups of friends, families, and memories. It has been done by many people in the past and I am sure I will be able to handle it. Nobody said it would be easy. My farewell party was a huge success  with many laughs and MANY MANY tears. I hate saying goodbye, and not knowing when I will see them again. I received many adorable going away presents, but the memories and the photos are all that really matter to me. I might be able to update one last time on here, right before I go home, but I'm not promising anything. My last post will be after I am back home in Texas. So keep checking. For maybe the last time in Germany, your Texan German girl, Libby :) 

* Jeder Anfang endet irgendwann, aber irgendwann kommt viel zu schnell. *