As we arrived back in Holzkirchen, we were greeted by the Musikzug
(a band) playing traditional folk songs and hymns in front of the town
hall. We were each given to our host families, collected our luggage and
then went off to settle into the next portion of the trip. My family
lives near the post office, right by an ice cream store (could it get
any better?). I have three “guest-sisters”, who have a dog and a turtle
(so yes, it can). I live within easy walking distance from three other
students about a fifteen minute walk from our school. The oldest sister
is vegan, which pretty much makes it an ideal situation for me. And she
cooks quite often- yum!On Friday, we had our first day of regular classes. Each morning we have class for several hours, as well as in the afternoons on Tuesday and Thursday. The date of our arrival in Holzkirchen coincided with the longest day of the year festivities. Several of the nearby towns had Johannis Feuers (massive bonfires) to celebrate. We went to one in Holzkirchen on Friday night and another in Foeching on Saturday.
On Saturday, I also spent time with one of my sisters biking to Hackensee. Hackensee is a nearby lake that was picturesque. On Sunday, we (my host sisters and I) went swimming at the local pool. They have an outdoor pool that is heated, which felt great on a rainy day!
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| Hammocking on Hackensee |
After making our way back to Holzkirchen, we had to buckle down with our homework. We began watching Eins-Zwei-Drei, a comedy about a man working for Coca-Cola in Berlin after WWII. (I would strongly recommend the film, if you like slap-stick). We had a short paper (summary, really) due on Wednesday and four others due on Thursday. This didn’t leave much time for exploring in the evenings, but hopefully this next week I can work up some extra energy in the evenings.
Until next time!
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Follow Claire on her travels to Germany at https://nutzedentagdot.wordpress.com
Read more about studying German with the University of Arkansas
