Italy

Wow. I haven't posted in MONTHS. I lost my internet for a while there and only could go online at the library. Major inconvenience! Though I was forced to get things done faster and more efficiently when I wasn't able to distract myself with the internet. So, let's see. Where did I leave off... In April I had my "spring break". It lasted about 2 weeks. I visited my host sister from 2006 in Stuttgart, Germany for a few days, where she showed me around her campus and Verbindung (fraternity). She was president of the frat and their end of the year party was the following week, so she was busy preparing her speech for that a lot of the time. We spent a few days her in her village, called Ursendorf. It's about an hour south of Stuttgart with a population of around 300. It's adorable! It was so nice being back there. My first trip abroad to Germany completely changed my life! It was the inspiration for my career path. The last two times I was in Germany I didn't speak in German, so it was nice being able to talk with Isa's mom and friends. I struggled to follow her friend's conversations though, because of their strong southern accents. We were able to go riding one morning which was AWESOME. The temperature that day was perfect and we had the woods to ourselves! We didn't ride for too long, because Isabel had other things to get done. We saw a deer while riding (first I've seen in Germany!). Isa and her family own around 14 Icelantic ponies, which they used to show. They breed, too. Rotary made a perfect match, putting her and I together. I've been riding since I was 7 or 8. Isabel had a bbq for me one night and all of our old friends came. It was really nice seeing everyone! Brings back good memories... though it's obvious things have definitely changed. We went out one night to this club with two levels. There were different rooms with different music and themes, it was cool! Before that I watched Titanic in German and in 3D (not really necessary) with Isa's little sister and her friends. I found 40 euros on the ground that night, too. SCORE. Isabel and I did a little road trip the next day through Switzerland (by accent) to Sirmione, Italy. Isabel had bought a pass for us to drive through Austria (faster than going through Switzerland) but the GPS wasn't working and we ended up going through there anyways. It was beautiful! Though the weather was kind of shitty the entire trip. We stayed at a bed and breakfast outside of town in Sirmione. The man at the front desk looked like Javier whatever his name is from Vicky Christina Barcelona. We had really nice breakfasts each morning at that b&b. We spent one day walking around Sirmione, which is on the Garda Sea and the next day we drove around the southern border of the lake, stopping along the way and taking a ferry with the car to the other side. Isa wasn't feeling too well, so she was a bit tired but the scenery was beautiful and I had a good time. We spent two days in Venice after that. We stayed about a half an hour out of town in a weird apartment which was apparently a bed and breakfast. The guy didn't have any sort of signs or labels on the buzzer, so we sort of just wandered around and asked some people who lived in the complex where the apartment was before finding it. It turned out to be just fine, but we were suspicious. We took the bus into Venice and ended up not paying a few times, because it was complicated and the bus driver didn't speak very good English. Venice was beautiful! And super touristy. But it has a feel that no other city really compares to. Every corner you turn is a new photo opp. It's just stunning! There's so many mask and glass shops. I felt like at any moment I was going to stumble upon a James Bond movie being filmed. It's just so... cool. We drove back through Austria and went back to Stuttgart the next day. Isa had her fraternity party, which was fun! So much beer was drunken by everyone, the supplies seemed endless. It's a tradition to sing old German frat songs while drinking pints of beer

. Even had one of the members playing the piano! It was so German it was ridiculous. Isa did great talking infront of everyone and leading the club. A night I will never forget!