Oh lord, there is no sorrier sight than a kid leaving behind his beloved dog, family, friends, beautiful weather, and familiar lifestyle at 5 am to get onto a 12 hour plane ride to a unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people and unfamiliar cultural mannerisms. I wanted to stay in the car, but the adult inside said, "Come on now, time to put on your big boy pants and get your ass on the plane." To say the least, I'm glad I got onto the plane today. While I expected something to go horribly wrong (passport missing, reservation confusion, baggage stolen, etc.), the travel was surprisingly smooth.
I stepped off the plane only to be greeted by friendly smiles from the German police officers. I half expected them to beat me over the head with a night stick for looking like a suspicious American. Actually, quite the opposite was the case. I'm sure they watched me wander around the airport for about ten minutes before realizing I was trapped and couldn't get out. They kindly pointed me in the right direction and I was on my way.
My arrival in the town of Untergriesbach was reminiscent of a fairy tale. You would not believe the view that my host family, the Hofbauers, have. Their home is perched on the top of a hill overlooking the Danube river and I have a view straight into Austria. Across the border, a delightful little town coated in snow stays perched on the mountainside. As if that were not gorgeous enough, I can see the castle of the Bishop of Passau from the house as well. When I told the Hofbauers how beautiful their home and village were, they merely shrugged, saying "We see it everyday; it's alright." I proceeded to have a traditional Bavarian lunch with my host parents, eating a traditional sausage and rolls. Apparently you are not supposed to eat the skin of these particular wursts; I jumped the gun and took a bite before I was told otherwise. My host brother, Michael, showed up at this point and was surprised to see me eating what I was eating... I'd rather not know what was in the sausage by the look he gave me.
Michael proceeded to kick my ass in foosball after lunch, and we spent the afternoon playing German board games. I gotta say, their board games are way better than the crap we come up with the states. All you need is some wooden pieces, a goofy looking board, and a dice and BOOM! the Germans have a captivating board game. Despite getting my butt handed to me in multiple board games, I'm still in pretty good spirits. Let's hope I don't get heckled tomorrow during my lecture.
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