When I took the AATG (American Association of Teachers of German) test in my German class, I never truly believed that it would lead to a trip to
I saw the 38 other trip recipients, who were from all over America, ranging from Alaska to Florida, for the first time just a few hours before our departure to Germany. In Nürnberg, there were yet more new faces: my host sister and her mother, father, brother, and an enormous extended family of welcoming aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins. My host family lived in Fischbach, a peaceful suburb of Nürnberg.
Nürnberg was, of course, not as quiet as Fischbach, but, for a city, was not too loud or crowded, and no traffic-dodging was required to wander around its quaint streets, in and out of gorgeous old churches and delicious “Eiscafes” (ice cream shops). Our tour of the city was filled with folklore that dated back to days far before the
While in
July 1st
…we met up with the other Americans and their host siblings at
July 3rd
Right now I’m standing on the train on the way home from München. First, we all rode to the top of the Olympia-Tower. From there, we could see all of München—the Olympic stadium, the shop-laden streets, the parks…the view was absolutely superb. Afterward, I went with a group through Schloss Nymphenburg, an enormous, elegant castle, which, like the other castles we visited in Germany, was filled with gold-trimmed walls and oil painting after oil painting, sculpture after sculpture, delicate chair (with a “do not sit” sign) after delicate chair.
When I wasn’t on city tours or in school at Martin-Behaim Gymnasium, I attended theater group, dancing school (Tanzschule Schlegel), and driver’s education with my host sister, and went with my host family on excursions to the Adidas Outlet, mini golfing, and the cave in Pottenstein.
After about a week and a half in Nürnberg, I and the other Americans on the AATG trip spent five days in
When we returned from
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