On the plane headed back to Phoenix I wrote:

I have honestly been blessed this summer. For the past 24 hours I have been flooded with gifts and cards and hugs and kisses. While I am so excited to get home, I am not going to lie. I am really going to miss the Strother family. They have been so loving. Jen has become such a close friend and the kids are a source of such pride for me. I look forward to the day I return.

Wattenheim has been such a great home to me for the last 3 months. I will miss Nadine (the neighbor's horse) and the running path, Jagerhof and wine schorles, Ute and Jorg. Germany is a country full of flavor and freshness. A country where the local farmer is famous and medieval weapons are a favorite collectors item. A country where castle ruins are the backdrop to daily life, and where alcohol is the beverage of choice for any occasion. A county that always has room for one more festival and one more wurst. It is a country whose past is one to be exalted, shunned, and rememebered, and where modesty is a trait awarded at birth. It is where the environment and community are top priorities and the garden gnome reigns as king. For the past three months I have learned about a culture as well as myself. I have learned that patience can get you through just about everything. That I wouldn't be a traveler without email and that my family and friends are what keep the sparkle in my eye. I have learned that children say the craziest things, and yet their innocent comments can teach us so much. I have learned that trust is the key to life, and that no one can get through it alone. I am so happy I took this summer to breath air on the other side of the globe. I am so happy that I went out on a limb. And I am so happy to be on my way home.


Signing off from Germany,
beth o.

Ciao todos!!

Well...alex left yesterday morning and i can honestly say that we had a whirlwind of a visit. So many good memories that we will reminisce about for years to come.

We got back from Italy early wednesday morning--1 a.m. to be exact. We had the most amazing time---seeing both Rome and Venice. Unfortunately we did not make it to Florence, but that will just have to happen on another visit. I absolutely LOVED Italy (Katie...you would love it!!!!) Rather than try to give you the total recap of our adventures, I will give you our "highlights" that we put together at dinner once we got back here to Wattenheim.

• Our Canadian boyfriends: Jefferey and Anthony. "When in Rome..." drink 4 bottles of wine and give kisses as the bus pulls out of the station! Loved it.
• In a random hole in the wall restaurant when Alex and I were SOOOO hungry: "What's the problem?"..."We're hungry, we need something to eat"..."We have no food, look, we have nothing!"
• Sleeping in a metal box (literally) in Venice during a lightening storm
• Our French boys: Jonathan and Julian (although they told us to spell their names with G's....I dont think so...Gulian?)
• "We're gonna die" says Alex as she looks out the window of the plane and sees the light from our wing, mistaking it for another plane about to hit us. She was a bit tired.
• Black-eyed Peas: "My hump, my hump, my hump, my hump, my lovely lady lumps."
• Tearing up the dance floor at Alba D'Oro's club in Venice
• Our little Italian shuttle driver that met us at the airport in Venice: too cute and perfect.
• "I'm like a bird, I'll only fly away..." sings the 50 yr old Gondole driver as he pushes out of the port. HahahHA
• Our first waitress in Venice and the Italian lessons she gave us.
• The guy that said we were cheap for not eating at his restaurant. Uh....excuseee?
• Santa Lucia's rotting feet. No seriously, we saw the body of Saint Lucy. Crazy shit.
• "La mano la mano la mano..." a man yells at me for not covering my mouth while yawning. I was so over it.
• The little hole in the wall where we got water and found out about the "Tribalistas"
• The little Italian girl walking like a model...and all the adorable Italian kids in general.
• The shuttle driver yelling at us saying, "uh...I guess you want to stay in Rome? Not getting on this shuttle?"
• Translating for the annoying American couple that obviously wasnt used to traveling and gives a bad name to us all.
• Beth drinking 1/2 a liter of red wine and Alex sneaking 1/4 liter into a water bottle to take back to our hostel.
• The PERFECT/INEXPENSIVE breakfast on our last day in Rome
• Sneaking apples from the buffet at some random hotel.
• Not finding any molestable statues (Alex!)
• The ancient penis on the Colloseum: aparently there was an ancient version of ALex w/ the same sense of humor.
• Umm...did we mention Jeff and Anthony?
• The consistent walking issues of Italians. Apparently everyone gets a cane for their 50th bday.
• The little Jamaican boy on our Colloseum/Forum tour---so adorable.