Cookout with the Danes

Before I get to talking about my evening with the Danes, I want to say that I feel kind of proud of myself. Yesterday, I went to the bank, alone, deposited some checks (I've done this quite frequently, though), and actually asked the teller about getting some euros and some card questions. Then I actually made an order for euros! I did that alone, by myself, without my mommmy there to ask the questions or do the talking for me! I know, I know. You're probably thinking, "Wow... Uhm, why is she that proud of doing that? I've been doing stuff like that since I was 12!" Yeah, well, I haven't. So, anything that points to me being a little more confident/independent makes me a bit proud of myself! All right, enough about that. I'll get to the cookout, now.

First of all, let me again say how awesome I think Louise's (my Danish friend) parents are! They are so nice and I think they helped my parents feel more comfortable about allowing me to actually go through with this crazy exchange thing. Also, I'm glad my family managed to behave themselves and not embarass me too much. I'm proud of them for keeping themselves in check (only joking, of course!). Our two families seemed to get along really well, and I'm happy for that.

My parents and I took Louise and her family on a tour of Dheinsville settlement (the place where my ancestors settled generations ago). It was cool to be able to show them a bit of the history of not only my family, but of our town, too. Louise's family seemed to really enjoy looking at all the old artifacts and learning a bit of the history of this small town. I'm glad we were able to share that with them!

After they had left, I realized I noticed maybe a bit of a foreshadowing of myself in Louise's brother. He's 13, and has had only a few years of English language instruction. He was pretty shy and didn't say much. I think a lot of that has to do with the language barrier. He understands much of what's said, but he's just not comfortable enough with English to really get into conversations. I think that's going to be a lot like me, in the beginning. Right now, I'd say I can figure out most of what I read. When people talk slowly and clearly about a topic I'm somewhat familiar with, I can There have been a few times when people here randomly say something to me in German. It always catches me so off-guard that I'm lucky if I reply with something remotely correct! I'm sure that will pass eventually, but I found it just a little interesting to think I'm going to basically be a little kid for a while. Hopefully, that doesn't get too frustrating!

Overall, yesterday was awesome! I only wish the cookout would have lasted a little longer. However, my parents had to work today. So, they needed to get to bed early. However, I'm glad our families got to spend some time together. Hopefully, now my parents won't have any worries about letting me visit them once I'm in Germany!

Bis später!