The End

This is it. I'm back home and the German day-to-day life has re-absorbed me. Before I start my final entry, I want to adress the future exchange students once more. Everything concerning the exchange is labeled "transportation", "housing", "To-do" or "organization" if you have any further questions, don't hesitate to email me or find me in the facebook alumni group. If all else fails, I guess I'll see you at the pre-departure meeting ;) Enjoy your time in Boston, the city is amazing!

So, after visiting 6 different countries and 8 different time zones, testing 8 airlines and 14 different airports on my 16 flights, visiting approximately 40 different cities during my travels, meeting up with old friends and making new ones along the way and after spending 80 (EIGHTY!!!) hours in flight modus, I am FINALLY back where I started - safe and sound in Frankfurt, Germany :)

my facebook map on August 21, 2012

The same map on February 9, 2013

Boston really is an amazing city... It is also amazing how I can miss my Bostonian friends so much, even though I communicate with them almost every day (facebook can be pretty handy sometimes...)
But at least now I have my Frankfurt Friends again :) It sure feels good to be back! Two of my dear friends welcomed me at the airport (Thanks again Maren and Tina!) the rest caught up with me at home on sunday or at the university these past couple of days. I don't think I've ever been welcomed back quite like this :) It feels good to know you guys missed me too. You are very special to me and I'm glad I can randomly run into you at our university again :D

My family welcomed me with a fully equipped front door :) I've said it before and I'll say it again, they are pretty cute sometimes...

Home sweet home!

I bought a couple of souveniers and they were strewn all over my three bags when I arrived... It took me about two hours to unpack everything and I still haven't actually managed to deliver every present ;)

Christmas in February ;)

Ok, ok, I admit, some of it will stay in my room ;) I'm so glad that (almost) all of my favorite people actually made it to my small village on Sunday to spend the afternoon with me and my many stories :) It's a good thing I have this blog, otherwise it would have taken days to fill you in on all the funny, beautiful, incredible, weird, fantastic, overwhelming and life-altering things I've experienced over the past months :) Did I mention that I love my life? 

Thanks again for being there - love you

Well, this is it, things are back to normal, Goethe University is my home again, people are still the same, I now miss people I didn't know six months ago and, once again, I want to thank everybody who supported me before, during and also after this amazing, dream-realizing, mind-blowing trip around the world. Those people are, in no particular oder, the Hessen-Massachusetts exchange program and DAAD, the Caliopean Society, my parents :) the rest of my crazy but cute family, my beloved Frankfurt Word Nerds, the best roommate ever - Maureen, Katie and John, Jeff, Jaynellen and her lovely Texan family, my amazing Canadian Family Barbie, Timm, Carolyn and Lavern as well as Brian, Kyria, Ros, Randy and Jolene and all the other important Canadians :) I also wanna thank all my couchsurfing hosts along the way, especially Randy, Melinda, Walter, Carmel and Thomas, for making my trip extra special and keeping in touch with me even after I was gone. All my couchsurfing experiences were great, but some of them were incredible ;) Also, thanks to all the great people I met along the way, Danushka, Brian, Ursula, Neil, Matt, Steven, Bryana, Nick, Markus, Denise, Claire, Joanna, Carlos and all the others. You're part of the reason why I'll never forget this trip and you will always be welcome on my couch, no matter when our paths may cross again! 

Last but not least, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little blog - I certainly did! 

The End

Back to Basics - London

I have to admit, I was a little worried about my 15 hour flight from Singapore to London but I was also looking forward to flying with the A380. It might seem like an odd thing to have on your bucket list but - what can I say? - I like planes ;) Well, turns out, the A380 is awesome! It is HUGE (I was in Seat 81K .... ) and incredibly comfortable, especially since it was very empty. Around where I was sitting, everybody had an entire row, so I actually got some decent sleep :) They have tons of movies, TV shows, games (Tetris - *yessss*) and all kinds of other beautiful things to make life on board easier ;)

 drinks anyone? :)

But the best part of the flight was circling over London shortly before 5 a.m. Man I love this city! Especially at night from all the way up there! I was so excited to be back in Europe and even more since Julian had wanted to come to London and was gonna meet me here - unfortunately that didn't work out after all, so I was once again alone in London. Nevertheless it was nice to be back in a familiar city after all the new impressions over the past couple of months...

Good morning Picadilly!

The weather is fantastic, blue skies and perfectly cold :) Just the way I like it! I'm staying at Hyde Park Suites, which means I have a small appartment with a full kitchen so I can safe some money on food and spend it on shoes instead ;) (I couldn't resist...) Thanks to Claire, I tried the Hummingbird bakery - yuuum! Definitely one of my new favorite things to do in London ;)

I enjoyed my last day abroad with my London ritual: a nice, long early morning walk through Hyde Park and then down through St. James Park to see Big Ben and the Eye. Never ceases to make me blissfully happy :)

Hyde Park in the morning

Enjoying a beautiful winter-day

Only in London ;)

As usual, the walk from Hyde Park Corner towards The Mall was swarming with tourists (how do I ALWAYS end up at Buckingham Palace when they have their changing of the guards ceremony?!?) Every single time... My usual path would have led me towards the river, walking along the lake in St.James Park and past Big Ben, but I wanted to go to the National Gallery, so I walked up The Mall instead. Enough beautiful views along that way as well ;)

Big Ben in the distance

The London Eye

The King and the Queen

This is my fourth time in London and I realized I've never visited any of the museums. So I changed that and went to the National Gallery today. I really do like art... Although I have to say I prefer the "Hamburger Kunsthalle" ;) as much as I like London, having only a handful of paintings by Monet and van Gogh just doesn't cut it... 

Best location in town though ;)

After some indulging food in Soho I walked over to the British Museum. I'm an all-or-nothing kind of girl after all and since I had already started my museum tour, I might as well go all the way, right? It was funny to see a display about Polynesian Cultures and suddenly realize I know the Maori building on the picture in the display; it's the meeting hall in Rotorua :) And yes, I was really there! Funny feeling....

I'm still a little sad Julian couldn't make it, but it was also nice to have another day for myself and just reflect on everything that's happened in these past six months. I couldn't stop grinning all day! This was definitely the experience of a lifetime and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity I have been given. All that's left to do now is pack my bag for one last flight and then I'll finally be back where I started. Thanks for following my adventures here, it's been a pleasure! 

Thanks for everybody who has been part of my journey, whether through online support or in person. It wouldn't have been the same withouth you! I found some great new friends in various different countries along the way and I hope to see you all again someday!

As for tonight, all that's left to say is Dreams really do come true - you just have to believe in them :)

An unexpected journey...

The good thing about having no plan is that somebody might come along with a plan and just take you with her ;) That's what happened to me when I talked to Bryana on Sunday and she said "Yeah, come with us, it'll be fun!" She wasn't joking! What a fun way to end my time in New Zealand, traveling along the east coast with a Canadian with Kiwi Connections, an American from China, a German dishwasher ;) and a reliable old Campervan :) That's the life!

We started our unexpected journey after the white water rafting in Rotorua on Monday afternoon. Bryana knows people all over New Zealand (or so it seems) so our first stop was Opotiki where her relatives offered us the Bachelor pad for the night :) Jane and Steve were awesome hosts and so one night quickly became two! It was nice to just chill out after so much excitement over the weekend. The only problem was that well all fell asleep on the beach... DON'T FALL ASLEEP ON THE BEACH! Let's just say we all bought Aloe lotion afterwards....

chilling on the beach

As I said, Steve and Jane were awesome hosts and had a nice barbecue for everybody on Tuesday - just what we needed before hitting the road! 

meat anyone?

On Wednesday, we hit the road through the gorge towards Gisborn with the guys in the back and my phone as radio replacement... 

Don't tell anyone ;) 

I wanted to get up in the middle of the night and watch the sunrise in Gisborn (first sunrise on the planet) but my idea wasn't very welcome (too early...) so we had an easy start instead (oh well... I'm not so much of a sunrise person anyways...) In Gizzy we met up with another one of Bry's contacts who offered us coffee and home-brewed beer (and a hyperactive dog who couldn't stop playing ball with us ;) ) It's always great to hang out with locals! 

Reunion in Gizzy!

"Give me the ball!" 

We hit the road again to make it down to Naples - the Art Deco capital (or something...) very cute little town BUT we got there around 5 and EVERYTHING closed at 5:30! The guy in the hostel was not kiddin when he said "you're not gonna do anything tonight..." Luckily, we were quick to find a place to hang out (the Irish pub) and entertained ourselves with some pool and a surprisingly intense game of MONSTER JENGA :) Good times guys, good times!

Fun times!

I don't mean to brag but technically, I was the last one to pull out a block before the whole damn thing collapsed... So, technically, I beat the guys... just sayin' ;)

I got it!

Thursday was road day again. The guys were chilling in the back while Bryana manoeuvered the van through the hills. You're an awesome driver Bry, I'd be your co pilot any time! We "lost" the German in Lower Hutt and later lost the American somewhere in Wellington, so our fellowship was finally broken on Thursday night BUT I had an AWESOME time with you guys! I'm glad I ran into you at the CS event and I think our road trip was pretty epic :) I hope to see you again somewhere down the road! Bry, Ireland is still waiting ;) 

THANKS Bryana, Nick and Markus for a fun week of traveling! Enjoy the rest of your stay here, I kinda wish I could have stayed too... 

The Couchsurfing Campervan Crew! *yay*

Aloha!

On wednesday, I "enjoyed" a very early morning drive to LAX and realized, I'm really in California... Passing Mulholland Drive and Sunset Boulevard was kinda funny somehow. LA traffic is a bitch though and I was glad I had left early enough to stay out of the worst. I made it to the gate with plenty of time left, even though the ticket agents gave me some trouble (can't check in via American, because the ticket is booked via Quantas but can't check in via Quantas, because the flight is operated by American.... go fgure!)
Six uneventful hours later, I was finally in Hawai'i.

Now, as I've already described in the Craigslist Joe post, the entire host-finding-quest in Hawai'i was a little adventure all in itself, but it all worked out really well and I really enjoyed my four days on Oahu.
But, I have to admit, my first impression of Hawai'i was not quite as positive. We ended up in rush hour traffic that reminded me too much of California and all I could see at first were tons of cars and skyscrapers - not quite the beautiful island I had been hoping for...

My host family took me in and cooked a delicious dinner on that first night. Again, I had my own room and a comfortable bed, which is more and more important, since all this time-zone-hopping is slowly getting to me... So I slept for almost 12 hours and felt a little better on thursday morning. Steve gave me a ride into Waikiki and I spent half a day strolling through the busy beach town. Man! So many tourists! And SO many hotels! Unbelieveable... here are some impressions from downtown.

"The strip" in Waikiki

Cute little marketplace under an ancient tree

I spent some time on Waikiki beach, but it was way too crowded for me, so I caught a ride with Darellyn back to the house in Mililani. 

yup, that's Waikiki....

On Friday, both Steve and Darellyn were off work, so they decided to take me on a little trip :) We started with lunch at the Diamond head roadside diner and then took the scenic Kalanianaole Highway towards Makapu'u Point State Park. 

Kalanianaole Highway window view :)

Impressive waves on Sandy Beach

The blow hole *hihi*

The hike up the State Park was really nice and the view was just absolutely fantastic! Absolutely worth it! I finally found the beauty in Hawai'i :)

ok, I admit, it was more a paveway than a hike trail....

Lighthouse *yay*

Steve, Darellyn and me on top!

After the hike, I treaded us all to a cone of Shave Ice (basically just crushed Ice with syrup...) and we made our way further up the eastern shore, enjoying the sunshine. 

....I'm sure it's very healthy....

Chinaman's hat!

the other side of the island - beautiful mountains! 

The views were simply spectacular! And in case these mountains look familiar to you, think Jurassic Park... ;) We made it all the way to the North Shore, where we passed Sunset Beach (beautiful) before we turned back inland towards Mililani and drove through the Pineapple fields. 

that would be more my kind of beach...

Hawai'i 's nature really is beautiful

Today, we went back downtown to get some last minute souvenirs (I think I have presents for everyone now ;) ) and I redeemed my "slice of joy" at the Cheesecake factory :) Now, all my bags are once again packed and I'm gonna catch another very early flight in a couple of hours, which will finally take me away from the States. Nearly five beautiful, amazing, adventurous and exciting months have passed - thanks to everybody who has made my time in North America so special! And thanks to Paolo and Melinda for hooking me up with my hosts in Hawai'i - I couldn't have found a better place to stay! Last but not least, thank you Darellyn and Steve for giving me the best Hawaiian experience anybody could ask for! I had so much fun with you guys, thanks for everything! Mahalo!

Canadian Christmas

My first Canadian Winter

It is cold.... very cold! But it's also soooo beautiful :) So I think I can deal with the cold in exchange for these amazing memories. It's all a matter of the right clothing... or, better yet, layers! :D So I'm all bundled up and ready to face the -22° we have outside (Celcius that is). Lots of snow around :D

Cuddle time!

My Canadian family picked me up at the Airport in Edmonton on the 20th and we went straight to Swiss Chalet, which fit me just fine, because let's face it, their meat combo is to die for! *yuuum* I'm so happy to be back here, it's crazy :) We have a couple of new dogs on the ranch and naturally I can't stay far away from them for very long. Luckily they seemingly like me too, or maybe they just like lying around in my bed.... :D The black one is Radical and the gorgeous Border Collie in the front is Luca.

Dirt Road Dog Race

She might very well be the most adorable dog I've ever laid eyes on *I'm in love* The only "problem" with those two is that they are only 8 months old... and they have a lot of energy :) So I try to take them for a little walk and fun in the snow every now and then... Give them a good dirt road workout :D They seem to enjoy it...

In Canada, christmas is mostly celebrated on the 25th, but naturally, my family back home celebrated on the 24th. Luckily, Carolyn has 1000 free minutes for international phone calls, so I was able to call my parents in the morning while they were having their traditional family dinner. Thanks to technology, my brother then sent me a picture from back home. This might very well be the cutest picture my family ever sent me :)

Aren't they just absolutely adorable?

Can't deny that I've shed some tears upon seeing this... but luckily, I've got a family over here too who were quick to offer me comforting hugs :) Still don't know what I did to deserve not one but two loving families... *so grateful* And no they don't usually write in English... that kinda makes it even cuter :)

Carolyn and Carolin :)

For christmas, Barbara and Tim got everybody christmas PJs :) Mine have reindeer on them *yay* what can I say, they know me too well :) So we all wore our christmas PJs for our christmas breakfast on the 25th which Brian cooked for us *yum* lots of cranberries and lots of ham :)

Lavern as Santa :)

And then we dove right into our presents. The entire living room was full of them :) It took us quite a while till all the boxes were opened and presents were exchanged. My family showered me with gifts *thank you* the best one was probably the BAZINGA shirt Barbara and Tim got for me :) perfect timing! *hihihi* And then we had christmas dinner... oh my... it was SOOOO GOOOOOD The turkey alone would have me convinced, but the rest was just sooo delicious too! Brian made a sweet potatoe casserole with marshmellows *yummy* and I helped with the mashed potatoes, putting in mum's secret ingredient after Brian's idea of adding mint failed. Oh it was just absolutely delicious! Of course, everybody was pretty stuffed afterwards... but there's always room for pie! (Which is a good thing since Tim made like four different pies for christmas...) We ended up lying on the couches in the living room in varying stages of fatigue and watching DVDs :) It's good to be back!

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening...

Today (Boxing day) we went for a sleigh ride! *yay* Complete with Jingle Bells and everything! It's still freakin' cold, but who cares if you can have so much fun! The horses really dug into the snow and pulled the little sleigh through the pasture - it was beautiful :) very christmassy indeed! Afterwards, we were invited in the beautiful log home for a hot chocolate with baileys and some snacks - what a nice way of spending the afternoon! Back home I was just in time to take my first snow sunset picture! I love this place....

Bye Bye Beantown

Wow... four months have passed... feels more like five minutes :) or like a lifetime, depending on the perspective, I guess... I took off from a crazy-busy Logan Airport very early thursday morning and headed West. I know I will return one day and thanks to all this beautiful technology, I will easily keep in touch will all my newfound favorite people :D So much has happened in the past four months that it's still a little hard to wrap my head around everything. So I was happy to wrap up my time on the eastcoast by saying goodbye to everyone and everything in Boston I've come to love :).

Goodbye-week started last thursday (on the 13th) with the Write on the dot end of year event at Savin Bar&Kitchen. Coming full circle from when I first encountered the students from the master program at UMass and have read my own poetry at the open mic night, the evening was the perfect opportunity to say goodbye to my Bostonian Word nerds - and to Saving Hill in a way - and I was glad that Katie and John came out too to enjoy the show with me :) We enjoyed the metaphoria game as well as the Rum Diary cocktail :D and I introduced my fellow writer Katie to some of the MFA students. Kurt said goodbye in German and Aaron gave me another one of their journals for my word nerds in Frankfurt :) Maybe we can create some kind of writing-exchange or something :D that would be so much fun...

Friday morning, I met with Modupe at our usual location: McKenna's
Again, this felt like saying goodbye to Savin Hill in a way - enjoying Savin Hill's best locations once more before I had to leave :D NOTHING beats breakfast at McKenna's! It's sooo good! And it was nice to see Modupe again, the first friend I made at UMass, before she flew back to London for the holidays. I'm glad she found time in her very very busy PhD schedule to say goodbye :)

Saturday, I walked over to school one last time, enjoying the Harbor Walk and finally taking some pictures of the school and the waterfront before I headed into the city to say goodbye to the North End. I'll really miss my morning walk to school :) I mean, seriously, who can say they enjoy a stunning ocean view on their way to school? That might be the one thing missing from my University in Frankfurt :D
And my beloved North End *hmpf* How I will miss Haymarket, Italian Bostonians and Mike's pastries :D I finally tried that sandwich shop I wanted to find ever since I watched "What's your number" and I found it *yay* still don't think they actually shot the movie there, but oh well, close enough, isn't it?

They really do have great sandwiches at Bova's bakery by the way :D

Not even checking to verify the deadline for my Final take home, I decided to have a do-nothing-day on sunday and just stay in. The weather was yucky anyways, so it seemed like the perfect plan... yeah, the deadline was monday at noon.... probably not such a good idea after all... so monday morning, I frantically tried to finish the exam and made it just in time *phew* but I have to say, that was probably not my best work... The rest of monday was Maureen day :D We went to the Cheesecake factory for lunch (which was absolutely delicious as usual) and just hung out, both still in denial about my departure... and I still hadn't sent my bag, but somehow, I couldn't find the inspiration to think about packing too much...

Tuesday was Katie day, which was perfect since I had a LOT to discuss with my favorite UMass person ;) We hung out all afternoon and I'm sorry if I talked your ear off Katie, there was just so much to tell :D I also got to share some music with her *yay* and eventually, John decided to join us too and we went to the Venice for dinner. Oh yeah, the Venice :) another one of those Savin Hill places you HAVE TO visit! :D *yuuuum* Best Chicken Alfredo EVER! Katie and John loved it too and I managed to take a quick picture to remember them by ;) I know you guys probably hate me for uploading this, but this is exactly how I will remember you :D I love you guys! :D

Maureen had the fire going when we came back, which made me a little sentimental, I have to admit... Goodbyes are not my strong suite... So we sat by the fire for a little while longer until I absolutely couldn't stay awake any more...

Wednesday I had a more or less surprising visitor :) And so instead of making wednesday my cry-and-goodbye-day, it became Jeff Day! He had never been to Boston, so I absolutely *had to* show him around, which in turn gave me the chance to properly say goodbye to Beantown too. So I took him to all my favorite places in the city (minus cambridge - not enough time for that) We started at the North End *surprise* and made our way over Quincy Market, Faneuille Hall up State Street and over to the Common, from where we went into the Public Garden and eventually walked up Newbury Street. I finally tried Georgetown cupcakes and immediately wished I had tried them before *yum* So if you're ever in Boston, make sure to stop there ;) On our way back, I took a final picture of the best skyline view in Boston and we shared the leftover Alfredo before he had to head back and I was left alone, packing up the rest of my stuff and saying goodbye to the place I've grown to love so much.

I don't know what I did to deserve yet another place to call home, but I will be forever grateful for this experience. Seems like yesterday that Maureen picked me up from South Station with her convertible and showed me around her beautiful city. And now, I'm sitting in my Winter Wonderland in Canada, miles away from the Atlantic coast - crazy :)

No home would be complete without the people that make it so homey. So thank you Katie, John, Modupe,  Jeff and, most of all, Maureen (and Hankie, T.C. and Patches!) for making this one of the happiest times of my life. I love you and can't wait to see you again! That's a promise :)