Juist

Wow. My brain in exploding with information to write down! This past month has been entirely verrückt!!!!! Let me start from October 20th. Mr. Hartmann escorted me from the door of the villa through the thick sheets of rain underneath his umbrella to my ride home, which just happened to be a Ferrari. He opened the door for me and the moment I sat down I looked over and saw a button with the word, "Launch" right next to the emergency brake. I began to grin uncontrollably as we made our way down the mountain. Once we got to the autobahn I fell asleep but woke up suddenly to the sound of a loud motor. I blinked and looked out my window to a world of blurred greens and grays. Every few moments I could feel the car shifting gears and jolting us forward again. After I ripped my gaze from the window, I was pushed back in my seat by the force of our speed! Hello, 180 mph. :)


After that speedy adventure, we did not get another chance to go fast. The traffic was worse than my driver had expected and I began to worry I would not make the train I was hoping to make at 9pm in Frankfurt. Once I realized I would miss my train I called my family and asked them to find me another train but the only ones I could take left in the middle of the night. So my choice was to either inconvenience my family by having to drive to Erkelenz to pick me up at 4am or ask my driver who I barely knew to let me sleep at his house in Frankfurt. Awkward? I think yes. After telling him my dilemma, he thought for a few minutes and then told me he knew of a nice hotel right next to the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (main station) that he would pay for me to stay at and take a train the next morning. Obviously, I said YES! After he paid and dropped me off I realized it was past midnight and I had never eaten dinner. As I opened the hotel door into the streets of Frankfurt, the misty air hit my face and filled my lungs with it's crispness. I love cold air! I looked around for a cafe and my eyes found a few sleeping bags along the sidewalks. I tried not to stare as I walked to a small cafe for tomato mozzarella and a cappuccino. As I came back to my room, I walked very fast because the people walking around in the middle of the night looked so sketchy! I am sure it was because when it's dark, everything is scarier. But I wanted to live to see the morning so I booked it to my room. After 5 hours of sleep, I found another train in the morning and waited at the platform, wanting nothing except to finally be back home. My first train was late, which made me late to my other 2 connections and as I ran through the station of Düsseldorf with my suitcase and duffle bag past 15 platforms to get to my train, it literally began moving the second I pressed the open button. Heaving and wanting to fall down and cry, I hauled my bags to the side and began to look at the boards for another train to take. Within the next few hours I miraculously found 2 other trains and made my way home. HOME. I was home. Later that day, as I walked through my town, passing pools of water with ducks and goldfish, fields with horses and sheep, and cobbled streets with people biking and walking, I felt for the first time like myself. I felt happy! I was not just filled with short bursts of excitement and happiness from adventurous experiences, but I was honestly, whole-heartedly content. I like being home.


Saturday morning, I left with my family for a week in the North Sea on the island of Juist. After getting off the ferry onto the island, the weather was brisk and windy. There were no cars on this island, so you bike, walk or take a horse and buggy everywhere. I was in heaven! The island is small enough to walk across in a few hours, (although somehow I managed to get lost twice!) either along the beach or through the fields of horses and sheep. The sky looks so big when you're surrounded by ocean. I had magic, peace and beauty at every turn! I met wonderful friends of my family and we spent the week having fun together. While we were out shopping in town I noticed 2 kids with a double seated bike and the smaller kid in the back couldn't reach the pedals so he was pretend-pedaling through the air!!! Twas very amusing. I went for a few runs along the ocean during the week here, and as I ran through the wind, the ships drifted along the horizon and the sand danced along the shore. All the pain from my run slid off because the beauty that surrounded me was so breathtaking. Needless to say, I enjoyed my time on Juist and cannot wait to return again someday!


My family makes me feel comfortable and loved. I feel vibrant and true to myself. I am incredibly excited to see how everything unfolds in this next year. I attended a big family brunch last Sunday and met a majority of the extended family which was wonderful! The table was about 3 times longer than the average table and jam packed with food. It was truly a feast. I had 2 plates, 3 cups, 2 forks, 2 spoons, 1 knife, and a napkin. I smiled at the feast and thought, "Harry Potter." Really, I did.


This has been jumbled and crazy but so much has happened that I really cannot relate it all. I will conclude by saying that I am extremely blessed and I have so much to be thankful for. Sometimes I still feel sad and I don't think that will ever go away, but I am confident that this is right where I should be. So here I am, sitting in my house with my new brother who likes chocolate and "moonwalk/Michael Jackson" dancing to jazz funk music!