Must Be Sunday

Today my father and I visited his friend Sal and Sal's wife who are from Bosnia and live about 40 minutes away. They were very wonderful and incredibly nice and we sat and talked for a couple of hours, working up our appetites before we went for a late lunch/early dinner.

Sal's wife served homemade lemonade mixed with fresh squeezed orange juice and mint leaves from their garden. Alongside the lemonade were delicious Albanian pastries from the local bakery and fresh picked blackberries and raspberries from the garden. We sat out on the back porch and admired the weather and the wonderful view of the garden and talked about Germany, their family, and education.

Blackberry bush

Speaking of the garden...Wow. It was beautiful- healthy and gorgeous. There were blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, eggplant, tomatoes, cantaloupe, bell peppers, kale, beets, and more! Sal and his wife tend to their garden themselves and everything is so fresh and delicious. And somehow the animals don't mess with the food.



When we got hungry we headed out for lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant named La Marsa. The food was plentiful and delicious and everyone had a bit of everything. Fried kibbee, fattoush, chargrilled salmon, shawarma, fresh baked bread- a veritable feast. I had a good conversation with Sal's wife during the meal and got great advice on living abroad and life in general. She was very helpful.

Sooo...yeah. Great food, great people, great times. Must be Sunday :)

Schau mal! (Look!)

Click here if you'd like more information about Freiburg, the city I'll call home for the next year!

Click here if you'd like to see an interactive panoramic photo of Freiburg!

Lastly, click here if you'd like to learn more about the study abroad program that's providing me with this wonderful opportunity!

Takin' Care of Business

Well, we are now in the single digits! Nine more days until I leave for Germany!

I took care of a few things today. I got my traveler's checks and Euros and went about figuring out how to get my absentee ballot for the presidential election this November. I still have a bit of shopping to do and then I've got to pack eventually :)

I've been thinking about what I'll miss most about home during my year abroad. Aside from the obvious (friends, family, etc.), I'll miss the food and Ann Arbor. I'll miss the U of M atmosphere and my engineering classes, I'll miss working in the engineering lab I've been with for the last year, I'll miss the sights and activities on campus. But I suppose getting rid of my old surroundings will only make room for the new!

I had a nice lunch outing with my dad today. We had lunch in Mexicantown at Armando's, as we've done many times before. I think I may just miss that the most.

Goodbye, Ann Arbor :(

I had my last German class of the summer today, so there's no reason to remain in AA. I'm packin' up and headed back to Detroit for these last...lemme count...18? 18! 18 days. Wow.

These last two and a half weeks will consist of me running around shopping for last minute things, getting my suitcase(s) together for Deutschland, calming my mother's frayed nerves, spending quality time with my loved ones, taking care of this USD-->Euro business at the bank, getting my scholarships sorted out, declaring my dual major in German and Engineering, and trying not to forget any German I've crammed these last few weeks.

Even though my departure date is fast approaching, it still doesn't seem real. Should I give it another week? It's hard to imagine that as my friends are moving in and enjoying the Welcome Week festivities on campus, I'll be sitting in an airport and flying across the Atlantic. I suppose all I can do is take it one day at a time.

Well, I'm off to make sure I haven't forgotten anything in the nooks and crannies of my apartment and to listen to a bit of Oomph! Goodbye, Ann Arbor. I miss you already.