Going Back to the US Tomorrow

Well folks, the end of my life in Germany has arrived. I think that saying "it's been great" or anything of the like will be too much of an understatement, so I just won't say anything about it at all. I'll be back in California tomorrow evening, around 8:30pm. And then back to LA to finish school and graduate. And then hopefully back to Germany sometime soon! 

I leave you with this picture of one of the most beautiful creations the world has ever known: The Bratwurst. 

Denn alle Lust will Ewigkeit.

Ich Liebe Deutschland.

We Won the Entrepreneurship Competition!

This semester I was enrolled in a business class, and the whole class revolved around a project that was to create a business. There were 5 groups, each consisting of 2 American students and 2 German students. The groups were all required to create a full business plan, including funding and budgeting detail, and then present the business plans to 5 judges, who are members of the American-German Business Club Bonn. The judges were mostly American businessmen.

And, our business won FIRST PRIZE!!!! We were so thrilled!

Here is my group celebrating after the big win!

And here's the best part: The first place prize was 1,000 Euros! Of course, split between 4 people, that is 250 Euros each! So I am very happy! Here is us "claiming our prize". 

These are my host parents, who attended the "farewell dinner party" last night where the awards were presented! Ranjana and Carmen.

Weihnachts Markts, Snow, and my last days :-(

There are no words to describe this picture. 

One of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my life. 

I was so cold, because I wore flat shoes, and it snowed! My feet froze, and I was miserable! That is why my face looks so disturbed, in spite of the beauty of the city of Aachen.

Germany is beautiful this time of year! It has been snowing a little bit, and every town has a Christmas Market (Weihnachts Markt) filled with amazing food, and nice little things. It is finals week, so I am under a lot of stress with my classes. I come home in 1 week - next Tuesday, the 16th. I am very sad to be leaving Germany, I'm not going to lie. I really love it here - the culture, the food, the cities, the language...everything! And I will be very sad to have to leave. I am of course excited to see all of my friends and family when I come back though :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have a nice Thanksgiving - wish I could be there! Actually, no...I'm not ready to leave Germany yet! I wish I could be there just for the day and then come back to Germany, haha. We are having a dinner at my school tonight. I made cranberry sauce, like I always do, so it's a little taste of home! I love you all, and hope you have a nice holiday weekend :-)

The Vatican (Yes, I saw the Pope)

Since The Vatican is it's own country, it gets it's own post. So actually I visited two countries on this trip! It was so awesome - we had a tour, which was almost private, because there were only 7 of us! Our tour guide was very knowledgable. It was so interesting! We learned so much about the history of all the artwork in the museum, and the church it's self. Totally worth the money and time! There were so many amazing sculptures and pieces of art, that I simply just don't have time to add. 

And yes, I saw the Pope speak and give a blessing on Sunday, in St. Peter's Square. I am attempting to upload the video, but it's not working - if I can't get the video added to the blog, I can show you all individually the next time I see you!

Pope Benedict XVI

St. Peter's Square

Swiss Guard!

Inside St. Peter's Basilica - amazing. 

This is my HIGHLY ILLEGAL photo of the Sistine Chapel. You are not allowed to take pictures, but people were sneaking them, so I thought I would go ahead and sneak one too. Hahaha, I'm so bad. Oh well! Enjoy this picture!

The Vatican Gardens

The Entrance

ROME

Rome, Italy. It was amazing. The food was so good (as you can imagine!), the people were generally pretty nice, and the sights were like nothing I have ever seen. It is a completely different landscape and culture from what I have been seeing in Northwestern Europe. I loved it! I want to go back to Italy so bad now, and spend some more time there. I would highly recommend Rome as a tourist destination - the public transportation is pretty cheap, and very easy to navigate. For those of you who live in CA and are used to seeing Spanish, it helps, because Italian has some similarities to Spanish, so sometimes you can figure out words which is nice. My friends and I went to all of the major tourist areas and sights, as you can see. We also went out at night and had wonderful Italian food and wine! I ate "Salami Picante" pizza every single day for lunch, and had gelato every day, sometimes twice! I had a mozerella salad, and a few rounds of carbonara pasta. I am sure my cholesterol is like 473892789475894257 right now, but I really don't care, because it was just too good to pass up! 

My Knight in shining armor!

Spanish Steps

Domus Betti, the owner of the B&B we stayed in. He was so funny - he talked to us so much, showed us a great restaurant (that we went back to 3 times, we liked it so much!), and gave us a bottle of wine. He was great! I think he got mad at us at the end though, because we accidentally broke the rod that the drapes were hanging from...oops! 

Trevy Fountain

Pantheon

Not sure exactly what this was, but it's gorgeous!

View!

Guards of the eternal flame, at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

Where in the world can you see something like this?

Circus Maximus - can't you just envision the chariot races?

Colosseum!

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Best pizza of my life. 

Yay! Our "favorite" restaurant. 

Stay tuned for Italy!

In two weeks, my dearest friends Jill, Lauren, and I are going to ROME!!! I am so excited.