Hallo! Willkommen zu Sempiternal Wanderer. Mein name ist Krishaun. :)

Abschied und Farewell Party

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(I wrote this post one week ago, on the 23rd about the 21st + 22nd!)

This past week has been really exhausting.  It was the last week of our OSK in Deutschland, which means that everyone starts to ship off to their permanent host families. (Except for me, Shaurya, and Keegan - the latter stays in Schwabmünchen permanently, and Shaurya and I leave one week later.) The departure to our permanent families also means that new friendships separate as well as quick bonds with our temporary host families. The ending of these 3-weeks is completely bittersweet.
From left to right: Asad, Elsa, Keegan, me, Daelin, Savannah, and Shaurya
Yesterday night, the entire OSK + their Gästefamilies had an Abschied (farewell party). It was fun! Everyone cooked something from their country, which was especially gracious to my stomach. Haha. I made taco salad, which turned out to be a hit. I did not make it the way my mom makes it back home (with Catalina sauce) because we did not have all of the ingredients; however, I made a traditional taco salad. Making it was quite humorous, too, because we did not have taco seasoning at first, so it was not...taco meat. It was just meat, for, say, spaghetti. But before it got too late, meine Gästemutter und ich went to the grocery store and quickly bought some seasoning and salsa for the chips. 
 
My host mother made some Schnitzel, which was delicious! It is pretty much what we call pork chops back home, but it is traditionally made with Käse (cheese) and egg. At the Abschied, there was also Garlic Cheese Biscuits (Asad), pancakes (Daelin + Keegan), Brownies (Elsa), Devil Eggs (Savannah), Wurstsalat (my favorite - Elsa's host mom), and so much more that I cannot even name it all. And we were also able to drink. That is something I don't think I will be able to wrap my head around for awhile. Elsa, Keegan, and I had about three beers, and we really liked them. 
This was our OSK orientation teacher, Thekla.
This is who organized our OSK/OLC: Muriel. She also picked us up from the airport and lent me her bike to ride around Schwabmünchen every day.
During the Abschied, we also exchanged "Ssecret-Santa" gifts for when/if we get homesick during our time abroad. We are not allowed to open the gift unless we feel homesick, or we are back home from our exchange. Thekla and Dominque (our orientation + language teachers) gave us a little gift of candy, an eraser, a pencil, and a notepad for school. We also received a photocopy of a photo of our OSK, which was really sweet. I love that I can have a photo of my friends.
The one in the center is Dominique. She was our language teacher.
And then, today. Today was fine, as usual. We got out of school early enough (12:30). I went to Elsa's house and "helped" her pack. She leaves for Dusseldorf tomorrow with Daelin, who is going to be an hour outside of Cologne. And by "helped," I really mean I told her when she should roll her clothes and also pointed out more stuff for her to pack. Hahah. We obviously have a good friendship. 
Once she was done packing, Elsa, Tamara, Alexandra, and I started on the way to the park, where we were going to meet up with our friends. On the way, we ran into Asad, and we all continued to the park together. At the park, we hung out, took pictures, and enjoyed our time together before we are all separated again. At about 4:00, Elsa, Daelin, and I went to a bakery, and I bought myself a chicken sandwich with a pickle and mayo. Elsa bought musli. 
Keegan's obsession with black hair.
This is Alexandra, one of Elsa's host-sisters.
This is Simona, Savannah's host sister!
At about 5:30, we all biked to a climbing park, which was really fun. This is when our group started to break off, sadly. Asad left to go back to his family so that he could spend time with them before he leaves. The rest of us went to go get Döner, which is heaven in a sandwich. I got a spicy Döner, which tasted one hundred percent better than what I assume a regular Döner would taste like.  We all biked to another park and ate there. Once we were done, it was time for sad goodbyes. I'm super surprised that I did not cry. I'm going to miss everyone so much. I have become quite fond of my OSK friends. However, before Shaurya, Keegan, and I go home (we're only here for a semester), all of us are planning to meet up one last time, which is super exciting. 
This is Tamara, Elsa's oldest host-sister. 
This is Fabian helping Asad translate the good-bye and thank you letter Asad wrote for his host family.


Rebecca! She was the youngest sibling of Elsa's 3 host-siblings.


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About the Author

Krishaun Burns is a 17-year-old blogger, who is studying abroad in Germany for the Fall Semester of 2015/2016. She is a wanderluster at heart with a passion for writing, photography, music, and exploring.

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