Yesterday and today have been so fun. Last night, Amelie and I went to a camping trip/sleepover at Simone's house in Schwabmünchen for Keegan and Tamara's 16th birthday. Everyone was there, but Asad ended up going home at about 12:15 AM because he had something to do early today. We roasted stockbrot (stick bread), stargazed (there were four shooting stars, holy crap!), drank a bit of champagne once midnight hit (Keegan accidently popped it open earlier), listened to a bunch of music, and talked + laughed. It was really fun. We also stood in the front yard and some attempted to ride a unicycle, which is apparently very popular here in Germany. Ami was able to ride it, and Elsa was too (she is in the Chicago Youth Circus as a gym wheeler). Keegan attempted to ride the unicycle, but he failed miserably. Hahah. By the end of the night (which was technically morning -i.e. 3 something AM), I ended up falling asleep near our makeshift campfire - i.e. a candle.

Once we all woke up (which was about 8 in the morning), we got ready and had breakfast. Tamara's mom brought a cake, but I didn't have any because it was so early in the morning. I just had wheat bread with jam. After that, we all laid down once more, talked, and eventually took down the humongous tent that was up. (No lie, the tent was freaking huge!) Well, it was more like Tamara, Simone, and Elsa took the tent down. Whoops. 

When it was time for everyone to leave, Ami and I dropped off Alexandra and Elsa. Tamara rode her bike over to Simone's house, so she had to bike home. The ride back to Amberg was only about 25 minutes. When we got home, Ami and I attempted to watch Top Gun, but we both drifted off to sleep. I slept on her couch for about 30 minutes to an hour before I got up and went to my bedroom. I did not wake back up until about 5 PM. I made myself a sandwich with salami (pepperoni), turkey, and cheese. It was really good. After I ate, I talked with my host mom for a while about stereotypes of Germany and the US, which was a pretty good conversation.
The stereotype of Germany is that the people are mean and always upset. That is the opposite of what they are really like. Germans (I do not want to generalize, so I am referring to the ones I have met or talked to, but also ones that I haven't...hmm) are very kind. Strangers will say "Guten Morgen" or "Hallo". Germans have a very wide sense of humor; they are always laughing. It's really hilarious, to be honest. Also, Germans smile a lot. If you look confused, alone, happy, sad, anything at all and you make eye contact, they will smile at you. Also, they are always willing to help you. As someone who knows very little German right now, I can tell you that I have not yet gotten lost in Germany because someone is always willing to direct you.
One my host mom and I were finished talked, I went to take a shower because, one, I camped last night/early this morning, and two, we were going to a BBQ at our neighbor's house at 7 PM. After the shower, I finished my laundry, which was now hung up outside to dry. Not too long after that, we arrived at our neighbor's house, we were ushered to the back and given a glass of red wine. This was the first time I realized that, hey, I'm seriously in Germany. Back home, it is illegal to drink anything under the age of 21. In Germany, you only have to be 16 to drink wine and beer and 18 for hard liquor. We greeted everyone as they came (three other families), raised our glasses, and said,"Prost!" which translates to 'cheers' in English. 

We received another wine glass and one water glass for the duration of dinner. We were served white wine, which tastes a bit odd, but I came to enjoy the taste of it. The barbecue as a whole really delicious. I ate a salad with zucchini, mushrooms (I think), tomatoes, and paprika (peppers), roast beef with onions over it and some sauce, a fried blueberry,  rice, and beef mit paprika und beef mit curry. My favorite was the beef mit curry.

Once abendessen was finished, we were able to eat dessert, which was yummy! Since being in Germany, my sweet tooth has come back full force. I've eaten many ice-creams and unnecessary treats. We were also asked if we wanted some Sangria, and I had some. It was really delicious. (Cue Blake Shelton's song, Sangria) While we were snacking on dessert and drinking, I practiced my German with the other younger people sitting near me. It was Annalina, Elina, Karina, and Johannes (plus Ami). They all helped teach me not German, but Bavarian, which is a different German dialect. That was pretty entertaining. I learned about how the Oktoberfest technically starts in September now, but once upon a time, it began in Oktober, which is why it's called the Oktoberfest. And, in Bavaria, it is Wies'n.
Once 11:30 came around  (about an hour + 30 minutes ago here), Ami and I came back home. And now, I am posting this. And yes, everyone is still next door (I can hear them from my room). 

Monday was my first day of OLC/OSK (language camp) in Schwabmünchen.  To start the morning off, Ami and I got ready and drove to the train station, where we took a 7:40 AM train from Buchloe to Schwabmünchen.  Trying to catch that train was extremely tiring because Amelie had to buy her ticket, and she was quickly walking throughout the station. I had no idea where to go while she was disappearing up stairs and stuff; plus, I was wearing my Birks, which made chasing after her so much harder. Haha. But in the end, it turned out to be okay because we made it on the train. We had a ten minute ride.
Once we arrived in Schwabmünchen, we we waited for about five minutes to meet up with Elsa and her host family.  We all walked (a very long distance it seemed like at the time because es war sehr heiß!) to the school where our language camp is being held. For the first day, YFU held a breakfast for the families of the host students as well as the host students themselves. My host mom and dad could not attend because they had to work, but Amelie came. And although I highly do appreciate how much she has been helping me, I can admit that it felt really nice to be able to communicate in fluid English with others for the first time in a few days (Elsa, Savannah, Keegan, Asad, and Daelin). However, I was mostly quiet this part of the day because a lot of German was being spoken, and I was on the opposite end of the table from other English speakers. Oh well. It was still a very nice breakfast.

After breakfast, all of the host families and students introduced themselves.  Then, we put a sticker with our names written on it on a map of Schwabmünchen. After that, our teachers spoke to our families in German before dismissing them to chat among themselves while us students were led away to our classroom.  We chatted about quite a bit, including expectations, fears, and pretty much anything in between.  They told us that today (Thursday or Donnerstag), we are going on a scavenger hunt in Scwabmünchen. Once that was over, we were able to leave school early, at about 1:30 PM because we were done for the day.
Muriel took Ami and I to the train station, where we were waiting for a train to return to Buchloe.  There, Ami began to help me practice my German; how do you say that, what time did your parents get home, etc. Once we got back to Buchloe, Ami took me to LDS to get a prepaid SIM card.  I got a little overwhelmed at this point because of the language barrier.  I did not know how to ask necessary questions, nor was I able to understand much of what was happening. 
Amelie and I eventually went back home, and she made me some pasta strands, and I added tomatoes, peppers, and grated cheese to it. It was my first time eating pasta like that, but I surprisingly enjoyed it a lot.  While I was eating, Ami ran around the house, slapping post it notes with the German names of the object on the object.  We had a lot of fun with her trying to teach me names.  I'm getting there, haha. Eventually, we sat down, and I wrote twenty vocabulary words/phrases that I would like to know by Freitag (Friday). I learned my numbers by doing this. Cool.
After that, Ami and I sat around and updated our contact lists before going down to her room to watch Abduction with Taylor Lautner. We eventually dozed off until her mom came home. We went upstairs, and since no dinner was prepared, we heated up bread, leftover zucchini and potatoes, and my leftover Weiner. We also made a salad and ate outside.
Once dinner was over, Ami and I went to the fishing dock, at the lake.  She fishes there.  I met some of her friends and their family.  t was pretty awkward, and I was getting a bit frustrated because I could not understand anything, bug were biting me, and I was cold.  However, towards the end of the night, when the fire blazed and the moon started to rise, Ami, her friend, and I sat and played Unblock Me, and I was okay.  I still wanted to leave though. It wasn't because I was bored and was upset; I had to wake up early the next morning for my OLC/OSK.
When we were saying our goodbyes to everyone, one man attempted to speak to my in English, which was pretty nice.  I enjoyed the interaction.  I even attempted to speak German to him as well.  Once we left, Ami and I chatted about how we wanted to keep in touch once we separate, and hopefully visit one another.  It was a pretty nice, hot summer day.