Jumping ahead: My homestay experience

When in Europe, we were required to stay with a local family for one weekend. The area where I would be staying temporarily was Amorbach, Germany. As we got out of the charter bus and gathered our suitcases, names were being called one by one to follow the next family. When it was my turn, I encountered a girl my age with voluminous, curly blond hair. Her name was Laura, and she led me to her dad who was waiting beside their compact car. I rode in the front seat to their quaint home, which was on the top of a hill. As Laura led me inside, she practiced her fluency in English by telling me how her family grew their own vegetables and raised chickens. I was won over by life in the old country almost immediately, but I would later discover some customs that I missed from America. For example, the first night I was with Laura, we walked to a local lake and all smoked a joint. It's not that I couldn't do that in the United States, but weed is far more tolerated in Europe, and I just was not expecting to be exposed to it so quickly or at all on my trip. However, Laura taught me a lot of things about her culture. In addition to pot being tolerated, children in Amorbach at birthday parties would normally smoke from a bong. Laura said it was pretty much expected. Something special that I didn't expect was finding an oriental shop, which sold second-hand goods and unique crafts.

The second day I was in town, Laura brought me shopping in the biggest town around Amorbach. I got to sneak onto the train, and it was the first time I had been to H & M. That night, we went to a 'party' which was really just a bonfire with a bunch of potheads. We soon left and went to a pizzeria around midnight. Laura then called her dad to pick us up, after Laura had smoked and drank some. It seems that her parents didn't mind, and that is a difference as well in culture. It dawned on me sometime during my home stay that Laura would be hitching a ride from her father probably until she was 18 because that is the minimum age one in Europe can get a license. Some high points of the stay not already covered included watching Die Hard, falling asleep with a huge poster of a pot leaf on the ceiling, suffering dehydration due to their love of 'carbonated' water, and playing guitar hero in the church's game room. All in all, it was a wonderful experience. I miss Laura, her family, her friends, and her town. I will go back sometime when I'm a 'real' journalist. Ahem!