Family.

Family.

There are many types of families.

They are the most important people in your life, no doubt. Friends come and go, boyfriends and girlfriends come and go, but family, family is really always there for you.

Brothers and sisters may get on your nerves, mom might say 'no' to that awesome party that everyone will be at this weekend, dad most likely will always be concerned with what happened at the game this past weekend, but you know that the minute you sit down for dinner everything kind of, stops. Just for a second.

Family is the support, the stability you need to learn, to grow up, to become the person you will be in 5 years; 10 years; 20 years. They are your balance, your safe haven.

You must remember, family is often born of blood, but it doesn't depend on blood. Nor is it exclusive of friendship. Family members can be your best friends, you know. And best friends, whether or not they are related to you, can be your family.

I have come to realize something over the past 8 months now, nobody can ever replace your family, you can have some pretty good runner ups, but there is nothing like hugging your own Mommy, getting butterfly kisses from Daddy, and that occasional sweet moment from a sibling.

This past weekend was, I think one of my favorite weekends here in Germany.
Friday: I was supposed to go to a Taco Night with friends, but it didn't work out. I ended up on the sofa with my host dad, eating a bag of chips, drinking some soda (out of the bottle), ordering in pizza, eating it on the couch, which never happens. We watched Gladiator, which was, interesting to say the least. While cracking jokes and laughing the whole night. I was actually so happy to be spending my night this way. It was so much fun, honestly.
Saturday: I got to sleep in a bit, I ate breakfast with my host mom, and Antonia (my host sister). Antonia was going to Justin Bieber in concert in Cologne, so my host mom had to drive her. Soooooooo, we all drove to Cologne. Originally my host mom and I were going to a really big sauna and pool area. We dropped Antonia and Svenja off and then drove around looking for the Sauna. We got there and saw this really cool zip line ski lift thing, I'm not really sure what it's called in English. It took us over the Rhine River and you could see the entire city of Cologne, everything that it had to offer. We decided that we didn't want to go to the sauna anymore, instead we wanted to see the city. So first, we went to the Dom, The big church in the city center. We walked through the shopping district and the old part of town. After that, we went to the oldest restaurant in the city. It was so delicious. I ate Wiener schnitzel and potatoes. So delicious! We then walked across the bridge to the big carnival. We took in all the sights, sounds, smells; everything. And then, as the end to our night, we rode "The Wild Mouse" which was so much fun! It was thrilling even. We stopped for some ice cream and coffee before picking Antonia and Svenja up.
Sunday: We had a lovely breakfast. Then we talked about what we wanted to do for the day. We decided on mini golf. This day was so nice outside. The sun was shining, about 9 degrees Celsius. We played a round of mini golf. Sabine (mama) won, I came in 2nd, and Antonia in third. I played the whole time so bad! And then I got better at the end. Antonia played the entire time so well, but once mama left, it was all downhill. After mini golf, we drove to Fröndenberg. We walked through a cool market and then found a place to sit down and eat. It was Italian. I had spaghetti carbonara. Boaaaaa, that was so amazing. Best I've ever eaten. We then drive home and had a nice evening.
Last weekend will be one I will always remember.

so, I know now, that I have a family in Florida and two families here. They all love me, they all want the best for me, and they all care about me. I love them all and am so happy I had the opportunity to get to know them like I have. I also have a family of exchange students. We are all family. I love this word family.

Sweet Serendipity.