Moving day

                                                 Guido Deus, we hardly knew thee

So today, August 22nd, I move from Bonn to Bergisch Gladbach. I woke up fairly early this morning and finished packing. I took a load of bottles to the grocery store to get the pfand* back. There was a huge line (most people with only a few bottles), and I felt really awkward as I systematically inserted a backpack and two plastic bags of bottles and cans into the machine. The pfand was about €5,0. I then asked a lady in the store, what flowers she would suggest that I buy for my host mother. She told me that she personally liked the red/yellow begonias. It is apparently customary to write a letter to your host family before you leave, so I written the letter and plan on leaving in my room on the desk with the flowers. Hopefully she will like them. 

My bags feel significantly heavier than when I arrived. I have deduced that the twenty pounds of paper (worksheets, notes, brochures, magazines, etc.) is what has contributed the most to their mass. Also, I have a flag and a glass added, both of which I found next to a trash-can one night.

Last meal with my first host family was pleasant, and I know that I'll miss them (especially the little host brothers- Nick, Stan, und Pascal). Nevertheless, I am looking forward to meeting my next host family and getting to know my new home. I find it somewhat funny, that there exists a parallel  between me and my peers back home of moving to a strange new place. Another thing that I'm going to miss is my walk to school across the Rhein. 

*there is a small amount of money that is added onto most plastic and glass bottles as well as aluminum cans. This flaschepfand can be reclaimed when the container is returned. A glass bottle= €,08  A glass bottle with a flip-top (like Golsch)= €,15  A small plastic bottle= €,15 A large plastic bottle= €,25 and aluminum cans= €,25