“Sometimes you meet a person and you just click-you’re comfortable with them, like you’ve known them your whole life.”
As I mentioned before, I stayed at a language camp for a month with the forty-nine other CBYX/YFU kids. For the month we stayed in a youth hostel in Osterode am Harz. I absolutely loved it! We had language courses as well as cultural orientation during the week. Each weekend we had different activities. We even went on a couple of excursions.
On our first full day, we took placement tests to see what language class we would be in. I absolutely loved my class and teachers! We all got along great! On our “first day of school”, our teachers gave everyone a Schultüte. A Schultüte is a big paper/cardboard cone filled with sweets, school supplies, and or toys. Usually, children receive a Schultüte from their parents and or grandparents on their very first day of school to help the big day seem a little less scary. We were all really excited to receive our own Schultüte. It was so sweet!
After “school” we had quite a bit of free time. A lot of times we would go into town to explore. One of our favorite activities was getting ice cream. Let’s just say the ice cream shop Milano did very well for the month of August. Aside from spending all of our money on ice cream, we played a lot of games. Most of our free time was spent playing ping pong, fußball, pool, and werewolf (a party card game).
Some of our excursions included Walkenried Monastery, Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp, and a bat “hunting” tour (Yes, we went out at night and caught bats. No worries, the bats were not harmed. Our tour guides collected data from the bats and then we let them go right away). All of our excursions were really interesting! I would have to say my favorite excursion was going to the monastery. The architecture was gorgeous and the atmosphere was really peaceful.
For fun at the hostel, we had a lot of group activities. We had movie nights, trivia nights, a talent show, dance parties and much more. We went on scavenger hunts that included chasing Waldo through the town square and running away from witches. And we had several bonfires where we made Stockbrot (translated to “stick bread”) and sang songs. One of our favorite songs to sing was “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. (We liked to replace “West Virginia” with “Osterode”.)
I’d say the best part about Osterode was bonding with the other exchange students. By the time our month together was over, we were really sad to leave each other. However, at the same time, we were really excited to meet our host families. It’s one thing to meet new people and become friends. But it’s another thing to live with a group of students that you instantly connect with. This connection is one of a kind because of shared passions and the true understanding of the experiences that await.
Photoshoot in the town square of Osterode 
Everyone was excited to get a Schultüte! 
My language and culture class (Hans, Ella, Karly, my language teacher: Sandra, my culture teacher: Alina, Laura, and Jeff) 
Just one of our daily ice cream trips 
Our class loved playing games! 
Outside of the Walkenried Monastery 
Sitting around the fire most likely singing “Country Roads, Take Me Home” 
My first time making Stockbrot 
Our class had a mini graduation ceremony! 
Yes, we had to do the classic “throwing the caps” picture
Oh, the Places I'll Go! 