Dear World (or maybe just friends and family),

I haven't been able to write anything crazy and exciting yet. But I will, eventually. I've been keeping myself somewhat entertained by riding my bike (the seat needs to get adjusted b/c I can't reach the pedals *haha*) around the woods. Wait, correction...I have been TRYING to ride my bike around the woods. When I go towards the woods everything is uphill. Therefore my bike doesn't really move much except backwards...and the last thing I need is to break my bones because I rolled down a hill. So I've been walking around with my bike. Some days the weather sucks. Others (like yesterday) it's beautiful and sunny. I've been walking frequently because the woods behind the house is the most amazing thing i've seen in a long time. I take the dog out for a walk in the morning...and then i've started to do it before lunch too. Then I take a walk by myself sometimes. Yesterday I chose to bring Tizian along. We took about 90 pictures of the woods. I've become quite the photographer. I should add that to my list of minors or majors...haha Just kidding, daddy! But really, I am getting good at picture-taking. I've also realized that sometimes all you need is the perfect moment with the right amount of beauty and purity to capture a perfect picture. I haven't had to do much except look for something that I find beautiful, aim with my camera, and push the button. For example: the picture that is on this blog...How amazing is that??? =) I love it. Anyway...moving on. It's so peaceful out here. Why did I say out here? I say it like we're so far away from civilization. Maybe I just see this as something beyond reality. Living in the USA creates this sense of reality that is driving me nuts. Do we really have to live with so much stress and materialistic values? And i'm not saying that Germany is a wonder, either...actually Yes I am. I think it's just the area I live in...so let's correct that sentence. SOUTHERN Germany is a wonder. The only thing that bothers me is that the people are not used to being friendly and talkative. They don't smile at you and they get confused when you smile at them. My host-mother and I had a conversation about it. But I've gotten used to it and I still beam an ear-to-ear smile at everyone I walk by. Who knows? Maybe they had a bad day and my smile cheered them up. I went to "downtown" Markdorf yesterday morning with my host-mother. I fell in love. It's tiny, simple, a few coffee shops, a bar or two (or three), people on bikes, and a "poor" man playing a guitar and hoping for a few euros in his guitar case. My host-mom reminds me of me. She dropped in a euro and when I told her that maybe he's not poor she simply said "well...even if he's not...that euro might be enough to buy a piece of bread if he gets hungry while playing guitar". She's really open-minded and sometimes when I look at her I think i'm back in 1969 watching Janis Joplin at Woodstock (ok...so maybe that's not true...but I wanted to include Janis Joplin in my blog). I was going to ride my bike to downtown Markdorf this morning but it was raining and I'd have to be home before 14:00 (2 PM). So maybe tomorrow. I was hoping the man with the guitar would be their playing and singing so I can sit down with him and watch him play. It reminds me of 'Robert Is Here' in Miami. Relaxing..it makes you think about life. Or maybe it just makes ME think about life..about what's really important and what is just crap. I'm scared that i'll go back to the USA and forget about everything I've learned here...but it's doubtful. I don't know how ANYONE would ever forget about something like that. During my walk in the woods (without Tizian) I met 2 people that were taking a walk as well. I smiled at them and said "hallo"...They were shocked that I was so nice and started to talk to me. I told them that my German isn't that fluent and the man responded "mine either..i'm from England". I got really excited and I spoke to him in English a bit..until I realized that the lady didn't understand. I asked her where she's from and she said Prague so I tried to speak in German with her so she can understand. The man said something that has been sticking to me since yesterday. I asked him if he lives here or just visiting. And this is what he responded (exact words): "I came for 3 months...25 years ago". For some reason, those words just stuck in my mind. Does he see the same beauty and purity in Markdorf and the rest of Southern Germany as I do? Did he cherish it that much that he wanted to make it part of his life? Did he abandon "civilization" and modernity and embraced the natural beauty that is found here?...Hmm...Would I ever be willing to leave behind my "reality of the USA"? I can't answer my own questions now because I don't have an answer to them. Maybe it's just a vacation to me right now. Will I be sick of it by the end of the 6 months?

On my walk with Tizian we met Theo and his horse, Daylight. They're in my pictures. We couldn't communicate very well because he spoke absolutely NO english and my German wasn't fluent enough to speak to him. I was feeling a bit frustrated. Everyone knows I like to talk and meet people...and when I can't say what I want to say I get frustrated. But something amazing happened (it wasn't that amazing, i like to exaggerate). We understood eachother even though no words were involved. We looked, we glanced, we smiled, we laughed....and nothing was said. And we became friends. How?...hmm...Love, it's an international language. Love for people, for humanity, for beauty. It was love. No, i don't LOVE the man...I know what you're thinking. *haha* I meant that we both shared love for the horse, for the woods, for eachother. We just appreciated the moment. We stood there, no words said, but it was a nice moment. Theo, Daylight, Tizian, myself, and nature. =) Ok, i'll stop with the poetry. *haha* This is getting too long. I'm rambling. I go to Munich tomorrow...That will be fun! Oh, my host-mother bought a black boy doll for her granddaughter and a Dora the Explorer. It makes me happy to know that she's trying to teach her diversity. =)

I went to a Turkish restaurant with my friends last night and I ate Do:ner Kebab. It was really good. Look it up on google because I can't explain it. Bye! Sorry about the rambling and longevity (is that a word?) of this blog.

Faith, Hope, and Love,

Nani (my brother used to call me Nani when I was little...I wish he still did)

P.S. if you dont read this blog...i dont blame you. its too long. Oh and I forgot to mention, I went to Austria with my friends to get Benzin for the car...it's cheaper in Austria and only 30 minutes away.