Last night

Tomorrow I fly to Chicago from Frankfurt via Air India for 2.5 weeks. It's been an amazing 3 months here in Germany...a lot has happened, a lot has been learned, and there's even more to look forward to. I was quite busy this week with last minute Schubert rehearsals, German class, and outtings today with friends. I am sad to leave everyone but look forward to seeing my family. Highlights of the week: overhearing a group of German teenage girls singing karaoke to "Unchained Melody" (I nearly died laughing on the sidewalk...and hey, it wasn't like I eavesdropped - their window was wide open for the world to listen), having a washer at the laundromat eat 4 Euros so my laundy totalled 17 EUROS including the dryer (not such a great highlight), running 8 km with Annie (the other American here) through the Detmolder countryside, receiving from my landlords- a beautiful African wood statue from Togo and a handmade stained glass vase as presents for my parents and a copy of The Little Prince in German for me, collecting Greek recipes from Frederika and having to translate them from French to English, a beautiful dinner with Frederika and Mathilde on Friday as a 'holiday send-off' for me, booking a ticket to Paris for February for only 25 Euros (!), scrubbing my apartment to the point of spotlessness, and overcoming a bad throat cold. The most beautiful highlight, though, was observing the stars tonight. In Detmold, the sky is crystal clear and utterly peaceful. There is no noise, smog, or other external distraction to keep you from having a spiritual moment with the night sky. I stood on my street corner, bathed in lamplight, and just stared at the sky for a good 10 minutes. It was breathtaking and overwhelming at the same time...to imagine that we, as a living and breathing race of humans, plants and animals, encompass nearly every square mile of the planet but remain united under the same blanket of vastness, humbles one down to his very core. To realize that we are all so insignificant yet so rare gave me a deep sense of awe. It is a gift to be a part of this world. Guten Nacht.