Auf Wiedersehen, Jena

I'm leaving for service tomorrow.

I'm really nervous about it but at the same time I'm a bit antsy to see what I'll be doing and seeing how the place and people are like.

I didn't realize that Saturday was probably the last time I would be seeing a lot of the group until we all come back to Jena right before heading home. I only got to say goodbye to a few of them last night so, tschüss, group, if any of y'all read this! I hope service goes great for y'all.

The goodbye\thank you party for the host families went great. We had a great time putting it together and the more time we spent conversing with our families and performing for them we realized how much we care about them and aren't really ready to leave Jena. I am so comfortable here but knowing that I will at least come back for two more days before heading to the states brings some comfort.

I spent a wonderful last day outing with my host family yesterday. They took me to this little cottage-ish house they have on the outskirts of Jena where they have a couple fruit trees. My host parents and brother did garden work while Viktoria and I laid out under one of the cherry trees and took pictures. We got to eat a lot of the cherries and Viktoria and I had fun spitting the seeds out in to the grass so more cherry trees will hopefully grow in the future. On our way back from the garden, we stopped at a castle about 13 km away from Jena. I don't know how I had never noticed it before because it was very beautiful with an elaborate royal looking rose garden and neatly trimmed and carved hedges. It sat on the side of a smaller mountain that looked over Dornburg I believe. It was a fantastic way to end the day before heading out one last night in the city with a couple of SST buddies.

I will miss my host family and Jena while I'm gone but I look forward to the new experiences that await me in Bad Sulza.

Like Jo-Ann said, they would send the Mexican to the place that sounds like Bad Salsa.

:)