Martha and Bernd left this week for their four week vacation in Italy (which they say as if it's nothing), meaning the first round of goodbyes happened sooner than I'd expected. I grilled hamburgers in order to send them on their trip the right way. Bernd ate his open-faced with raw onions and curry ketchup, using a knife and fork. I am really going to miss him. In the first German months, I basically lived by the golden rule: When the language comprehension gets tough, go and sit by Bernd. From our multiple (and relatively silent) trips to the Post Office to pick up the illegal American packages my parents were attempting to send, to stalling out multiple times during stick-shift lessons on Bernd's choice of the busiest road in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, it will be beyond hard to forget him, especially with the picture of his black and blue nose after Oktoberfest engraved in my mind.
Martha had the fantastic ability throughout my entire stay of never making me feel like an outsider. From my first day, the hand motions were set into action and they honestly never stopped. I mean, the funniest morning so far in my life was spent with her, half-naked in the living room after falling into a giant puddle with the stroller. Without Martha, her wonderful ways with her grandchildren, and her willingness to babysit, I would have never been about to travel as much as I was able to this year, and for that, a large amount of credit for a the well-traveled person I am today is owed to her.
Thank you both for being so wonderful to me. While y'all are laying on the beach in Italy, the rain is pouring down here, and I had abundant time to make a Mathis video! This one's for you.
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