It's all coming to an end

I've known my time here is winding down, but it didn't seem real until last night. Yesterday evening, we had our end-of-year banquet for the student teachers, our mentors, school administrators, and a few other key people at Burg Lichtenberg castle in Kusel, which is maybe 20 minutes from Baumholder.

After school, Judy and I ran some errands. We went to the post office and then to the car rental place in Baumholder so I could reserve a car for next weekend when my dad arrives! I got an automatic Toyota little station wagony thing. Haha. The price on it isn't bad, though. But we will have to pay for gas.. and gas is pretty expensive here. And they only pay by the liter, not the gallon. But I was relieved to get that off my checklist.. I was getting kind of nervous, anxious, and stressed about it. We can even go to the car rental place the day Dad gets here, have him show his license and passport, sign a paper, and then he could drive it too.

So after doing that, we went to Judy's house in Motzenbach, which is about a 40-minute drive from Baumholder. We hung out at her house, she showed me her plants outside, we talked to the neighbors, then we headed over to Beth's house. Beth and Judy are really good friends. Beth is the Educational Technologist at Wetzel Elementary. Before I moved over to the high school, she and I were going to work together on some things. Anyhow, so we went to Beth's house and hung out for a bit. We unpacked the stuff she bought in Turkey over spring break and admired it in all its blue glory (everything she bought was blue; it was pretty funny).

Beth was one of those "key people" from the semester, so she went to the banquet. The three of us left around 5:40 or so to go to Kusel. Kusel is a pretty good sized town. We drove up to the castle on a hill where there are great views down into the valley. It was really pretty. Plus, we've had GORGEOUS weather lately. Sunny and in the 70s. We got to Burg Lichtenburg right on time, but a few people still hadn't arrived. We looked around the outer parts of the castle and took some pictures. It was nice.

Earlier in the semester a teacher had us over to her house for a party/dinner thing... and I wrote about how you could see a castle from her house. It was this castle.

So after everyone arrived, we went in to the restaurant. We had all kinds of food to choose from: salad stuff, two different kinds of turkey (one in slices and one in strips with a gravy), rice, noodles (I can't remember the German word right now), cauliflower cakes that seemed like potato cakes. There was some more stuff too, I think. So we all ate dinner.

For dessert we had apple strudel, ice cream, and vanilla sauce. Of course it was wonderful. During dessert, we had to go around and say something nice about our teacher and what we've learned. We each had a rose to give to our teacher. Then, our teacher said something about us.

Judy and I kicked the whole thing off (thanks, Terry). I talked about how Ball State taught me different elements of being a librarian, but Judy taught me how to actually apply it. She taught me about classroom management. She taught me how to actually run a library. And she helped me improve my teaching skills, especially because I didn't have any experience with that. But more importantly, I learned that all librarians are pretty similar. We like our own space, we like order and organization, we like quiet, we like to sit in the same seat at lunch everyday. But more than that, we like peanut butter. The only difference between us is that I drink coffee and she drinks tea. And as I said that, the tea she ordered was brought to her at our table. Pretty funny.. great timing!

So then it was Judy's turn.. I knew she was going to embarrass me. She had a whole list of things to say, which she pulled out of her pocket, and a bag of props. So of course she had to start off with when I arrived she had me cut down boxes and how I had a lot of trouble. She talked about how she was wondering how I would handle the high school boys since I'm barely older than them, some of the boys are "interesting," and that all the boys have crushes on me. But she was surprised to find out that half the girls have crushes on me too!.. and they're more of a problem than the boys. All the girls want to be my friend. (Everybody was cracking up during this whole thing, by the way).

So then she started talking about how everyone says I'm her mini-me. She mentioned how we both eat peanut butter a lot and every morning I drink my coffee out of a "Judy" coffee mug. The mug seriously says Judy all over it. I'll sit at the front desk with my Judy coffee and she sits past me in her office drinking her tea. Sometimes I'll eat a piece of peanut butter toast for breakfast at school. And once a week, Rick (the tech guy who is awesome and I will miss a lot) and his kids stop at their local bakery. They bring both Judy and me a pretzel. We put peanut butter on our pretzels. So then on those days, I'm drinking my coffee out of a Judy mug and eating a pretzel with peanut butter (the jar on the desk next to me) and she's sitting past me in her office drinking her tea and eating her pretzel with peanut butter (with her jar on the desk next to her). So funny. People crack up when they walk past us and see us. One time, a teacher's seven-year-old daughter came in to the library (before her bus picked her up at the high school to take her to the elementary school) and she asked, "Are you guys eating the same thing??" Even little kids notice. So funny.

So during this speech, she pulled out a Judy coffee mug to show everyone. Of course everyone is laughing really hard at this. So then Judy starts talking about how she thought I needed my own mug... she pulls out a mug that says, "Judy's intern"!!!!!!!!! Everyone is really laughing by now. But then she said she always wanted and asked for an intern. She finally got one and that I am the last librarian to come through Ball State.. and that I was the perfect intern.

But then she says, "Well, I got her another one too, and it says 'Lindsey' on it." How sweet and funny. So basically we get through all of this and everyone's laughing and she's done. It was time to move on to other teachers and student teachers. Everyone else was really sappy... It was basically a big cry fest. One girl was crying so hard she could barely talk. Oy.

This proved to me that Judy and I are even more alike than I thought. We don't feel the need to get sentimental like that, especially in a room full of people. I will be giving her a gift and a thank you card before I leave. I plan to write more in there about what I've really appreciated and how wonderful I think she is.. that doesn't need to happen in front of a bunch of people. So weird.

Anyhow, it was a good night. Liz (who lives across the hall from me) and I rode home with Terry afterward. We were all talking about how sad we are to leave here. We have grown close to these people and it will be hard to leave. But Terry was right when she said we need to leave now while everything is still good. If we were to stay much longer, everyone would start hating each other, and it's true.... there's already too much drama and people being mad at each other, living in such close quarters where everyone knows everything about everyone. So it's good that we're leaving now, even though it's going to hurt, because it will stay a wonderful memory forever.

Terry gave a speech last night, which had funny parts, but was also really touching. She talked about how this is the most amazing semester she has ever had and how we have all grown into a family. She talked about the awesome, unique experience we have had in this diverse school setting. The community is close-knit and our students are wonderful. We have been there to help them as a parent has deployed. And we have been there when the unmentionable happens in Afghanistan. The teachers at these schools are awesome; they put the students first.

I am so sad to leave Baumholder. I am ready to come home and be with my family and friends, but I am really sad to leave my people in Baumholder. But I know I'll stay in touch with them. Both Judy and Radley (the ET at my school whose office is in the library) have told me I have a place to stay when I come back to visit. So sweet. I will definitely have to come back to visit.

Radley has been such a help to me. He is just a good guy who everyone loves. He has helped me with school stuff, personal computer problems, and anything else. He is so fun and so funny. I have loved getting to know him and feel honored that he enjoys me being around BMHS and in the IC. He has invited me to go to events and breakfast (before the soccer game). Anytime we've gone to McDonald's in the morning, either for breakfast or coffee, he always pays (awwww). He's given me a couple of rides. He's having Judy, Quintin (other student teacher), Quintin's teacher, and me over to his and his wife's house on Tuesday for dinner. The other day he told me, "You know if you ever want to come back and visit, you know you have a place to stay, whether you're alone, bring your family, your boyfriend, your fiance.. You have a place to stay." I thought that was so sweet. I'll miss Radley.

And Judy. She has just been amazing. I have learned so much this semester. She is so knowledgable about this profession and about life in general. She has helped me improve as a librarian and as a teacher. At first, I was so intimidated by her, but now I don't feel that way. It hasn't quite hit me yet that I won't see her in less than two weeks.. I am going to miss her SO much. We have so much fun together. I can't count all the things she has done for me since I've been here. She has given me countless rides, taken me to run errands, taken me to dinner, paid for my dinner, had a dinner at her house, made sure I had a coffee pot in the IC, brings in good water for me to use for my coffee (rather than the nasty water we have here at school and in Baumholder), let me put her as a reference on my applications, sent me links to jobs, is writing a letter of reference for me, brought me a gift back from her spring break in Turkey (a cute elephant bag... she hunted all week for an elephant-something for me. She finally found the bag.. everything else was too junky, she said. But the bag was nice, useful, had elephants, and a lot of green--which is one of my favorite colors). Judy is a wonderful person who I will miss so much. I have no doubt, though, that I will always know her and will at least stay in contact with her. It will be sad not seeing her everyday.

On a different take, now that school is winding down, I am getting more and more excited for my dad to visit... in one week and one day. Whoa. How time has flown! Dad has never been to Europe before. I am just so excited for him to see everything. When I first got here, everything seemed so magical: all the hills/mountains and valleys, all the little towns, all the trees, everything. It has become normal to me now. I still admire it during a drive, but I am no longer mesmerized by it. I know Dad will think it's awesome. I am so excited to get to show him around. And he's coming at one of the prettiest times of the year in Germany: beginning of May. There are lots of shades of green... and really bright rape fields (yes, rape). Rape is what is used to make canola oil. The bright yellow fields are popping up everywhere. Judy told me by the time Dad is here, there will be even more.

I'm excited to take Dad around in Germamy, I'm excited for him to see Roman ruins in Trier, I'm excited to take Dad to Baumholder Middle School High School some morning and show him around and show him the information center, I'm excited for Dad to meet Judy. One evening, we're going to have to go eat with Judy and Beth... Beth has some restaurant that is her favorite, so we'll have to go there. I am just so excited.

This weekend is Easter weekend, which is a big deal in Germany. The Germans really know how to do Christmas and Easter. Everything is closed Good Friday and Easter Monday. Now that the wine, tourist season has begun, most touristy and shop things will be open Saturday. Terry, Jenna, and I are going to go to near-by (hour and a half drive) Rudesheim. It is a "romantic" town along the Rhine River. Terry went there once before and said it is very charming. We're hopefully going to go on a boat ride down the river! Anyway, I'm excited.

Terry is a wonderful person. We have really grown to know each other. She was a wonderful supervisor, mentor, confidante, fill-in-mom, and friend. I am going to miss her so much in a couple of weeks when I don't see her every couple of days and talk to her all the time. We are definitely going to have to get together this summer. We've already talked about going to eat at Puerta's and getting margaritas, going out on photo adventures, and her coming to Farmland (showing her my dad's place and going to Tanglevine). I just love her. She's awesome. She wasn't even supposed to be our original supervisor, but I'm so glad she was. She is a wonderful woman who I admire and love.

This semester in Germany has been a life-changing experience. I am a different, more independent, and better person because of it. I have had a wonderful student teaching experience; I have met and gotten to know some incredible people; and I have had amazing travels and seen so many different places. I can't believe it is all coming to an end. I have been living it for almost four months now and soon it will only be a memory. As Terry said last night, "Two weeks from now I'll be sitting in my kitchen thinking, 'Did I really live in Germany for four months?'"