The best time I had in Germany was the last Sunday I was able to spend with my host family. I slept in really late and soon after my host father Andreas grilled some meat for everyone. It was like nothing I’ve ever had in America and I made sure to eat as much as I could. However, I think the best part of the day was when I went to the lake with my host family. I spent lots of time talking with Andreas who didn’t know English about my life back home. He joked that my beach back home might be a little better than the lake in Germany but I just laughed and said I didn’t have an opinion. We also talked a lot about the wildlife in America. I explained that you can often see dolphins from the shore in Virginia Beach and how there are sharks but I am fortunate enough to have never seen one. However, there were several times when I couldn’t understand what he was saying so I just nodded and said “Ja”. But I no longer felt afraid of speaking in German. Although I am still far from fluent it was truly a great feeling knowing that people could understand me in a different language. This was an experience I could never replicate in German class and I was fortunate enough to form close relationships with people on thousands of miles away from home.