The first full day with host families, and first student takeover! I am paired with Anne, and today we had a lovely day exploring Germany. I was greeted in the morning with an array of bread better than any bread in all of North America. When I told them I had missed good German bread from the Aldi’s “bread vending machine” it was decided an Aldi visit was in order. We went to two grocery stores, neither with a bread vending machine, much to my dismay. However, I was able to note some differences between the German groceries and your typical Food Lion. For one, all the German food is still arranged in cartons or in glass bottles: less waste and more environmentally friendly. Fruit doesn’t need those pesky thin plastic bags, and you must bring all the bags you need unless you want to pay extra. The back of the car was very full with all of the food! There is no grocery in Eppenhain (Anne’s town) so we went to the next one over. I greatly enjoyed the ride in the convertible soaking up the sun! When we returned, Anne and I helped Anne’s mother make schnitzel, potatoes, and spargel (white asparagus) for a tasty lunch together as a whole family! Then, I took a much needed nap on the balcony with the beautiful weather and all the flowers. When I was awoken, we went off to Darmstadt! Darmstadt is a university town where Anne’s father studied, but we went for the Schlossgrabenfest music festival. It was almost like a festival UNC or NC State might host, but bigger and reminded me of the state fair with all the food stations and people of all ages. There were many stages (maybe 5?) for all sorts of performers or DJs. Another different thing was that there was a special guest at one of the stages later in the evening – the German Eurovision entry from 2018! It was really cool to hear Michael Schulte sing his entry song from the contest. I find it interesting how much English music Germans listen to, as his song was in English. I also heard covers of many English songs, from Bon Jovi to Katy Perry! It was a very cool experience and I was thoroughly worn out by the end. I may have grumbled as I reluctantly paid for a WC and drank my lukewarm seltzer water, but it was a lovely day in Deutschland:) ~Emma