Day One...Security checks, airplane rides, and...Weißbier-und Ruß`n-Fest?

Hey everyone...
I finally got some time to write on here. It has been some crazy first few days...
The airport started off kind of badly...haha. Dad, Mom, Riley, and Izzy were there, so I got my ticket fine and everything. But then the security check came, and I was pulled aside with all my luggage to be hand checked. Fun stuff... :) Turned out that one of the bags I had borrowed from my parents had a bunch of liquid soap containers (which is strictly prohibited, apparently) but out of precaution they wiped down my bags to make sure there weren't any explosives...which there weren't, obviously.

Anywho, I wasted my time walking around (and realized that everything in airports are overpriced), and found my gate just fine. The plane was HUGE though. I was a bit anxious about flying, to be honest. But amazingly enough, my seat happened to be right next to a 19 year old guy, named Sven, who is actually a foreign exchange student from Germany for aviation, and is going to be a pilot. He was extremely nice, and explained stuff to me about planes, taking off and everything, and in a way that was really comforting.

The plane ride was fun though...I love taking off and landing. :) I didn't get a ton of sleep, but some. Sven and I hung out for the 2 hour overlay in Amsterdam, but we had different flights into Germany. The next plane I was on was small and the person I sat next to was a girl from Sweden (whoo hoo! Sweden!). Her name was Erica and she works on designing airplanes framework, and she is also in the process of getting her personal flying license...so again, that was comforting. I don't really know the chances of getting two amazingly nice people next to me, that have studied airplanes, but...I think God works in mysterious ways. :) Erica told me how the luggage thing worked, so I got all my bags fine. Then we wished each other luck on our trips, and went our separate ways...And Leslie was at the doors outside waiting for me. It was awesome.
Leslie's step-mom drove us to their apartment, which is in a suburb of Munich. Although the suburbs in Germany are different than the suburbs in America, like Maple Grove. The way Leslie and Antje (Leslie's stepmom, who also knows fluent English) described it as: the suburbs in Germany grow over lots of time--hundreds of years, while the suburbs like Maple Grove were all pretty planned out, and grew quickly. So in Poing, where Leslie lives, it's like the country-side type of feel, but it's still considered a suburb.

Anyway, I arrived in Munich around 4:30, and we went to the party (Weißbier-und Ruß`n-Fest) around 10...and that was awesome. I loved it. I met so many friends of Leslie's, and most of the younger people here speak English very well. It was a lot of fun. :) A TON of fun.
It was odd at the same time though-I felt foreign. That's the first time I've ever felt that way. A few times, someone would turn to me, and begin to talk to me at the party, and they would be speaking in German, not knowing I'm American...and I would just look at them blankly, so they would repeat it again--so I would tell them I don't speak any German (which makes me feel like a total idiot), or turn to Leslie, and then she would explain to them that I'm not from here. It's just a weird feeling. That's the only way to describe it.
We finally left the party at 3 am, and went to bed around 4 or so...and then got up at 8 am on Thursday. ahaha :)



Be back later to update.
Love and miss you all!

:) Natalie