Current status: in Germany

So currently, I am in Germany. This is going to be a quick little post with some updates...but expect major bloggage come next week when I return to Valencia. I get back on Sunday afternoon. So why exactly am I in Germany?? Well it all started way back in December when I was trying to figure out what to do for New Years. My parents were going to be returning to the United States on the 31st, which would leave me in Paris. So I had 2 options--return to Valencia or find somewhere else. I did some thinking and figured it would be the perfect opportunity to visit my friend Paul Dijkzeul in Hamburg. He was a foreign exchange student at DC-G my junior year, and we got to be really good friends. He had invited me to come stay with him whenever I wanted, and he thought it was a great idea for me to come for New Years. So on the 31st, my parents left for the US, and I went to Hamburg, Germany. The flights were relatively uneventful..people kept trying to speak German to me or French, and I did not understand either of those languages. I was waiting at the baggage claim for my bag, knowing that just beyond the gates were mass of people and that one of them would be waiting for me. I enjoyed this fact, because most of the time there is no one waiting for me on the other side. I was pleased with this thought and humming a song in my head when I felt a tap on my shoulder...and there was Paul! It was great to see him, since it had been over 2 years since we last saw each other--plus I was shocked since the area I was in was a secure area, only passengers allowed. So somehow he had found a way to get down there without getting in trouble, and he successfully scared me. So I was in Hamburg from the 31st until the morning of the 5th. I will go into what I did there when I return to Valencia. Then on the 5th I came to Berlin, which is where I am now. I visited the city and saw a lot of neat things--all of which I will talk about later when I return to Valencia. As for right now, I am sitting in my hostel, waiting for my train to a small town outside of Hannover. Why am I going to this town?? Because I have relatives there! I am very German (in fact, I am more German than Paul is), and I still have some very distant relatives who live in the town Neustadt am Rübenberge and run a hotel...the Hotel Scheve. Scheve is my maternal great-grandmother's maiden name. So I am related...I have my Scheve family history book at home. Being able to stay at the hotel is a big deal for me--I have wanted to stay here since I found out about it. It is even included in my list of 100 goals I had to make my sophomore year of high school in English II with Mrs. Berkeley. That is where I am going today...then tomorrow afternoon I will return to Hamburg and leave for Valencia on Sunday the 10th. I will write all about my trips (Italy, family, and Germany) when I return and also post the multitude of photos I have taken. All for now. Hope you all are having a great year so far!!!