Heiko's Birthday

Dear Jack,

[Transcribed from handwritten journal. Links added for enhancement]

Today Heiko went to get his drivers' license, so I went with Jewe and JP to school. At school, Jewe was helping close down the computer lab, so JP and I were allowed to play computer games. We played "block Out". It is a 3-2 Tetris game. It was fun at first, but got boring quickly. At 11:30 we met Heiko at the front and he drove us home, but he had to go back for a math test, so I went to Jewe's house with JP next door.

[The families lives in a "Hof Complex". I was told that eight families built the complex around 1984 out of wood. Heiko's family and Jewe's family were part of the original eight families. The handwritten journal has a drawing of the complex layout.]

At Jewe's we talked, listened to music, and horsed around. Jewe has a linguistics computer that speaks English...so we tried af ew words and phrases. Around 1pm Jewe's step-mother Monica came home with Gypsy their dog...who had got to the vent to remove a cataract. Gypsy was out cold, and her tongue flopped deadly in the wind.

Monica's aunt came also. She was very nice and was born before the war. They fixed lunch for us of Hot Dogs, and hot potato salad with white asparagus. It was very good. The women went upstairs for a nap, and Jewe went to the bank. JP and I hung out till 3 when Heiko came and got me.

Back at home, Heiko's grandmother and cousins were visiting for Kaffee... a special one for Heiko's birthday. 5l3 made many treats...the best being Apfelstrudel. Hekio's aunts also came and two of his friends... Sabah his ex-girlfriend and Samona... a female friend. With everyone speaking at once, I started to loose interest and concentration.

At 7m Heiko drove to the 13th grade graduation. It was fairly formal with tables and servers. Heiko and I sat with Ute and the other teachers. There we ran into David and he joined me to talk. It was nice to have someone who I could understand. We then had a buffet and finished the commencement ceremonies. I must say I miss the non-smoking sections in the US. We got home around 13:30 am.

Bonn and Köln

Dear Jack,

[Transcribed from handwritten journal. Links added to enhance.]

Today Heiko and Jewe took JP and me to Bonn and Köln. In Bonn we visited a history museum. It was rather un-interesting, but we had fun anyways. We rode a train to Köln from Bonn. In Köln we ate lunch and walked through the Dom. I can hardly believe the height of the Bell Towers. They stab the sky like two steep mountains.

Today was Corpus Christi and so a lot of people were there, and it was decorated. No shops were open... and of course there was no school. After touring the Cathedral, we waited for Jewe's father to pick us up. We talked while we waited. The ride from Köln to Aachen was short for there are no speed limits on the Autobahn.

When we got home Ute made pizza-pasta. It was fairly good. It was like penne pasta with pesto sauce and mozzarella. I read Ute and Heiko the story "Love You Forever". I think they liked it.

Aachen Center

Dear Jack,

[Transcribed from handwritten journal. Links added to enhance].

Today I went to school and from there we (the Americans) walked to a bus stop. We rode a bus to Aachen Center. There we met Frau Martens. She took us on a tour of Aachen Center. The Aachen cathedral or Dom is very pretty and decorated with mosaics. I tasted some sulfur water at the Baths. It stuck horribly, and when I burped, I re-tasted it.

We returned to the square where a market was going on and broke up into groups. Joy and I went with the adults. We ate at the Golden Schwan. I ordered the house pizza. It was really good. Frau Martens fought Mrs. Fulford to let Joy and I walk alone... since we were both adults in Germany. I was shocked when Mrs. F. finally consented. Joy and I went shopping. I bought some books. When we returned to the center of town, it began to storm.

I was yelled at by Mrs. F. for using an umbrella because "it is a lightening rod". I wish she could find a different way of saying things rather than getting pissed and yelling. If she cannot be nice, I fear I will become rebellious.

Later today I went with Ute to the 10th grade graduation. It was not the formalist of things, but there was a lot of heart in it. Frau Martens said on a private time Mr.s F. cannot forbid us to drink and she gave us champagne with orange juice. It was sort of sour, and I drank very little. 1nn1 graduated 10th but she is going on to 11th so she did not get a diploma. From there we went home and I tried to call home, but no one answered.

Over the River and Through the Woods

Dear Jack,

[Transcribed from handwritten journal. Links added for enhancement.]

Today I went to school mit JP und Jewe. Wir haben eine Klasse von Geschichte, eine Klasse von Mathe, und zwei Klassen von Englisch. Um 12 Uhr, Ute und ich haben zu Heikos Großmutters Haus gegangen. There we ate Tomatensalat, Gurkesalat, Pilze, und Schweinfleisch. Es hat mir gut geschmekt. Für nachtisch haven wir Vanillen Eis gehat. His grandmother is very nice.

We ate with his parents, sister, cousins, and aunts. His uncle has a few horses. The stud is at least 6'4" at his shoulders. The mare is 5'8" and the two babies are eye level and chest level. They are all brown.

After dinner we came home, and I took a nap while Heiko mowed the lawn. Later we went to school for a welcome dinner. We ate quiche Lorraine. Heiko did not like it, but I liked it. Heiko, Anna, Joy, Barbara and I hung out together being the elder kids. Heiko is the eldest. We passed a wet ball around to pass the time.

Back at home, H23k4 and I talked about Russia and his trip to Tampa. He is very friendly and speaks exceptional English.

Amsterdam Stop

Dear Jack,

[transcribed from handwritten journal. links have been added for enhancement.]

Our plane landed safely in Luchthaven Schiphol in Amsterdam at 8:30am. We only had to circle it for half of an hour.

From the airport we rode a train to the central station. It wasn't that easy because we had to switch trains (Treinen) twice, for he original track was obstructed. The girls in our group gawked at the Dutch guys and dreamed that they liked them (Middle Schoolers are s funny). In Amsterdam, we walked to the Anne Frank Huis. Heere we waited for a long time in line. The girls left to get some food. The guys had to wait. The guys include David, J.P., Daniel, Robbie, and Thomas (the trouble maker). The worst behaved girl was Heather. When we neared the entrance, the girls showed up and came in with us.

The Anne Frank house looked like it was being renovated. The most striking feature of their hiding place was the seep stairs, although the rest of the building had steep stairs also. I was not really impressed with the exhibit...about as much as I was with Anne Frank's journal. I like Corrie ten Boom better, and I wish I could have gone to Haarlem to see that place instead.

From there we walked to Hard Rock Cafe, or were supposed to do so. Mrs. Fulford really did not know where it was. She said it must have moved. ON the way there, we lost Ms. Hanson, Heather and some girl with a lot f makeup. Mrs. F. went crazy but tried to stay calm. We traced our steps to the square, but did not find them. Due to a loss of time, we went back to the Central Station in the hope that they would get there too at 2pm when our train was to leave.

Mrs. H. and the girls meanwhile had gone to the real Hard Rock and rode a bus-tran to the station. They were a little shook up, but they had gone to Hard Rock. We nearly missed our bus [sic, supposed to be train]. The station had screwed up which line we were supposed to ride, and we racedf rom track to track.

Back at the airport (3pm) the guy s were allowed to get some food. Daniel  Joy, and I went to Burger King. I only had a milk shake (banana).

Our plane was at Gate B6, but we had to ride a small bus to the small plane...with propellers. KLM was the name of the company. I sat in seat 10D by the window below the wing and propeller. We flew fairly close to the ground to Maastricht. It took 30 minutes. I slept. At the airport our families were waiting for us.

Heiko (my exchange brother) is very tall, and his father has a beard. We took JP and Jewe (his exchange brother) home. We rode in a Russian car. The speaker started to catch fire. Luckily it was fixable. Jewe and Heiko live in a communal house. That is there are several houses around a court yard all in the same style and connected.

Heiko had a special engagement to be at at 7. Mrs. Seimen took him. Herr Siemen and I went to Jewe's house for dinner. Jewe's parents are Monica and Gerd. Monica made spaghetti. I was offered bier and champagne since I am over 16, but I turned it down and drank Apfelsaft instead. They have a dog with cataracts named Gypsy. Their house is decorated with a lot of blue. The food was good and 5ll3 (Mr. S.) made pudding. It was not as sweet as I am used to. Afterwords, we went home, and I went to the bathroom.

Departing For Germany

Dear Jack,

[transcribed from handwritten journal. links have been added for enhancement.]

I went to church as usual. I was already packed. During the service we sang the Naval Hymn. The last time I remember hearing that song was in Titanic...and of course the line "perils of the sea" was foreshadowing the end of the ship.In the modern version of this song, it has also perils of the air. I felt... wonderful.

At 2pm Joy and Wanda showed up, so we left for the airport. Wanda was being really protective. We got there around 2:40. No one else showed up until 3pm. We checked in and headed for E3 Gate. Our flight was flight 38 Delta. I switched to air miles to my name. We boarded at 5:05. I sat in seat 38D. Joy sat in 35D, so we switched her to seat 38C. It took a while to get off, but we did so around 5:58. We had a choice of steak or chicken for dinner. I chose the steak. it was surprisingly tender. Joy had chicken and spilled bits of rice on herself. The movies were At First Sight and Message in a Bottle. They were both sappy and boring. Two Dutch/Chinese people sat in front of us. The woman had trouble walking. Behind us sat a Dutch family with a young girl. I sat next to Joy and an American college guy who didn't talk much. We were in the middle. The stewardesses' sleeping seat was next to the college guy, and a short girl with wavy black hair sat on the other side. Joy and I tried to sleep, but neither of us could due to the movies playing.