Better Late than Never

Home sweet Heidelberg!

     I officially apologize to all of you who have been waiting (quite patiently, I might add) for me to start a blog about my travels in Europe. There's not really an excuse, other than the typical "I've been really busy!"... but it's true. Between homework, travels, and bonding with the people in the house, I've been so distracted lately that blogging was honestly the last thing on my mind. But here I am, ready to give you an update!
     It's currently 10:30ish in the morning here in Heidelberg. I was blessed with a pretty amazing schedule this semester-- Mondays and Wednesdays are ridiculous, with class from 8:30-5:10. But then on Tuesdays I only have German class in the morning and convocation from 10:40- noonish. And Thursdays I have no class at all! One of two-- just Patrick Rear and me, because we are in the same German class.
     Today, however, we will have "class," if you can call it that. We are tagging along with the English class as they make an excursion to Frankfurt today as they visit Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's house.
     And speaking of Goethe, I have to say-- that guy was amazing. A womanizer, yes... but a genius. According to our German teacher Frau Wuttke, he had the largest vocabulary of any German. At one point in his life he was in love with a woman who was engaged to his friend. He considered suicide but instead wrote the book The Sorrows of Young Werther-- in 4 weeks without an outline or any kind of plan. And he was only in his early twenties at the time. Just...wow.

     Anyways, I'm sure I'll have more to say about Goethe after taking the tour today. You probably are interested in how I've spent the past 4 weeks of my life (I really can't believe it's been so long already!). Well, I'll have to give you more details later as I'm a bit pressed for time at the moment, but I can say that I think these past 4 weeks just may have been the best of my life thus far. I've traveled so much farther than ever before and met so many lovely people. Maybe it's crazy, but I don't feel like I'll ever be ready to leave this place.
     Last night, especially, felt like a turning point in the dynamic of Moore Haus. We had small group, which usually lasts for about 30 minutes, but for some reason about 18 of us just hung out in the reception room for almost three hours, lost in deep conversation-- the kind where everyone basically bared their souls. Not like I didn't respect these people before, but now I feel that my affection and respect for them has increased exponentially-- every single one of them has a unique story to tell and I can't wait to get to know them further. I could have spent that time writing an essay, working on this blog, planning a trip, whatever, but I feel that there is no better way I could have spent a large chunk of my evening last night. It was a beautiful experience and now I feel that there's just so much love in this house.
     On that happy note, I'll leave off for now. Feel free to pester me if I take another 4 weeks to write a blog entry. More to come soon, I hope!