Hey Everyone, Well I know it's been a while, but i'm still alive and well! Greetings from Germany! I arrived here in Burstadt on the 3rd of May, after staying with Annette and Marcus in Bad Homburg for 12 days. I'll be going back to them in September, but i'm with the Schmidt family at the moment. The family consists of Klaus, Su, Hannah (13) and Jannicke (3). I'm more or less in a routine now, Su works part time which is when I look after Janni, and I also help out with house work and stuff. I came halfway through a language course (which finished tonight), but it was good just to get myself familiar with the language again, as its been some time since I studied it in high school! I'm learning new things everyday, and I'm at the point now where I can understand most conversations people are having...but as i've discovered speaking the language is alot harder than understanding it, my brain wants to say something in German with English grammer...so I end up saying things around the wrong way and backwards. Anyway, i'll get there soon enough. I've been attending an american military ward in Mannheim, it's a really great ward, I've had my records transfered and they've called me as the YSA female rep and a primary teacher. I will only be in this ward for another 2 months but i'm happy to help out where I can. I've made some american and german ysa friends, we often combine for activities which is good. I've been on some of the american bases here, and I tell you what, you could completely forget you're in Europe...its scary. They have their own shops and cinema and bowling alley! Anyway its good for me as its usually cheaper on base than outside in Europe. I've been to some pretty cool places around this area, Heidelberg is a great town with a huge schloss (castle) on a mountain and at the foot of the mountain the cute cobbelstone town. Actually, chances are when you see a large hill in Germany there's a castle on it! Heppenheim and Speyer are also great towns. There are some pretty amusing place names here...well amusing if you're not German, there is Worms thats not too far from here, there's also Frankenstein which is on the way to Kaiserslauten. That reminds me when I was in England there was a place called 'Dorking'...the English are weird. I went on a day trip to Strasbourg, France a few weeks ago...a beautiful city just over the French border. It is where the legislative branch of the European parliament meet. It also has a gorgeous "pettite venice" with canals and half-timbered houses (i'll post photos later) and also an amazing cathedral that took over 100 years to complete, probably the most impressive cathedral i've seen so far. Anyway, I feel i've really settled in now and i'm enjoying my time here, I can't believe its been 12 weeks since I left. Hope you're all well back home. Love and miss you all. Sarah. P.S. I read Bill Bryson's 'Down Under'...its a crack up and every Aussie should read it to appreciate our beautiful country.