My family weekend is over, but today we had a last little highlight: Reunion with extended family, before I had to return to my little corner in the Black Forest.

Have you ever been invited to spend an all inclusive day with your family in an amusement park? Well, that is exactly what happened to my sister, and I was lucky enough to be part of that family fun. But our day was even more inclusive than that. Because it ended with an exclusive banquet only for especially invited guests (which we were), and that banquet included free rides on one of the top roller coaster attractions, minus the endless lines of waiting. Sounds like fun? I agree! And I even managed to ride that roller coaster after dinner without losing half of what I had feasted on during the meal!

The last day of our third week of school started with a very international experience! Tadjik hospitality was the order of the day, and in class some of our classmates taught us something about life and culture in Tajikistan. Our day continued very international with a Greek lunch to which our teacher invited us. The catch with this lunch: we were only allowed to use the German menu (which really wasn’t a problem for me since I understand it), but I wasn’t allowed to help and translate either, which was the challenge on my side with some very sneaky classmates who tried everything to get me to help them. In the end, however, my classmates managed to order their desired meals, and everyone was happy. Finally, my day turned rather German – Black Forest German that is, since I drove all across the Black Forest to visit family.

We’re back in class, and that means learning is the order of the day. But not exclusively. Last night, our school invited us to celebrate the graduation of some of our classmates with no less than a banquet. A Swabian banquet, with local treats such as Black Forest cake and the likes. This is how school is exactly according to my taste!

To find myself a piece of pastry in Paris I had set out. And getting myself a piece of pastry was exactly what I did when the first opportunity presented itself! There’s nothing better than French pastry melting in your mouth. Oh boy, the French do know how to put together some pretty yummy stuff. The only problem you could have with the pastry is when it comes to ordering it. Especially when all you know about the French language is what you remember from school, some nearly twenty years ago – and what you learned then had nothing to do with pastry, really. In such trying times, pointing with the finger might help, and in the end I managed to get what I wanted, which made me a pretty happy girl in Paris!