We've been back for a week now and I think I am officially over the last of my jet-lag! Like the majority of my other trips, I love to live in the moment then come home and reflex upon my experiences during the excursion. Germany was amazing. I, especially, loved Berlin. Hamburg was awesome too, perhaps I would have liked it better if we gotten to stay longer. Anyways, the first part of the trip started out a bit rough with the non-arrival of our luggage and Elijah and me getting lost, or as he would like to say "exploring". Thankfully, the luggage all arrived and we learned how to work the public transportation system like professionals!
  My host family consisted of a mother, her boyfriend, and her two teenage sons. The mother spoke descent English, so it wasn't o difficult to communicate with her. I would say I spoke around fifty percent English and fifty percent German with her. The entire family also spoke fluent Portuguese and that was the language spoken at home, the majority of the time. With the rest of the family, I had to speak mostly German. One of the biggest realizations to me while I was in Germany, was still how much little German I know. They were a lovely family, whom I really enjoyed staying with.
  I know this is stemming from me being from the South, but it was a bit difficult for me that no one smiled, waved, or really acknowledged other people while on the public-transportation systems. Now, no one was ever rude or crude, but I definitely missed the casual smiles and waves and stranger small talk that one is likely to come across here in Tennessee.
  Upon arriving in Berlin, one of the first things I noticed was the graffiti. In the beginning, I was unsure what to think of it but during the duration of the stay, I came to like it and appreciate it more and more. It gave the city a since of its own character and self-expression. I loved looking at the art and pondering what the artist(s) was(were) trying to express through the piece.
  I loved the public transits! I do, occasionally, miss my car, while I am traveling, however, I can say for sure since returning, that I miss the U-bahn more (shout-out to Yorckstrasse)! Plus, there was always free entertainment on the U-bahn. There were unique individuals who liked to become loud and occasionally kick and scream, while others sounded like an auctioneers, while trying to sell newspapers and the people who smoked and drank on their commute to "work". Of course, this was only a small percentage of people. I promise Berlin is safe!
 There is so much more I could say and write, but I'll end with this statement: Germany was amazing and I  

cannot wait to go back in the future!