After many goodbyes and a long plane ride, I made it home. My first meal home, of course, had to be chicken wings. When I arrived home, my bedroom had been completely renovated, like I was on HGTV. My mom and my sister surprised me by redoing my entire room while I was gone. It looks absolutely amazing, and I am so grateful. I have never been more excited to go to bed in my life, and I get to sleep in a new space. I spent the weekend going to the Hamburg Burgerfest event where I live, and enjoyed some nostalgia. I then visited my boyfriend at work because I couldn't wait any longer to see him. It was a really wholesome and heartfelt moment for me. I gave him his gifts that I had purchased in Germany, and we caught each other up on what had happened over the last few weeks. After he got out of work, we went to dinner and got ice cream. I am so very grateful for my experience in Germany and Europe, and I cannot wait for the day that I go back. This trip has really opened my eyes to new possibilities and perspectives. I can't believe I was hesitant to apply for this program, but I am so glad that I did. I'm excited to see what else life has in store for me! Until then, thanks for reading and following me on my journey. Take that leap, you'll never know what might happen! 

For our official last day in Germany, we traveled to Tubingen for a punting boat ride on the river. It was absolutely gorgeous! We learned a lot about the history. Most of the houses on the river are fraternity houses, and one in particular has really awful hazing.  We were told about how the bridge was saved from being blown up by the Germans at the end of the war. Apparently, a local pub owner who was scared of losing customers from across the bridge, offered German soldiers a free meal and their last keg of beer, which made the soldiers forget about the bridge, therefore saving the bridge and the surrounding houses and businesses. Our tour guide was great and also gave us some wonderful suggestions for exploring the town. So after our tour, we all ate lunch at the restaurant on the water. Of course, I ordered maultaschen again. After lunch, we went to the library museum that our tour guide suggested in the yellow tower building he pointed out on our tour. We explored the free museum reading German poems. We then continued to walk around Tubingen, going to different shops and stopping for gelato, of course. We all said goodbye to Michael since he isn't flying home with us, and traveled back to our hosts' homes. Once I got back to Hannah's, I cleaned up a bit and packed my suitcase for our flight home. We then had a lovely barbecue with Hannah, her parents, Eve, Juli, and Rachel. Hannah's dad grilled all kinds of different meats for us. I ate pork, chicken, and turkey. It was a delicious way to end our stay in Germany. I'm so sad to leave. 

Our final week in Germany...

On Monday, July 14th, 2025, we visited a daycare/kindergarten. I loved the school's implementation of choice and student-led instruction. It was also cool to see Christine's son at his school. They had what they call a kinder conference in the morning, which is similar to our morning meetings in schools back in Buffalo, but what was intriguing was that it is a bilingual school where they are speaking both German and Spanish! After we visited the kindergarten, we went to the top of the Stuttgart TV tower, where we saw some incredible views. We also saw an American football field and wondered who plays there. I then traveled to Hope and Maddie's place, where they were staying, and I accidentally passed out on their couch and napped for about an hour or so. It felt great, because I was so exhausted this day. When I woke up, it was time to take the train to the Ritter Sport chocolate factory to learn about the history of the company and make our own chocolate. On the walk from the station, we got rained on trying to find the right building we needed to enter, but it was all worth it. I put crispy cookies, coconut, almonds, and salt in my chocolate. YUM! After our time at Ritter Sport, we all went to dinner as a group, and I became good friends with Christine's son, who taught me how to say some animal names in German. I am also loving all of the food that I've tried here. I am truly falling in love with this place. 

Tuesday was a great adventure. Back at school, we took a field trip to this playground center. The playground had lots of hands-on activities as well as animals to pet. There were sheep, rabbits, and donkeys. They had giant bubbles, a sifter where students would sift for "gold," trampolines, places to climb, toy vehicles to drive, soccer, a ping pong table, basketball, and lots of outdoor games. It was a chance for the kids to have fun and get dirty. They also had a felting activity where students took colored felt, sprayed it with soapy water, rolled it into a ball, wrapped a different color of felt around it, sprayed it with soapy water, and rolled it into a ball again. These steps were repeated as many times as they liked until they were finished. Then they would rinse their project, slice it down the middle, and let it dry. When you cut it down the middle, it reveals all of the beautiful colors you used. One of the students taught me how to make one. She gave me her creation, and I gave her mine. It was very intriguing to me that the students rode the public bus to get to the field trip. All the thoughts were racing through my head like..." What do they leave a kid behind?, What if a kid doesn't get off the bus?," etc. I understand that they don't have school buses in Europe and the schools can't afford to pay for transportation, but as an American, I was so shocked to see that unfold. Then again, the children are used to taking public transport. 

After school, I went exploring on my own. I took the train back to Esslingen, where we went the other day. I went to a café where I ordered all in German! I've been practicing German on Duolingo since November, and although it doesn't get me far, I've noticed that some locals have appreciated my attempt to learn and speak their language. I also walked the beautiful streets of Esslingen and went into some shops where I bought Hannah some flowers. One of my goals for this trip was to step outside my comfort zone and work on being more independent and self-reliant. Navigating the public transportation and feeling good about doing things on my own made me very proud of myself. I'm hoping this experience allows me to continue to break out of my little shell and not be afraid of living life on my own sometimes, and accepting things for what they are. I then took another train to the Mercedes-Benz museum, where I met up with Brandon, Liza, and her family. It was actually really fun to see all the different types of cars and the history behind transportation. I was most excited about the racecar area. They had this simulator where you could be part of a pit crew and quickly change the tires on a racecar. My best time was about 12 seconds. I imagine it is much harder to do in real life. After saying goodbye to Liza and Brandon, I took the train back to Hannah's, where we cut some vegetables to roast for dinner. They were delicious! ​

Today was another field trip to the same playground center, but instead of going with Hannah and her class, Eve and I stayed behind at the school so we could observe some other classes. We observed the 2nd grade lessons, the best grade. I may be biased because that's the grade I have taught for the past 3 years. I noticed a lot more similarities than differences in how they teach here, specifically in 2nd grade. A lot of what they did was very similar to what I was used to teaching in the States. I did find it interesting that they start learning multiplication in 2nd grade. I taught my students arrays and repeated addition, which is the foundation of multiplication, but they don't learn their multiplication tables until 3rd grade in New York State. I received lots of hugs from a few different students. One wanted me to sit next to her in class, and another took my arm and led me into the next classroom and pulled out a chair for me to sit in. Another student asked me why I had to leave. Observing 2nd grade today just reaffirmed my love for this grade level and age group. 

After school, we went to the grocery store to pick up a few things for the barbecue Hannah is having tomorrow. We then came home and ate lunch. I had a plan to write my blogs and start packing my suitcase for Friday, but ended up taking a nap instead. We had a lovely farewell dinner at the Pedagogical Institute where we ate feschba, a traditional German dinner of bread, cheese, veggies, etc. I find it fairly similar to a charcuterie board type dinner, where there were no hot food items. On our way back to Hannah's, we stopped for ice cream one last time. This is the very last time that we were all together as one big group. I am really going to miss everyone so much. I do hope we all keep in touch once this is all over. 

Over the weekend, we spent some time together as a group. We all met up at the lake, talked, ate snacks, played charades, and took a swim. Michael, Hope, Veronica, her boyfriend, and I all took a little trip out on the lake with Hannah's paddleboard. I'm surprised that it didn't sink with all of us on it. It was nice to be able to relax a bit after a long and hectic first week in the Stuttgart area. Afterwards, we met up with some of Hannah's friends for a mini-festival in her town near Nürtingen. Her friends were very nice, and I met their cat, Tammy. We had a fun time experiencing a local festival. 

On Sunday, I took the day to myself and went to Europa Park in Rust, Germany, while the rest of the group went to Heidelberg, Germany. I had an absolute blast exploring the park. I rode every roller coaster there, except for the one water coaster called Atlantis. My favorite roller coaster there has to be Voltron. It's based on Nikola Tesla and electricity, which I thought was a cool connection since Niagara Falls is practically in our backyard. The roller coaster enthusiast in me was nerding out, but I was missing my boyfriend while I was there because we usually go coaster hunting at parks together. It just wasn't the same without him, but I still had such an amazing day. I'm really glad that I didn't let going alone stop me. I was finally able to cross this off my bucket list. 

Long time, no talk or no blog, I should say. I have been so busy settling into Germany. I can hardly believe that we're leaving this Friday! I have so much to catch you up on. Being in the schools has been so interesting and fulfilling. It makes me miss having my own classroom. I got to help teach an English lesson on clothes with Hannah and Eve. We showed the class what we "packed" in our suitcase and labeled each of the clothing items, introducing and repeating each word. We then participated in the game, stop and swap, where students had picture cards of either the mountains, snow, or beach. The students then went around the room and gave their classmates 3 clothing items they would wear to that place, and their partner had to guess where they were going on holiday. I absolutely loved the interactive game. I love getting students moving while learning. This activity reminds me of some things that I have implemented in my own classroom. I do lots of what I call scavenger hunts, where students have task cards posted around the room and need to find the matching number and answer that question. I love the idea of partnering up and then switching cards so students are not only reviewing the same topic each time. While we were in school, we also celebrated a student's birthday, and when we were helping with a different English lesson for another class, she came in and gave each of us a piece of cake from her birthday treat. So sweet!

Hannah then showed us around the town, Esslingen. We went to a café and explored the library and the rest of the area. After that, we met up with our cohort group at the zoo. It was nice to see everyone again and catch up on our experiences at our schools and discuss what they are all like. This was also the beginning of navigating the public transportation in Germany. 

The next day, we got to observe a science lesson and then traveled to another school to observe an English lesson of one of Hannah's colleagues from the institute. It's been interesting observing the classes that are not English lessons. I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to understand anything, but even though I don't know the language very well, I was still able to pick up on things that they were discussing and doing, as well as focusing on the actions of the teacher and the students. For example, how to deal with a loud and rowdy class. After school, we went on a walking tour of Stuttgart and had dinner with our whole cohort, including our hosts and leaders, where I discovered a new favorite food, maultaschen. Hannah's family cooked it for us the night before, and I just had to order it again! 

The next day brought us more educational adventures. We toured a Waldorf Kindergarten and an international school. I saw many similarities to the Waldorf school in East Aurora, although I noticed that it is more popular with the younger age groups. I was surprised that they still have a hard time finding teachers despite what I thought was the popularity of Waldorf schools in Germany. The international school absolutely blew me away. It looked like a college campus. The international school reminded me a lot of schools back home in Buffalo; the way they were set up, what was taught, classroom management strategies, etc. After learning more about the international school, I have been considering, maybe sometime in the future, teaching in another country, possibly at an international school. This trip has been widening my horizons and opening myself up to ideas that I never would have considered before. In the evening, Eve, Hannah, and I had a lovely dinner and a yap shesh with wine on the outdoor patio. I am really starting to love life here! 

The next day brought even more perspective. We were able to observe classes at the Gymnasium, which is Germany's version of middle school and high school, 5th through 12th grade. I chose to observe 5th, 6th, and 7th grade. I mostly observed English lessons where most of the lesson was about the grammar of English rather than teaching them new words and phrases like they do in elementary schools. I also got to observe a really cool geography lesson.  They were working on capital cities and reviewing what they learned during the school year, so the class participated in an escape room where, with each task, they had to solve puzzles or codes to unlock the answers regarding each country or region. I loved this idea and would like to incorporate it into my own teaching as well. It is definitely a great idea for reviewing material. 

In some of the classes, students asked us some questions in English, which was intriguing to see their thoughts on American schools and what they wanted to learn. I got asked a lot of questions about whether or not we learn a language in schools and what exactly special education entails. In the geography class, I observed a student with autism having an outburst of emotions. Everyone was apologizing for having me see that, but I thought it was a really eye-opening experience for me as a special education graduate student. I got a glimpse of how they deal with situations like that and what services they have to offer for students with disabilities. It also reminded me of an experience I had with a former student. The teacher in me wanted to get up and work with the student and help him regulate his emotions, but I stayed in my seat, taking notes on things I could do to help and questions I had for my research. 

After school, Hannah took Eve and I to a vegan place to try a doner kebab. It was absolutely delicious and I couldn't even tell it was vegan. We then went to the Stuttgart art museum, and I was in awe of all the talented work, specifically Monet's artwork. I was also amazed at how old some of the art was, dating back to the 1300s. We then met up with everyone at the Hamburg Fish Market, where we ate dinner, danced, and had some drinks. It was a great time to hang out and let loose a little after the busy week at school. I forgot how tired I am in the mornings. Here's to hopefully getting more sleep. 

Our last day in Zell, Germany, was a much-needed chill and low-key kind of day. We all needed a break after the past busy week. I was able to sleep in and work on some of my blog posts. I then decided to take a walk and stumbled upon a grocery store, so I stopped in to see what different items they had. I called my cohort to see if anyone needed anything as well. When I got back to the hotel, I decided to tan outside on the balcony of our hotel room until dinner. Our cohort and the leaders all went to dinner at our hotel restaurant.

The next day we traveled to Vogtsbauernhof open-air museum about old farmhouses in the Black Forest. Liza and I walked through almost all of the houses, taking in the rich history. We also shared a piece of the famous Black Forest cake. After the museum, we walked over to another mountain coaster! This one was very similar to the one I've ridden in Ellicottville, NY. It was so much fun and I went super fast (sehr schnell)! I didn't fall out this time as it was a much safer ride. LOL 

We then traveled to Stuttgart to meet up with our hosts. We all had dinner together at a beer garden. It was so lovely getting to see the girls again. I missed them a lot since their time in Buffalo. I tried currywurst and, of course, had to have a German beer and a pretzel. After hugging everyone and saying goodbye...for now, we all went our separate ways. This was the first time that we would not be seeing each other every single day. Eve and I made our way to Hannah's house, where we met her wonderful parents. They are very kind and hospitable. Her dad is also very funny. Hannah was very kind and gave me her bedroom to sleep in. I am so grateful for them! 

uThe next day was my very first day at school! So exciting! Our first stop was at Juli's school, where we observed her English lesson on jobs. It was very good, and I was surprised by how well her 4th graders spoke English. Apparently, at private schools, they usually start learning English in 1st grade, while at public schools, they usually start learning English in 3rd grade. Juli gave the students a hands-on activity where they scanned a QR code with their iPads and watched a video explaining the job their group was assigned. The students then had to find the cards that matched their job and create a presentation answering the three questions Juli provided the class. Once Juli finished her lesson, we made our way to Hannah's school. She gave Eve and I a tour of the school, where we met her principal. We then sat in and observed a music class and a lesson on boundaries and saying no properly from the social worker. I loved being able to see a social-emotional lesson in action. I noticed some similar things to what we do in America, such as telling the students to "catch a bubble" to be quiet or writing down their homework in their agendas. Also noticed a great deal of flexible seating, such as wobble stools. Some things I noticed that were unique to this German classroom were pretzel arms, where students would cross their arms so they wouldn't be distracted by their school supplies. I loved the idea of reflections and having the students think about their words, thoughts, and actions before the teacher informs them. For example, asking the students what was good or bad, or how they can improve next time, before telling them what she noticed. I absolutely loved the teacher's incorporation of sign language during their morning time, which is similar to calendar time in the U.S.

After school, Hannah took us to the University of Hohenheim where her dad works as a carpenter professor. There, her dad gave us a tour of a park museum and the old castle that has been converted into classrooms and library spaces. The campus was huge and absolutely gorgeous. Once arriving home, I had a virtual job interview over Zoom. I think it went well. They seemed very interested in my time here in Germany. After my interview, we had a delicious dinner of Paella cooked by Hannah's mom. After dinner, we talked for a long while, then went grocery shopping for school tomorrow. Eve and I enjoyed exploring the grocery store and looking at all the different and unique items they had there. Once we got back home, we worked on what we were going to teach for Hannah's English lesson. Overall, it was a great day getting to know what German schools are like, and I cannot wait to see what our English lesson brings in class tomorrow! 

For day 5, we left Lucerne bright and early for our next adventure. Normally, my trips/vacations end after a few days or about a week, so the change of scenery was needed for me as I was starting to become a little homesick. We took a charter bus to Ribaeuville, France, to have lunch. I decided to try to immerse myself in the culture, so I tried escargot, which was surprisingly very delicious, although pretty difficult to eat out of the shells. After lunch, we traveled to the Struthof concentration camp memorial and museum in Natzweiler, France. The history nerd in me was fascinated by everything, but the empath in me couldn't feel anything but sadness and anger. Seeing the space where so many innocent people suffered and died, and listening to testimonials from survivors, really struck a chord with me. The crematorium was the most eerie as it seemed I could still smell the horrid acts that went on there. Before we left, I went to the gift shop and purchased a children's comic book in English about the concentration camp. I will be adding this book to my classroom library because even at a young age, we should all learn that we shouldn't judge others and care for all people, no matter their race, culture, religion, love, beliefs, etc. I could have spent the entire day there reading each plaque and looking at every inch of history there. After the 2 hours, I still didn't even get to see everything, but I am grateful to be able to see this history with my own eyes. It really puts things into perspective, especially with all the current events going on and the fear of repeating history. 

After getting to our next destination, Germany, we all unpacked and went to dinner at the hotel restaurant. I enjoyed an authentic German meal of schnitzel and spent the night going for a walk near the train tracks and calling my boyfriend and sisters. 

Finally, in Germany, we began our day visiting a Forest Kindergarten where the children learn gross and fine motor skills, social-emotional lessons, and more using the outdoors. It was really cool learning about how the school operates and how Claudia founded the school. Forest Kindergarten used to be taboo, but has gradually become more popular in recent years. It is a very unique way of learning that encourages the little ones to learn independence and responsibility through the discovery and curiosity of nature. The children use real tools like saws and knives, make meals, tend to gardens, and use their environment for play. It was a little shocking to see 2-year-olds cutting wood, but it made me think about how much these little kids can learn with safe and supervised exploration and instruction, creating more independence and less learned helplessness that I see in young kids these days in America. 

After we visited the forest kindergarten, we had a unique lunch at this farmhouse restaurant where we all stepped outside of our food comfort zone and tried some authentic German dishes. We then made our way to Burg Hohenzollern, the castle ruins. We made the dreaded climb up the hill to the old castle that was destroyed by the French. The climb was exhausting, and of course, I had to take multiple breaks due to my asthma, but it was fun because the path had multiple different puzzles to solve and information to read along the way. There was a recording about jesters, a matching game, a rock catapult, and so much more. Once at the top of the hill, we explored the castle ruins and the history left behind. The views were also pretty breathtaking, especially after walking up the stairs of the tower. 

Once we got back to our hotel, we all went into town to explore, but ended up getting lost and missing our bus back to the hotel. We ended up having to walk all the way back, which wasn't as bad as we thought it would be after a local farmer helped us find the right path to go down. When we arrived back at the hotel, I took a cold shower after a very hot day, and we all had a nice family/group dinner at the hotel restaurant. I got a glass of wine, pork with pasta and mushrooms, and apple strudel...sehr lecker! 

My third day was spent truly exploring Lucerne. We started our day at a coffee shop for breakfast, and the staff were so friendly. We then decided to spend our day exploring Old Town. We climbed an old castle/fort tower that overlooked an absolutely stunning view of Lucerne, which made the long and tiring walk up those steep steps worth it. We continued to explore and ended up at a small farm stand area, where we saw goats, a boar, and chickens. Michael and I then met a guy named Paul on the nearby basketball court. He was very friendly, and we talked about Switzerland, America, and football. He said he loved the Super Bowl, and he let us shoot a couple of baskets. We then took a train car up to this old castle-turned-hotel and restaurant called Chateau Gutesch. There, we enjoyed even more stunning views and had a glass of local wine. We finished our day with another swim in Lake Lucerne and had a "family" dinner in our Airbnb. 

Day 4 would entail a lot of walking/hiking. We all took a gondola up to Mount Pilatus. The views were absolutely spectacular. Michael and I ended up climbing the stairs to the highest point of the mountain and sat on this ledge, just taking in the peaceful atmosphere. I could have stayed up there on that ledge forever, but there was so much else to do. We made our way back down the gondola to the stop below the top called Frakmuntegg, to enjoy some fun activities. I rode a mountain toboggan coaster, participated in the rope course that overlooked the mountain, and went on this glider that took me through the trees. These activities were so much fun and such a great way to experience the area. I do have a tip for anyone who wants to visit and ride the mountain coaster...remember to brake on turns or you'll end up falling off and getting really bad brush burns like I did. The roller coaster enthusiast in me needed to go fast, and I paid the price. LOL 

When we got back to Lucerne, we went for one last swim in Lake Lucerne, enjoying the cool and refreshing water one more time. Then for dinner, we went to this viewing party for the Switzerland versus Norway women's soccer game. I got these chicken curry and meatballs, which were delicious, and we ended our night with packing and more gelato. Lucerne, you were amazing, thank you for the memories! 

After what felt like an eternity on the plane, I landed in Switzerland utterly exhausted and battling a serious case of jetlag. The first half of day one was a bit of a blur, to be honest. We couldn't check into our airbnb until 3pm and then we got locked out because we had the wrong key. We were all cranky. But sometimes, all you need is a little dip in a pristine lake to reset yourself. We decided to brave the cold waters of what can only be described as a truly gorgeous lake, and just like that, the irritability melted away, replaced by this refreshing peace. What a perfect introduction to the natural beauty here!

Day two dawned with the promise of more breathtaking scenery, and Switzerland certainly delivered. We made our way up Mt. Rigi, and the views from the top were absolutely spectacular. To make the experience even sweeter, I indulged in some delicious apple kuchen, a perfect treat to enjoy while soaking in the alpine air.

Our adventure continued as we explored the charming town at the foot of Mt. Rigi. We were on a quest to find a hidden waterfall, but what we stumbled upon instead was even more intriguing: an old pre-war gun fort! It was a fascinating glimpse into the region's history, a stark contrast to the peaceful natural surroundings.

Later, we ventured back to Lucerne to delve deeper into its vibrant atmosphere. Dinner was a delightful affair with pizza, followed by irresistible gelato and refreshing drinks. It’s been incredible to immerse myself in both the stunning nature and the rich culture of this country. Es ist wunderbar! 

The countdown is on. In just a few hours I'll be trading in my familiar Buffalo comfort for a brand new adventure in Germany. It feels surreal to say it out loud. For the past week, I've been soaking up every last bit of my hometown, spending quality time with my family and my boyfriend. We’ve hit all the classic Buffalo spots, the ones that feel like home. We had lots of wings, went to a Bisons game, and just enjoyed being together. It’s been a week of goodbyes, laughs, and a few bittersweet moments.

And honestly, I'm a mess of emotions right now. The nerves? They're definitely in the driver's seat. My heart is a little anxious and my mind is racing with "what if" scenarios. What if I get lost? What if I can't understand anything? What if I'm homesick? The anxiety is a real and present feeling, a knot in my stomach that won't quite go away.

But then, there's the excitement. I'm excited to step outside of my comfort zone and be truly independent. I'm going to be exploring a new culture, going to school with German students and teachers, and learning more about myself than I ever could from home.

I’m thrilled to see what it's like to live in a new place, to navigate a new city on my own, and to just...branch out. I’ve always been a bit of a homebody, and this is the biggest leap I’ve ever taken.  I can’t wait to share all of my adventures with you...the good, the challenging, and the completely unexpected.

So, here’s to new beginnings, German schools, and finding my way in a new country. Wish me luck!