July 4th Weekend

I think this has to be one of the best 4th of Julys I've ever had. Seriously. I cannot express how awesome my roommate Andrea & her boyfriend, Matt, and their friends are! They've just taken me under their wing and have made this whole experience so amazing. I'm not even homesick, which is just ridiculous.

So, the 4th. I slept in a bit and then I left for Matt's place in the afternoon. He and Andrea were having a dinner party, which is always exciting. (Homemade food + great people = cannot go wrong.) He cooked chicken parmasagna, ziti, veggie sausage, and homemade marinara. DELISH. Of course there was salad and appetizers, too, and Andrea made a dessert I didn't get to eat because I had to leave after the fireworks to make it home at a decent time!

The fireworks were really well done, and we had a radio on the roofdeck tuned to the Boston Pops that were playing live. Hanging out on the roof watching the fireworks was really nice because no one was in my way! It was also a fun communal experience, because pretty much everyone in the building came upstairs to watch.

Getting home afterward was an experience, let me tell you, and not because I got lost. There were just 252367268659 people trying to get on the subway at the same time! Luckily the cops were directing traffic AND the ride was free to save time. So that was good. It was also nice to get on the bus at the beginning of the line, because I didn't have to fight for a seat.

Today I chillaxed for a bit, and this afternoon I went with Andrea and some friends to the local beach! The water is pretty sketchy, but the sand is nice and the weather was just absolutely gorgeous, much like yesterday. Upper 70s, sunny, breezy. LOVE IT. Perfect weather to lie on the beach, drink a Corona, and chat. I used to think I didn't like Coronas... but I may have changed my mind. Now I feel guilty for calling it piss water for so many years. Corona, I am sorry!

After the beach (and a shower!) Mary and her husband, Kyle, picked me up and took me to a lovely dinner on a park bench in Cambridge :D. We were going to go eat inside somewhere, but we ended up finding this great little falafel place (yummm) and just taking our wraps to go. After that and some mochas from the local independent coffee shop, we headed back to their place to lounge about, gossip about people from our hometown, and geek out over music. I really heart them. It's nice to hang out with a couple who are so easy with each other and balance each other out so well!

I have to get up in less than 4 hours, but I'm so awake because I'm nervous and excited about school starting! I think it's going to be an amazing experience. There's actually a school in Aschaffenburg on Teaching House's list of international schools, which would be holy crap, so amazing. There are also a ton of schools in Frankfurt. So I'm reallllllly hopeful that will work out! It looks like most places want you to already reside in Germany before they hire you, so of course I was getting ahead of myself and looking at plane ticket prices. Kayak found me a flight for less than $400 in the beginning of September! They just updated their website with this amazing feature that I've always wanted - they've expanded the radius of "nearby airports" to 200 mi, which means I can search for flights from Savannah, Jacksonville, and Atlanta at the same time. :D

Okay, as awake as I am, I need a couple of hours' sleep, so I'm going to do that. I'm also going to buy some new batteries for my camera tomorrow, because the crappy ones I got from Dollar General are dead (so shocking, I know). Wish me luck!!!!