A Home Away From Home

I know this is late, but I was busy in Deidesheim enjoying being united with the wonderful Diehlmann family once again. I’m now safely in Düsseldorf with my host family, and (should be) studying away for my German class. But before I talk about my new adventures here in Düsseldorf, let me tell you a little bit about my time in Deidesheim.

One of the biggest concepts I was able to grasp in my time in Deidesheim (and my time in Austria, too, for that matter) is how life changing it is to have an exchange student. It is kind of funny to reflect back onto the time that Mrs. Mull talked us into hosting a student “just for 5 months.” Of course, she left out the fact that he may bring home flowers and ask to stay longer (we are so glad you stayed, though, Felix). When I look back, I realize that the experience sort of found its way into our life. We never went looking for it. It wasn’t necessarily by accident that a German boy came to live with us, but fate definitely played a roll. Felix needed a place to stay while he studied in America, and little did we know that we needed him in so many ways.

Having a foreigner live with you is very enlightening. As you teach and model the American lifestyle for them, you begin to see what it is the American lifestyle truly is. While Felix and Kathi were living with us, I learned a lot about how I lived, and I grew to know myself better. I hope that as they were living with us, they also got to know themselves better.

Returning to Deidesheim was like coming home. Felix and his family have truly been a part of my family since we made the exchange complete by visiting Deidesheim in 2010. There has to be something about sharing your son with somebody else’s family that creates this incredible bound between my American family and my German family. I felt so at home sitting and talking around the dinner table. Even though I may have missed some interesting conversations because of my limited German (motivation to learn!), I always could just assume they were talking about Tennis, though. May and June are the months of Tennis in Deidesheim, and I even got to watch some while I was there! I watched Felix play a game and Hannah practice. I learned that at Tennis matches (maybe elsewhere as well) it is acceptable to drink a Riesling-Shorle at 10:30AM.

While I can’t possibly explain everything that’s been going on here, I can tell you that the weather was absolutely gorgeous. I spent a lot of time riding bikes with Felix. We went to Bad Durkheim for some Ice cream and some sightseeing. We saw some castles. We went to a wine festival, among many other adventures. I was able to spend some time relaxing and reading in the garden in the sunshine as well.

Another grand adventure that Felix took me on was exploring the tiny town of Lorch. It was absolutely adorable, and I wouldn’t have expected any other town for the Kanitz winery to be. We explored Lorch for a little while and saw what there is to see. That is mostly a church and a small bakery. When the winery opened, we went and explained to the man working about how Andrew had descended from this Kanitz family and that next year we are getting married and I needed some champagne to bring back for the celebration. Unfortunately, they didn’t have labels for the new champagne, so they didn’t have any for sale. He checked the cellar and found a bottle from 2011. Because it was old, it was no longer for sale, so he gave it to us for free! What a fantastic wedding gift! Generosity must run in the Kanitz family. I also bought a bottle of wine to share with Andrew’s parents, as promised.

After our exciting adventure in Lorch, we decided to exercise a bit and walk along the way of St. Hildegard in Rhüdesheim. It was a 6.7km walk that started off mostly uphill. We saw different aspects of St. Hildegards life and ended up at the Abbey where she was cloistered. We also saw a Parish Church that she had established, where many of her relics were.

The day after that, we spent some time during the day exploring Freinsheim. That night we went to a Wine festival nearby. Sitting with so many of Felix’s friends made me realize how much I take for granted. It was so normal for them to be all sitting there together on top of a hill overlooking a beautiful German city filled with lights. It was so normal for them to all be speaking German together, eating German food together, drinking German wine together, but for me, it was a totally indescribable experience. This got me thinking, how much of my life do I look at as totally normal that someone else may view as extraordinary? I have the incredible opportunity of getting an education at a university. I have a huge loving family that loves each other. I have a great church community and can openly express my faith. I am surrounded by lakes that are so big you can’t see the other side of them. The list goes on and on about the extraordinary aspects of my life, and yet, living it every day makes them seem normal. Being here in someone else’s “ordinary” life that is so extraordinary to me, has shown me how truly incredible my life is, and how nothing should be taken for granted.

Other adventures in Deidesheim included a hike up into the vineyards to drink wine with some great people. By this time, I realized just how exhausting it is to speak/hear German all day long. However exhausting it may be, I find it fascinating that I am able to live my life partly in another language. I still haven’t grasped that concept fully, but as I speak more and more German, and less English, I am beginning to see how that truly is an incomparable experience.

Near the end of my stay in Deideheim, I went to the Landaugartenschau with Andrea. It was nice to leisurely stroll around and be in nature. There were beautiful flowers everywhere as well as various works of art.

Saying goodbye is always hard, but I know I will be back again. Deidesheim is my German home, and I am so grateful that the Diehlmann’s have opened their house and their hearts for me. They welcomed me in and treated me like family. There is nothing that can describe this type of relationship. Even though we come from different cultures, we are one family. I am so thankful that we accepted the little 16 year old German boy into our family almost six years ago. That experience has changed my life, and has opened up so many possibilities. A piece of my heart will always be in Deidesheim, and the Diehlmann family will always have a home in Michigan.