Empty Nest

Ten days have passed since she is gone.  The first few days were really strange, not having her here.  Now that we are starting to feel as if things are getting back to "normal", we are wondering, what was normal like...what really is normal now?   From the day she arrived in the USA, it was like she was meant to be part of our family.  The past 10 months flew by so fast....yes, she was here 10 months !  It seems like just last week that we were cleaning Rachel's room, making space for Jessi. 

Hosting an exchange student was an experience I am so glad we were able to be a part of.  Teaching her and showing her things that we, as lifetime US citizens, seem to take for granted, was the best part.  Not that life is that much different from her homeland of Germany, but all the little things we don't even think about...until you have to explain it to someone else.

Slang. Not always a universal language.  I am emabarrassed to say, but if you read my very first blog, you know that "fart" is a part of our daily household language.  So, as you can imagine, it was the first slang word Jessi learned.  We also learned that there is a German word for that bodily function....poopsen (sorry Jessi, if I spelled it wrong).  But that is pretty much as far as it goes in German.  Here is the US, we have many choices:  "cut the cheese", "let one rip", "pass gas", "break wind" and the list could go on and on.  During her stay here, she learned that the English language has a large variety of words that can mean one thing. 

 One conversation we had was how many words could be used to describe the part of the body we sit on.  Have you ever thought about it?  No, of course not,  it's just natural for us to know the meaning when we hear it....but when forced to think about it, it was hysterical:  butt, rump or rumpus, tookus (spelling?), booty, tush...can you tell we live in a house full of teenagers...?  And I am sure she learned a lot more slang while attending Emmaus High School than I care to know about.

Ok, so now you're thinking that we sent this young lady back to Germany with a brain full of horrid, slang words.  Well, ok, maybe....but we also think we showed her the history and beauty that is Pennsylvania and Eastern USA.  Our first big trip was to the Jersey Shore....hey, MTV airs in Germany too...so shopping in the famous "Shore Store" was a must !  It was a beautiful September day and it was one of my favorite trips to the beach that I will log in my memory.  Trips to Philly, NYC, Washington DC, Bushkill Falls, Shankweilers Drive-In (the oldest drive-in movie theater in the USA) and Iron Pigs Baseball are all "up there" on the list of great times spent with Jessi. 

As I sit here wondering "what is she doing today?", I now know what her parents must have felt 10 months ago.  It's hard to let go of a child, even though you know they are just a mere 4,500 miles away.  I just didn't think I would be experiencing "empty nest syndrome" quite yet....but I guess the consolation is a new extended family--and a reason to visit Germany !!!