Phone call from Julie, transcribed by mom (Jill)
Julie called home, today, for the Fourth of July. She said they thought about going to the nearby U.S. Air Force base for a celebration, but they didn't know how to get in, so they passed on it. She heard one firework go off, around 6pm. That'll probably be the extent of her July 4th celebration in Germany.
Meanwhile, it's been a busy week, with Maren pretty occupied doing all the graduation events for their class of about 50 kids. Apparently, Maren is the "doer" in the bunch, so she's totally stressed herself out and had to take the criticisms from the rest of the class. Julie's just stayed to the side, supported her, and tried to find ways to relax and still see new things. She said that while Maren's been busy, she's done a lot of just reading a book and staying out of the way.
| BUT....apparently the U.S. foreign exchange students all had a tour set up to go see the Mercedes-Benz factory in a nearby town. Maren's brother gave up his seat so Julie could go with them. She really enjoyed that. |
Daimler Benz Headquarters Stuttgart, Germany |
|
She also went to see Ludwigsburg Castle, about an hour north of Boblingen. It's huge, rectangular, with big gardens in the middle. She said it was like Versailles. They took the hour and fifteen minute castle tour and then there was an option for an extra garden tour, but the rest of the group wasn't interested. Majority wins -- Julie lost. Oh well. She still loved the castle. |
The girls called Shelly -- my first cousin once removed. They will drive to his house in the French Alps on Monday. His wife Patsy will still be there (before leaving on vacation), so they will get to meet them both. Julie was all excited because they went out and purchased nice little gifts to take to Shelly and Patsy. They'll be staying in a hotel, much like a hostel -- "cheap" -- about a 5 minute walk across a field from Shelly's 17th century farmhouse. Julie wanted some time alone with Shelly, to get to know him, so I suggested she just tell that to Maren and maybe Maren and Fabio will go off on their own the first evening. The plan is to stay a few days and then go on to Portugal. (See a map of their planned trip.)
This trip to Portugal will be made in Fabio's father's brand new car. He wants it delivered and dropped at the family's summer home in Portugal, where Fabio's mother was raised. Apparently the house is on the beach. Awwwww, such a pity, eh? They'll drive there, relax, and then take a bus or train home. Julie is considering the possibility of a few extra days with Shelly on her own, but has to see if she wants that, after she gets there, AND whether Maren's parents want a third person along with Maren and Fabio.
When they return from Portugal, there will be a week or less left to her visit. They hope to schedule a trip to a concentration camp before she returns on the 28th.
She says her elbow is doing great. The scar is the same, but she's getting more flexibility and movement. She's also able to push off of things, like to help her stand up. And the good news is, the pins aren't bothering her a bit.
We asked about Maren's father, of whom we've heard nothing. Apparently he's real nice, but extremely quiet and shy about his limited English. He sat with Julie a few times with the Atlas, showing her about the area. Mostly, he goes to work and keeps to himself.
Also asked about the beer and drinking scene. She was offered wine at dinner, the first night at Maren's -- very acceptable there -- but she just wasn't interested. Apparently they just don't offer anymore, which is fine with her. At the parties, she's managed to stay away from the beer, and drinking, except when Maren's mother went and brought them glasses of orange juice at the ABI-ball, not realizing it had champagne in it. Julie tried it and wasn't real fond of it. Guess she's just not gonna be a big drinker.
As for future emails from Germany....Julie will be able to write from Shelly's house. After that, we'd only get email if they find a cyber cafe, and I doubt she'd go out of her way for that, although the thought HAS crossed my mind to supply her with some addresses! But the phones work, so we'll just relay what we hear.
Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 09:07:09
~~ Mom's note: Visiting cousin Shelly in France!!!
See #2 on "map of driving trip"
Hello!
Can't talk now! Gotta go see the sights. Our trip was good. More later.
I love you both!!!
Love,
Julie
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 07:11:25
~~ Mom's note: Shelly kept
Julie too busy to write to us,
but here's an email from him, keeping us up to date.
Dear Jill,
Your daughter is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Or Moses. Or something like that.
We did Geneva yesterday, had a fun dinner here, going to a really neat city (Annecey) about 30 minutes drive today and the view is spectacular, then out to dinner at a typical French restaurant (not fancy, just super food, lots of smoke, great atmosphere) tonight.
Ah, c'est la vie.
Lots of questions asked about the family -- Julie is indeed insightful and wise.
Found rich hunk but he chain smokes, drinks several bottles of red wine daily and has numerous mistrisses, don't think it would be a good match.
If you talk to your mother before I get around to answering her please to convey my thanks for her wonderful email. Is there any cruise line that accepts dogs? Seriously.
Much love
Shelly
Cousin Shelly with Jon and Julie -- 1988
Greensboro, NC
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 13:39:12
Subject: un jour en france
Hi there!
So, how are the folks? Sorry I didn't have time to write to you yesterday. We had to rush out for a quick, but magnificent tour of Genieva (?). It was extremely hot yesterday on the way from Germany to France, and I realized that they don't make cars with good air conditioning here in Europe. Fabio's car has a fan, but no air conditioning, so for 5 hours we traveled in about 85 degree weather! And we couldn't roll down the windows because they had just been tinted the day before, and we didn't want to hurt the tinting.
Anyway, Shelly and Patsy are fantastic! We are having the best time with them. Patsy made an excellent meal for dinner last night and then we sat around and talked for a few hours. Shelly took us to a pastry store to pick out dessert. I had this thing that looked sort of like a chocolate napoleon. It was soooo good! We also gave them the presents we brought from Germany and I think they went over really well.
The hotel is great! At least I think so. The room is really small. It makes my dorm room look huge. And it resembles a room on a cruise ship with a small twin size bed underneath and a bunk bed over the top. There is a sink in the room, but no towels and the bathrooms and showers are down the hall. There are several bathrooms and they are really clean, so it is actually a lot like being at school and having to go down the hall. However, I don't have flip flops to wear in the shower, so I'm only concerned about the athletes foot problem. But, I think it is a great situation and the price was definitely reasonable.
Maren and Fabio didn't seem to like the place at all at first. I guess they haven't had the dorm experience and they have never had to go down the hall and share a bathroom with someone else. I let Fabio and Maren have the big bed and I slept in the bunk bed. The only problem is that I see them and it makes me miss having a boyfriend. Oh well. Our hotel is only about two minutes walking from Shelly's. You can actually see his house from the hotel, because there is a vineyard in between. Our room overlooks the vineyard and this beautiful mountain range in the distance. It is fabulous!
Tomorrow, (Wed.) we plan to leave in the afternoon or evening and head off to Portugal. Maren and Fabio are talking about possibly driving all night and all the next day to get there and arriving late on Thursday night. But, they also mentioned something about possibly camping on the French border. So, I'm not really sure what the plans are. I'll try to give you a call sometime after we get there to say hi and that we are there safely.
Guess what!?? You won't believe what happened! I was with Maren and Marie in Boblingen at the Statfest which is like Octoberfest in their town and we were walking up and down the streets looking at the booths. Then, some guy came up to me and said, "Are you really from Colorado?" And then I realized I was wearing my CSU sweatshirt and we ended up talking and he is stationed at the army base in Boblingen. He is an American citizen and he used to live in Wyoming, so he even has friends that went to CSU! So, after talking to him for about five minutes, I could tell that Marie and Maren were wanting to go look around some more, and so I told him we were going to go. Then he asked me to join him later for a drink at one of the bars and I told him that I might come by later after we had looked around.
So, we left and about an hour later, I was watching the German team in a soccer match with Maren and Marie and Fabio at a bar and he came and found me! He sat down and talked with me for about two hours and he was so great! He is short, but he is hillarious. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time. And it was so nice to be able to talk quickly and have someone still understand what you are saying! So, then, it was about 1 am and we had to go home, and he asked me if I would go with him to a town about an hour away the next day because he had to go drop off a friend and he wanted to have company on the way back. He also said that he would show me around this other town while we were there. There was only one problem... the next day was the first day since I had been in Germany that Maren was planning to spend sight seeing with me, and I didn't really know this guy well enough to leave town with him.
So, he said I should give him a call the next day and let him know if I wanted to go and when I called and told him I couldn't go, he said that I should give him a call after the trip to Portugal and he will take me out to dinner and a movie or something. Isn't that great? It made my whole vacation just to meet someone who was that nice and who spoke my language. So, that is my little story.
Well, I don't think there is anything else. Shelly took us to another beautiful town called Annsey today and it was wonderful. It was raining when we got there and it was foggy, so we went to a cafe and had a hot chocolate and when we were finished, it had cleared up. So, we went sight seeing and now we are back at the house resting for a while, while Shelly and Patsy went to town to take care of a few things. I'm having a great time though!
I can't wait to get back to see you guys! Only a few more weeks! Well, I better go. I love you both! Give my love to everyone else too please. Did you get the post cards yet?
Love ya bunches!
Julie
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 14:59:46
From: Cousin Shelly
Subject: Cyber Cafes
Chere Jill,
They left before I got the email, your daughter is the absolute greatest. Not to worry, she is much more astoute than any of us, will figure out all.
Her visit was the best thing I've experienced since I resigned from Eastern Music Festival.
Much love,
Shelly
On to Portugal -- see #3 and #4 on "map of driving trip"
If Julie finds a "Cyber Cafe" along the way, she will send more e-mail,
otherwise, we will be talking by phone and posting our calls!