After we return from "little Berlin", we take advantage of the afternoon and wander around Coburg. It's fun looking in shop windows and watching people interact. Small towns have such a different atmosphere than larger ones both here and at home. After wandering gets old, Meghan, Caryn and I go back to Ana's. We watch sex in the city and and drink wine until it's time to go to our goodbye dinner. We toast our amazing hosts, give them a parting gift (a picture of the group taken earlier in the day) and enjoy a last night of drinking and chatting. I'm sad that our time in Coburg is over, but I'm excited for the next phase of my trip - 2 more days in Munich, then off to Prague, Amsterdam and London before it's time to go home. I can't believe 20 days have passed already!
The next morning it's time for one more seminar before heading back to Munich. We talk about the cross cultural issues we faced during our visit to Coburg. Issues like the importance of and emphasis on marriage (Americans place much more value on it than Germans), differences in basic mannerisms between the two (Americans are louder, Germans are more direct) and approaches to human rights as a whole (pretty much on the same page here - personal accounts enhance historical education and awareness) are talked about. Perhaps the most important point was the fact that human relations persevere even when human rights are threatened. For example, the bond of being a mother can cross cultural barriers - the shared experiences bring people together. We grab lunch with our hostesses, spend a last hour lounging in the grass and all of a sudden it's time to go. Our hostesses wait till the last minute, standing on the train platform and waving till we can't see you anymore. I'm excited to see my hostess again in August when she comes to NYC for a month. I hope I can repay her hospitality.
Thank you Coburg. Getting teared up so it's time to end this.
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