Welcome to My CCVA Jorunal

To read reflections on the 2008 Summer tour:

• READ ALL OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST.
  
  
• Scroll down the right side of this page
  and use the section marked "Blog Archive."
  
  
• Click on the small triangle next to month of July.
  A menu of 12 entries will appear.
  
  
• Entries in a blog are shown most recent first.
  Click the bottom link first.
  
  
• "Preliminaries at Simon & Jude" is the first entry
  of the journal, but the "last" entry in the Blog Archive.
  
  
• Continue using these links
  to move to the second day etc.

To see some more great pictures that didn't make
it into the pages of the journal:

• Scroll down for the slide shows on Places and Things
  or People and Performances.
  
  
• Feel free to comment on our journey by clicking on the "comment" link in the white box at the end of each entry and filling in the form.

Thanks to all those who posted pictures on Facebook, to those who have contributed to or commented on this blog, and most especially to those who make CCVA and my participation in it possible. I hope you enjoy reading about the fruits of our labor this year.

Emily

Heading Home

The return trip was fairly uneventful. Packing the night before had been a breeze - definitely not the most organized of packing jobs, but everything fit and to our surprise, eveyone was under the airline weight limit! We stood in the usual security and passport lines, but the mood was light hearted, and we were eager to be on our way home.

Most were able to evade the dreaded "security wand." A few weren't so lucky and got an up close and personal lesson on how to say "stand like this" and "turn around" in German! All checked in, and hoping that our bags would all the way through to Newark, we entered our first terminal of the day.

The trip home required two flights - a short hop from Berlin back to Munich, then the long haul from Munich to Newark. Take off to Newark was delayed because of the maintenance crew strike. Waiting so long for take off could have been a real irritation, but we had too much fun watching our own personal tvs on the backs of the chairs in front of us.

We were lucky to have a special guest traveling companion on the plane, so before we knew it, we were in the air on the way home. I’ve never watched so many movies in one sitting! Professor Snapes was really into it too.

Eight hours certainly is a long flight! Some slept, others hardly at all. I was happy to be going home, looking forward to see my family and friends again. But I knew that I would miss Germany and the rich experiences I had there. It was a truly fantastic trip, an unforgettable experience.

It was near midnight as the bus pulled in to the Simon and Jude parking lot. Maybe there will be time for just one story and a few presents. Then again, I wonder if Mom and Dad can wait until morning?

Thanks everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!