On the eve of my departure - some fond memories

Janice's top Erasmus moments

1. The original Scavenger Hunt: It just couldn't go wrong. 25 hilarious tasks with 14 wonderful people. A lot of laughter, alcohol and silliness. I mean, how many time can you one-up Eric in his own house anyway? You have to take these chances as they come up :)
2. A night in Holland: It started out as a semi-innocent adventure and ended up with a hot Dutch doctor...and I think that's all I need to say about that.
3. Last Nachtsalon 90's Party: All it took was one song “I'll be missing you” and the waterworks began...ok so watching everyone cry isn't fun, but it was just another special moment that showed how important this year was for everyone.
4. Eric's Brunch: A very memorable occasion was Eric's brunch. 11 great people packed into his kitchen to eat delicious food. This was followed up by an early-afternoon dance party in Eric's room.
5. My birthday party: The party at Hinkelstein was great – and then we decided to go to Unix. Somewhere in between Ryan and I had an epic crash in the Oberstadt, making this another unforgettable (memorable) evening. We kept partying through the bleeding!
6. Spain wins world cup: There are a large number of Spanish exchange students here and so when Spain made it to the World Cup final, it was obvious who most of us were gonna cheer for. The craziest moments included Iniesta's goal, a unfortunately-placed shard of glass that sent Gorila to the hospital and finally, a group jump into the river Lahn afterwards.
7. Ryanair party: Ryan was the first of us to leave Marburg, and fairly early too. So we went all out for his goodbye party...this Ryanair airline themed party included a boarding pass control as you entered, a very very tough security area and the party lounge where you could drink and dance to your heart's content, once you were allowed in ;)
8. Hofbrauhaus: Whoever has been here knows what it's all about – you just can't go here and have a normal night. Italian men, pictures with German police officers and lots and lots of beer sum up this night fairly well.
9. Karneval: This was my first time in Germany during Karneval season, and holy crap was it fun. Parades, costumes, drunken Germans...and my step-brother was there to live through it all! What an awesome introduction to Germany :)
10. Sex-an-der-Lahn nights: Our version of Jungle Juice meets Sex on the Beach, Rob finally gets his infamous question answered (“Haben Sie Cocktails?”) on nights like these. This kind of Lahn partying has become a hit among many of the exchange students.
11. Halloween party: When I look back to this party I have to laugh, because none of us really know each other that well. It's almost like this was the first night that many people branched out - friendships and epic moments could only be expected to follow this fantastic Schwarz Weiss party.
12. Football game in Frankfurt: Simon got us tickets to the public viewing of the first German World Cup game this year in the big stadium in Frankfurt. Ashley was also there for this, jet-lagged though she was. I'll never forget cheering alongside thousands of fans!
13. 3-Tage-Marburg fireworks: It helped that I knew the symphony that played in the background as the synchronized fireworks lit up the sky. This was a recent event with some very cool people, it was hard realizing that this year was soon to come to an end.
14. Simon's birthday party: When Fi invited us to his birthday party, I knew this German guy was definitely here to stay. He made us feel at home and we were so happy we could party with him and his friends in his little home village :)
15. Brno pub with Magda's family: A visit to Brno, CZ is best done with someone who lives there! The highlight was the night at Svejk with Magda's family. About 4-5 (or if you are Magda's dad, like 8) litres later, we were all having a jolly old time listening to Lindsay speak Dutch.
16. Sushi in Frankfurt: A rather low-key but fun moment was our trip to Frankfurt to have a Sushi dinner. Doing “Laufband” Sushi was fun because you could pick what you wanted off the conveyor belt. And as always, the company could not be beat :)

Thoughts on leaving and goodbyes

I haven't kept up much with this blog but I need to write some sort of final word, especially because the last post wasn't so positive. This has been hands down one of the most amazing years of my life. Probably #1. I will never, ever forget the time here with some incredibly special souls.


Gone - flitted away,
Taken the stars from the night and the sun
From the day!
Gone, and a cloud in my heart.
~Alfred Tennyson