My first German family is the Hambruch family in Bad Fallingbostel. The family is made up of:
Ewald-Father
Sigrid-Mother
Stephan-Brother
Thorsten-Brother
Pia-Thorsten's Girlfriend
Marten-Brother
Wilke-Farm Apprentice
They own a mid-sized dairy and grow various crops, mostly for feed for the cows. The cows and ground are spread out quite a bit so sometimes there is a drive to get to somewhere.
It is common for children to take over the family farm and the parents to move out when this happens. Ewald and Sigrid have recently built a new house less than a kilometer away and now only the kids live at the farm full-time. I say full-time because everybody works here during the day.
I met with the former coordinater, Edith Schroder, and we started the paperwork for my visa. After the work was done, she took me on a tour of some of the town. The Heather gardens they have here have over 50 different colors of Heather growing in them. We also went and watched a shepherd bring in his flock of over 400 sheep from the field. He had to bring them in because of the wolves - I can't seem to get away from the wolves can I?
Marten was an IFYE last year to the USA, staying in Montana and Michigan. He and his brother Stephan both speak English very well, although I have to say they all speak more English than I do German so I can't complain! They are an extremely nice family and I think I will have a wonderful time here!
