Alles in Ordnung

As the German say, 'all is in order'-- although that comes nowhere near expressing my level of excitement at the moment. I have more peace of mind and anticipation combined than in any of the four months prior in which I've been waiting to depart.
Now read between the lines:

I got my host family :)

I'm in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia over in West Germany, in the city of Marl. It's sandwiched between two rather major cities, Dortmund and Essen, both of which are  a half-hour drive away. Even more exciting is that Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands are all about a two-hour drive away.
True, a two-hour drive from my current house lands me in Canada, but let's get real. That's nowhere near as cool.

So,I'm not slated to become an exchange-hobo, which is always promising. I have a mother (42) and a father (45), the former being a stay-at-home mom, and the latter being an orthopedist- which is an absolute dream come true, given my love for all things anatomy and physiology related. (Job shadow, bitte bitte bitte?)

And then I'm going to have a 13-year old younger sister and a 10-year old brother, which I'm quite looking forward to. I always did want a replacement for my own 10-year old brother. In addition, younger children are known jackpots when it comes to learning a language. They're fluent and not judgmental, two things I'm going to very much appreciate when I try to flounder my way through some very primitive German.

 Here's to not being homeless anymore!