Spring is in the air...

Isn't it nice to finally have spring weather again? It's such an uplifting feeling...

Two days ago, my friend Mario contacted me, saying, "Hey, let's grill on Thursday! Help me organize this!"

Thus, in about an hour, we created a simple Facebook event inviting all the exchange students and our friends in Trier to a night of grilling on the university. We invited roughly 200 people altogether - around 40 people RSVPd - and were excited to see who would show up.

Thursday night rolled around, and a few of us met to run to the nearest grocery store and get our supplies. I suggested buying a grill to share, as we only had a little campfire pit - and, of course, I ended up paying 25€ out of the 30€ for it. I wasn't too fazed, though, as I love grilling and was ok with owning one.

The night was a ridiculous success; at one point, I counted 60 people milling around outside, and Mario swears there were around 100 who showed up. Everyone just enjoyed themselves, grilling their own food, having a couple of beers and talking. At the end of the night, a lot of people helped me clean up the HUGE mess we'd made, most chipped in 1-2€ apiece, so that the grill ended up costing me only 5€ personally, and I gathered enough beer bottles (which are worth a deposit back here) to make at least 15€!

At some point, I recall talking with someone who had gone home for the semester break. I said at first, "You are so lucky to have spent time with all of your family!" After which I looked around and realized, "But this," gesturing to the gathered crowd, most of whom I knew, the others I now know, "This is also our family."