Final Entry From Freshman Kennedy Brown -- Our alarm clocks went off at 8 a.m. here in Germany, and we hopped out of bed and peaked outside at the weather so we could plan to dress accordingly. As I looked out the hotel room window, rain gathered little droplets on the glass and I put my hand flat against it and felt the cold with the back of my hand. Getting my big sweatshirt, leggings, and comfy white rain jacket out of my luggage, I realized this was our last day in this breathtaking country and that we had to soak it all in as much as possible.

After eating breakfast, we all headed to the bus to begin the festivities that our last day had to offer. The bus ride to Allianz Arena, where FC Bayern MÃÆ' ¼nchen plays, was about 45 minutes but it felt like hours because our excitement and anxiousness to get there took the best of us. Upon arriving, we all jogged out of the bus and up the ramp in hopes of staying as dry as possible. We were greeted by our lively tour guide at around 10:30 a.m. on the dot, and headed straight into the stands where we got a 360 degree view of the field.

Our tour guide sat us down in the stands and loaded us up on facts as we gazed down at the perfectly green field. Some of the seats still had confetti scattered on them from their recent win a couple of days ago, which painted an awesome picture in our heads of what it might have been like to be at that game. The arena is 11 years old, and every game since then has been sold out, which our tour guide proudly informed us of.

It seats 75,000 people and costed around 340 million euros. Taking in the stadium as a whole, we were looking up at the wide open top of the arena and noticed sky was staring back down at us. We couldn't help but wonder, has the ball ever been kicked out through there? It was like he read our minds, because the tour guide later addressed it and jokingly told us that there is no possible way to kick the ball out of the open roof (they have tried).

After filling our heads with countless facts and information about the arena, he led us downstairs into the players' locker room. Everyone was in awe seeing their favorite players' lockers and iPhones were out taking pictures for memories. He even graciously allowed one of our teammates, who was a big Manuel Neuer fan, break the rules (just for a second) to take a personal picture in his locker. Needless to say, she was happier than a kid in a candy store, and we were just as happy for her.

Exiting the locker room, the tour guide then led us to the place where the Bayern MÃÆ' ¼nchen players gather and meet to face the opponents and walk out in unison onto the field. He said that the players come from underground, and of course we had to beg him to let us enter onto the field the way the players do... he said no. But to make up for it, he let us do something else that was just as special. He brought us up on the field to take pictures and get the full experience of the arena in a personal way that not all people get to (as long as we didn't touch the grass).

Concluding the tour, our tour guide departed us with a cheery goodbye and sent us on our way to the gift shop. I got a ton of stuff for my family, and I know others did too! We left Allianz Arena feeling very satisfied by all its glory and in hope of visiting it again in the future.

At around 12:30 p.m., we journeyed back to where we toured a couple of days ago in MÃÆ' ¼nchen and got to have an extended amount of "free time" to explore more into the city and complete our sight-seeing and cultural immersion.

There was so much to see in such little time (or at least it felt like it), so all of us broke off into many groups and adventured anywhere our hearts desired.

My group and I grabbed lunch at a little sandwhich, wrap, and salad shop. And with full and happy tummies, we finished up our searches for the perfect German presents for our friends and families. We finished off our day in MÃÆ' ¼nchen with a chocolate croissant and gelato to fulfill our constant sweet tooth, and headed back to the bus by 4:30 p.m. to go to our last and final soccer game here in Germany.

We arrived to the fields and immediately got our minds right. We had an awesome pregame talk from Mr. and Mrs. Jackson about how to love God and love people. That was more than enough to get us motivated for the game to work for each other and get the job done for our last game of the trip.

Although is was raining, we did not let it stop us from doing what we do best. We started out the game strong and scored in the first 10 minutes. Although they slipped in 2 goals past us, we did not let up and finished the game 5-2. Our hearts, minds, and bodies were all in sync and we finished this game together.

After the game, we had a delicious Greek prepared dinner at a restaurant above the fields. The whole team ate like it was the last meal we would ever get. The family-like atmosphere was filled with bittersweet emotions about the fact that this would be our last meal together for awhile and we will miss all the sweet faces we have met and got to know along the way.

As we get off the bus for one last time, we go back into our hotel rooms to rest up and try to stuff everything back in our bags once more (it was a struggle for all to keep the bags under 50 pounds) to journey back home to the United States.

These past 10 days have been filled with endless memories and cherished time together that has bonded our team even closer with each other in a way that not many other teams get the opportunity to. The laughs, cries (only when we laughed too hard), knowledge, cultural experiences, and the intentional time spent all together transformed us from a team into a true family, and will never be forgotten.

Danke, Germany!

Kennedy