I slept in this morning and I definitely needed it. I caught up on some emails and then eventually went to AJY to print the article that I needed to read in order to write my internship paper for Dr. Tracy. I don’t think it will be too bad to write, I just keep putting it off for some reason. My goal is to finish it by Thursday. That should be doable! I read in the kitchen since nobody was in there, but of course about 10 minutes later everyone and their mom came in to eat something they had bought on the street. I was getting a little frustrated and ended up reading the first page about four times. I thought I’d never get through anything!!
We had the last Vollversammlung where we filled out program evaluations and such. I can’t believe it’s the end. Oh my gosh. My eyes tear up just thinking about it. Heidi and I then went to Schiller and talked some more about yesterday and all kinds of other stuff. We stayed for about 3 hours! I got all of my reading done and then wrote some stuff for the good ol’ blog.
Heidi and I went back to her room before going to class and she had packed so much of her stuff up that her room looked so bare. So sad! She isn’t even leaving until next Thursday, but she said now that Maressa is gone and since I’m leaving soon, she wants to be all packed up and ready to go.
Class went really fast and I got my 2nd 1,5!!! So exciting! Then, after class, Herr Doerr shook my hand and said that he was also very pleased with my work this semester and that my improvement in German is clear. He said something about how even though it was tough at the beginning of the year (I was frustrated and stuff and then switched from his class to Frau Heckmann’s) I came a long way, etc. Yay!!! Such a nice compliment…especially coming from Herr Doerr. I ended up getting a 2 in the class and I’m pretty happy with that. I wish now that I had another semester to improve or that I had taken his class last semester. Oh well. I learned a lot though and am happy with my progress.
Heidi and I came back and cooked a spaghetti concoction shortly after and then began studying/reading/writing. I just have two more papers. Why can’t I just get them done and be good to go!? I can make my goal of Thursday, I just have to sit still for a little while!!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Maressa Leaves...BooHoo :(
This morning we had our last breakfast all together. We then got right to work on the scrapbooks and they were all done by 12! Great timing! Maressa’s check out was at 12:30 and so we went to her place to help her finishing cleaning and get the last of her stuff together. Frau Heckmann showed up before we had finished and she was in a ripe mood. I stood watch by her car and then Alexander came up and started helping them. Frau Heckmann and I took Maressa’s stuff to AJY and then Dan helped me get her suitcases out of the car and up the stairs. I was hot, needed to study and didn’t want to get roped in to doing any other little tasks for AJY so I went home and read over my text for my exam and then started studying for Frau Heckmann’s exam tonight.
I was so nervous about reading my text because she had set up a video camera and after we were recorded she played it back for everyone to analyze! I felt like I had done an ok job, but when it came to my evaluation, I was really surprised. Voigt-Zimmermann said that she was so pleasantly surprised at how well I read it and was just so pleased with my work! Everyone in the class agreed and they all said that they thought it was by far the best in the class. Wow. Totally unexpected!!! I know I don’t give myself enough credit for my language abilities, but what was said during class definitely boosted my confidence a bit! I ended up getting a 1 in the class and was really happy about that! I asked if I could take picture with her after and she said that I was just like the Japanese, always wanting a picture of the professor. She was by far my favorite teacher from both semesters and I want to be sure that I remember her. She really is just the coolest lady and I wish I could take her back to Elon with me and keep her as my personal German coach!
After class I showered, studied and gathered pictures for the AJY slideshow that I had told Dr. Tracy I would prepare. I was stressing a bit, but in the end, it all worked out ok. The exam wasn’t too bad, actually pretty much exactly just like our study guide with a few extra things, and I finished relatively quickly. I finished up the slideshow and got ready for the party.
We had delicious schnitzel, cheesy potatoes and salad for dinner. Then we had some kind of vanilla thing for desert with a raspberry sauce. Yum! I was stuffed! We all watched the slideshow and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Then it was finally time to give out the scrapbooks! We got the nicest compliments from both other students and Dr. Tracy, Frau Heckmanna and Herr Doerr. It was so great to watch everyone read them at the same time. I just LOVE making things for other people. But I’m definitely glad that the project is done!
A bunch of us went out for a drink afterwards. All Heidi and I could think about, though was Maressa leaving later in the evening. It just felt like we were waiting to say goodbye. I really hate that feeling. We stopped by Penny Markt so Maressa would have something to eat during her 26 hour train ride to Bulgaria. She is going backpacking with her host brother throughout Bulgaria and surrounding countries. Heidi and I are a little sour about it since she’s leaving us a week early, but that’s one of those things you can’t pass up if the opportunity comes about!
We went to Mannheim with her and after about 45 minutes it was time for her to leave. We talked up until that point, just trying to laugh and stuff, but it was still sad. Heidi got a little upset because she felt left out of the conversation, and that really started the tears for me. I felt so bad that she felt that way and was sad that the last few minutes we spent together were spent a little upset with one another. Maressa got on the train and Heidi and I just cried and cried. We kept crying long enough to miss the next train back to Heidelberg. We then found where the next train would leave from and cried while we waited. We cried on and off the whole ride back and then luckily the S-bahn came and took us to Bismarckplatz. We talked through some things and then after we stopped crying and realized that we would be ok, even though it’d be sad without her, for the next week since we had each other. I was exhausted from crying and went to bed a little while after getting home.
I was so nervous about reading my text because she had set up a video camera and after we were recorded she played it back for everyone to analyze! I felt like I had done an ok job, but when it came to my evaluation, I was really surprised. Voigt-Zimmermann said that she was so pleasantly surprised at how well I read it and was just so pleased with my work! Everyone in the class agreed and they all said that they thought it was by far the best in the class. Wow. Totally unexpected!!! I know I don’t give myself enough credit for my language abilities, but what was said during class definitely boosted my confidence a bit! I ended up getting a 1 in the class and was really happy about that! I asked if I could take picture with her after and she said that I was just like the Japanese, always wanting a picture of the professor. She was by far my favorite teacher from both semesters and I want to be sure that I remember her. She really is just the coolest lady and I wish I could take her back to Elon with me and keep her as my personal German coach!
After class I showered, studied and gathered pictures for the AJY slideshow that I had told Dr. Tracy I would prepare. I was stressing a bit, but in the end, it all worked out ok. The exam wasn’t too bad, actually pretty much exactly just like our study guide with a few extra things, and I finished relatively quickly. I finished up the slideshow and got ready for the party.
We had delicious schnitzel, cheesy potatoes and salad for dinner. Then we had some kind of vanilla thing for desert with a raspberry sauce. Yum! I was stuffed! We all watched the slideshow and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Then it was finally time to give out the scrapbooks! We got the nicest compliments from both other students and Dr. Tracy, Frau Heckmanna and Herr Doerr. It was so great to watch everyone read them at the same time. I just LOVE making things for other people. But I’m definitely glad that the project is done!
A bunch of us went out for a drink afterwards. All Heidi and I could think about, though was Maressa leaving later in the evening. It just felt like we were waiting to say goodbye. I really hate that feeling. We stopped by Penny Markt so Maressa would have something to eat during her 26 hour train ride to Bulgaria. She is going backpacking with her host brother throughout Bulgaria and surrounding countries. Heidi and I are a little sour about it since she’s leaving us a week early, but that’s one of those things you can’t pass up if the opportunity comes about!
We went to Mannheim with her and after about 45 minutes it was time for her to leave. We talked up until that point, just trying to laugh and stuff, but it was still sad. Heidi got a little upset because she felt left out of the conversation, and that really started the tears for me. I felt so bad that she felt that way and was sad that the last few minutes we spent together were spent a little upset with one another. Maressa got on the train and Heidi and I just cried and cried. We kept crying long enough to miss the next train back to Heidelberg. We then found where the next train would leave from and cried while we waited. We cried on and off the whole ride back and then luckily the S-bahn came and took us to Bismarckplatz. We talked through some things and then after we stopped crying and realized that we would be ok, even though it’d be sad without her, for the next week since we had each other. I was exhausted from crying and went to bed a little while after getting home.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Not So Productive At All, But Loved Every Minute
We met at church this morning and we sung a lot of my favorite songs. We said goodbye to Chris (the pastor) and thanked him for doing such a great job. We also said goodbye to Allison and then headed home after drinking some coffee and having some snacks. I’m really going to miss that church. I learned so much there and I hope that I can find a church that is similar at home.
Heidi and Maressa came over for lunch and a “quick lunch” turned into over three hours! We made Maressa’s delicious little Brazilian bread things and rice with potatoes and onions Talk about carbs!! Heidi went home after awhile to take a nap and try to do some work, but Maressa stayed and worked on her paper. I took a nap and she went to watch the theater thing that she had done with the other actors and came back later in the evening. Heidi came back later too and after Maressa finished her paper we went to Extrablatt and split a cheese pizza bread and studied for our final tomorrow. We stayed there until they turned the lights down so far that we could hardly see. We split up the study guide, which worked out perfectly and it was done before we knew it. We headed out to drink some wine by the river and ended up going to the bridge and talking for a bit before going to sit along the edge that overlooks the river. Our last wine night. So sad!!! They came back to my place for a little while and then I just got exhausted and had to sleep. I hardly got anything done today, but it was definitely worth it! Maressa leaves tomorrow night and it’s going to be so sad. I wish we could all just leave on the same day at the same time.
Heidi and Maressa came over for lunch and a “quick lunch” turned into over three hours! We made Maressa’s delicious little Brazilian bread things and rice with potatoes and onions Talk about carbs!! Heidi went home after awhile to take a nap and try to do some work, but Maressa stayed and worked on her paper. I took a nap and she went to watch the theater thing that she had done with the other actors and came back later in the evening. Heidi came back later too and after Maressa finished her paper we went to Extrablatt and split a cheese pizza bread and studied for our final tomorrow. We stayed there until they turned the lights down so far that we could hardly see. We split up the study guide, which worked out perfectly and it was done before we knew it. We headed out to drink some wine by the river and ended up going to the bridge and talking for a bit before going to sit along the edge that overlooks the river. Our last wine night. So sad!!! They came back to my place for a little while and then I just got exhausted and had to sleep. I hardly got anything done today, but it was definitely worth it! Maressa leaves tomorrow night and it’s going to be so sad. I wish we could all just leave on the same day at the same time.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Munich
We slept in this morning and then had another wonderful German breakfast. I wasn’t even hungry since we had eaten dinner after midnight, but it was just so great that I had to have some yogurt, fruit salad and granola along with some bread with meats and cheeses. Wow. Stuffed again. Heidi and I then headed out with Sabrina and her friend to Munich while Maressa stayed and worked on her paper. Johanna had to work today so unfortunately, she couldn’t go with us. It took about 45 minutes to get there and it was still raining a bit. But we got a partner day pass thing and split between the four of us we only had to pay 2 Euro each! I can handle that!
Heidi and I went our own way and just walked around the city. After we went into this church that was all white inside, we came out and it was pouring like crazy. We just waited under the doorway and watched people running every which way with their coats and bags on their heads. We then took our luck and ran across the square to the entrance of the English Gardens. We saw people had Starbucks so we made it our mission to find one for ourselves. Luckily it was just around the corner and we got a seat right after our drinks were ready. Perfect! We chilled there for awhile until the rain stopped and then went out to walk around the gardens. There were lots of groups of people playing bocce ball and some of them had cool little magnet chain things that they picked the balls up with. Heidi had never seen that game before so we stood and watched for awhile. We saw people playing music in covered areas, but no naked people. Later Sabrina told us that they had seen people in another part of the gardens running around naked or in their underwear. How strange!!! I guess that’s one thing that garden is known for!
We made our way to the Hofbraeu Haus and saw a cool Folks band playing. My foot got stepped on, which hurt a bit and cut one of my toes, but I got over it. We didn’t have time to stay, but we did notice how the tiles in the floor still made a swastika symbol and how the pinwheels on the ceilings had been painted to cover up swastikas. Too cool. They only left the swastika tiles on the floor at the main entrance though. They had redone the floors in other areas of the building. Hitler had a lot of his meetings in the upstairs of the Hofbraeu Haus and I believe that’s where he gave his initial speech about what would become the Holocaust. Crazy.
We met up with Sabrina and her friend and they wanted to go to Starbucks, so since we had already been we decided we’d just walk around and meet up with them later. We went in a few stores and looked around and eventually made it to the end of the Fussgaengerzone where the toy store is. Heidi and I found a Steiff Giraffe for 695 Euro!!! Whoa. No thank you! It wasn’t even, as Heidi says, life-size! We walked back arm-in-arm to meet Sabrina again and then we all headed back to where her car was parked. Even though we didn’t do anything significant, it was still fun to just hang out in Munich for the day. I LOVE that city and could go back again, and again and again!
Of course we ate when we got home and it was once again delicious. We had homemade schnitzel, potato salad (a different one!) and it was fabulous. Our train left at 8:30, so we had to get all of our stuff together. I wish we would have been able to spend more time with Johanna and the family, but the timing just didn’t work out. We decided to go back on Saturday night so that we could go to church one last time together and try to get started on our stacks of work early in the day. We were awake the entire way, thanks to me, and laughed a whole lot. These girls just complete my life and I am so thankful for them!!
We didn’t make it back to Heidelberg until late at night and we were all really tired. What a great little trip, though! We had so much fun and I wish the three of us would have traveled more together throughout the semester.
Heidi and I went our own way and just walked around the city. After we went into this church that was all white inside, we came out and it was pouring like crazy. We just waited under the doorway and watched people running every which way with their coats and bags on their heads. We then took our luck and ran across the square to the entrance of the English Gardens. We saw people had Starbucks so we made it our mission to find one for ourselves. Luckily it was just around the corner and we got a seat right after our drinks were ready. Perfect! We chilled there for awhile until the rain stopped and then went out to walk around the gardens. There were lots of groups of people playing bocce ball and some of them had cool little magnet chain things that they picked the balls up with. Heidi had never seen that game before so we stood and watched for awhile. We saw people playing music in covered areas, but no naked people. Later Sabrina told us that they had seen people in another part of the gardens running around naked or in their underwear. How strange!!! I guess that’s one thing that garden is known for!
We made our way to the Hofbraeu Haus and saw a cool Folks band playing. My foot got stepped on, which hurt a bit and cut one of my toes, but I got over it. We didn’t have time to stay, but we did notice how the tiles in the floor still made a swastika symbol and how the pinwheels on the ceilings had been painted to cover up swastikas. Too cool. They only left the swastika tiles on the floor at the main entrance though. They had redone the floors in other areas of the building. Hitler had a lot of his meetings in the upstairs of the Hofbraeu Haus and I believe that’s where he gave his initial speech about what would become the Holocaust. Crazy.
We met up with Sabrina and her friend and they wanted to go to Starbucks, so since we had already been we decided we’d just walk around and meet up with them later. We went in a few stores and looked around and eventually made it to the end of the Fussgaengerzone where the toy store is. Heidi and I found a Steiff Giraffe for 695 Euro!!! Whoa. No thank you! It wasn’t even, as Heidi says, life-size! We walked back arm-in-arm to meet Sabrina again and then we all headed back to where her car was parked. Even though we didn’t do anything significant, it was still fun to just hang out in Munich for the day. I LOVE that city and could go back again, and again and again!
Of course we ate when we got home and it was once again delicious. We had homemade schnitzel, potato salad (a different one!) and it was fabulous. Our train left at 8:30, so we had to get all of our stuff together. I wish we would have been able to spend more time with Johanna and the family, but the timing just didn’t work out. We decided to go back on Saturday night so that we could go to church one last time together and try to get started on our stacks of work early in the day. We were awake the entire way, thanks to me, and laughed a whole lot. These girls just complete my life and I am so thankful for them!!
We didn’t make it back to Heidelberg until late at night and we were all really tired. What a great little trip, though! We had so much fun and I wish the three of us would have traveled more together throughout the semester.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Bayern & JACK JOHNSON!
In order to ensure that I had enough time to do everything this morning, I got up at 4:45 and showered, packed some snacks, packed my bags and headed out for Uniplatz right around 7. Heidi was waiting and of course Maressa showed up right after the bus had arrived. We were all exhausted and hadn’t gotten much sleep, but were so excited since today had finally come and we were going to see Jack in concert! Not tomorrow or in a week, but today! We bought our tickets at the train station, grabbed some coffee/a latte macchiato and waited for our train to Mannheim. From there we were off to Augsburg. We played a few games of Speed Scrabble, took some pictures and then Maressa and I crashed. When we got to Augsburg we had to get on another train that would take us to Aichach where Heidi’s family lives.
Mama was waiting for us as we got off the train and was just so cute. The way she said “Heidi!” was adorable and she always had a smile on her face and the sound of laughter in her voice. When we got home she prepared an amazing German breakfast for us that consisted of fruit, an assortment of broetchen, cheeses, meats, juices and more. I just love that about Germans!!! Breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day here and when it’s prepared by a German it’s even better. She even had these cute little mini broetchen things and since they were mini, they were of course my favorite. At one point, Mama got out her atlas to see where North Carolina is. I love that they’re so curious and like to look things up like that! It was the same with the people I stayed with in the East. Then again, I guess I would do that too if I wanted to see exactly where someone I met was from, but I still think it’s sweet nonetheless. After we stuffed ourselves beyond belief and talked to Johanna’s sister Sabrina and her friend, we went upstairs to take a little nap. We didn’t end up sleeping, but instead layed there and talked for a few minutes. I got ready for the day since I didn’t have time to straighten my hair before we left and then Johanna got back from her doctor’s appointment. Heidi and I talked to her outside for a bit while Maressa took a nap and when we came inside Mama and Papa were eating potato salad and of course we had to try it even though we were still full. It was so good! Since we were going to walk around Aichach, Heidi woke Maressa up. When Maressa came downstairs they gave her some potato salad and she thought that was the reason we woke her up!
Shortly after we took off on our walk and Johanna showed us the women’s prison that is literally right around the corner from their house. We ended up seeing Sabrina and her friend at a café and then we all got eis together. It was really hot and it tasted SO good! Mama had made us lasagna and we ate that when we got back, even though I was still stuffed from breakfast. That lasagna was amazing though. It was different than normal, but something about it was so good! After printing out my ticket and getting all of our stuff together, we headed out for Jack! I slept some of the way, but when we got close, there were signs on the interstate saying where we needed to exit for ‘Jack Johnson’ and parking directions. So cool!!! After parking we hopped on a bus with a ton of other crazed fans and then walked to where the concert was. I had a feeling that it’d be outside and it was indeed just as I had pictured it! We found a good place to sit and hung out for awhile. Heidi’s host sister from the north, Katrin, was there with her boyfriend so they met up with us too. The opening band was G Love and Special Sauce and we really enjoyed them. I had tried to find some of their music online, but didn’t see anything I liked, so I was pleasantly surprised when they came on. A lot of their songs are funny and have great beats. Johanna and I had fun laughing and watching the people. Heidi did her little car dance for us and it was just hilarious. Good thing I got it on video!!
We moved to another place and then found out that we could go up by the stage. We got our arms stamped and that allowed us to return whenever we wanted. People who didn’t have their arms stamped couldn’t go in after the concert had started!! How cool!!! We were really close and could see Jack really well. He played almost all of our favorite songs and it was amazing. However, a HUGE storm came through and we got completely drenched. Jack didn’t even hesitate and he kept on playing through the rain, thunder and lightning. They did make him take a 20 minute break, but he came back out and finished the concert!! We left right before it was over since it was still pouring and we wanted to make sure we could get on a bus back to our parking garage. It would have been a good idea to remember which stop we had gotten on at because we had no idea where we needed to go. Luckily, we guessed correctly and talked to the right person who suggested where we should get off. We ran through a parking lot, climbed up a little hill and finally made it to Johanna’s car. We were so wet and it was just gross. It was totally worth though and we had SO much fun! My only real complaint was that Jack didn’t really talk much throughout the concert. I was hoping he’d explain a little about the meaning of each song, but he didn’t even do that once. He said danke/dankeschoen a few times and said a few other little things in English, but other than that, he just played. That was of course was great, but I wanted to know more about the songs!!
When we got home we immediately put on dry clothes and had some hot fruit tea with honey and fresh lemon juice. Mama said that would help us not get sick. Then she brought out these pizza bread things and they were AMAZING. Wow. And then she had salad too. She thought we could each eat 2.5 of the pizza breads, but there was no way! We were stuffed and each tried to eat two. All I can say is: that woman can cook!!!
Mama was waiting for us as we got off the train and was just so cute. The way she said “Heidi!” was adorable and she always had a smile on her face and the sound of laughter in her voice. When we got home she prepared an amazing German breakfast for us that consisted of fruit, an assortment of broetchen, cheeses, meats, juices and more. I just love that about Germans!!! Breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day here and when it’s prepared by a German it’s even better. She even had these cute little mini broetchen things and since they were mini, they were of course my favorite. At one point, Mama got out her atlas to see where North Carolina is. I love that they’re so curious and like to look things up like that! It was the same with the people I stayed with in the East. Then again, I guess I would do that too if I wanted to see exactly where someone I met was from, but I still think it’s sweet nonetheless. After we stuffed ourselves beyond belief and talked to Johanna’s sister Sabrina and her friend, we went upstairs to take a little nap. We didn’t end up sleeping, but instead layed there and talked for a few minutes. I got ready for the day since I didn’t have time to straighten my hair before we left and then Johanna got back from her doctor’s appointment. Heidi and I talked to her outside for a bit while Maressa took a nap and when we came inside Mama and Papa were eating potato salad and of course we had to try it even though we were still full. It was so good! Since we were going to walk around Aichach, Heidi woke Maressa up. When Maressa came downstairs they gave her some potato salad and she thought that was the reason we woke her up!
Shortly after we took off on our walk and Johanna showed us the women’s prison that is literally right around the corner from their house. We ended up seeing Sabrina and her friend at a café and then we all got eis together. It was really hot and it tasted SO good! Mama had made us lasagna and we ate that when we got back, even though I was still stuffed from breakfast. That lasagna was amazing though. It was different than normal, but something about it was so good! After printing out my ticket and getting all of our stuff together, we headed out for Jack! I slept some of the way, but when we got close, there were signs on the interstate saying where we needed to exit for ‘Jack Johnson’ and parking directions. So cool!!! After parking we hopped on a bus with a ton of other crazed fans and then walked to where the concert was. I had a feeling that it’d be outside and it was indeed just as I had pictured it! We found a good place to sit and hung out for awhile. Heidi’s host sister from the north, Katrin, was there with her boyfriend so they met up with us too. The opening band was G Love and Special Sauce and we really enjoyed them. I had tried to find some of their music online, but didn’t see anything I liked, so I was pleasantly surprised when they came on. A lot of their songs are funny and have great beats. Johanna and I had fun laughing and watching the people. Heidi did her little car dance for us and it was just hilarious. Good thing I got it on video!!
We moved to another place and then found out that we could go up by the stage. We got our arms stamped and that allowed us to return whenever we wanted. People who didn’t have their arms stamped couldn’t go in after the concert had started!! How cool!!! We were really close and could see Jack really well. He played almost all of our favorite songs and it was amazing. However, a HUGE storm came through and we got completely drenched. Jack didn’t even hesitate and he kept on playing through the rain, thunder and lightning. They did make him take a 20 minute break, but he came back out and finished the concert!! We left right before it was over since it was still pouring and we wanted to make sure we could get on a bus back to our parking garage. It would have been a good idea to remember which stop we had gotten on at because we had no idea where we needed to go. Luckily, we guessed correctly and talked to the right person who suggested where we should get off. We ran through a parking lot, climbed up a little hill and finally made it to Johanna’s car. We were so wet and it was just gross. It was totally worth though and we had SO much fun! My only real complaint was that Jack didn’t really talk much throughout the concert. I was hoping he’d explain a little about the meaning of each song, but he didn’t even do that once. He said danke/dankeschoen a few times and said a few other little things in English, but other than that, he just played. That was of course was great, but I wanted to know more about the songs!!
When we got home we immediately put on dry clothes and had some hot fruit tea with honey and fresh lemon juice. Mama said that would help us not get sick. Then she brought out these pizza bread things and they were AMAZING. Wow. And then she had salad too. She thought we could each eat 2.5 of the pizza breads, but there was no way! We were stuffed and each tried to eat two. All I can say is: that woman can cook!!!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Exhausted, but We Scrapbooked!
Heidi, Maressa and I were EXHAUSTED this morning. Well, actually just Maressa and I were exhausted. Heidi had a very strange amount of energy!! Heidi left to shower and stuff at 7 and then Maressa left about a quarter 'till 9 and I followed shortly after. Seeing as to how we went to bed around 3, it was understandable as to why we were zombies. We ate breakfast and talked and laughed for a long time. It was so great. Saying that I love them doesn't even describe how I feel. I can't believe that Maressa is leaving on Tuesday. So not fair. How are we supposed to finish out the week without her?
I watched the rest of Schindler's List and am so glad that I took the time (3 hours all together!) to watch it. It's probably not one that I will ever watch again, but man, one that everyone should see. So powerful and it just makes me so sad and actually mad that something like that happened...and in the country that I'm living in. As I walked around today, I thought about Jews being taken away and forced from their homes in Heidelberg and it just gave me chills. I wish I could see Heidelberg during that time and that I could know exactly what it was like then.
Simone and I met for lunch and we were both tired, but returned some books at the Uni Bibliothek and then went to Marstall. We decided that we HAD to have a latte macchiato, but I just didn't feel it kick in. We didn't have a lot of time to hang out since she had a group meeting and all kinds of other meetings throughout the day. A little before she had to leave, Maressa and Dan walked in and they sat with us. Dan is so cynical and for some reason I asked him how many kids he wants to have. He said 3 in order to ensure positive population growth. One is negative, two is neutral and three plus is positive. Maressa and I felt like we were reading some kind of economics book. We had fun chatting and then Maressa and I went back to my room to get a few things so that we could start working on the scrapbooks that everyone will get on Monday night at the end of the year party. I worked on them for quite some time while Maressa took a nap and went to class. I hung out with Heidi, painted my nails (and one of Davor's per his request!!) and got ready for Herr Dörr's class. It was so nice knowing that my homework was completely done before today. Wish I would have done more of that earlier in the semester!! Such a great feeling!
I was exhausted in class and had a really bad headache. There was this guy playing a recorder outside and he played Amazing Grace over and over and over and OVER again. It drove me insane!!! After class Heidi, Maressa, Dan, Alexander, Davor, John and I went to dinner at Hemingways. I had a panini and it was pretty good, but should have got the toast thing like I did last time. The boys were talking about zombies a lot and Maressa told Alexander about my reaction to Twilight and he said he would love to watch a zombie movie with me to see his reaction. No way. That stuff is too scary. Can't handle all that!! Apparently I need to separate what I see in the movies/read in books and that of which is reality. Scary stuff just freaks me out and I'm naturally pretty jumpy!
Maressa, Heidi and I worked some more on the scrapbooks after dinner and got quite a bit done. We still have some to do, but it's so fun working on it. I have missed scrapbooking SO much and it's one of the things I'm really looking forward to doing when I get home. I never realized just how important utilizing my creativity is for my overall happiness. It just makes me really happy and relaxed. Alexander was looking at everything while I was putting Maressa's pages together and he said that it looked great and that he couldn't wait to see the final product. He just didn't have enough nice things to say and other people who saw parts of it really like it too. Yay! I can't wait to show it to everyone! I don't think they all know exactly what they're getting, so we are trying to keep it a surprise and not give too much away!
I watched the rest of Schindler's List and am so glad that I took the time (3 hours all together!) to watch it. It's probably not one that I will ever watch again, but man, one that everyone should see. So powerful and it just makes me so sad and actually mad that something like that happened...and in the country that I'm living in. As I walked around today, I thought about Jews being taken away and forced from their homes in Heidelberg and it just gave me chills. I wish I could see Heidelberg during that time and that I could know exactly what it was like then.
Simone and I met for lunch and we were both tired, but returned some books at the Uni Bibliothek and then went to Marstall. We decided that we HAD to have a latte macchiato, but I just didn't feel it kick in. We didn't have a lot of time to hang out since she had a group meeting and all kinds of other meetings throughout the day. A little before she had to leave, Maressa and Dan walked in and they sat with us. Dan is so cynical and for some reason I asked him how many kids he wants to have. He said 3 in order to ensure positive population growth. One is negative, two is neutral and three plus is positive. Maressa and I felt like we were reading some kind of economics book. We had fun chatting and then Maressa and I went back to my room to get a few things so that we could start working on the scrapbooks that everyone will get on Monday night at the end of the year party. I worked on them for quite some time while Maressa took a nap and went to class. I hung out with Heidi, painted my nails (and one of Davor's per his request!!) and got ready for Herr Dörr's class. It was so nice knowing that my homework was completely done before today. Wish I would have done more of that earlier in the semester!! Such a great feeling!
I was exhausted in class and had a really bad headache. There was this guy playing a recorder outside and he played Amazing Grace over and over and over and OVER again. It drove me insane!!! After class Heidi, Maressa, Dan, Alexander, Davor, John and I went to dinner at Hemingways. I had a panini and it was pretty good, but should have got the toast thing like I did last time. The boys were talking about zombies a lot and Maressa told Alexander about my reaction to Twilight and he said he would love to watch a zombie movie with me to see his reaction. No way. That stuff is too scary. Can't handle all that!! Apparently I need to separate what I see in the movies/read in books and that of which is reality. Scary stuff just freaks me out and I'm naturally pretty jumpy!
Maressa, Heidi and I worked some more on the scrapbooks after dinner and got quite a bit done. We still have some to do, but it's so fun working on it. I have missed scrapbooking SO much and it's one of the things I'm really looking forward to doing when I get home. I never realized just how important utilizing my creativity is for my overall happiness. It just makes me really happy and relaxed. Alexander was looking at everything while I was putting Maressa's pages together and he said that it looked great and that he couldn't wait to see the final product. He just didn't have enough nice things to say and other people who saw parts of it really like it too. Yay! I can't wait to show it to everyone! I don't think they all know exactly what they're getting, so we are trying to keep it a surprise and not give too much away!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Sleepover!
Heidi wasn't at AJY this morning so after taking out some of the trash, Maressa and I went to Star Coffee. Maressa left Heidi and Skyler a note of where we'd be in case they came to AJY. When we visited Makenna in Rome she called Heidi "Heidi Heid" and after a while it started to stick with me and then it just turned into Heid. At first Maressa was like, Heid? What is that? But when she wrote this note she addressed it to Heid!!! And we have been calling her Mar and now she calls me Ali/Ali Baby. Heidi has been calling me Al for awhile now, but it's so cool that we each have nicknames! I like it when people give me a nickname on their own accord, meaning I had nothing to do with it! Not many people call me Ali and I like it that way! Then it's special/cool when people do that. The boys, namely Davor and Dan, are not fans of our new nicknames, but that's ok. It's fun and now it' weird to say their full names! Well, except when I write and when talking to other people about them!
After Maressa and I talked for awhile, Heidi and Skyler came in. They got some breakfast too and we had a great Bible study from the first chapter in Luke. I don't know when the last time was that I read that and I learned a lot. I said goodbye to Skyler after that since she was leaving at 12 to go back up north before heading back to the US on Wednesday. I can't believe she had already been here for like 3 weeks! Unreal! I went home, took a nap, worked on some homework and had lunch before class. I'm really going to miss that class and Frau Voigt-Zimmermann. I have learned so much for her and I am just amazed by her passion that she has for what she teaches. I continued reading for Frau Heckmann and that took me just about up until her class to finish. I had a quick dinner and then went to class.
Maressa came over awhile later and after we made some dinner and talked for awhile, we decided to start working on our homework. Right after we decided we'd have a 20 minute silence period, Heidi knocked on the window. She was in a great mood after talking to Frau Heckmann about her PH (a class she started taking, but ended up not going to much) problems. Frau Heckmann is amazing and helped her work everything out and gave her a CD with all kinds of old Heidelberg songs. She was just ecstatic. Super cute. She settled down and then we all got to work. We worked past the time we had set and I ended up finishing my paper for tomorrow! It summed up my time in Heidelberg (one page-ish!) and included some of the good and bad things I experienced. They decided to spend the night and it was so cool. I love sleepovers! While they were finishing up their work I started reading some more of Twilight, but got so scared at this one part that I ended up throwing the book. I couldn't read anymore! But Heidi and Maressa made me continue and read aloud, but I just cringed and read really fast through the scary parts. The tracker Vampire was following them and getting closer and closer and then this dark face appeared on Bella's window, but not to worry. It was just Emmett. Whew! It was intense! We were all pooped and finally just crashed with Heidi sleeping with me and Maressa on the AJY bed on the floor.
After Maressa and I talked for awhile, Heidi and Skyler came in. They got some breakfast too and we had a great Bible study from the first chapter in Luke. I don't know when the last time was that I read that and I learned a lot. I said goodbye to Skyler after that since she was leaving at 12 to go back up north before heading back to the US on Wednesday. I can't believe she had already been here for like 3 weeks! Unreal! I went home, took a nap, worked on some homework and had lunch before class. I'm really going to miss that class and Frau Voigt-Zimmermann. I have learned so much for her and I am just amazed by her passion that she has for what she teaches. I continued reading for Frau Heckmann and that took me just about up until her class to finish. I had a quick dinner and then went to class.
Maressa came over awhile later and after we made some dinner and talked for awhile, we decided to start working on our homework. Right after we decided we'd have a 20 minute silence period, Heidi knocked on the window. She was in a great mood after talking to Frau Heckmann about her PH (a class she started taking, but ended up not going to much) problems. Frau Heckmann is amazing and helped her work everything out and gave her a CD with all kinds of old Heidelberg songs. She was just ecstatic. Super cute. She settled down and then we all got to work. We worked past the time we had set and I ended up finishing my paper for tomorrow! It summed up my time in Heidelberg (one page-ish!) and included some of the good and bad things I experienced. They decided to spend the night and it was so cool. I love sleepovers! While they were finishing up their work I started reading some more of Twilight, but got so scared at this one part that I ended up throwing the book. I couldn't read anymore! But Heidi and Maressa made me continue and read aloud, but I just cringed and read really fast through the scary parts. The tracker Vampire was following them and getting closer and closer and then this dark face appeared on Bella's window, but not to worry. It was just Emmett. Whew! It was intense! We were all pooped and finally just crashed with Heidi sleeping with me and Maressa on the AJY bed on the floor.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Cake From Scratch!
I slept in this morning and just hung out before going to my internship at one. It was much cooler out today and it was just waiting to pour. Thankfully it didn't start until after I got to DAI, but despite the change in temperature, it was still uncomfortably warm and humid in there. I think I did about three things while I was there and they probably took up maybe an hour. I was so bored. I went to class afterward and was slightly entertained as we heard music from Wise Guys, Herbert Groenemeyer and Wir Sind Helden. Next Thursday is our exam and I'm feeling both relaxed and nervous about it.
Penny Markt was my next stop and I got the ingredients I needed for my cake and frosting. I also bought some coke and ice cream for a coke float. Mmmm! Of course after I unloaded all of my stuff in the kitchen to start baking, Matthias came in to get stuff ready for his dinner. I knew he'd want to sit there and talk to me, so I decided to wait until he finished dinner and watching the news before I got started. I chilled with a coke float and when I thought he was done I went out to the kitchen. After I started getting set up again, he came back in the kitchen and started drinking or eating something else. He's just super awkward and stood there drinking his juice behind me. I really feel like he's a little boy a lot of the time. I ended up having enough batter to make two cakes and while the first was baking I started making the frosting. The cake was called a 1,2,3,4 cake due to the ingredients...one cup of this, two of that, etc. And the frosting was some kind of whipped yumminess. I loved follow all of the specific directions since I had never made these things before. The batter for the cake tasted really good and I was relieved by that. I think I was in the kitchen for about three hours and was hot and tired by the end. I really love baking/cooking though and can't wait to get home to do some more of that! I talked to Anna for awhile while I was cleaning up and she told me that Julia is now in Italy for a few days. I told her that I hoped she would be in a better mood now that Julio had been here. I guess we can only hope. Then she showed me this video from her friend who was on that TV show I mentioned in April. It was so sweet and she really had no idea about any of it. Later Matthias and I were talking about the fourth of July and how we celebrate it at home. We also talked about patriotism and Anna joined the conversation and somehow the national anthem came up and I said that we didn't sing it a lot at school, but that we always said the pledge of allegiance. Matthias was very interested and had me say it slowly so that he could understand the words. After that he was off to practice his trumpet for the second time today because tomorrow he is performing a piece for his father. He is celebrating something, but I'm not sure what. Doing laundry kept me up later than I had planned...tomorrow I have a lot going on and really need to get a lot of homework done by Sunday. My goal is to finish my paper for Frau Heckmann, start my paper for Dr. Tracy and then also finish my paper for mediaculture. We'll see how that goes!
Penny Markt was my next stop and I got the ingredients I needed for my cake and frosting. I also bought some coke and ice cream for a coke float. Mmmm! Of course after I unloaded all of my stuff in the kitchen to start baking, Matthias came in to get stuff ready for his dinner. I knew he'd want to sit there and talk to me, so I decided to wait until he finished dinner and watching the news before I got started. I chilled with a coke float and when I thought he was done I went out to the kitchen. After I started getting set up again, he came back in the kitchen and started drinking or eating something else. He's just super awkward and stood there drinking his juice behind me. I really feel like he's a little boy a lot of the time. I ended up having enough batter to make two cakes and while the first was baking I started making the frosting. The cake was called a 1,2,3,4 cake due to the ingredients...one cup of this, two of that, etc. And the frosting was some kind of whipped yumminess. I loved follow all of the specific directions since I had never made these things before. The batter for the cake tasted really good and I was relieved by that. I think I was in the kitchen for about three hours and was hot and tired by the end. I really love baking/cooking though and can't wait to get home to do some more of that! I talked to Anna for awhile while I was cleaning up and she told me that Julia is now in Italy for a few days. I told her that I hoped she would be in a better mood now that Julio had been here. I guess we can only hope. Then she showed me this video from her friend who was on that TV show I mentioned in April. It was so sweet and she really had no idea about any of it. Later Matthias and I were talking about the fourth of July and how we celebrate it at home. We also talked about patriotism and Anna joined the conversation and somehow the national anthem came up and I said that we didn't sing it a lot at school, but that we always said the pledge of allegiance. Matthias was very interested and had me say it slowly so that he could understand the words. After that he was off to practice his trumpet for the second time today because tomorrow he is performing a piece for his father. He is celebrating something, but I'm not sure what. Doing laundry kept me up later than I had planned...tomorrow I have a lot going on and really need to get a lot of homework done by Sunday. My goal is to finish my paper for Frau Heckmann, start my paper for Dr. Tracy and then also finish my paper for mediaculture. We'll see how that goes!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Chillin'
We decided not to meet again this morning so that Maressa could do some work (as should I!) so I slept in and since I had forgotten to get books for the Kindergarten at the library yesterday, I ended up not going. I probably should have just gone since won’t be able to go for the next two weeks, but I didn’t feel like it. I hung out for awhile and then eventually went for a walk that eventually led me to H&M. I bought a really pretty dress and then a cute white shirt. I’m pretty sure those will be my last H&M purchases, so I enjoyed walking around and looking at everything. After dropping my stuff off and picking my computer up, I went to Marstall and had an iced caramel macchiato and caught up on my blog.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
To Eat or Not to Eat?
I had found a ton of old pictures on my external hard drive so we looked at those while we at breakfast this morning. They were from our home computer and included stuff like when we went to Seattle in high school, glamour shots, my last time in Germany, Katha’s visit and a few from when I was little. Heidi and Maressa had fun laughing at a lot of them, but unfortunately the time got away from us and we didn’t have time to do Bible study. Tsk tsk.
Katha came at 10:30 and we talked for awhile before walking down to a shop on the Hauptstrasse. She bought a cool Heidelberg mug from a fancy glass shop and now I unfortunately want one! She bought it for her host mom in Brighton. I can’t believe she leaves on Sunday! Big bummer since she won’t be back before I leave. We went back to my place and got my stuff for class and then went to Marstall for lunch. Katha got a chocolate donut and a iced white chocolate macchiato. Yum. We went to H&M for a bit afterwards before I went on to my internship at 1. I again got to work with Stefan, or at least I helped him with a project! I really feel like I’m an intern now. I just created and entered a bunch of stuff into excel, but I like stuff like that. I talked to a guy who I see there a lot and found out that he’s an American living/working here. That helped pass the time pretty quickly and before I knew it, it was 4 and time to go to class.
A lo of people weren’t in class today and I was just exhausted. I had stayed up too late the night before with the game and all of that excitement. I met up with Skyler and Maressa and we made this chili stuff, but were a little worried about the meat since it was 8 days past the date on the package. It had been frozen, but I was still really worried about getting sick. Maressa was totally for eating it and Skyler didn’t care, so we asked Anna and her friend and even though Anna said it would probably be ok, her friend said no and then Matthias also said that we even though we wouldn’t die from eating it, he wouldn’t do it. We were being stubborn, so I tried calling mom, but she wasn’t there so then I called Dad and he said that it’d be ok if we ate it. I was still skeptical and ended up only eating a little of it, which worked out since we had also made pasta to go with it. We watched Hairspray and hung out until Heidi came by later. She went on a date with Dan (they’re dating now…sort of…but I don’t think it will last). We watched an episode of Friends, but Heidi was ready to leave well before that and they left right after. She was in a strange mood, but maybe she was just tired like me. It worked out well that they left when they did because I was ready to go to bed!!
Katha came at 10:30 and we talked for awhile before walking down to a shop on the Hauptstrasse. She bought a cool Heidelberg mug from a fancy glass shop and now I unfortunately want one! She bought it for her host mom in Brighton. I can’t believe she leaves on Sunday! Big bummer since she won’t be back before I leave. We went back to my place and got my stuff for class and then went to Marstall for lunch. Katha got a chocolate donut and a iced white chocolate macchiato. Yum. We went to H&M for a bit afterwards before I went on to my internship at 1. I again got to work with Stefan, or at least I helped him with a project! I really feel like I’m an intern now. I just created and entered a bunch of stuff into excel, but I like stuff like that. I talked to a guy who I see there a lot and found out that he’s an American living/working here. That helped pass the time pretty quickly and before I knew it, it was 4 and time to go to class.
A lo of people weren’t in class today and I was just exhausted. I had stayed up too late the night before with the game and all of that excitement. I met up with Skyler and Maressa and we made this chili stuff, but were a little worried about the meat since it was 8 days past the date on the package. It had been frozen, but I was still really worried about getting sick. Maressa was totally for eating it and Skyler didn’t care, so we asked Anna and her friend and even though Anna said it would probably be ok, her friend said no and then Matthias also said that we even though we wouldn’t die from eating it, he wouldn’t do it. We were being stubborn, so I tried calling mom, but she wasn’t there so then I called Dad and he said that it’d be ok if we ate it. I was still skeptical and ended up only eating a little of it, which worked out since we had also made pasta to go with it. We watched Hairspray and hung out until Heidi came by later. She went on a date with Dan (they’re dating now…sort of…but I don’t think it will last). We watched an episode of Friends, but Heidi was ready to leave well before that and they left right after. She was in a strange mood, but maybe she was just tired like me. It worked out well that they left when they did because I was ready to go to bed!!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
GERMANY IS GOING TO THE FINAL!!!!
I was actually really awake this morning, but unfortunately had the worst stomachache that bothered me all the way through class this morning. A guy gave a presentation on Otaku (means geeeky/nerd in Japanese) and it was pretty interesting, but took awhile for me to figure out how it completely tied in with mediaculture. It's a strange subculture that is actually somewhat disturbing because people who are considered otaku have obsessive interests usually in anime and/or comics. We saw a few magazines that are popular among these people and they were really disturbing because many of them showed young girls who were dressed up playing different roles looking much more mature than they actually are. The whole thing was just weird to me.
Since I wasn't feeling well I decided to not go to my internship and just chilled in my apartment for the rest of the day and did laundry and worked on moving my pictures from my computer to my external hard drive since my computer was pretty much as full as full can get! It was great to just chill for the entire afternoon. It thunderstormed and poured early in the afternoon and really cooled things off since it was really hot and humid this morning and yesterday. Whooo!
I went to Heidi's before watching the big Germany v. Turkey game at AJY. Matthias came to AJY later to watch the game and luckily got along really well with Eric. Let's just say that both of them like to talk a lot. Tonight's game determined who would play in the final and the excitement was just insane. There are a ton of Turkish people in Germany (especially in cities like Mannheim and even more in Berlin) so quite a few people were nervous about this game. We really are lucky that AJY is located directly in the Altstadt because we have a great place to watch the game and are also right in the middle of all of the excitment. The game was so nervewracking, especially since Turkey scored the first goal. And then Germany tied it up and scored another goal in the second half. We thought we had it since there were only 10 minutes until the end, but Turkey scored again and tied everything up. The worst part about the whole game was that the station lost signal with the broadcaster in Switzerland and we had to listen to the game on the tv via radio. We were all going crazy!!! But finally in the last few minutes Germany scored and from then on it was just insane. We probably stood at the windows in AJY for a half an hour just watching the people go crazy in the streets. They were singing and cheering and it was the coolest thing to see. What a perfect time to be here!!! Even if they don't win the final...(which they totally will!!!) experiencing the hype and excitement up until now has been soooo worth it!!! Auf geht's Deutschland!!!!
Since I wasn't feeling well I decided to not go to my internship and just chilled in my apartment for the rest of the day and did laundry and worked on moving my pictures from my computer to my external hard drive since my computer was pretty much as full as full can get! It was great to just chill for the entire afternoon. It thunderstormed and poured early in the afternoon and really cooled things off since it was really hot and humid this morning and yesterday. Whooo!
I went to Heidi's before watching the big Germany v. Turkey game at AJY. Matthias came to AJY later to watch the game and luckily got along really well with Eric. Let's just say that both of them like to talk a lot. Tonight's game determined who would play in the final and the excitement was just insane. There are a ton of Turkish people in Germany (especially in cities like Mannheim and even more in Berlin) so quite a few people were nervous about this game. We really are lucky that AJY is located directly in the Altstadt because we have a great place to watch the game and are also right in the middle of all of the excitment. The game was so nervewracking, especially since Turkey scored the first goal. And then Germany tied it up and scored another goal in the second half. We thought we had it since there were only 10 minutes until the end, but Turkey scored again and tied everything up. The worst part about the whole game was that the station lost signal with the broadcaster in Switzerland and we had to listen to the game on the tv via radio. We were all going crazy!!! But finally in the last few minutes Germany scored and from then on it was just insane. We probably stood at the windows in AJY for a half an hour just watching the people go crazy in the streets. They were singing and cheering and it was the coolest thing to see. What a perfect time to be here!!! Even if they don't win the final...(which they totally will!!!) experiencing the hype and excitement up until now has been soooo worth it!!! Auf geht's Deutschland!!!!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
A Perfect Evening!
After sleeping in this morning I worked on my paper and then met Simone for lunch. We decided that next Friday we'd go to Karlsruhe together so she can show me where she's from. Yay! So excited! Maressa and I met a little while later for coffee at Schiller. Even though it was really warm outside, it was ok since Schiller is air conditioned and I was in fabulous company. Hanging out on one is so important to me and it was great to catch up with her since we haven't really had a chance to just sit down and talk in what seems like forever. First she left for Romania, then Johanna came, then Jess and Britt were here, then I went to the US, then her sister was here for two weeks and she's been crazy busy working on Idefix. FINALLY we both had time to just talk and it was great. She is so unbelievably uplifting and has the best advice and approach to life. Maressa and I will definitely be keeping in touch after we leave Heidelberg and I can see myself calling her for advice down the road on many occassions. She's an amazing woman of God and I just really admire her outlook on life and the way she carries herself.
Even though earlier in the day I had resisted getting Eis, I stopped in and got a scoop of lemon eis since it was just so hot. I chilled at AJY for awhile before going to Heidi's with her and Skyler. She checked over my paper and then we had a quite bite to eat before going to class. I was pretty much miserable in class because I was so hot and just felt like I had been sweating the whole dang day. Needless to say, I was happy when class was over. Heidi had the great idea to get a bottle of wine and sit by the river so we went to Schiller to buy a bottle (they let you taste it there, and clearly we love to support them so I made my second appearance of the day there and we got a great bottle of white wine. After rounding up Skyler and a few snacks, we headed for the river! We saw Sarah as we walked there and decided to sit on the castle side since we had never done that. It turned out to be fabulous. We were able to dangle our feet in the water and watched the sunset. Skyler didn't like the wine, so Heidi and I both had half of a bottle by the time 10 came around! We snacked on some cheeses while listening to music and it really was perfect. Of course we were a little typsy when we finally stood up so we danced a bit by the river and then went back to Heidi's where we just listened to Jack Johnson (clearly!) and chilled until Heidi fell asleep. Such a lovely way to cool down from a HOT day!
Even though earlier in the day I had resisted getting Eis, I stopped in and got a scoop of lemon eis since it was just so hot. I chilled at AJY for awhile before going to Heidi's with her and Skyler. She checked over my paper and then we had a quite bite to eat before going to class. I was pretty much miserable in class because I was so hot and just felt like I had been sweating the whole dang day. Needless to say, I was happy when class was over. Heidi had the great idea to get a bottle of wine and sit by the river so we went to Schiller to buy a bottle (they let you taste it there, and clearly we love to support them so I made my second appearance of the day there and we got a great bottle of white wine. After rounding up Skyler and a few snacks, we headed for the river! We saw Sarah as we walked there and decided to sit on the castle side since we had never done that. It turned out to be fabulous. We were able to dangle our feet in the water and watched the sunset. Skyler didn't like the wine, so Heidi and I both had half of a bottle by the time 10 came around! We snacked on some cheeses while listening to music and it really was perfect. Of course we were a little typsy when we finally stood up so we danced a bit by the river and then went back to Heidi's where we just listened to Jack Johnson (clearly!) and chilled until Heidi fell asleep. Such a lovely way to cool down from a HOT day!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Unbelievable
Heidi, Skyler and I went to Aldi this morning after breakfast/Bible study and I was able to return my bottles after they fixed the machine. I'm going to be sad when I get home and don't get 25 cents for a bottle. I also realized that it is not socially acceptable to drink out of a 1.5 liter bottle or from a 1.5 liter box of peach iced tea. Big bummer because that is something that I really enjoy!
When I got home, I noticed that there were two notes hanging in the kitchen. The one above the stove read, "Allison, Do you call this thing clean?! Is this your idea of cleaning and keeping clean?!" Then there were a bunch of arrows pointing down to the CLEAN stove. The note on the door said, "ALLISON YOU SHOULD PUT THE DISHES BACK!!! You were the one who used them last right, right?!?" Both of these notes were from Julia. I of course was really upset/mad when I read them becuase #1 the stove was clean and when we finished in the kitchen the night before, it was clean and #2 We had done the dishes around 10 pm before Heidi and Skyler left and I went to bed. I hadn't even had a chance to put them away by the time she had written the note. UGH! I went to talk to her, but she wasn't there, which was probably a good thing because I most likely wouldn't have handled the situation like I would have liked to. I asked both Matthias and Anna what they thought about the stove and they said that it looked clean. Julia is just stressed/annoyed with everything and is taking it out on all of us...except for Anna who probably sides with her out of fear. I worked on some homework and went to class, trying to somewhat forget about the notes so that I would be calmer when it came to talking to Julia. I went to class at AJY at 6 and when I got back I saw that the kitchen light was on and that she was in the kitchen. The moment of truth. She was listening to her iPod and acted all nice when I walked in and then started to say something about thanks for taking care of the things she had pointed out, but I interrupted her and asked why she wrote the notes. Then she just went off and said that she's SO PISSED about everything and it was just ridiculous. I explained my side to her, but didn't listen to what I said and just kept saying how mad she was about everything and how everyone needs to do their part and then started bringing Matthias into it. Poor guy. She hates him so much, but really has no reason to. I think he rubs her the wrong way and it just infuriates her and then she takes it out on everyone else. She said that she's so mad because he always blames things on her and that the only way he knows how to communicate is to knock on her door and talk to her. Well duh! You never give him the time of day and are always in your room. This is not to say that I don't get annoyed or bothered by Matthias and his strange quirks, but she is just extreme. I ended up telling her that maybe we just have different standards of what clean is and tried really hard to be calm about everything. But I think that made her even angrier. After I put my stuff down and got my movies to take to Heidi's, she told me that she was also pissed that I hadn't put the grill away. Now I could see how Anna would be bothered by that because it was in between our door, but Julia's room is on the other side of the apartment! I told her that I didn't see how that could bother her since it isn't even near her room. I did feel bad about that, but not because of Julia, just because I had been meaning to put it away, but kept forgetting. She was still all mad when I left and I was pretty upset because I hate it when people are mad at me. But this time it was different because I didn't feel like I had done anything wrong and that really she is just crazy. I wanted so badly to ask her why she can't handle her frustrations like an adult instead of a 10 year old, but I refrained. I didn't need to add any fuel to that fire!
I was still pretty upset about it all when I got to Heidi's and we talked it over a bit while Skyler made us this great potato/egg/cheese dinner thing. We watched Because I Said So awhile later and had to laugh when one of the guys pretty much tells Mandy Moore that she needs to find a new word other than great...superb...a synonym for great, if you're looking for one! Heidi ALWAYS describes things as great and it was pretty funny. I ended up staying there pretty late since I wanted to avoid Julia and actually ended up locking my door before I went to bed for the first time since August.
When I got home, I noticed that there were two notes hanging in the kitchen. The one above the stove read, "Allison, Do you call this thing clean?! Is this your idea of cleaning and keeping clean?!" Then there were a bunch of arrows pointing down to the CLEAN stove. The note on the door said, "ALLISON YOU SHOULD PUT THE DISHES BACK!!! You were the one who used them last right, right?!?" Both of these notes were from Julia. I of course was really upset/mad when I read them becuase #1 the stove was clean and when we finished in the kitchen the night before, it was clean and #2 We had done the dishes around 10 pm before Heidi and Skyler left and I went to bed. I hadn't even had a chance to put them away by the time she had written the note. UGH! I went to talk to her, but she wasn't there, which was probably a good thing because I most likely wouldn't have handled the situation like I would have liked to. I asked both Matthias and Anna what they thought about the stove and they said that it looked clean. Julia is just stressed/annoyed with everything and is taking it out on all of us...except for Anna who probably sides with her out of fear. I worked on some homework and went to class, trying to somewhat forget about the notes so that I would be calmer when it came to talking to Julia. I went to class at AJY at 6 and when I got back I saw that the kitchen light was on and that she was in the kitchen. The moment of truth. She was listening to her iPod and acted all nice when I walked in and then started to say something about thanks for taking care of the things she had pointed out, but I interrupted her and asked why she wrote the notes. Then she just went off and said that she's SO PISSED about everything and it was just ridiculous. I explained my side to her, but didn't listen to what I said and just kept saying how mad she was about everything and how everyone needs to do their part and then started bringing Matthias into it. Poor guy. She hates him so much, but really has no reason to. I think he rubs her the wrong way and it just infuriates her and then she takes it out on everyone else. She said that she's so mad because he always blames things on her and that the only way he knows how to communicate is to knock on her door and talk to her. Well duh! You never give him the time of day and are always in your room. This is not to say that I don't get annoyed or bothered by Matthias and his strange quirks, but she is just extreme. I ended up telling her that maybe we just have different standards of what clean is and tried really hard to be calm about everything. But I think that made her even angrier. After I put my stuff down and got my movies to take to Heidi's, she told me that she was also pissed that I hadn't put the grill away. Now I could see how Anna would be bothered by that because it was in between our door, but Julia's room is on the other side of the apartment! I told her that I didn't see how that could bother her since it isn't even near her room. I did feel bad about that, but not because of Julia, just because I had been meaning to put it away, but kept forgetting. She was still all mad when I left and I was pretty upset because I hate it when people are mad at me. But this time it was different because I didn't feel like I had done anything wrong and that really she is just crazy. I wanted so badly to ask her why she can't handle her frustrations like an adult instead of a 10 year old, but I refrained. I didn't need to add any fuel to that fire!
I was still pretty upset about it all when I got to Heidi's and we talked it over a bit while Skyler made us this great potato/egg/cheese dinner thing. We watched Because I Said So awhile later and had to laugh when one of the guys pretty much tells Mandy Moore that she needs to find a new word other than great...superb...a synonym for great, if you're looking for one! Heidi ALWAYS describes things as great and it was pretty funny. I ended up staying there pretty late since I wanted to avoid Julia and actually ended up locking my door before I went to bed for the first time since August.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Sleep!
Audra and I finally made it back to Heidelberg this morning around 7. We were supposed to get in at 5:15, but there was some kind of delay and the train was parked in Karlsruhe for quite awhile. Matthias was of course eating breakfast when I got home and I quickly said hi before hopping in the shower. After I got dressed he knocked on my door and wanted to know if he could talk to me about the kitchen. I told him that I was really tired and had just returned from Salzburg, but told him we could talk about the kitchen before he was able to start up a conversation about my trip. He wanted to know if I had made the oven dirty and when I told him that I hadn't, he wanted to know if I knew who had. Really. Really? We HAD to talk about this at 7:30 AM? Then he told me that I needed to clean the floor and I showed him that I had last week and that it was now Julia's turn for the upcoming week. He hadn't even read the dates that were written on the calendar (we write the date when we clean) and he said that it was instead my turn again since the list started from the top. But if he had read the dates he would have known that Julia had actually started the floor cleaning and not me. Then he said that I should clean the towels, but I pointed out that Julia had just done it the day before. I was getting frustrated and told him that I know what I need to do and that I don't need him to tell me. Wow. At least from all of this I have learned that I can't live with a guy like him. This is probably the only time I will actually live with a guy until I am married, and I'm kind of thankful for it because living with him and Keith this past year has really taught me a lot about guys and how they live. And both of them are pretty anal so I can't imagine what living with a sloppy guy is like!
I went to bed this morning still wondering why we had to have that conversation right at that very moment, but it didn't hinder my sleep too much because after waking up to my alarm around 11:30, I decided that I would sleep for a little while longer and didn't wake up until 4:45!! And of course at that point I figured that I might as well lay there until 5! I tried eating some rice and veggies, but wasn't really hungry and then Heidi and Skyler came over and I ended up making them crepes since Skyler hadn't eaten dinner. We just hung out and talked for awhile and then somehow I was tired again!
I went to bed this morning still wondering why we had to have that conversation right at that very moment, but it didn't hinder my sleep too much because after waking up to my alarm around 11:30, I decided that I would sleep for a little while longer and didn't wake up until 4:45!! And of course at that point I figured that I might as well lay there until 5! I tried eating some rice and veggies, but wasn't really hungry and then Heidi and Skyler came over and I ended up making them crepes since Skyler hadn't eaten dinner. We just hung out and talked for awhile and then somehow I was tired again!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
The Hills Are Alive...With the Sound of Music!!!
I got up at the crack of dawn this morning to meet Audra at Peterskirche to begin our journey to Salzburg. We bought our return train tickets at the station and then a little while later got on the train to Mannheim and then waited for our train that would get us to Salzburg…eventually! There was this crazy old German lady at the train station and she came up to the old couple who was sitting at the other end of the bench and started yelling at them. They didn’t know her and tried to ignore whatever she was saying. Strange. I slept most of the way and thankfully nobody sat next to me. It took around 5 hours to get there, but Bavaria is amazingly beautiful and we saw some beautiful scenery as we drove through Munich and into Salzburg.
We walked around Mirabell gardens not knowing that Do-Re-Mi was filmed there and took some pictures before finding our tour bus and eating a bit of lunch. I had brought a sandwich with me, which saved a few Euros! We made some American friends (a family with two kids, mostly talked to the dad who was really interested in what we’ve been doing in Germany) while waiting for the bus. The tour bus had Julie Andrews and the kids singing on the outside and was filled with almost all Americans. Our tour guide was insanely corny and not many people laughed at his jokes, but he tried. One of the jokes he told came as we were driving past a golf course. He said, “When you play at this golf course, they give you two pairs of socks, in case you get a hole in one.” I had to laugh at that…and a few others, but mainly because I could hear my dad telling them too! I learned that there was a movie made by Germans about the Von Trapp family, but that Roger & Hammerstein created their own musical that really had very few similarities to the actual story of the family. A movie was later made and Austrians and Germans didn’t like it because it was so different from the original. This is one reason that very few Austrians and Germans even know about the movie.
We saw the lake where they were in a boat and then fell in and it was so pretty with the mountains and the big white fortress thing in the background. The backyard was only used from this building because it was too complicated to film inside. They combined a few different locations and then put them together. Pretty interesting. We also drove past the place where Julie Andrews ran to the Von Trapp house and sang ‘Confidence’ an also where the kids played in the trees (same place). Then we got to go to the beloved gazebo that is unfortunately now locked because an 80 year old woman broke her hip when she fell while jumping from bench to bench a few years ago. It had to be moved from where it was originally filmed (the backyard that I mentioned earlier) because tourists were constantly jumping the fence and making too much noise while they were trying to hold lectures and other important things inside. It caused too much of a disturbance and since they didn’t want to just get rid of it, they moved it across town. Hollywood had built it just for that scene in the movie and they were going to destroy it after filming, but the people just loved it so much that they ended up giving it as a gift at the end.
The sky was super blue without any clouds. There were tons of hang gliders flying around at the top of this one mountain. I can’t imagine the view from up there because it was picturesque from the bus! We went up into the gorgeous mountains and were able to go on some type of bobsled ride on these cool little chairs. It was so much fun. You sat down on your chair and then the guy connected it to this lift and you rode up backward. The view was amazing and then once you got to the top, you had to get off and another guy put your chair on a new track that went down. You controlled the speed by moving the lever between your legs forward or back. I think I could have done that all day. You could make a killing off of something like that. I’m thinking that I’ll start a little business in the states! They could even do that at ski places in the summer. Oh the possibilities!
We later went to a little town called Mondsee where the wedding scene was filmed. We checked out the tourist shops and also ate some great apple strudel with vanilla eis and sauce. Four hours had already passed and we drove back into Salzburg. They played music from the movie most of the time on the bus and we had fun singing along. They also had a bar and I got this favorite Austrian soda thing that kind of tasted like ginger ale mixed with something. I kept the can to add to my collection. When we got back Audra and I walked around Mirabell gardens again and took a ton of pictures. There were flowers everywhere and we posed in the different places that had been shown in the movie. We walked across the river and found the Augustiner beer hall and had dinner and a beer in the huge beer garden. It was a really cool atmosphere and we hung out there for awhile before walking around. We ran into these two guys on the street who asked us a question about the game later that night, but we didn’t know. When he found out that we were Americans, he kissed us both on the cheek saying that he had always wanted to kiss an American girl. Haha.
After walking around the town and finding Mozart’s birth house, we lfigured out where all of the people that we had been seeing were going…to the public viewing of the Russa v. The Netherlands game. We joined and I had to throw away both the can that I had saved and another empty bottle that I was later going to fill up with water. I could have checked them, but would have felt like a moron checking garbage! There were a ton of people there and the atmosphere was great, but of course nothing compared to when we watched Germany play Portugal the other day. At around 10:30 we started making our way to the bus that would take us to the train station. We were both really tired and couldn’t wait to get to sleep on the train. We had reserved seats, but the whole train was a sleeping train and we had been put in separate rooms and decided to go somewhere else since there were a few other people inside that seemed like they weren’t going to be sleeping. We found an empty room and even though the guy who had a reservation in there came in a little bit later, he said we could stay and we crashed (but not before I put my camera and wallet in my coat pocket…just in case!!)
I really liked Salzburg and would love to go back again sometime. I had forgotten just how beautiful Austria is and could see myself living there or at least vacationing there for awhile! Audra and I had fun, but since we don’t know each other that well, I think it would have been better to go with a good friend. I had to laugh at some of the comments she made like, “I love how Catholic they are here!” She said that because in Bavaria and Austria they say Gruss Gott as a greeting…but really it doesn’t have anything to do with God. She also made a lot of comments about how things were in German there and how she was so surprised to see so much German. That is the official language of Austria! She said that she is used to seeing a lot of things in English in Heidelberg. I don’t know what she was talking about, but I just ignored most of her comments like that because they held no truth! Oh man…It worked out though since going on the Sound of Music tour was on my list of things to do in 2008!
We walked around Mirabell gardens not knowing that Do-Re-Mi was filmed there and took some pictures before finding our tour bus and eating a bit of lunch. I had brought a sandwich with me, which saved a few Euros! We made some American friends (a family with two kids, mostly talked to the dad who was really interested in what we’ve been doing in Germany) while waiting for the bus. The tour bus had Julie Andrews and the kids singing on the outside and was filled with almost all Americans. Our tour guide was insanely corny and not many people laughed at his jokes, but he tried. One of the jokes he told came as we were driving past a golf course. He said, “When you play at this golf course, they give you two pairs of socks, in case you get a hole in one.” I had to laugh at that…and a few others, but mainly because I could hear my dad telling them too! I learned that there was a movie made by Germans about the Von Trapp family, but that Roger & Hammerstein created their own musical that really had very few similarities to the actual story of the family. A movie was later made and Austrians and Germans didn’t like it because it was so different from the original. This is one reason that very few Austrians and Germans even know about the movie.
We saw the lake where they were in a boat and then fell in and it was so pretty with the mountains and the big white fortress thing in the background. The backyard was only used from this building because it was too complicated to film inside. They combined a few different locations and then put them together. Pretty interesting. We also drove past the place where Julie Andrews ran to the Von Trapp house and sang ‘Confidence’ an also where the kids played in the trees (same place). Then we got to go to the beloved gazebo that is unfortunately now locked because an 80 year old woman broke her hip when she fell while jumping from bench to bench a few years ago. It had to be moved from where it was originally filmed (the backyard that I mentioned earlier) because tourists were constantly jumping the fence and making too much noise while they were trying to hold lectures and other important things inside. It caused too much of a disturbance and since they didn’t want to just get rid of it, they moved it across town. Hollywood had built it just for that scene in the movie and they were going to destroy it after filming, but the people just loved it so much that they ended up giving it as a gift at the end.
The sky was super blue without any clouds. There were tons of hang gliders flying around at the top of this one mountain. I can’t imagine the view from up there because it was picturesque from the bus! We went up into the gorgeous mountains and were able to go on some type of bobsled ride on these cool little chairs. It was so much fun. You sat down on your chair and then the guy connected it to this lift and you rode up backward. The view was amazing and then once you got to the top, you had to get off and another guy put your chair on a new track that went down. You controlled the speed by moving the lever between your legs forward or back. I think I could have done that all day. You could make a killing off of something like that. I’m thinking that I’ll start a little business in the states! They could even do that at ski places in the summer. Oh the possibilities!
We later went to a little town called Mondsee where the wedding scene was filmed. We checked out the tourist shops and also ate some great apple strudel with vanilla eis and sauce. Four hours had already passed and we drove back into Salzburg. They played music from the movie most of the time on the bus and we had fun singing along. They also had a bar and I got this favorite Austrian soda thing that kind of tasted like ginger ale mixed with something. I kept the can to add to my collection. When we got back Audra and I walked around Mirabell gardens again and took a ton of pictures. There were flowers everywhere and we posed in the different places that had been shown in the movie. We walked across the river and found the Augustiner beer hall and had dinner and a beer in the huge beer garden. It was a really cool atmosphere and we hung out there for awhile before walking around. We ran into these two guys on the street who asked us a question about the game later that night, but we didn’t know. When he found out that we were Americans, he kissed us both on the cheek saying that he had always wanted to kiss an American girl. Haha.
After walking around the town and finding Mozart’s birth house, we lfigured out where all of the people that we had been seeing were going…to the public viewing of the Russa v. The Netherlands game. We joined and I had to throw away both the can that I had saved and another empty bottle that I was later going to fill up with water. I could have checked them, but would have felt like a moron checking garbage! There were a ton of people there and the atmosphere was great, but of course nothing compared to when we watched Germany play Portugal the other day. At around 10:30 we started making our way to the bus that would take us to the train station. We were both really tired and couldn’t wait to get to sleep on the train. We had reserved seats, but the whole train was a sleeping train and we had been put in separate rooms and decided to go somewhere else since there were a few other people inside that seemed like they weren’t going to be sleeping. We found an empty room and even though the guy who had a reservation in there came in a little bit later, he said we could stay and we crashed (but not before I put my camera and wallet in my coat pocket…just in case!!)
I really liked Salzburg and would love to go back again sometime. I had forgotten just how beautiful Austria is and could see myself living there or at least vacationing there for awhile! Audra and I had fun, but since we don’t know each other that well, I think it would have been better to go with a good friend. I had to laugh at some of the comments she made like, “I love how Catholic they are here!” She said that because in Bavaria and Austria they say Gruss Gott as a greeting…but really it doesn’t have anything to do with God. She also made a lot of comments about how things were in German there and how she was so surprised to see so much German. That is the official language of Austria! She said that she is used to seeing a lot of things in English in Heidelberg. I don’t know what she was talking about, but I just ignored most of her comments like that because they held no truth! Oh man…It worked out though since going on the Sound of Music tour was on my list of things to do in 2008!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Maressa's Acting Debut!
I showered and such after Bible study this morning and then went and read at the kindergarten. The kids are so stinking cute and I’m going to miss them and their adorable comments.
Heidi and Skyler came over that night and we cooked dinner before going to watch Maressa’s performance in Idefix. We got there early so we could get the good seats she had told us about. We were a little too early and ended up having to wait almost 20 minutes before we could even go inside. Eric, Dan and Janelle came too and we all sat together. The show was great and we laughed a lot. Maressa’s main piece was the most serious out of all of them, but she did an amazing job. It was cool to finally see it all come together since she had been rehearsing the lines for so long! Heidi and I decided that we want to go again on the closing night because we enjoyed it so much. I just went home afterward since I have to get up so early tomorrow morning to go to Salzburg!!!
Heidi and Skyler came over that night and we cooked dinner before going to watch Maressa’s performance in Idefix. We got there early so we could get the good seats she had told us about. We were a little too early and ended up having to wait almost 20 minutes before we could even go inside. Eric, Dan and Janelle came too and we all sat together. The show was great and we laughed a lot. Maressa’s main piece was the most serious out of all of them, but she did an amazing job. It was cool to finally see it all come together since she had been rehearsing the lines for so long! Heidi and I decided that we want to go again on the closing night because we enjoyed it so much. I just went home afterward since I have to get up so early tomorrow morning to go to Salzburg!!!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Some Questions Answered!
I sent a few postcards after Bible Study this morning and went home to shower before class. In class we watched some of The Matrix, but class was still pretty boring because the professor just stood there and talked and tried to get us to contribute to his attempt at discussion. I tried to take a nap after class and lunch, but just couldn't sleep. That is of course, until around 2, which was too late because I needed to get up at 2:20 so that I could get ready to go to my internship. I was there for three hours and enjoyed it quite a bit. I only do it occasionally, but I found out that I love shelving books! It goes along with my love for organizing and putting things away in their proper places. Tomorrow I'm going to work with Stefan in PR, woohoo!!
I met up with Heidi, Mayara and Justine at Gino's and then we went to church, which turned out to be so great. We read the beginning of Nehemiah 8 and Chris' (the pastor) message related exactly to what we talked about in Bible Study this morning. Definitely answered some questions that we had! The topic was unity and the main question was: How much do you love God? We stayed at church until about 9:30 and then went to Heidi's and attempted to watch Chicago, but weren't able to because she would have had to change the code on her computer since it's a European DVD and this is the last time she could do it and then would never be able to turn it back. So we just ate our ice cream and talked for awhile!
I met up with Heidi, Mayara and Justine at Gino's and then we went to church, which turned out to be so great. We read the beginning of Nehemiah 8 and Chris' (the pastor) message related exactly to what we talked about in Bible Study this morning. Definitely answered some questions that we had! The topic was unity and the main question was: How much do you love God? We stayed at church until about 9:30 and then went to Heidi's and attempted to watch Chicago, but weren't able to because she would have had to change the code on her computer since it's a European DVD and this is the last time she could do it and then would never be able to turn it back. So we just ate our ice cream and talked for awhile!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Reality Time Check
We ended up just having breakfast together this morning instead of doing Bible study since all three of us are slackers and waited as long as possible to write our papers for Herr Dörr's class that we have tonight. I bought the bread this morning (we usually trade off bringing stuff to eat, works out really well!) and I got a sunflower seed bread for Maressa and I. She always gets that for herself when she buys bread and I thought I'd give it a try. Amazing! Wow. We also had a strawberry mango marmalade that added the perfect bit of sweetness.
I came home and read, played around online and stuff before starting on my paper at 11. I actually ended up finishing it in about an hour and then I went to meet Simone at 1 for lunch. While I was at home I got an email reminder about an AJY meeting that we had at 1:15, but I figured it would only last 20 minutes or so. Simone decided to go make copies while she waited and we decided we'd meet up there when I finished. Well the meeting ended up taking about an hour! We had to fill out all of this paperwork about un-enrolling from the University and confirmed which day we'd be leaving and all of that kind of stuff. How incredibly sad! I remember last semester when the fall students had to do all of that, but the full-year people were able to leave. And now today I was filling out those same papers in preparation for leaving Heidelberg. As much as I can't wait to be back at home, living on a "normal" schedule, so many parts of me don't want this to end. When I leave Heidelberg this time, it will be most likely for good. I mean, sure I'll come back to visit, but I will probably never live here ever again and that just makes me so sad. And when I do return, Maressa and Heidi won't be here to hang out with. They have made this experience just that much sweeter and it's going to be so strange not seeing them everyday. I cry as I think about not having them or Heidelberg as a part of my everyday life and all of the amazing experiences we have shared together over the last year. Wow.
Anyway, I was really concerned when I noticed that the meeting was taking much longer than I had anticipated and I had no way of contacting Simone. Heidi and Mayara were going to join us for lunch, so we walked over to the copy shop to see if Simone was still there, but of course she was not. We walked around a bit and then decided to see if she was at Marstall. We didn't see her there either and I felt really bad about standing her up like that. I thought I had her phone number on Skype so Heidi gave me her keys so that I could go call her from her room. But when I got there, I found out that I only had her Skype contact. Ugh! I walked back to Uniplatz and saw her out of the corner of my eye. Such a relief! I apologized and she told me that she had been trying to call me and decided to go ahead and eat since she hadn't seen me. But she ended up coming to Marstall to have a latte macchiato and I was able to give her the jelly belly's that I had bought for her while at home. She was really excited and I wished there was more I could give her since I had messed up so badly! I was the one who had asked her to hang out and then I basically ditched her. But everything worked out fine and we continued to talk and stuff after Mayara and Heidi left. We talked about her going grocery shopping later and what she was going to buy. I suggested chocolate, but she said that it's not good for you and that she checked on her weight the other day and was upset about it. So then when she was trying to think of what else she needed, I suggested rice and she said that rice, along with pasta and bread have way too many carbohydrates and that they're bad for you. Well I eat at least one of those things every day. Super. I'm only here for a bit more anyway, so I better enjoy all of this delicious bread/chocolate/etc. before I go leave! Before I go home I'm going to go to Karlsruhe to see where she's from and to see where her family lives. I'm so excited!!!
I went to hang out with Heidi and Mayara afterwards and we put the finishing touches on our papers before going to class with Maressa. Nobody had much energy during class and it was so evident. Herr Dörr even called Alexander out on it and said that we all have problems with focusing and being "Fit für Unterricht." I did get a 2 on my paper though, which was exciting! Just once I want to get a 1,5! Just once! Maybe next week!
I came home and had rice with vegetables for dinner while watching some of the EM game between France and Italy. Italy ended up winning 2-0 and of course Julia was happy. But Romania also played and by the sounds she was making in the common room, I'm pretty sure they lost. She had some friends over for dinner and asked if I wanted to join them, but they didn't start eating until after 10! Those Italians/Europeans!
I came home and read, played around online and stuff before starting on my paper at 11. I actually ended up finishing it in about an hour and then I went to meet Simone at 1 for lunch. While I was at home I got an email reminder about an AJY meeting that we had at 1:15, but I figured it would only last 20 minutes or so. Simone decided to go make copies while she waited and we decided we'd meet up there when I finished. Well the meeting ended up taking about an hour! We had to fill out all of this paperwork about un-enrolling from the University and confirmed which day we'd be leaving and all of that kind of stuff. How incredibly sad! I remember last semester when the fall students had to do all of that, but the full-year people were able to leave. And now today I was filling out those same papers in preparation for leaving Heidelberg. As much as I can't wait to be back at home, living on a "normal" schedule, so many parts of me don't want this to end. When I leave Heidelberg this time, it will be most likely for good. I mean, sure I'll come back to visit, but I will probably never live here ever again and that just makes me so sad. And when I do return, Maressa and Heidi won't be here to hang out with. They have made this experience just that much sweeter and it's going to be so strange not seeing them everyday. I cry as I think about not having them or Heidelberg as a part of my everyday life and all of the amazing experiences we have shared together over the last year. Wow.
Anyway, I was really concerned when I noticed that the meeting was taking much longer than I had anticipated and I had no way of contacting Simone. Heidi and Mayara were going to join us for lunch, so we walked over to the copy shop to see if Simone was still there, but of course she was not. We walked around a bit and then decided to see if she was at Marstall. We didn't see her there either and I felt really bad about standing her up like that. I thought I had her phone number on Skype so Heidi gave me her keys so that I could go call her from her room. But when I got there, I found out that I only had her Skype contact. Ugh! I walked back to Uniplatz and saw her out of the corner of my eye. Such a relief! I apologized and she told me that she had been trying to call me and decided to go ahead and eat since she hadn't seen me. But she ended up coming to Marstall to have a latte macchiato and I was able to give her the jelly belly's that I had bought for her while at home. She was really excited and I wished there was more I could give her since I had messed up so badly! I was the one who had asked her to hang out and then I basically ditched her. But everything worked out fine and we continued to talk and stuff after Mayara and Heidi left. We talked about her going grocery shopping later and what she was going to buy. I suggested chocolate, but she said that it's not good for you and that she checked on her weight the other day and was upset about it. So then when she was trying to think of what else she needed, I suggested rice and she said that rice, along with pasta and bread have way too many carbohydrates and that they're bad for you. Well I eat at least one of those things every day. Super. I'm only here for a bit more anyway, so I better enjoy all of this delicious bread/chocolate/etc. before I go leave! Before I go home I'm going to go to Karlsruhe to see where she's from and to see where her family lives. I'm so excited!!!
I went to hang out with Heidi and Mayara afterwards and we put the finishing touches on our papers before going to class with Maressa. Nobody had much energy during class and it was so evident. Herr Dörr even called Alexander out on it and said that we all have problems with focusing and being "Fit für Unterricht." I did get a 2 on my paper though, which was exciting! Just once I want to get a 1,5! Just once! Maybe next week!
I came home and had rice with vegetables for dinner while watching some of the EM game between France and Italy. Italy ended up winning 2-0 and of course Julia was happy. But Romania also played and by the sounds she was making in the common room, I'm pretty sure they lost. She had some friends over for dinner and asked if I wanted to join them, but they didn't start eating until after 10! Those Italians/Europeans!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Productivity at its Finest!
Heidi and I went on an adventure to Aldi after Bible Study, which was probably a slightly bad idea since we were both hungry when we got there. We both spent over 20 Euros, but got stuff that will last us for over a week. But man! Next time I will make sure I eat before shopping.
I had lunch and then went to class, which ended up being cancelled! Sweet! I would always rather being surprised that class has been cancelled rather than knowing ahead of time. Fabulous! I was able to get a lot of things checked off my list including cleaning, writing some postcards and taking a nap before going to class at 6. Really productive!! Heidi, Maressa, Mayara and I came back and cooked the lasagna that we had bought that morning and then went to AJY to watch Germany beat Austria in the EM! Yahoo!!! They didn't play all that great, but at least they won! We could hear the cheers when the goal was scored from inside AJY. Just love the atmosphere here when soccer is being played. Absolutely amazing and totally inspires me to get excited about it all!
I had lunch and then went to class, which ended up being cancelled! Sweet! I would always rather being surprised that class has been cancelled rather than knowing ahead of time. Fabulous! I was able to get a lot of things checked off my list including cleaning, writing some postcards and taking a nap before going to class at 6. Really productive!! Heidi, Maressa, Mayara and I came back and cooked the lasagna that we had bought that morning and then went to AJY to watch Germany beat Austria in the EM! Yahoo!!! They didn't play all that great, but at least they won! We could hear the cheers when the goal was scored from inside AJY. Just love the atmosphere here when soccer is being played. Absolutely amazing and totally inspires me to get excited about it all!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Super Lazy Sunday
After church this morning we all came back to my apartment for lunch and then watched the rest of The Perfect Man. Cheesy Hillary Duff movie, but cute nonetheless. I spent the rest of the day just hanging out and reading Message in a Bottle.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Holiday Park for Heid's 23rd Birthday!
Early at Hbf
Day at Holiday Park
Scary Swings
Yummy Ice Cream
Holly Hand Holding
Expedition Gefore decorations - Heidi
Picture
Cake on Train
Dinner and fun story game at Idomeneo with Anna too
Sleep over at my place!!!
Day at Holiday Park
Scary Swings
Yummy Ice Cream
Holly Hand Holding
Expedition Gefore decorations - Heidi
Picture
Cake on Train
Dinner and fun story game at Idomeneo with Anna too
Sleep over at my place!!!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Picturesque!
Michael and Susanna dropped us off at church this morning (they were going to come too, but ended up not because Michael had to do more stuff with the summer kids today). There was a guest speaker (American) and I think he could have talked the whole day if they allowed him too. Dan and Allison were also at church so we sat with them. After getting back to Heidelberg I charged my computer, gathered up my stuff, sent some e-mails and then headed out to the river to get some sun and relax.
I brought a magazine that I have been meaning to read since April and just enjoyed being outside for a little more than three hours. The castle was facing me on the other side of the river and I can't imagine living/spending my time abroad in a more beautiful town! Crew teams went up and down the river the whole afternoon and it was so cool to see people of all ages doing this sport. I want to try it!! There were a few drops of rain, but other than that the sun shone beautifully on this 78 degree day!
When going home I walked all the way to the bridge by Bismarckplatz and on the way I saw that there were a ton of crew teams getting ready for a competition. It really felt like summer as I saw everyone running around and laying in the sun waiting for everything to start.
Heidi came over later and we talked for awhile before deciding we were exhausted!
I brought a magazine that I have been meaning to read since April and just enjoyed being outside for a little more than three hours. The castle was facing me on the other side of the river and I can't imagine living/spending my time abroad in a more beautiful town! Crew teams went up and down the river the whole afternoon and it was so cool to see people of all ages doing this sport. I want to try it!! There were a few drops of rain, but other than that the sun shone beautifully on this 78 degree day!
When going home I walked all the way to the bridge by Bismarckplatz and on the way I saw that there were a ton of crew teams getting ready for a competition. It really felt like summer as I saw everyone running around and laying in the sun waiting for everything to start.
Heidi came over later and we talked for awhile before deciding we were exhausted!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
