may my heart always be open to little birds...

I found this poem by ee cummings and this opening line struck my eye...I think this beautiful sentiment is my wish for my time here - to walk with my heart open to people, places, and lessons big and small here. To that end, however, I am pleased to share with you all some of my new favorite places that aid me in this open-hearted journey.

First, I got a coupon book from the city office when I registered with the city a few weeks ago. In that book was a two for one coupon for coffee at a coffee shop not too far from here. So, last week Amy and I went in search of coffee deals. After walking all over the city, we finally stumbled upon C'Asia, the coffee shop where this coupon is good. The instant we walked in the door, I knew I had found a safe place for my heart to roam...comfortable chairs, stools, candle-lit tables, delicious coffee, good music and free wi-fi - what more can a girl ask? I have since been back to pass a few hours sipping coffee and reading and I just feel so glad to have a place to relax and process!

Secondly, my class took a field trip to the nearby city of Baden Baden and spent three hours swimming in the mineral waters of the Caracalla baths...I think I found a part of heaven! Everyone knows that I am always happier in water, and there the water is the absolute perfect temperature to swim and relax for hours...outside one of the hot-spring pools is a giant whirlpool - great to just swim around and around and around quite quickly (any poor swimmer will feel accomplished with the help of the powerful wall jets that propell you along!) The have aromatic steam rooms, cold and hot water baths and the big baths that all stay right around 85-95 degrees...perfect. There are chairs under heat lamps where you can take a little nap and also massages available (for a fee, of course). Anyway, for the fairly reasonable entrance fee of 13 Euro, I feel confident that when I get stressed out every three months or so, I can go spend a few relaxing hours at Caracalla (a short 30 minute train ride from here!) and watch my stress melt away!

So, all of that to say, I feel reasonably supported to walk through my time here with a heart open to the little birds. I am learning so much every day, and glad to be here in spite of missing you all. The leaves continue turning spectacular shades of red and yellow - a show I get to watch every day from the windows in my room. 

Now I am just sitting in my room waiting for my ride to take me to Cindy's birthday party...it should be a fun night (although I am unsure how my German will hold up with a room full of native speakers with different dialects...I spend most of my time with exchange students who speak relatively slowly and use vocabulary that is easy for me to understand!) However, I will hopefully post soon pictures from the grand adventure I had yesterday in search of a scenic view of the Rhine River, and also post about the birthday party. Until then... ~love~