aaaaaahhhhhhhh

I leave on July 28. I still have to give a big presentation, take two exams, write a 12 page paper, close my bank account, work out complications with my health insurance, tell the authorities here that I am leaving, etc etc (I think you get the point). I am mostly frustrated that I can't enjoy my last week and a half here but am instead running around like a chicken with my head cut off. So...if you try to call and can't get ahold of me, if you are wondering at the lack of blogging, emailing, etc, please know that I love you all sooo much and I am so excited to be seeing you, talking to you on my american cell phone in a closer time zone very soon, I just don't have time to think about that right now :) ~love~

Hannah is here!!

...but her suitcase is not!!! This little inconvience led to a shopping spree to which Hannah said: "I've always wanted to go into a store and buy outfits, just like in the movies!!" I think she'll be just fine until everything comes. The ultimate quote of our shopping spree (don't worry, we didn't go too crazy) was when Hannah looked at a shirt and said: "Oh my gosh, I have to buy this shirt, I had a dream about it!" Apparently the forces of the universe are working together to ensure that Hannah owns a cute pink shirt with a flower on it... (more photos to come)

shock

Up until 2:05pm, this Tuesday had been fairly ho-hum. I spent the morning drinking a cup of coffee, cleaning up for Hannah's arrival tomorrow and working on my to-do list of homework and other miscellany. Since I have class at 2:15, I decided to leave a bit early and throw some wash in the washing machine before I left for class. Armed with a suitcase full of laundry and my detergent, I unsuspectingly descended the stairs into the basement where the washing machines are located. I entered the basement, turned on the light, began walking toward the laundry room when I received a sudden shock. There was a mole crawling around right in front of the laundry room door. Now, I am no fan of rodents (this may have something to do with the fact that I am no fan of germs) and I am also a girl. Therefore, I am sure you can easily imagine the high-pitched shreak that accompanied my sudden shock. Suddenly everything looked a little different. I had no desire to be within a foot radius of this blind little rodent but he was blocking my path to the laundry room...I stopped to consider my assets. A rolling suitcase can provide quite a good barrier, a though especially comforting as I considered my choice of footwear: flip-flops exposing my toes to the long nails and teeth of this burrowing creature. (side note: I am fully aware in hind sight that moles are not dangerous and not particularly scary, but I was ambushed!) Never having seen a mole in real life before, I wasn't sure what to expect. As it moved away from the laundry room door, I made my move. Alas, as I moved toward the door, he moved back toward the door. At this point, I completely forgot that moles are in fact blind, so I made an effort to scare it by making noise and moving my suitcase in its direction. Not effective. I then realized that I just needed to get in the laundry room as soon as possible. Using my suitcase as a buffer between me and the mole, I quickly unlocked the door and backed my way into the room, quickly shutting the door behind me. I am ashamed to say that I was shaking all over - that little guy really scared me. About a minute later, I heard a noise and quickly turned as someone else came in the laundry room (I was a little jumpy). I asked him if he had seen the little fellow, to which he replied no (accompanied by a look that said, man, you are such a jumpy, silly little girl!) and looked out into the hall. He then noted that, in fact he did see the mole, and that he was at the opposite end of the hall. Vindicated on all counts of making a rodent up, I just smiled nervously as he chuckled and began loading a washer. Upon leaving, I cautiously looked out the door only to find my little friend once again right near me! Turning, I made a quick run for it and made it safely out the door, up the stairs and out into the real world.

After recounting my horrific tale to Amy and Sarah, they accompaned me post-class to visit the litte guy. As we walked into the hallway, his whereabouts were not immediately evident. But my quick eye noted that he was in the men's bathroom. We turned on the lights to look at them and what did Amy and Sarah say? No, they did not scream in terror, no they did not jump 3 feet in the air, nor did they shake with fear, the let out a collective "awwwww" poor little guy. Upon second examination, he was in fact quite small and not so scary. Oh well...now I can at least say I have seen a real, live mole, and I learned the German word for mole: der Maulwurf. Maybe my heart will stop racing by the time I go to bed tonight!

~love~

Beautiful

So, there is a post already in progress, but right now I am working on a presentation on memory and I came across this quotation that I thought was so lovely and wonderful and worth sharing. So here you go!

Own only what you can carry with you; know language, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.

This is from Alexander Solzhenitsyn, author and long time political prisoner in the gulag system in Stalin's Russa.

Study break over! ~love~

Weather

Well folks, as I settle into the routine of daily classes and appointments, there is one unpredictable force that is continually interfering with my plans: weather. I know Colorado has crazy weather, but I am coming to realize that Colorado weather is a predictable crazy. In Colorado, I can usually depend on a lovely sunny morning, to soften the blow of wildly unpredictable afternoons. Here, every day is a gamble. I wake up and think, oh what a lovely day, sunny, light breeze...I think I shall wear short sleeves and a light jacket. Lo and behold, I walk out of the building and look in the other direction only to be confronted with a near dead-on re-creation of the scene from the Wizard of Oz right before a cow flies by and the witch rides by in the air on her bicycle. Suddenly my light jacket feels paper thin and I despair that I once again forgot my umbrella. These sorts of days generally end in me walking back inside at the end of the day sopping wet. On the other hand, sometimes I look outside, see the dark clouds and think...ok we're in for another rainy day. I open my window, feel the cool temperatures and responsibly don long sleeves, a jacket and my vest. 2 hours later, as I leave my class, I encounter a hot blast of air as I exit the building. Within minutes I am shedding layers and sweating like its going out of style. What is equally baffling is that the Germans are all just as confused and unprepared as I am! 

Well, all of this came to a hilarous head last weekend at a birthday celebration for one of my good friends here, Marcel. We decided to have a lovely little grill party outside. We borrowed tables from the landlord, set up our grill and had a great feast spread before us. From my side of the table, I praised the beautiful weather, blue skies and sunshine. The person sitting across from me suggested that I look a little more thoroughly into the weather in the whole sky before making that glowing prognosis. Upon turning around, the aforementioned Wizard of Oz scene dampened my spirits a bit. A few minutes later, we heard thunder in the distance. Then the wind picked up. We started packing up just as the heavens opened up and began dumping buckets of rain. Being fairly well-sheltered under a thick canopy of trees, we decided to wait it out and move the party inside after the flash downpour was over. Simultaneously eating and packing up, our attention was abruptly called to a lound "thump" on the table. An ominous icy-orb lay in the midst of our food. It quickly became apparent that we had no chance of making it inside in this hail storm. Most of us headed as fast as we could to the base of a large tree nearby. Huddled all together, we hoped to mostly escape bodily harm. At this point, I was laughing hysterically  (perhaps due to the large hailstone that had thunked me on the head as I fled towards the tree). This laughing was only exacerbated when I noticed that 3 people had taken shelter under the picnic table and that one of those three, Sophie, was calmly sitting on the ground with a fork and a huge salad bowl, eating.

The outside portion of the party ended in a hasty cleanup and soggy walk back to our building, but we continuted the celebration indoors late into the night. More good memories and fun times with friends. How thankful I am for my life here (even in spite of the fickle weather!)

Photo Summary part 5 aka, finale

SOOOOO excited to have my Mama with me in this country that I love so much! It meant more than I can say to be able to share everything with her. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful mother!

Thomas and I in front of the cathedral at his old school. We traveled to Thomas' family with my mom so she could enjoy a bit of the black forest and meet Thomas' family. It was a beautiful trip!

Oficially my favorite picture of the trip...My mom, Thomas' mom and Thomas posing with this interesting statue in St. Blasien. They definitely keep me laughing!

Mom conquered her fear of hights to climb this tower overlooking Freiburg. What a brave adventurer!

There was much silliness and many self-portraits...I am so blessed by my friends and family!

All in all break was a great time filled with great memories that I will truly treasure forever. I am overwhelmingly blessed by the vast number of opportunities that I have, and more so by the people that I have walking alongside me on this great adventure of life. I hope this small photo journey helps to convey a bit of the last few months here and hopefully it is also the kick in the pants that I need to keep me blogging! Loving and missing you all!

Photo Summary part 4

I think it is safe to say that this is part 4 of 5, for those of you who are worried that its getting a bit long (although, if such people are out there, they should perhaps consider not reading my blog anymore as I have never, ever, ever, been known as someone who is concise and to the point...) This exciting part 4 begins the section of the summary that chronicles the visits of Gillan and my mom. Sharing my home here with the two of them was such a highlight and privilige!We sure do love jumping pictures. Unfortunately the weather decided to be gross and mean while Gillian was here, so we had a lot of rainy, chilly walks, but enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. A walk along the Rhine River is always a great way to enjoy the day!

If you were wondering what heaven looks like, and where it is located, I can give you a heads up...its in Heidelburg and it looks exactly like this bookstore. Literally filled to overflowing with books, Gillian and I could barely contain our excitement. Seriously. I am in love with this place

I do so love Heidelburg, and was glad that Gillian was equally captivated by this beautiful, romantic, historic city.

We went on a grand adventure in search of a monestary in Maulbraun by way of train and a 3 kilomenter hike through the woods. When we arrived at the deserted train station in the middle of nowhere, we were understandibly a little nervous. Luckily for us, we found our way without incident and enjoyed a very interesting audio tour of the beautiful (if freezing cold) monestary there.

I think it was by far the coldest audio tour I have ever been on, but it was truly beautiful and incredible. I could not have asked for better company either!