2011

a new year, a new resolve to rekindle my blogging (hi mom, i don't think anyone checks in anymore!)

there are many big things that i could talk about/update right now - coldest december in probably forever, flooding, exams, stress, learning spanish (ahem...kind of) - but i just don't think i'm up to that task tonight.

these big things shape my life, but honestly its the little things, the daily waking up, making coffee, grocery shopping things that define the tone and feel - the topography of my life.

as things started back up last week, i was incredibly thankful to go back to teaching. i love the challenge and diversity of my job! working with preschoolers, giving them their very first encounter with english through books, songs and games - to working with high school students, reading short stories, working on grammar, improving test scores. i love it all!

in my preschool class, we always start by singing a "hello song" and then i ask them how they are. i have been with most of these kids since may or june, and one little girl answers (without fail) "bad" every.single.week. its the same over and over again.

me: "how are you?"

little girl: (thumbs down) "bad. ich habe schnupfen und husten." (she has a stuffy nose and a cough)

a broken record. until last week. for the first time, she just smiled and said "good". i couldn't believe my ears! "really? no stuffy nose? no cough?" "no. i'm good."

it was a good day. ~love~

Solar Power

I am a Colorado girl for many, many reasons. One of those reasons is that I am a child of the sunshine.

Some people love those meloncholy (oh so meloncholy) gray days. The drops of rain write inspiration on window panes and the splash of water exudes life and joy. I am not one of those people. I am solar powered.

I feel every cell in my being jump to life, jump for joy, when the sun shows its shy face. No matter what time of year, the sun to me is life. Right now, sun means unbelievably blue skies and crisp air that is mirrored in the crunch of an apple and the dry shuttering of paper leaves as they fall...It shines on rosy-cheeked children as we read about pumpkin soup and play jack-o-lantern bingo. ("what do we say again, mingo?") Sunny days like today fill me with gratitude and love. ~love~

Not particularly informative or important...just funny

Yesterday, as I rode my bike to the library in search of internet access (oh man, don't ask!), I heard a very strange noise. Think peacock, only shriller. The source of this noise was around the next corner and was coming at regular intervals. Like a car alarm. A peacock car alarm.

As I rounded said corner, I was startled to see a short little kid (maybe 3 years old) in a bike helmet standing outside a coffee shop. Yelling Yelling Yelling Yelling Yelling... Probably at the woman standing about 3 feet away, looking aghast and slightly apologetic. Yell....Yell....Yell...Yell. As the people at the tables continued their conversations as if they were not punctuated by this rhythmic outrage.

I laughed and rode on. ~love~

Walking Across the Atlantic

As my plane left DIA, I reached for a volume of poetry by Billy Collins. This poem resonated with me, and so I will share:

Walking Across the Atlantic

I wait for the holiday crowd to clear the beach

before stepping onto the first wave.

Soon I am walking Across the Atlantic

thinking about Spain,

checking for whales, waterspouts.

I feel the water holding up my shifting weight.

Tonight I will sleep on its rocking surface.

But for now I try to imagine what

this must look like to the fish below,

the bottoms of my feet appearing, disappearing.

~Billy Collins

I made my way across the Atlantic once more, and once more fight against the pursuasive pull of jet lag, as I am thrown into the to-do list that I hid at the bottom of my suitcase for the last 6 weeks. A little reordering, and I am already checking things off. Unpack, check. Clean, check. Write a few emails, check. This way I can almost trick myself into thinking that I am working my way down. But I will get there. Don't you doubt. And if you don't doubt, maybe I won't either. ~love~

Fancy

Warning: this post will be a short foray into my random musings as I go about my every-day life...if you were hoping for pictures and adventures, best come back in a few days.

As I walked around running (ok, well, acutally walking) errands yesterday (oh to have a car and zip from one place to the next with air conditioning and a roof...) I saw the most loveliest of ladies standing outside of the bank. On a street crowded with workers, youths, students, and tourists, this woman was dressed in her Sunday best. A black dress with a bold floral print was complimented with a short lacy short-sleeved sweater and the most delicate hat I have ever seen. Imagine going to a picnic with Jane Austin...that is where you would see such a hat. And I appreciated this woman's attention to detail and dedication to being fancy. This woman made me want to pack a picnic and get out of town - hike through long grass to a winery and just enjoy. Summer. Sunshine. Friends. And I wouldn't pack just any picnic, I would pack porcelain tea cups, and tiny tea cakes and we would wear fancy hats and celebrate. Wanna come? ~love~

Cowgirl up

With sincerest apologies for my blogging delinquency (how often do I have to do that here...this is a bad pattern!) I am announcing my return to the blogging world! Here are a few highlights of my whirlwind summer:

1. Visitors

I have had the great privilege of welcoming 3 visitors since March to the incredible land of Germany!

Our neighbor, Cindy, graced me with her presence for a week in March. Despite having a sinus infection, we had a wonderful time and even had a chance to spend a couple of days in beautiful Cologne.

Then, the lovely and talented Nicole came and blessed me with a week of family time! We had a great time discovering new and exciting places, watching the world cup, going to a poetry slam, and generally enjoying summer. Here you can see Nicole seeking a break from the heat in the incredible English Gardens at the Schwetzingen Schloss.

Finally, my dear friend Ashley and her husband came for 2 nights and a day and in spite of yet another bout of illness, we were able to have a lovely stroll around the old city and eat dinner to the tune of a German folk-song sing along. It was wonderful to finally meet her husband and to reminice about the old days and our awkward phases!

For those of you who are keeping score, my illness while Ashley was here put sickness ahead of health in the cosmic game of my health while guests are here. The stand is now 4:3 for sickness.

2. Travel

I have been blessed with the chance to travel a little this summer

I visited the Rheinfall waterfall with Thomas and his family in May and was once again reminded of the beauty and diversity of God's great creation.

I also had an incredible weekend field trip to Paris with one of my history classes. We visited 3 museums, each representing different perspectives of historical rememberence. Although it was a bit of a whirlwind, I absolutely fell in love with Paris. I was exhausted after walking to all of the major attractions in one day, but so glad to have had that opportunity. More to come on that little excursion later!

3. World Cup Mania!

What an incredible experience to be in Germany for the World Cup 2010! Public Viewing, dancing in the streets, singing on trains, hearing vuvuzelas at all hours of the night, the whole experience was simply unbelievable!

Here you can see Nicole and me cheering on the Schwarz-Rot-Gold DEUTSCHLAND!!! Unfortunately this was the game that Germany lost to Spain, but a good time was had nonetheless!

4. Work, school, life in general

My work teaching English is challenging and fun, and defintely keeps me busy and laughing. In an attempt to make 3 unruly boys stop acting up, one of my pre-schoolers said something to the effect of: "please stop doing that because Miss Rebekah has such pretty toe nails!" (they were freshly painted!)

Classes have been crazy busy...between my weekend excursion to Paris, papers, presentations and reading, I feel like I am just running from one thing to another! Luckily my pace of life will be changing a bit in the coming weeks-I'll still be quite busy, but without classes for the rest of the semester-I could definitely get used to this German way of doing things!

As usual, I have been unbelievably blessed by wonderful friends and good times in spite of all of my stress and running around. I just love summer in Europe! Yesterday from a train window, I saw a little village parade going through a small town-people in traditional dress atop horses and tractors, pulling elaborate floats of flowers, crops and wine...a typical summer day in Germany!

Well, I think its about time to wrap up this little summary. I love and miss you all and I can't wait to see as many of you as possible during my visit this fall! ~love~

movement

this song gets me moving every time...hope this helps me be productive this weekend! ~love~