Hey look, I've been in Italy for two weeks already! Where does the time go... certainly not towards blogging...
Things are going quite well. I have a really kind and welcoming host family- parents Gianni and Cristina, with kids Marco (11), Lorenzo (more often called Nenno, 9) and Luca (4). Cristina's parents live next door, but there are still another eight family members: three dogs and five cats. Russell is some sort of Finnish bear dog (related to the husky) and is huge, but really a teddy bear. Kira is quite old and can't hear, and Jack is a new Jack Russell (get why they named him Jack?? :) puppy who likes to lick toes and play soccer with us. Pirata is aplty named since he's a one-eyed kitty, Gaspare dislikes all the other pets, Simba likes to sleep on the fish tank, Romeo technically lives next door but comes here to eat, and Dodo is the oldest and looks kind of like a lion.
Marco definitely acts like the eldest, and is the most calm and sensible of the three. He likes card games, and I've taught him a couple - including Dutch Blitz! Yay! Nenno is pretty funny, and, with his broken english and third person tendencies, talks like Tarzan ("Nenno happy!" for instance). He has yet to learn to be a good loser, so when he plays cards he gets VERY frustrated if he doesn't win (or at least does poorly). Luca is the king of the pity party, and can burst into tears at the drop of a hat. He always wants to play Wii, but if he doesn't win he gets very upset and sometimes even runs from the room. I've told him (and had translated through his brothers and mom) that I won't play with him as long as he has a bad attitude, and it actually seems to help.
Although Gianni, Marco, and Nenno all know minimal amounts of English, it really isn't enough to actually talk to one another. Cristina has to act as my translator, although Gianni can understand a good amount of what I say. Luca, on the other hand, knows only the few words of English I've taught him in the last few weeks like "star" and "flower" (courtesy of Nintendo games).
These boys LOVE their video games, from Wii to DS, and I have to say it's a bit of a relief. After two families where the kids were only allowed five minutes at the end of each day to watch a cartoon, it's nice to be in a house where electronics are considered the anti-Christ. Playing Wii has actually acted as a really good medium for me to get to know the kids. They talk to me in Italian and I talk to them in English, but we're somehow able to communicate anyway. It really is impressive how much one can communicate without words.
Another effect communication tool? Body language via throwing pillows. Luca threw a pillow at me on the first day, and it developed into what is now known as "Battle of the Pillows" which basically involves the three boys hurling pillows at me, and me chucking them back. It was a good game to play with them right off the bat because it let them know that I was there to have fun with them.
Lets see, what else... well, I've been to the beach at least four times already. The sea isn't too cold to swim in, but it's taken a little getting used to with the salt water. I've gone twice alone with Nenno and Marco, and they like to jump in the waves (which were HUGE today) and then roll around in the sand.
Ah, one last thing - I got some sort of weird 48 hour bug last week which involved cold shivers, high fever, and a headache. Not exactly fun, but hopefully that will fill my sick quota for a while.
Well, I can't think of anything more to say... so I'm gonna go to bed.
Ciao!
~Julia~
Monday, June 14, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
I [heart] Austria
I didn't really give a proper recount of my first trip to Austria, and I'd like to have a whole post about my first few days in Italy (which I will get to before too long)... SO, in a bold new attempt to use some format other than bullet points, here is an over-sized recap of my time in Austria:
Ramsau
This was my second time visiting Gottlieb and Margarita at their beautiful house in the amazing mountains of the stunningly gorgeous country of Austria. They are both so kind, and such wonderful hosts. The first day or so, the weather was as I had left it in Germany - cold and rainy. However, when we went to Salzburg (on Sunday?) we were lucky enough to have warmth and sunshine! Before we got to the city itself, we went to a castle (Hellbrunner, I believe) just outside of Salzburg. Fun fact: the gazebo from "the Sound of Music" (think "Sixteen Going on Seventeen") was donated to the castle, and I was very disappointed that the doors were locked, preventing me from reenacting the scene. The archbishop (?) who built it (?) apparently had a sense of humor, because we took a tour of the trick fountains in the garden. At first I was a little freaked out at the concept of getting wet, but I ended up getting sprayed by water that came out of a (seemingly harmless) deer head on the wall... hey, if I was gonna walk away wet, the water may as well get me with humor :) We then enjoyed the gardens and a few rooms in the castle before moving on to the main event.
When I came to visit in October, we saw Salzburg in the evening when everything was closed, so it was really nice to be able to go to the same city a second time and see even more. We started out by walking through a beautiful (castle?) garden, and then mosied over to Mozart's birth house (where I took a picture of the outside. I love Mozart and everything, but I'm not gonna pay 8 Euros to see a room. I could spend that money in ice cream... or jewelry...) There were vendor booths set up along the river, so we (after lunch and ice cream) wandered up and down to peruse the selections. I'm kind of a sucker for pearls, and I may or may not have been too weak to walk past a certain necklace... oops. We then walked up the hill to the castle, which was... quite the walk. I've been to castles before, but not one like this. It was more of a town than a castle, with little shops and a public square. The view of the city was stunning. It started to rain a little, but the sun was still shining, making it a unique end to the evening.
The next day we went to visit Margarita's sister in her hometown of Eferding. Her brother also lives nearby, so all in all I met several family members. We went for a walk along the Danube (Donau, auf Deutsch) in the nearby town of Aschach. It was clear that Margarita was excited to be in her hometown, and it was fun to see a different small town culture.
Wien
I knew it was supposed to rain in Vienna, but when it first started to drizzle I figured I could handle it without an umbrella. WRONG. On day one it really started to pour, so I gave in to buying a souvenir umbrella. Even though it was raining, the city was still beautiful. I knew that I wanted to take advantage of all of Vienna's musical offerings, so my first stop was the Opera house. That night they were performing Salome, which was very exciting to me since I studied it in a music history class. They were sold out of almost all of their tickets, and were totally sold out for the performances the next two days (which were shows I didn't know)... the only tickets left were very expensive, but - with the encouragement of my father and, um, monetary sponsor - I decided that I only get to live once, so I went ahead and bought a ticket. I had never been to a (real) opera before, so it was cool to get to see one in such a historical setting. I didn't have anything too fancy to wear, but I did my best and thankfully didn't stand out as being under dressed. I had an amazing seat, but to be honest I was a little baffled about the acoustics. In opera, you don't mic the singers- they just belt it out and should be able to be heard over the orchestra. However, from where I was sitting there were many times where the orchestra was overpowering the singers. All the dialogue is sung, not spoken, but not every phrase is some stunning melody that hits the sweet spot of the singers' voices... so unless it was in the sweet spot, I had trouble hearing it. However, the experience was still worth the money, and I'm glad that I did it.
The opera finished around 10 or so in the evening, so I wanted to make the most of my time. I had heard about some jazz clubs in Vienna, and although Birdland was sadly closed down, I managed to find another little spot called Jazzland. It was an ideal jazz setting, in a tiny basement bar that you probably wouldn't see if you weren't looking for it. There was a piano/drum duo playing, and the setting was really intimate. There wasn't room in the main room, so I went to the side where I could see half of the stage, but to my luck the musicians came and sat next to me before playing their final set. We somehow picked up a conversation, and it was really cool to just talk about music. The music was great (I stupidly bought one of their overpriced CDs... it seemed rude to decline after hearing the price, and it didn't seem appropriate to try to haggle a few bucks off) and it was the perfect end to my day.
I spent the majority of day two at Schönbrunn castle, where the weather had taken a turn in the right direction (I actually got a little sunburned). The castle itself is big, but the gardens are HUUUGE. I spent maybe 40 minutes doing the castle tour, and another 3.5 to 4 hours in the gardens. There just aren't words to describe how big and beautiful it was... you'll have to google it. I spent what little time I had left in the day seeing churches in the downtown area and wandered through a couple parks and even made it to the city hall. There are two things I love about big cities in Germany/Austria/Europe (?): they have city centers where everything is centrally located, so you can see a lot without going too far- you don't even really need to use the subway- and they all seem to have beautiful oasis gardens in the middle of the metropolis hubbub. Very cool.
I ended the evening with a small ensemble concert performed in a location where Mozart himself performed (I think when he was six or something). I'm pretty sure it was a tourist trap, in the sense that it wasn't the philharmonic or any recognized ensemble. There were five musicians (a string quartet with piano) who performed a two part program- first of some of Mozart's greatest hits, then of J. Strauss' greatest hits. They even had a singer for two arias and two ballet dances for a few pieces. The Americans behind me were wildly impressed, and it was difficult to lay dormant as they flaunted their lack of knowledge about Mozart or music in general... so I struck up a conversation with them during intermission. I was very friendly, and approached them in a way of also being awestruck and sharing "fun facts" with them. Thankfully, one husband (who apparently also studied music at one time in his life?) pointed out to his wife that Mozart (which she pronounced "Moe's art"... *shudder*) did not, in fact, compose Fur Elise (that one almost got me). Anyway, the musicians were definitely talented, but I think were clearly students studying music who were trying to make a buck. That's not a bad thing at all, but I wish I had gone to the Philharmonic (I got suckered into this concert because the guy told me that they performed in costumes - which weren't very impressive at all - and "Papagena, Papageno" was on the list and I wanted to see it performed in parrot costumes [the "Moe's art" American got very excited when I told her about it because she has two parrots... sigh]. It was not performed that evening). I then went to try out what was supposedly Vienna's number one jazz club (called Porgy & Bess, so I had high hopes). However, it was some trendy place with people trying to be posh. The band that was playing wasn't even jazz (apparently they are a "Jazz and Music" club) so I went home.
There was a festival going on in the city on my last day - I'm not exactly sure why - and there were lots of booths set up for various reasons. My feet were KILLING ME by then, so it was nice to sit and watch a *free* 45 minute outdoor concert. It was an octet with two clarinets, oboes, bassoons, and french horns. They also appeared to be a student ensemble, but were once again quite talented. I spent a good part of the day sitting (seriously, after Hamburg, Berlin, Copenhagen, Ramsau, and Salzburg before even getting to Vienna, my feet were DONE) so I went to the train station a little early and waited to catch my overnight train there.
SO- from here on out, it's all about Italy. No more looking back in the past or over analyzing what went right or wrong... so with that in mind, I'll see you in the future (not in the pasture).
Alles liebe,
~Julia~
My hostel experiences have been really good on this trip (save one mediocre). In hostels I've met people from Argentina, Singapore, and Iran... which is pretty cool! The Iranian woman was tiny, and so spunky- she went tango dancing every night :) Although we didn't go out together in Vienna, we ate breakfast together and talked about what we did during the previous day - it was nice to have a hostel friend.
Ramsau
This was my second time visiting Gottlieb and Margarita at their beautiful house in the amazing mountains of the stunningly gorgeous country of Austria. They are both so kind, and such wonderful hosts. The first day or so, the weather was as I had left it in Germany - cold and rainy. However, when we went to Salzburg (on Sunday?) we were lucky enough to have warmth and sunshine! Before we got to the city itself, we went to a castle (Hellbrunner, I believe) just outside of Salzburg. Fun fact: the gazebo from "the Sound of Music" (think "Sixteen Going on Seventeen") was donated to the castle, and I was very disappointed that the doors were locked, preventing me from reenacting the scene. The archbishop (?) who built it (?) apparently had a sense of humor, because we took a tour of the trick fountains in the garden. At first I was a little freaked out at the concept of getting wet, but I ended up getting sprayed by water that came out of a (seemingly harmless) deer head on the wall... hey, if I was gonna walk away wet, the water may as well get me with humor :) We then enjoyed the gardens and a few rooms in the castle before moving on to the main event.
When I came to visit in October, we saw Salzburg in the evening when everything was closed, so it was really nice to be able to go to the same city a second time and see even more. We started out by walking through a beautiful (castle?) garden, and then mosied over to Mozart's birth house (where I took a picture of the outside. I love Mozart and everything, but I'm not gonna pay 8 Euros to see a room. I could spend that money in ice cream... or jewelry...) There were vendor booths set up along the river, so we (after lunch and ice cream) wandered up and down to peruse the selections. I'm kind of a sucker for pearls, and I may or may not have been too weak to walk past a certain necklace... oops. We then walked up the hill to the castle, which was... quite the walk. I've been to castles before, but not one like this. It was more of a town than a castle, with little shops and a public square. The view of the city was stunning. It started to rain a little, but the sun was still shining, making it a unique end to the evening.
The next day we went to visit Margarita's sister in her hometown of Eferding. Her brother also lives nearby, so all in all I met several family members. We went for a walk along the Danube (Donau, auf Deutsch) in the nearby town of Aschach. It was clear that Margarita was excited to be in her hometown, and it was fun to see a different small town culture.
Wien
I knew it was supposed to rain in Vienna, but when it first started to drizzle I figured I could handle it without an umbrella. WRONG. On day one it really started to pour, so I gave in to buying a souvenir umbrella. Even though it was raining, the city was still beautiful. I knew that I wanted to take advantage of all of Vienna's musical offerings, so my first stop was the Opera house. That night they were performing Salome, which was very exciting to me since I studied it in a music history class. They were sold out of almost all of their tickets, and were totally sold out for the performances the next two days (which were shows I didn't know)... the only tickets left were very expensive, but - with the encouragement of my father and, um, monetary sponsor - I decided that I only get to live once, so I went ahead and bought a ticket. I had never been to a (real) opera before, so it was cool to get to see one in such a historical setting. I didn't have anything too fancy to wear, but I did my best and thankfully didn't stand out as being under dressed. I had an amazing seat, but to be honest I was a little baffled about the acoustics. In opera, you don't mic the singers- they just belt it out and should be able to be heard over the orchestra. However, from where I was sitting there were many times where the orchestra was overpowering the singers. All the dialogue is sung, not spoken, but not every phrase is some stunning melody that hits the sweet spot of the singers' voices... so unless it was in the sweet spot, I had trouble hearing it. However, the experience was still worth the money, and I'm glad that I did it.
The opera finished around 10 or so in the evening, so I wanted to make the most of my time. I had heard about some jazz clubs in Vienna, and although Birdland was sadly closed down, I managed to find another little spot called Jazzland. It was an ideal jazz setting, in a tiny basement bar that you probably wouldn't see if you weren't looking for it. There was a piano/drum duo playing, and the setting was really intimate. There wasn't room in the main room, so I went to the side where I could see half of the stage, but to my luck the musicians came and sat next to me before playing their final set. We somehow picked up a conversation, and it was really cool to just talk about music. The music was great (I stupidly bought one of their overpriced CDs... it seemed rude to decline after hearing the price, and it didn't seem appropriate to try to haggle a few bucks off) and it was the perfect end to my day.
I spent the majority of day two at Schönbrunn castle, where the weather had taken a turn in the right direction (I actually got a little sunburned). The castle itself is big, but the gardens are HUUUGE. I spent maybe 40 minutes doing the castle tour, and another 3.5 to 4 hours in the gardens. There just aren't words to describe how big and beautiful it was... you'll have to google it. I spent what little time I had left in the day seeing churches in the downtown area and wandered through a couple parks and even made it to the city hall. There are two things I love about big cities in Germany/Austria/Europe (?): they have city centers where everything is centrally located, so you can see a lot without going too far- you don't even really need to use the subway- and they all seem to have beautiful oasis gardens in the middle of the metropolis hubbub. Very cool.
I ended the evening with a small ensemble concert performed in a location where Mozart himself performed (I think when he was six or something). I'm pretty sure it was a tourist trap, in the sense that it wasn't the philharmonic or any recognized ensemble. There were five musicians (a string quartet with piano) who performed a two part program- first of some of Mozart's greatest hits, then of J. Strauss' greatest hits. They even had a singer for two arias and two ballet dances for a few pieces. The Americans behind me were wildly impressed, and it was difficult to lay dormant as they flaunted their lack of knowledge about Mozart or music in general... so I struck up a conversation with them during intermission. I was very friendly, and approached them in a way of also being awestruck and sharing "fun facts" with them. Thankfully, one husband (who apparently also studied music at one time in his life?) pointed out to his wife that Mozart (which she pronounced "Moe's art"... *shudder*) did not, in fact, compose Fur Elise (that one almost got me). Anyway, the musicians were definitely talented, but I think were clearly students studying music who were trying to make a buck. That's not a bad thing at all, but I wish I had gone to the Philharmonic (I got suckered into this concert because the guy told me that they performed in costumes - which weren't very impressive at all - and "Papagena, Papageno" was on the list and I wanted to see it performed in parrot costumes [the "Moe's art" American got very excited when I told her about it because she has two parrots... sigh]. It was not performed that evening). I then went to try out what was supposedly Vienna's number one jazz club (called Porgy & Bess, so I had high hopes). However, it was some trendy place with people trying to be posh. The band that was playing wasn't even jazz (apparently they are a "Jazz and Music" club) so I went home.
There was a festival going on in the city on my last day - I'm not exactly sure why - and there were lots of booths set up for various reasons. My feet were KILLING ME by then, so it was nice to sit and watch a *free* 45 minute outdoor concert. It was an octet with two clarinets, oboes, bassoons, and french horns. They also appeared to be a student ensemble, but were once again quite talented. I spent a good part of the day sitting (seriously, after Hamburg, Berlin, Copenhagen, Ramsau, and Salzburg before even getting to Vienna, my feet were DONE) so I went to the train station a little early and waited to catch my overnight train there.
SO- from here on out, it's all about Italy. No more looking back in the past or over analyzing what went right or wrong... so with that in mind, I'll see you in the future (not in the pasture).
Alles liebe,
~Julia~
My hostel experiences have been really good on this trip (save one mediocre). In hostels I've met people from Argentina, Singapore, and Iran... which is pretty cool! The Iranian woman was tiny, and so spunky- she went tango dancing every night :) Although we didn't go out together in Vienna, we ate breakfast together and talked about what we did during the previous day - it was nice to have a hostel friend.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Tying Up Loose Ends
SO much has happened in the last several weeks that I'm going to revert back to my beloved bullet points to get it out in a timely manner.
-First and foremost, my gallbladder: I had a marvelous three day, two night stay in the luxurious Brake Hospital where they determined that the best thing for me to do would be to remove my gallbladder. However, my insurance wouldn't pay for the surgery since it wasn't an emergency (despite being deemed medically necessary by the doctors) so I didn't have it. I went to Germany with my gallbladder, and I left with it, too.
-Something that I decidedly omitted from my blog posts was the state of my relationship with my host family. For the last two months, things have been... rough. Although things seemed to be fine most of the time, there were times (including one huge blowout in March) where things were not fine at all. I'm not sure if it's a cultural issue or if I'm just daft, but communication was once again an issue... apparently. Once again, this family (mother) was irritated/frustrated/angry with me for this/that/the other but didn't talk to me about it. Instead, she acted irritated/frustrated/angry which was only furthered by my lack of knowing why. We had a second blowout the day before my contact with them was over, and she told me (among many other things I don't care to go into) that she had thought a lot about the situation and couldn't come up with a solution- at which case I pointed out that she had never once tried to work it out with me. Every time she tried to talk to me about something, she was talking at me in an irritated/frustrated/angry manner... and then she was further irritated/frustrated/angry because I reacted defensively to such confrontations. So. That's that.
-I had a lovely time in Hamburg with my friend/former teacher from Olaf Sarah. Hamburg was having a celebration for it's harbor that weekend, so there were a bunch of booths by the river selling assorted goods (mainly of the beer and food variety). The weather was cold and cloudy, but we didn't have too much rain. We saw a good amount of Hamburg - including the Red Light District. For the life of me, I can't see why it's a tourist attraction, but c'est la vie. We climbed a church tour which made me feel as fit as couch potato and as spry as my 90 year old grandmother, plus it irritated a knee injury I haven't felt for almost a decade now... so that was good. It was nice to see the city from way up, but the legs-like-rubber feeling once we had climbed down wasn't quite so pleasant. My knee is still giving me a little pain, but it was especially bad the first week after.
-I then headed to Berlin where I was nervous to be alone for three days. Almost immediately upon my arrival, I befriended one of my hostel roommates (a nice German fella) and we went about town together. I kind of went to Berlin as an after thought, but am so grateful that I went. The history in Berlin is truly incredible. I think of history as being something in the past, something that happened generations before me. Although I'm aware of "history in the making," as it were, such as the War in Iraq, President Obama, the World Trade Centers, it isn't quite history yet because it's all still happening (or at least happened recently). However, to think about the role that the Berlin Wall has played in history and to know that it's defeat happened during my lifetime is truly amazing. There is a double cobblestone line that represents where the wall stood in Berlin, and now cars are parked over where this symbol of division and hopelessness once was. That, to me, is baffling. Anyway- I took a site-seeing bus tour and got an overview of the city, and then went back to a few spots. I saw Checkpoint Charlie and went into the museum there (the wall went up in '61, and the museum started in '62- so amazing) plus made my way to the Holocaust Memorial and museum. I've been to one Holocaust exhibit before (in London), and I was really glad and impressed to have learned so much new information. I wasn't sure if all exhibits of this kind would be the same, and maybe outside of Germany they are... but to see the perspective of the German's from after the war is really quite something. Not necessarily more profound, but at the same time more meaningful. The World Wars are apart of our history, too, but in such an incredibly different way. It's interesting to see a non-American perspective, especially that of the Germans. Moral: history in Berlin = fascinating.
-When I returned to Berne, I only stayed one night. The next day, my friend (and non-sacrilegious savior) picked me up to come stay with him. It was strange to say such a hasty goodbye to Linus, especially since I know he couldn't possibly have known that's what it was. Jakob didn't really understand either, since when I said I was leaving he just said "Tschuess!" from the other room. Once I got a proper hug and goodbye from him, I shook the parents hands and simply left.
-I spent my last few days in Oldenburg staying at my friend Jonas' house. He and his parents were so kind to me, and being away from my host family really made my last days in Germany more relaxing. I had to get a lot of things done, including close my bank account - which did not go smoothly - but it was much easier being in Oldenburg. I got to spend some time with my friends, and I of course cried when I had to say goodbye to them. I had a mild/moderate panic attack the night before leaving, thinking "what have I gotten myself into" and "I can't possibly go through with this once more" and other such things. Sleep helped, and before I knew it I was saying goodbye to Oldenburg.
-I spent almost exactly 48 hours in Copenhagen, where I stayed with a third cousin I had never met before. He was an extremely gracious host, and I was both shocked and impressed by the fact that he talked just as much and just as fast as me :) He wasn't able to take off work to show me around, but his roommate had Tuesday free so she took me around and showed me parts of town I would never have been able to find as a tourist. Fun fact: the Danish language sounds ridiculous. Seriously, it sounded like they were speaking Klingon or something. The only words that even sounded like words were the English ones thrown in. It's bizarre. Anyway, we had really great weather that day and after lunch she said "If you really wanted to do something Danish, we would go sit on the wall by the canal and drink beer..." So we did. The weather, again, was just perfect so it was great to just sit out in the sun. I'm not much of a beer drinker, but I had a couple ciders. A couple of her friends joined us as time went by, and eventually Karim (my cousin) met us after he got off work. We ended up sitting there for somewhere between 3-4 hours (I may or may not have gotten a sunburn). We then went to get dinner, and they all decided I needed to have a proper Danish meal. They took me to what they said was one of two places in town that made a great traditional meal (some sort of pork with potatoes and white gravy). We were the only people in the restaurant, but the food was quite good and we talked - rather loudly - about many different (politically related) subjects. Day Two involved me wandering around aimlessly for several hours before meeting up with Karim for dinner and then heading to the train station.
-I took an overnight train from Copenhagen to Munich. Word to the wise: even if you pride yourself on being able to sleep just about anywhere, don't count on getting too much sleep on a train. Small "beds" and frequent stops throughout the night do not a good night's sleep make. After 13 hours on that train plus another three hour train, I finally arrived in Schladming, Austria where I met Roman's mom, Margarita. I've been with the Royers here in Ramsau (am Dachstein) since Thursday, and will stay through Wednesday... but I'll update on that another time.
After Ramsau I head to Vienna for a few days where I hope to catch either the Philharmonic or an opera or really any sort of musical experience to satisfy my soul. I will arrive in Italy this coming Saturday, and I am getting more and more excited for it every day (although I do anticipate a mild/moderate breakdown approximately 24 hours in advance of my arrival).
Well, it seems as though my idea of getting this done in a "timely manner" turned into an hour and twenty minutes... so if you thought this took forever to read, just realize it took even longer to write. But, there you have it- an official update. Now go forth and prosper- I sure intend to :)
Alles Liebe,
~Julia~
-First and foremost, my gallbladder: I had a marvelous three day, two night stay in the luxurious Brake Hospital where they determined that the best thing for me to do would be to remove my gallbladder. However, my insurance wouldn't pay for the surgery since it wasn't an emergency (despite being deemed medically necessary by the doctors) so I didn't have it. I went to Germany with my gallbladder, and I left with it, too.
-Something that I decidedly omitted from my blog posts was the state of my relationship with my host family. For the last two months, things have been... rough. Although things seemed to be fine most of the time, there were times (including one huge blowout in March) where things were not fine at all. I'm not sure if it's a cultural issue or if I'm just daft, but communication was once again an issue... apparently. Once again, this family (mother) was irritated/frustrated/angry with me for this/that/the other but didn't talk to me about it. Instead, she acted irritated/frustrated/angry which was only furthered by my lack of knowing why. We had a second blowout the day before my contact with them was over, and she told me (among many other things I don't care to go into) that she had thought a lot about the situation and couldn't come up with a solution- at which case I pointed out that she had never once tried to work it out with me. Every time she tried to talk to me about something, she was talking at me in an irritated/frustrated/angry manner... and then she was further irritated/frustrated/angry because I reacted defensively to such confrontations. So. That's that.
-I had a lovely time in Hamburg with my friend/former teacher from Olaf Sarah. Hamburg was having a celebration for it's harbor that weekend, so there were a bunch of booths by the river selling assorted goods (mainly of the beer and food variety). The weather was cold and cloudy, but we didn't have too much rain. We saw a good amount of Hamburg - including the Red Light District. For the life of me, I can't see why it's a tourist attraction, but c'est la vie. We climbed a church tour which made me feel as fit as couch potato and as spry as my 90 year old grandmother, plus it irritated a knee injury I haven't felt for almost a decade now... so that was good. It was nice to see the city from way up, but the legs-like-rubber feeling once we had climbed down wasn't quite so pleasant. My knee is still giving me a little pain, but it was especially bad the first week after.
-I then headed to Berlin where I was nervous to be alone for three days. Almost immediately upon my arrival, I befriended one of my hostel roommates (a nice German fella) and we went about town together. I kind of went to Berlin as an after thought, but am so grateful that I went. The history in Berlin is truly incredible. I think of history as being something in the past, something that happened generations before me. Although I'm aware of "history in the making," as it were, such as the War in Iraq, President Obama, the World Trade Centers, it isn't quite history yet because it's all still happening (or at least happened recently). However, to think about the role that the Berlin Wall has played in history and to know that it's defeat happened during my lifetime is truly amazing. There is a double cobblestone line that represents where the wall stood in Berlin, and now cars are parked over where this symbol of division and hopelessness once was. That, to me, is baffling. Anyway- I took a site-seeing bus tour and got an overview of the city, and then went back to a few spots. I saw Checkpoint Charlie and went into the museum there (the wall went up in '61, and the museum started in '62- so amazing) plus made my way to the Holocaust Memorial and museum. I've been to one Holocaust exhibit before (in London), and I was really glad and impressed to have learned so much new information. I wasn't sure if all exhibits of this kind would be the same, and maybe outside of Germany they are... but to see the perspective of the German's from after the war is really quite something. Not necessarily more profound, but at the same time more meaningful. The World Wars are apart of our history, too, but in such an incredibly different way. It's interesting to see a non-American perspective, especially that of the Germans. Moral: history in Berlin = fascinating.
-When I returned to Berne, I only stayed one night. The next day, my friend (and non-sacrilegious savior) picked me up to come stay with him. It was strange to say such a hasty goodbye to Linus, especially since I know he couldn't possibly have known that's what it was. Jakob didn't really understand either, since when I said I was leaving he just said "Tschuess!" from the other room. Once I got a proper hug and goodbye from him, I shook the parents hands and simply left.
-I spent my last few days in Oldenburg staying at my friend Jonas' house. He and his parents were so kind to me, and being away from my host family really made my last days in Germany more relaxing. I had to get a lot of things done, including close my bank account - which did not go smoothly - but it was much easier being in Oldenburg. I got to spend some time with my friends, and I of course cried when I had to say goodbye to them. I had a mild/moderate panic attack the night before leaving, thinking "what have I gotten myself into" and "I can't possibly go through with this once more" and other such things. Sleep helped, and before I knew it I was saying goodbye to Oldenburg.
-I spent almost exactly 48 hours in Copenhagen, where I stayed with a third cousin I had never met before. He was an extremely gracious host, and I was both shocked and impressed by the fact that he talked just as much and just as fast as me :) He wasn't able to take off work to show me around, but his roommate had Tuesday free so she took me around and showed me parts of town I would never have been able to find as a tourist. Fun fact: the Danish language sounds ridiculous. Seriously, it sounded like they were speaking Klingon or something. The only words that even sounded like words were the English ones thrown in. It's bizarre. Anyway, we had really great weather that day and after lunch she said "If you really wanted to do something Danish, we would go sit on the wall by the canal and drink beer..." So we did. The weather, again, was just perfect so it was great to just sit out in the sun. I'm not much of a beer drinker, but I had a couple ciders. A couple of her friends joined us as time went by, and eventually Karim (my cousin) met us after he got off work. We ended up sitting there for somewhere between 3-4 hours (I may or may not have gotten a sunburn). We then went to get dinner, and they all decided I needed to have a proper Danish meal. They took me to what they said was one of two places in town that made a great traditional meal (some sort of pork with potatoes and white gravy). We were the only people in the restaurant, but the food was quite good and we talked - rather loudly - about many different (politically related) subjects. Day Two involved me wandering around aimlessly for several hours before meeting up with Karim for dinner and then heading to the train station.
-I took an overnight train from Copenhagen to Munich. Word to the wise: even if you pride yourself on being able to sleep just about anywhere, don't count on getting too much sleep on a train. Small "beds" and frequent stops throughout the night do not a good night's sleep make. After 13 hours on that train plus another three hour train, I finally arrived in Schladming, Austria where I met Roman's mom, Margarita. I've been with the Royers here in Ramsau (am Dachstein) since Thursday, and will stay through Wednesday... but I'll update on that another time.
After Ramsau I head to Vienna for a few days where I hope to catch either the Philharmonic or an opera or really any sort of musical experience to satisfy my soul. I will arrive in Italy this coming Saturday, and I am getting more and more excited for it every day (although I do anticipate a mild/moderate breakdown approximately 24 hours in advance of my arrival).
Well, it seems as though my idea of getting this done in a "timely manner" turned into an hour and twenty minutes... so if you thought this took forever to read, just realize it took even longer to write. But, there you have it- an official update. Now go forth and prosper- I sure intend to :)
Alles Liebe,
~Julia~
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Body On Strike
I will be leaving Germany two weeks from tomorrow. That, my friends, is bizarre. Before that time comes, however, there will be a wee bit of action regarding some exciting, albeit not-so-great news concerning my health.
This past week I started experiencing pain in my mouth, and after locating the source of the pain, I gave a self-diagnosis that I was one of the few people in the world who had a second wisdom tooth coming out of the same socket. A panicked dentist visit later, I am corrected by an actual professional who determined I did NOT have a second wisdom tooth, but instead a herpes blister... which they (only partially) removed. I may need to go back and have them finish the job.
More exciting than THAT, however, is the return of the incredible stomach pain. The first time I had it was Christmas 2008, followed by April of last year, with a third appearance this past December and, finally, last Thursday. I decided on Thursday night that I just needed to get to a doctor the next day, even if the pain was gone. The pain was (mostly) gone the next day, but I did still go to a doctor... and he found a gallstone. He isn't convinced it's the source of my pain, so tomorrow I'm heading to a hospital for second go around. I believe it will involve another talk with another doctor, possibly another ultrasound (if the picture of my gallstone baby doesn't satisfy the Doc) and then an endoscopy. If they can find something wrong with the stomach itself, we'll go from there... if not, I'm looking at surgery for gallstone removal, or even possibly the removal of my entire gallbladder. Oo-de-laley.
This is, of course, perfectly timed. My contract with this family is up on the 8th, so this is my last work week. The doctor recommended I get this taken care of immediately instead of waiting until my September return to the States, and it needs to happen before I leave Germany. I was planning on visiting a friend in Hamburg this weekend, followed by a few days in Berlin... so if I end up having an operation, I won't be able to visit these two major cities - and even more upsetting, I won't be able to visit my friend.
Although I'm eager to do whatever it takes to have this pain go away, ne'er to return again, it does put a kink in my plans. However, if I do require surgery, I should be back on my feet with plenty of time to hit my big trip starting on the 17th.
In other, though related, news... I'm starting to really realize that my time with these kids really is limited. I put Linus to bed tonight, and it kind of broke my heart. I've grown the closest with him, and it feels so amazing to have him fall asleep on my shoulder as I sing to him. I think leaving him will really break my heart. I've also started bonding a lot with Jakob lately, and leaving him won't be easy, either.
So, here are my prayer requests:
-That the doctors will figure out what's wrong with my stomach and fix it.
-That I will get on the ball to ship my things home and send my luggage ahead of me to Italy (I can't very well travel with three giant suitcases on trains by myself).
-That my last two weeks with this family will be very pleasant, and we will go our separate ways while thinking fondly of one another.
-That God will comfort me as I not only say goodbye to Jakob and Linus, but also to Sara and Simon (who I will see before leaving)... not to mention as I say goodbye to my friends here in Germany.
Alles Liebe,
~Julia~
This past week I started experiencing pain in my mouth, and after locating the source of the pain, I gave a self-diagnosis that I was one of the few people in the world who had a second wisdom tooth coming out of the same socket. A panicked dentist visit later, I am corrected by an actual professional who determined I did NOT have a second wisdom tooth, but instead a herpes blister... which they (only partially) removed. I may need to go back and have them finish the job.
More exciting than THAT, however, is the return of the incredible stomach pain. The first time I had it was Christmas 2008, followed by April of last year, with a third appearance this past December and, finally, last Thursday. I decided on Thursday night that I just needed to get to a doctor the next day, even if the pain was gone. The pain was (mostly) gone the next day, but I did still go to a doctor... and he found a gallstone. He isn't convinced it's the source of my pain, so tomorrow I'm heading to a hospital for second go around. I believe it will involve another talk with another doctor, possibly another ultrasound (if the picture of my gallstone baby doesn't satisfy the Doc) and then an endoscopy. If they can find something wrong with the stomach itself, we'll go from there... if not, I'm looking at surgery for gallstone removal, or even possibly the removal of my entire gallbladder. Oo-de-laley.
This is, of course, perfectly timed. My contract with this family is up on the 8th, so this is my last work week. The doctor recommended I get this taken care of immediately instead of waiting until my September return to the States, and it needs to happen before I leave Germany. I was planning on visiting a friend in Hamburg this weekend, followed by a few days in Berlin... so if I end up having an operation, I won't be able to visit these two major cities - and even more upsetting, I won't be able to visit my friend.
Although I'm eager to do whatever it takes to have this pain go away, ne'er to return again, it does put a kink in my plans. However, if I do require surgery, I should be back on my feet with plenty of time to hit my big trip starting on the 17th.
In other, though related, news... I'm starting to really realize that my time with these kids really is limited. I put Linus to bed tonight, and it kind of broke my heart. I've grown the closest with him, and it feels so amazing to have him fall asleep on my shoulder as I sing to him. I think leaving him will really break my heart. I've also started bonding a lot with Jakob lately, and leaving him won't be easy, either.
So, here are my prayer requests:
-That the doctors will figure out what's wrong with my stomach and fix it.
-That I will get on the ball to ship my things home and send my luggage ahead of me to Italy (I can't very well travel with three giant suitcases on trains by myself).
-That my last two weeks with this family will be very pleasant, and we will go our separate ways while thinking fondly of one another.
-That God will comfort me as I not only say goodbye to Jakob and Linus, but also to Sara and Simon (who I will see before leaving)... not to mention as I say goodbye to my friends here in Germany.
Alles Liebe,
~Julia~
Sunday, April 25, 2010
The American and the Green Cabbage
Here's a little (past due) story:
Before I participated in the Kohlfahrt, I decided to look it up online and find out a little about it. However, nothing I found said why people did Kohlfahrts, or how it started. While on our little tour, I asked Kurt (the guy who sells us eggs from across the street) how it all started, assuming he knew everything there is to know about local traditions and cultures. Unfortunately, I assumed wrong. However, it did spark Kurt's curiousity, and he decided that WE should take it among ourselves to find out the answer and share it with the community.
I kind of went a long and said "Yeah, good idea" with absolutely no intentions of following through. I didn't care THAT much.
A few weeks later on my birthday, Kurt came over and, along with a flower and small egg covered in the number 23, brought me a packet of information he had found in literature about the Kohlfahrt. He asked what I had found, and I told him I hadn't really found anything yet.
Within the next week, Kurt came over again and told me that he had arranged for an interview with the local newspaper. I wasn't available the time he had already set up, to which I was like bummer, I guess I can't do it. Kurt asked when I was available, and I revealed to him that I really wasn't interested in doing the interview, and I hadn't found (um, looked for) any new information, and I didn't feel like it was that interesting for me to be involved... but he insisted that it was news-worthy for an American (actually, he kept referring to me as an Idahoan instead of an American) to be in Hiddigwarden and to be curious in the local culture... at which point he pulled out his cell phone and called the woman from the newspaper to reschedule the interview.
Here are the results.
Please, enjoy the fruits of my local humiliation.
Before I participated in the Kohlfahrt, I decided to look it up online and find out a little about it. However, nothing I found said why people did Kohlfahrts, or how it started. While on our little tour, I asked Kurt (the guy who sells us eggs from across the street) how it all started, assuming he knew everything there is to know about local traditions and cultures. Unfortunately, I assumed wrong. However, it did spark Kurt's curiousity, and he decided that WE should take it among ourselves to find out the answer and share it with the community.
I kind of went a long and said "Yeah, good idea" with absolutely no intentions of following through. I didn't care THAT much.
A few weeks later on my birthday, Kurt came over and, along with a flower and small egg covered in the number 23, brought me a packet of information he had found in literature about the Kohlfahrt. He asked what I had found, and I told him I hadn't really found anything yet.
Within the next week, Kurt came over again and told me that he had arranged for an interview with the local newspaper. I wasn't available the time he had already set up, to which I was like bummer, I guess I can't do it. Kurt asked when I was available, and I revealed to him that I really wasn't interested in doing the interview, and I hadn't found (um, looked for) any new information, and I didn't feel like it was that interesting for me to be involved... but he insisted that it was news-worthy for an American (actually, he kept referring to me as an Idahoan instead of an American) to be in Hiddigwarden and to be curious in the local culture... at which point he pulled out his cell phone and called the woman from the newspaper to reschedule the interview.
Here are the results.
Please, enjoy the fruits of my local humiliation.
Monday, April 19, 2010
the Final Countdown
*cue GOB and cheap pyrotechnics*
First of all, I have posted a ton of pictures on Snapfish (for those of you non-facebook users)... so if you haven't received an email invitation to see my pictures (apparently the only way one can see pictures on Snapfish), and/or are required to register just to see the pictures, send me an email and I will hook you up. So... go look at my pictures :)
So, I have a semi-official timeline for my final month here in Germany:
May 7-9 : visit Hamburg with my former German teacher from Olaf (a Hamburg native in her mid-20s, so not creepy, I promise :)
May 9-12 : visit Berlin, sadly alone (no one to go with... sad.)
May 12-17 : my very last weekend in Berne/Oldenburg - crazy!!
May 17-20 : visit Copenhagen and stay with some obscure Danish relatives of my Dad's
May 20-26 : visit the Royers in Ramsau (am Dachstein), Austria! I'm so excited to get to go back!!
May 26-29 : visit Vienna (once again, alone)
May 29 : GO TO ITALY FOR THE SUMMER!!
As you may have cleverly deduced from looking at that, I have a very busy few weeks of preparation before all that travel takes place. I tell you, planning is stressful. Well, lack of time and money is stressful, which makes planning itself quite hard on the ol' nerves. Speaking of money, how might one afford to go on all of these trips? The answer: Eurail pass. I'm not sure how the rail systems agree to it, since it probably jips them out of a ton of money (unless it pays off by taking away from air travel?), but it somehow allows you to travel within (up to) five countries on five (or more, depending on your needs and pocketbook) days within a two month period. I'm paying what it could easily cost for two of these trips to make them all - nice! There are still some kinks to be worked out (such as whether the overnight from Denmark to Austria will count as one day or two, and forwarding my luggage), but overall I'm very excited and grateful to be able to do all of this traveling. I am, however, bummed that there are some countries I won't be able to (afford to) hit in my remaining time here (including Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland)... but that just means I'll have to come back eventually. I'LL HAVE TO.
Once in Italy, however, there are some locations that will be at a more convenient distance: Southern France (Marsaille and Nice), the Basque country, and most importantly, GREECE! Greece is the only MUST on this list, but if you look at a map of Europe, you can see how really quite close Liguria, Italy (my future home) is to the famous French cities and the Motherland of so many Boise folk :) Also, my dad has another batch of semi-obscure relatives in Gothenburg, Sweden, who have invited me to come visit them. I'm going to try and arrange it (since Ryan Air flies out of Milan to Gothenburg). It's also where a friend of mine has not-so-obscure relatives (grandparents) and has spent the last three or four summers working in a cheese factory... hey Daniel, if I mention your name will I get some sort of discount??
As for things here on the home front, things have been... complicated. Although things are not by any means awful, the mother and I seem to have some "irrevocable differences" that I've been largely unaware of up until recently. It's not the end of the world, and most of the time we get along quite well... there are just some things that don't seem to add up. However, we're both trying our best and it seems to be working out well (most of the time). She even took me into the city center of Bremen yesterday just to show me around, which was quite kind of her. We had a good time together :)
Good things that have happened:
-I had an amazing time in Spain! We were completely blessed with beautiful weather (even though we were supposed to get two days of rain), and got to know the city relatively well for only four days! It was seriously wonderful, and it made me SUPER excited for my future Mediterranean living plans :)
-our sheep had her baby!! Lissy and Nate are the proud parents of the now two week old Sandmeer (named by Jakob)... Lissy has gotten feistier and won't let me near the little bugger so I can at least pet her... or, you know, pick her up... Nate is now across the street living with a bunch of other (male) sheep, and we've received a couple of new boarders: a black sheep and her (slightly older than Sandmeer) baby. Apparently you have you separate sheep in the summer to give the females an, *ahem*, break from the males. Otherwise babies get born at the wrong time and can freeze to death (happened to a donkey at the zoo- still very upsetting for the donkey... true story). I WILL pick up that little sheepie before I leave here, you mark my words.
-Linus turned 1!! We went to the zoo (hence aforementioned true donkey story) and had a really nice time. There were a few little dinky rides and a walk-in goat area where one got mauled by goats upon exposal of purchased animal feed. Linus, who loves goats, did not appreciate them as much up close and personal. Personal trauma aside, I think he had a really nice birthday :)
-The weather has FINALLY picked up and we're experiencing some nice SPRING weather! We're outside in our HUGE backyard/garden a good part of each day, which is really nice (if not still a bit chilly).
Man, I really DO love bullet points.
So maybe if I posted once a week (like my more dedicated Au Pair friends), I wouldn't have to write so much and, thus, use so many bullet points... but lets be honest, that's just NOT going to happen. I hope you've all embraced it... because, well, I have.
Alles Liebe,
~Julia~
First of all, I have posted a ton of pictures on Snapfish (for those of you non-facebook users)... so if you haven't received an email invitation to see my pictures (apparently the only way one can see pictures on Snapfish), and/or are required to register just to see the pictures, send me an email and I will hook you up. So... go look at my pictures :)
So, I have a semi-official timeline for my final month here in Germany:
May 7-9 : visit Hamburg with my former German teacher from Olaf (a Hamburg native in her mid-20s, so not creepy, I promise :)
May 9-12 : visit Berlin, sadly alone (no one to go with... sad.)
May 12-17 : my very last weekend in Berne/Oldenburg - crazy!!
May 17-20 : visit Copenhagen and stay with some obscure Danish relatives of my Dad's
May 20-26 : visit the Royers in Ramsau (am Dachstein), Austria! I'm so excited to get to go back!!
May 26-29 : visit Vienna (once again, alone)
May 29 : GO TO ITALY FOR THE SUMMER!!
As you may have cleverly deduced from looking at that, I have a very busy few weeks of preparation before all that travel takes place. I tell you, planning is stressful. Well, lack of time and money is stressful, which makes planning itself quite hard on the ol' nerves. Speaking of money, how might one afford to go on all of these trips? The answer: Eurail pass. I'm not sure how the rail systems agree to it, since it probably jips them out of a ton of money (unless it pays off by taking away from air travel?), but it somehow allows you to travel within (up to) five countries on five (or more, depending on your needs and pocketbook) days within a two month period. I'm paying what it could easily cost for two of these trips to make them all - nice! There are still some kinks to be worked out (such as whether the overnight from Denmark to Austria will count as one day or two, and forwarding my luggage), but overall I'm very excited and grateful to be able to do all of this traveling. I am, however, bummed that there are some countries I won't be able to (afford to) hit in my remaining time here (including Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland)... but that just means I'll have to come back eventually. I'LL HAVE TO.
Once in Italy, however, there are some locations that will be at a more convenient distance: Southern France (Marsaille and Nice), the Basque country, and most importantly, GREECE! Greece is the only MUST on this list, but if you look at a map of Europe, you can see how really quite close Liguria, Italy (my future home) is to the famous French cities and the Motherland of so many Boise folk :) Also, my dad has another batch of semi-obscure relatives in Gothenburg, Sweden, who have invited me to come visit them. I'm going to try and arrange it (since Ryan Air flies out of Milan to Gothenburg). It's also where a friend of mine has not-so-obscure relatives (grandparents) and has spent the last three or four summers working in a cheese factory... hey Daniel, if I mention your name will I get some sort of discount??
As for things here on the home front, things have been... complicated. Although things are not by any means awful, the mother and I seem to have some "irrevocable differences" that I've been largely unaware of up until recently. It's not the end of the world, and most of the time we get along quite well... there are just some things that don't seem to add up. However, we're both trying our best and it seems to be working out well (most of the time). She even took me into the city center of Bremen yesterday just to show me around, which was quite kind of her. We had a good time together :)
Good things that have happened:
-I had an amazing time in Spain! We were completely blessed with beautiful weather (even though we were supposed to get two days of rain), and got to know the city relatively well for only four days! It was seriously wonderful, and it made me SUPER excited for my future Mediterranean living plans :)
-our sheep had her baby!! Lissy and Nate are the proud parents of the now two week old Sandmeer (named by Jakob)... Lissy has gotten feistier and won't let me near the little bugger so I can at least pet her... or, you know, pick her up... Nate is now across the street living with a bunch of other (male) sheep, and we've received a couple of new boarders: a black sheep and her (slightly older than Sandmeer) baby. Apparently you have you separate sheep in the summer to give the females an, *ahem*, break from the males. Otherwise babies get born at the wrong time and can freeze to death (happened to a donkey at the zoo- still very upsetting for the donkey... true story). I WILL pick up that little sheepie before I leave here, you mark my words.
-Linus turned 1!! We went to the zoo (hence aforementioned true donkey story) and had a really nice time. There were a few little dinky rides and a walk-in goat area where one got mauled by goats upon exposal of purchased animal feed. Linus, who loves goats, did not appreciate them as much up close and personal. Personal trauma aside, I think he had a really nice birthday :)
-The weather has FINALLY picked up and we're experiencing some nice SPRING weather! We're outside in our HUGE backyard/garden a good part of each day, which is really nice (if not still a bit chilly).
Man, I really DO love bullet points.
So maybe if I posted once a week (like my more dedicated Au Pair friends), I wouldn't have to write so much and, thus, use so many bullet points... but lets be honest, that's just NOT going to happen. I hope you've all embraced it... because, well, I have.
Alles Liebe,
~Julia~
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Past and Future Happenings
Lots of things have happened and will be happening (starting tonight) so I'm going to do my best to make this short and sweet:
Things that have happened:
-I participated in a "Kohlfahrt" (I recommend googling that or "gruenkohlessen" for an explanation of what that is. Just know that it was a family kohlfahrt which puts an interesting twist on the whole concept...)
-I celebrated my 23rd birthday and got to have sweets (liturgy allows you to break Lent on your birthday- hurray!). I celebrated with two of my Au Pair friends here, and we had a delightful time together. I'm actually excited about being 23, although I couldn't really explain why. Maybe since it gets me just a little bit closer to that last great milestone of being able to rent a car... who knows, but it's still exciting :)
-I have permanantly moved back into my original room (which is thankfully no longer an ice cavern of death) since the repairs to my bedroom and our kitchen have taken about twice as long as they had promised. AWESOME.
-Linus is starting to walk!!
Things that will happen:
-Tonight, a friend and I will go to Bremen for the night so we can take a SUPER early flight to Barcelona, Spain! We'll be there through Friday, just in time to come back to a full house of Hanno's sister, husband, and four kids who will be visiting for Easter.
-I will be moving to Italy at the end of May/beginning of June! I've found a host family outside Genoa in a little town called Liguria, and I'll be there exactly 90 days (since that's how long I'm able to stay without getting a Visa). Have no fears - I don't want to stay away forever, but I do want to milk this year for all I can. I planned to come to Europe for a year, and I wasn't prepared to leave after only 10 months... so now my trip has been extended for an extra month or so.
Alright, I've got to get going... so wish me luck in Spain, and I'll see you on the other side!
LG,
~Julia~
Things that have happened:
-I participated in a "Kohlfahrt" (I recommend googling that or "gruenkohlessen" for an explanation of what that is. Just know that it was a family kohlfahrt which puts an interesting twist on the whole concept...)
-I celebrated my 23rd birthday and got to have sweets (liturgy allows you to break Lent on your birthday- hurray!). I celebrated with two of my Au Pair friends here, and we had a delightful time together. I'm actually excited about being 23, although I couldn't really explain why. Maybe since it gets me just a little bit closer to that last great milestone of being able to rent a car... who knows, but it's still exciting :)
-I have permanantly moved back into my original room (which is thankfully no longer an ice cavern of death) since the repairs to my bedroom and our kitchen have taken about twice as long as they had promised. AWESOME.
-Linus is starting to walk!!
Things that will happen:
-Tonight, a friend and I will go to Bremen for the night so we can take a SUPER early flight to Barcelona, Spain! We'll be there through Friday, just in time to come back to a full house of Hanno's sister, husband, and four kids who will be visiting for Easter.
-I will be moving to Italy at the end of May/beginning of June! I've found a host family outside Genoa in a little town called Liguria, and I'll be there exactly 90 days (since that's how long I'm able to stay without getting a Visa). Have no fears - I don't want to stay away forever, but I do want to milk this year for all I can. I planned to come to Europe for a year, and I wasn't prepared to leave after only 10 months... so now my trip has been extended for an extra month or so.
Alright, I've got to get going... so wish me luck in Spain, and I'll see you on the other side!
LG,
~Julia~
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