Cold as ice

This title refers to several things.
1. My toes. It's freaking cold in my room, although it's only September. I'm really excited for January...

2. Germany. It's 20 degrees Fahrenheit colder here than home. Well, I do come from the South... but really? It feels like late October or November to me.

3. The girls. Luckily Dana doesn't dislike me quite as much as she did the last couple weeks. But, as little toddlers often do, Jilli watched her sister and took in her example. She's finally hit the terrible twos, although her birthday is in a week. You should have seen her when I had to put her shoes on so we could go get Dana from Kindergarten. Actually, lieber nicht.

4. The strange sizing method for pants here. Ok, so it's not exactly cold, but nobody bothered to tell me about it. There are three methods (as far as I can tell): a S-M-L-XL one for things like jeggings (an ugly word for an ugly idea), inches (WHAT?!? this is Europe. We use metric here! Or so I thought... but that's what a sign at H&M said, so I guess I'll go with it), and some weird two-number system that I can't make heads or tails of. It doesn't help that the latter two systems both use numbers around 30, but in different ways. Lets just say that my search for a pair of jeans after the Reißverschluss AKA zipper on my favorite pair of jeans went kaputt was rather frustrating. I did find pants, but not blue jeans. That's ok though, because I've wanted red pants for a while and I've been meaning to replace my khakis for forever. Forever= since about last summer when I had to make the old ones into shorts because they got ripped on my bike gear thing.

5. The lack of thrift stores in this country. I miss hunting for cheap clothes, especially awesome vintage stuff. Go ahead, Brand Me as a Hipster. This isn't helvetica font, for the record. I'm only half a hipster.

6. I think this country forgot all the good music that came about before the 80's.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE 80's music, but there was a lot of good stuff in the previous two decades. And I don't like the vast majority of what's popular today.

7. Smoozies. This is how they pronounce the word "smoothies" and it makes me smile. Maria got a blender for her birthday last month, so she's been trying out different combinations. They call the thick ones "Eis" as in "ice cream", which also makes me smile, since it's definitely not ice cream...

8. I have to go alone to open my bank account tomorrow morning.

Well, now that I'm finally all toasty, I've run out of things that are cold. Makes sense, na?

Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?

Someone asked me the other day if being an Au Pair is an effective birth control.

I just kinda laughed.

My real thoughts? Well, no. It makes me want to have my own kids someday, of course, after I get married and all that jazz. I mean, there are days when the kids are super obnoxious and they make me want to scream, but that's typical for children. I still want kids of my own. This experience is opening up my eyes to how I want to raise my future children. For example, they almost never watch anything on the TV. No shows, no movies, nothing but MacGyver. I had previously thought that it would be great to raise my kids without TV, but now I'm thinking a bit of down-time never ruined a child. Some days it would be really nice to just say, "here kids, let's watch Lion King" or whatever.

On a completely unrelated train of thought...

I really want to visit a walled city. Braunschweig once had a wall, but, like most other cities, it was torn down. 

 vs.

I also dream of owning a record player, preferably a vintage one, and a bunch of awesome old records. Hipster much? I learned the other day that my host dad/boss (I never know what to call him...) had one until just before I came. He got rid of it to make room for me :( Well, my record collection is nothing more than a wish list, so I guess that's ok...

Another dream: live in Germany for forever. We'll see if that happens. I'm working on it :) 

One last dream: to cut my hair off. I just can't seem to get around to it. Or find a shoulder-length-ish style that I like that isn't some hairstyle worn by some classic rock star back in the day. I think there's a lot more freedom in that department back in the States.

I've been running down this dusty road

Today I woke up early-ish. We decided to take a mini-trip to some kid's park about 45 minutes away, and I wanted to go jogging before we left at 10:45. So I went for my tiny mini-jog down a dirt road, and I was ready on time. Except we didn't leave as planned. And lateness really bothers me. I mean, I'm usually fine if someone tells me what's going on, but nobody told me anything. I was left to do, well, nothing. My computer decided it doesn't want to connect to the internet while I'm in my lovely basement chamber. Turns out our friends, who we were meeting there, needed some more time. We left at 12:30.
I still am not entirely sure why I went along to a kids park on my day off.
This park was SUPER huge. I couldn't help but wonder as we wandered and stood on the dusty paths just how big it is. It had all sorts of playgrounds and interesting things. Some of the things were borderline creepy. There was a part about bugs, and there were sculptures that made me feel as though I were the tiny bug. There was also a playground-thing under a huge pavillion/in a room decorated with toys, including no less than two Teletubbies. I also got to take Jilli (the two-year-old) on a course over water. I'm sure the course was not meant for small children, as there were jumps and steps that her little legs just could not reach. You can imagine how much fun I had carrying her over some wobbly chain-paths. I would've taken a picture, except I was kinda busy making sure Jilli didn't fall off.
And to top the experience, There Was A Petting Zoo. Petting Zoos are one of my least favorite things on the planet. I'd rather change dirty diapers all day then spend 10 minutes in a petting zoo. At first, it wasn't so bad. There was a little sheep-area to the left of the path, and turkeys to the right. Nothing could touch me, so life was tolerable. Then we moved down the path, past goats and horses and llamas, and then BAM! the only way through was through the pig-area. Shoot. Me. Now. I really don't like animals. So I quickly made my way through to the other side of the fence, only to find that next to me was the geese area. One time, as a young child, I was chased by some geese at a place called Samuel's Farm. I can still remember sitting on top of an old tractor long after the geese were gone, just hoping that a grown-up would come. Needless to say, I REALLY don't like geese. Yay for childhood trauma stories.
After the horrid petting zoo with all the stinky, filthy animals, we had some ice cream. Because I want Eis after being slightly chilled all day. Then came the news: We're having McDonalds for dinner! Thoughts on the matter: yay. my favorite restaurant. will someone please go order my gravestone? So I had some fries for dinner. They're the one thing that I can tolerate from that place. Supposedly McDonalds is better here, but that doesn't mean much. And I really don't want to have to order auf Deutsch. I mean, there are a whole lot of things I don't like on my burger, and life's better, healthier, and easier if I just order fries.
And, inconvenience of all inconveniences, I had to go upstairs to get any internet.
At least tomorrow will be a better day. No petting zoos :)

I was born in the USA

I find it slightly ironic that I got my Visa to live in Germany on the Eleventh of September. This didn't even occur to me until around 23:00 (11 PM). I feel slightly embarrassed that I didn't even realize that it was the eleventh until I saw it all over Facebook. Oops.
When I was younger, I was super-patriotic. For my own country. I guess I've changed a bit in the past eleven years. Ha. Now I want to move to another country permanently.
On a more positive note, I got to help make apple sauce today. I also answered the phone for the first time. I really, really, REALLY hate telephones. I would normally avoid the phone, but I had to pick it up today, as my host/boss said someone was going to call around five and he and his wife would be gone. So I had no choice. Luckily it went rather well, all things considered. But this doesn't mean I'll be making a habit out of it. I fully plan on avoiding the phone like the Plague. Well, if I ever get a cell phone over here, I'll use it. But then I'll only be talking to people I know, so it'll be fine.
I tried to go shopping for some new jeans today. That sucked. I came back empty-handed. The only jeans I can afford are cheap crappy jeans that are so tight, they are like a second skin. Not gonna happen.
Can I just say how much I hate money? Super much.
Sometimes I want to cut my hair off. Problem is, I don't think cutting my hair off would be a very good idea. It probably wouldn't be that cute. I've been debating with myself for at least six months. I'm sure everybody wanted to know that. Whatever. I think someday I'll just cut it off, and then I'll know how I feel about it.

Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

Well, in this case, it was measured in kilometers, but that's besides the point.
I went to another Tagung. The destination was the exotic Darmstadt, Germany. Never heard of it? That's ok. I had only heard of it because one of my roommates was from there.
I left Thursday afternoon to go to the train station. I met my friend Anna there. We were to take a train to Hannover, where Felicia was to pick us up so we could then travel to Darmstadt in her rental car. For some unknown reason, the train was randomly cancelled. Luckily we were able to take the next train and everything worked out perfectly. We had a great time traveling through the country. Darmstadt is not quite four hours south of Hannover, depending on how fast you drive. Autobahn, you know... Germany is such a beautiful country! I know I've said that before, but, honestly... We were fortunate enough to see the sun set over some mountains in Hessen. I think I shot more pics of the sun than the actual Tagung...
The Tagung was... well... a Tagung. Nothing Special. There were three dances, some workshops, a sport day, etc.... Interestingly enough, I think I met more international people than Germans. Felicia and I hung out with some Scandinavians and a pair of British girls, usually. I did hang out with some German friends too, but they were mostly talking amongst themselves. That tends to happen when you are thrust into a new group of friends that have already known each other for years. I'm not saying they were excluding me, because they certainly weren't, but only that it's sometimes easier when the others in the group are also pretty new to the scene.
Points of Awesomeness:
1. The Awesome Kammerchor Vocalis is having auditions next month. They need women, especially sopranos. You should have seen me when I found this out.
2. Remember the Scandinavians? Some of our Danish friends rented a really awesome BMW M3 for the trip. And guess who got to go for a ride in a four-hundred-twenty horsepower beauty? That was the coolest thing ever. Except for what happened to my hair. It was my first ride in a convertible and DANG was it freaking awesome. I was drooling over it before we were even offered a ride.
3. And our rental car? Well, it turned out to be a Fahrschule (driving school) car. Still wondering about how that happened... I didn't know you could even rent those.

I love road trips, and this one was a lot of fun, but I'm glad I'm home. Time for a vacation from vacation.

Who are you?

Since I've been back... Interesting things have been happening.
Strangely, the five-year-old, Dana, decided she no longer likes me, and tells me even to "geh raus!" (get out) when I walk into her room. Yesterday, when I went to pick her up from Kindergarten, she refused to come, and then when she finally did come, she howled the whole way home, since I wouldn't let her sit in her sister's stroller. Fortunately, she's been better behaved since then. At least she'll talk to me now!
The almost-three-year-old, Jilli, has finally caught the terrible twos. Joy. It's not bad. She just likes to say no.
I've started working on genealogy. I have ancestors from Germany/lands that were once German/whatever. Luckily the guy I work for is really into this stuff. Like overboard. So he helps me to read the really old handwriting. At the beginning, I was convinced it would be easier to read Jilli's scribbles. I'm beginning to get the hang of it, though S's look like F's and I can't tell the difference between i, e, m, n, w, or most other letters. Basically, that leaves lucky guesses. At least they weren't very creative when it came to first names, right? I've only been working on it for two days, so it can only get easier to read... hopefully... We've already found almost fifty people! It's really sad, though, because a lot of them were babies that died in the first month or two. One couple had four babies or so that died, then the last one lived but was killed on the battlefront. It's really interesting work, but also slightly depressing.
I should mention that yesterday I got to eat my first Döner! For all of you who don't know what that is, here's a picture of one. Not mine, specifically, since my picture makes it look rather unappetizing. We had take-out instead of eating at the shop, so the sauce kinda got everywhere. And I didn't have lettuce and tomatoes, since those are nasty. I was a little apprehensive at first, since the ingredients are exactly at the top of my favorite foods list, but I was pleasantly surprised! I had one problem: my mouth is almost too small. It's good there wasn't any Salat in it, or I really would've had difficulties...

I have found a new love for banana chips.

Tomorrow I'm hitting the road yet again. This should be the last time for a while. Luckily I'm traveling with two friends, so the trip should be rather pleasant :) We're going to another Tagung in Darmstadt. Blog fodder!

Out here in the fields

Running in Germany... much better than in Provo. There are some fields right by our neighborhood with paths all around them. I can run without looking like a fool in front of people! Not that I run much... But I'm gonna change that. If I can't eat as much fruit and vegetables as I want, I should at least do something good for me, even if I hate it. And now I don't have to worry about accidentally stumbling upon somebody I know while I look like crap and am out of breath... yeah...
I skyped with my mom last night and told her about the possibility of going to a university somewhere over here. Her reply was something to the effect of: "I had a feeling this would happen..."
Well, I have some stuff to do before I have to watch the kids, so I better get my lazy butt up and get busy...

It's getting hard to be someone...

But it all works out.
Strawberry Fields forever.

But seriously, I've been wondering what to do with my life. I mean, what on earth can I possibly do? Technically I have a major that I'm working on... Except I kinda sorta left school for a year... My major is German Teaching, but what if I don't want to go back to 'Merica? Do I even want to be a German teacher?
What if I studied here, in Germany? It'd be cheaper... and way awesome... and super difficult... but I think I could manage... if worst comes to worst and I fail miserably, I could just go back to BYU... any recommendations as to German universities? Preferably one that doesn't charge tuition.
When I visited Leonie in Lüdinghausen, I was able to go to Gymnasium with her. This had two purposes: spend time with Leo, and also to get to know the education system a bit better. German teachers usually teach a couple different subjects. Since I'm considering being a teacher over here, I should pick some things that I could teach. Biology, Chemistry and Math are out. They were never in the question. I could teach English, music, maybe German, history... This could work out! I need to fast and pray a lot.

Sometimes I wish life came with a road map. That would defeat the purpose, though...