It's been an... interesting... past two weeks. Ok, honestly, it's been rather dull, but some instances broke up the insipidity.
I had to eat the nastiest "hamburger" that I've ever tasted. I'm weird and don't like anything that could go in a salad on my burgers. Luckily neither lettuce or tomato were present. Mayo is a crime in my book. That slime should not even exist. This so-called burger was covered in it. And the patty wasn't a patty. It was a flattened meatball thing, and I'm about 167% sure it was pork. Ummm... no.
One day I took Dana to ballet. At one of the Straßenbahn stops, a grandma started to talking to Dana. Dana is really shy, so the old lady said, "It's ok, mama's there" and smiled. Do I look old enough to have a six-year-old daughter?!? Especially when we look nothing alike? What the heck!
On the same line, not a week later, I introduced myself to the members of Vocalis. I told them I'm 20, and some guy actually said "WIRKLICH?!?" (really?!?) quite loudly. Like I heard him from the other side of our large circle of thirty-something people. Apparently both my parents had a similar problem.
We had another Probewochenende (rehearsal weekend) for Vocalis. Yay singing!
I don't know why, but Dana hates it when I pick her up from Kindergarten. I get tired of fighting her every single day. I wish I could describe just how obstinate this child is. Just imagine the most stubborn child you know, throw in some animal-like grunts, barbaric yawps, wildly swinging arms and grimaces, and that should suffice. I was fed up with her stopping every few feet and trying to grab onto anything firmly planted in the ground or just flopping on the ground, so I just picked her up. That was fun.
I FINALLY got to go to some second-hand stores yesterday. It was lovely, even if I didn't buy anything. I've been keeping a list of the ones I see around town, and only got to go to a few of them as they close at six.
Oh, and after four months, I got a cell phone. I miss my old full keyboard phone. Typing's a pain in the butt, but I guess I'll get used to it. At least the price was right. It's not worth it to buy a smart phone for only eight months, especially when they all come with two-year plans. And as much as I'd like to stay here that long, my visa won't let me. I'd need either a university acceptance letter or somebody to marry. Ha.
Mostly I just sit in my basement after the day's work and read Harry Potter and periodically check Facebook. Facebook has let me down, though. It's only good for telling me who got their mission calls or engagements. Thanks for reminding me that I'm off the beaten path. At least life's an adventure that way...
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Thinking how it used to be
Sometimes people ask me what I miss about 'Merica. I can never think of anything on the spot. But I have nothing else to do, so here's the list as of right now:
1. My family.
2. Independence and all that comes with it.
a. Eating what I want.
b. Avoiding certain foods like the plague e.g. pickles, mayo
c. Going outside when I want. And by that I mean late at night.
d. Making plans.
e. Going on bike adventures.
3. Having a cell phone.
After my last adventure, I told my host dad/boss that I want to get a cell phone. He told Maria I was looking for one, and she looked very surprised and asked why. Oh gee, in case I get lost on my way across the country... Or I might want to text my few friends... or you know... emergencies... whatever. NBD.
4. Random foods I didn't eat all that often, but aren't available here.
a. Popcorn. Ok, you can get it here, but we don't have a microwave.
b. Pumpkin pie
c. Reese's.
d. Peanut butter. Thank goodness my brother sent me a jar. It's saved my taste buds a few times.
e. Squash
f. Broccoli. Well, it's here, but we never ever eat it since Jared doesn't like it.
g. Baby carrots.
5. People automatically knowing in what language to speak to me.
Here, preferably Deutsch. Some people just refuse to get the memo or switch between languages. I'm never going to be fluent if this continues. I speak German, people. If I don't understand, I'll ask. Sheesh.
6. Being seen as a single adult.
a. Since I usually am with a kid or the whole family when I go out, I've lost my identity as a single person.
b. An old lady today thought I was the mother of the six year old. Not only am I too young for that, but we look nothing alike.
c. More than once has Maria grouped me with the children. Hello, you're paying me to take care of the children...
7. Hugs.
I don't miss the country. Just some small things that I could fix given if the situation was a little different.
1. My family.
2. Independence and all that comes with it.
a. Eating what I want.
b. Avoiding certain foods like the plague e.g. pickles, mayo
c. Going outside when I want. And by that I mean late at night.
d. Making plans.
e. Going on bike adventures.
3. Having a cell phone.
After my last adventure, I told my host dad/boss that I want to get a cell phone. He told Maria I was looking for one, and she looked very surprised and asked why. Oh gee, in case I get lost on my way across the country... Or I might want to text my few friends... or you know... emergencies... whatever. NBD.
4. Random foods I didn't eat all that often, but aren't available here.
a. Popcorn. Ok, you can get it here, but we don't have a microwave.
b. Pumpkin pie
c. Reese's.
d. Peanut butter. Thank goodness my brother sent me a jar. It's saved my taste buds a few times.
e. Squash
f. Broccoli. Well, it's here, but we never ever eat it since Jared doesn't like it.
g. Baby carrots.
5. People automatically knowing in what language to speak to me.
Here, preferably Deutsch. Some people just refuse to get the memo or switch between languages. I'm never going to be fluent if this continues. I speak German, people. If I don't understand, I'll ask. Sheesh.
6. Being seen as a single adult.
a. Since I usually am with a kid or the whole family when I go out, I've lost my identity as a single person.
b. An old lady today thought I was the mother of the six year old. Not only am I too young for that, but we look nothing alike.
c. More than once has Maria grouped me with the children. Hello, you're paying me to take care of the children...
7. Hugs.
I don't miss the country. Just some small things that I could fix given if the situation was a little different.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Should I stay or should I go?
This past week. Wow.
And I'm not talking about the early hours.
I love going to the temple. It was totally worth taking care of obnoxious children without all their toys.
Somehow, it so happened that I ended up spending a good deal of time with the sister missionaries this week. It was so cool to see them share the gospel and the light of Christ! By the way, sister missionaries serve for a year and a half. They completely give up everything for that time so they can fully focus on bringing people to Christ. It's a major commitment.
I also got to hang out with an amazing Spanish girl who is about to put in her papers for her mission. We were both in charge of children while the parents were in the temple. We bonded very quickly- she even said that being with me was like being with her sisters! We had a lot of fun talking and just hanging out.
These two things were the main catalysts in me starting to seriously think about going on a mission. When I was 18/19, I really really really REALLY wanted to go, but I was too young. I guess it just fell out of my mind, especially as I had a lot of other things going on.
And then last night, we went to a church meeting. I ran into the senior missionaries. I went to talk to the sister, and I heard these (or similar...) words come out of my mouth: "Are there any sister missionaries close to Braunschweig? I want to go with them and help." And just like that, we were on our way to find out from the zone leaders where there were sisters and if I could help them out on the weekends. Then we went to my host dad to see if it'd be alright, and he got waaay excited and asked if I could go on a mini-mission. I hadn't dared to ask about that, seeing as I thought there'd be no way I could take off from work for a week to go help the sisters. Yeah, I do have a month of vacation, but I thought I used that all up while they were on vacation back in August. I guess not... So now it's all in the works. I'll spend a week, probably later this month, with the sisters in the city over and see what it's really like to be on a mission.
I think I do want to go on a mission. So I'll prepare, and if something else comes up, then ok. It never hurts to study the gospel :) I don't have anything else to do come July 24th anyways. Hopefully they'll send me to Germany...
And I'm not talking about the early hours.
I love going to the temple. It was totally worth taking care of obnoxious children without all their toys.
Somehow, it so happened that I ended up spending a good deal of time with the sister missionaries this week. It was so cool to see them share the gospel and the light of Christ! By the way, sister missionaries serve for a year and a half. They completely give up everything for that time so they can fully focus on bringing people to Christ. It's a major commitment.
I also got to hang out with an amazing Spanish girl who is about to put in her papers for her mission. We were both in charge of children while the parents were in the temple. We bonded very quickly- she even said that being with me was like being with her sisters! We had a lot of fun talking and just hanging out.
These two things were the main catalysts in me starting to seriously think about going on a mission. When I was 18/19, I really really really REALLY wanted to go, but I was too young. I guess it just fell out of my mind, especially as I had a lot of other things going on.
And then last night, we went to a church meeting. I ran into the senior missionaries. I went to talk to the sister, and I heard these (or similar...) words come out of my mouth: "Are there any sister missionaries close to Braunschweig? I want to go with them and help." And just like that, we were on our way to find out from the zone leaders where there were sisters and if I could help them out on the weekends. Then we went to my host dad to see if it'd be alright, and he got waaay excited and asked if I could go on a mini-mission. I hadn't dared to ask about that, seeing as I thought there'd be no way I could take off from work for a week to go help the sisters. Yeah, I do have a month of vacation, but I thought I used that all up while they were on vacation back in August. I guess not... So now it's all in the works. I'll spend a week, probably later this month, with the sisters in the city over and see what it's really like to be on a mission.
I think I do want to go on a mission. So I'll prepare, and if something else comes up, then ok. It never hurts to study the gospel :) I don't have anything else to do come July 24th anyways. Hopefully they'll send me to Germany...
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