Totally behind on my posts, so here I go with a sweet and simple, but super filling blog...
Bart, my stupid chin sore... finally left! I went into Apotheke, looked at the man behind the counter and said "Help" and pointed to my chin. Immediately he handed me two different tubes from behind the counter and said, use this one then the other. How easy!!! and it cleared up like magic! I researched the two creams he gave me and one of the websites basically talked about how it was a miracle cream to make life perfect, and by God it was! I have now stocked up on 3 tubes of this cream to bring back with me (my mom totally told me to)! Now, I am just dealing with a tiny scar, so the next thing I invested in was some awesome German scar cream. Even better, it comes with a rolling massage ball...OH YEAHHHHHH! So now that that is under control, I feel 90% better, 10% of me is still ready to come home.
Since my last blog I have been teaching everyday in my class. I teach the MS 2 (7th graders) and the IGCSE 1 (8th and 9th graders). I am really enjoying it, but some days those boys are just frustrating. As my teacher would say, "such is life".
I have also found myself on a few excursions since my last blog!
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| Stuttgart in the park with Audrey! |
I went to Stuttgart with a friend and we did tried couchsurfing for the first time. It was awesome!!!! We stayed with this guy named Simon, he's in the American Military stationed over there in Stuttgart. His girlfriend is a really cute Middle-Eastern German who is incredibly smart and looking to complete her masters in the US (specifically MIT or Georgia Tech). They were both so generous and kind while we stayed with them. He had an awesome apartment with big comfy american couches and everything to eat in his place was AMERICAN!! we had blueberry pancakes one morning and it was such a beautiful moment for us!! Stuttgart was so pretty though, we just hungout and walked around with no set itinerary; it was our vacation! So mostly we sat in the sun, drank wine, and listen to jazz music in the park. It was a great escape from North West Germany!
Next stop: A hiking trip with a couple of german friends. We hiked what seems like all of Eifel National Park, but really it was just 13 hours... of constant walking..... on mountains...
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| Hiking at Eifel National Park |
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| Hiking at Eifel National Park |
Now, I work for Mountain Challenge and I am pretty crafty outdoors... but I have never in my life seen it take so long to put up a tent! They would not just let me do it, they had to read ALL of the instructions... and if those were confusing (to them they were) they looked up youtube "how to" videos....
Biggest frustration with Germans: THEY READ ALLLLLL THE INSTRUCTIONS!
I never realized how most Americans just dive in and start working on something.. we rarely read all the instructions before beginning. If we mess up, then we refer to the instructions... but no, not in Germany. I always have to remind myself to have patience...
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| Wooden Bridge in Lucerne, Switzerland |
My most recent adventure was to Switzerland where I saw the Rhine Waterfalls, Zürich, and Lucerne. It was all very beautiful, but a Big Mac (just the burger not the meal) was 11:50 francs.... which is about $12.22. yeah.... we didn't really eat this trip. It was fun, nonetheless! We explored in Zürich once we noticed we couldn't afford anything, and actually came across a pretty neat spot. It was a very "hipster" location with two little cute bars/cafes. Everyone was laying out in the sun and some were adding their own art to the concrete wall along the river. As we came up on this area, two men (very grown men) were in their whitey tighties and just jumped into the water... so of course, I wanted to jump in the water. I stripped down to my undies and just jumped. It was the coldest water I have every been in, but it was totally worth it!!
I have been super busy with my time here, but when I get the chance I try to do something worth while! I am really happy with what I have been able to do and see and can't wait to do more of it for 2 more months! I point this out because almost everyone else is back in the States, but Im still having fun!!!