Funny Faux Pas

Wow, three posts in two days! This is a nice change of pace for those of you who are so tired of staring at the same updates over and over again. I remembered that I wanted to tell you about two times that I completely embarrassed myself in German. Thankfully, God has given me the ability to laugh at myself, whether alone or with others, so I laughed hysterically too! The first time happened at Stefan M.'s birthday party in the dorm. Someone asked me where a guy was, and I wanted to tell her that he had gone to the bathroom. When I said it, she started laughing, and I realized that I had told her that he was IN the toilet. Even now I laugh out loud when I think about it. So we laughed hysterically as I said in German, "Oh my goodness, hopefully not!" The second time was just the other day. I was showing Christian the pictures of my family and friends that I brought with me in a small photo album. When I showed him the picture of my family, I asked him how to say sister-in-law in German, repeated it to him, and thought I had mastered it. We moved along in the photos and came to Jeff, who is the brother of my sister-in-law, Gina. (Hopefully, he will not mind that I am sharing this with you!) I wanted to explain that Jeff was Gina's brother. After I did so, Christian had a really confused expression on his face and asked me to repeat what I had said. Apparently, I had used the wrong word. Turns out that I had basically told him that Jeff was the guy who got me pregnant! We laughed hysterically, and then I explained in English what I was trying to say. I hope you enjoy those stories, and please feel free to laugh too!

I'm lovin' it!

My German class went well last night. The teacher was very nice, and I understood the majority of what he said. I also felt comfortable enough to tell him when I was not sure of what he was saying. The other classmates are from India and Poland and were generous enough to share their material with me, since I was new. Although I do not speak or understand German as well as they do, I can read and do German grammar better than they can, so I was not intimidated. The one downside remains that the class is almost three hours long, which would be exhausting for anyone. But I plan to go back next Monday, and it if I still like it, then I will transfer into that class officially. Class finished later than expected, and Christian had waited in his car for twenty minutes. Germans do not like to wait, so he was not happy. He told me that I owed him a chicken burger, so we did the unthinkable. We ate at McDonald's! That's right, folks. I ate at McDonald's...hence the name of this post! I ate a chicken sandwich and fries, and it was not unbearable; however, I do not mind if we never return. Those of you who know me well know why that is a big deal for me, so I thought I would share that moment with you! Afterwards, we drove back to Straelen, and Christian taught me how to drive a stick-shift. Just like everyone had been telling me, it was not that difficult, and I actually had fun. We laughed hysterically multiple times, and Christian said that he will never forget teaching the American girl how to drive a stick-shift! I am now the master of gears 1-3. We drove around in the Wasserstraelen parking lot at first, and then we crossed the street to practice on long roads that crossed through large, green fields. I had been nervous because it had rained, and it was night time, but it turned out to be great because nobody was on the road. I was happy knowing that nobody was in danger, while I drove around the town! The greatest achievement came at the end of the lesson. Christian had driven his own car, but the car I use had to be returned to the city hall parking lot. I had no choice but to drive it alone! So Christian said good luck and drove behind me as I embarked on a journey around the main circle in town. I did really well and only stalled out as I parked in the lot at the Rathaus (city hall). I have yet to perfect my parking skills. Needless to say, I am very proud of myself and look forward to my next lesson. My hope is that I will soon be able to drive myself to Geldern for my German class. Lastly, I have exciting news. This Friday at 12:00 pm, a woman from the PR department in Straelen is coming to Wasserstraelen to interview me. She will take my picture and publish the article in the city paper! The interns who came last year did the same thing, but I feel special because I am the only intern here right now. So I will definitely keep a copy of that and bring it home with me for you to see. I tried to upload pictures of Evan Gabriel Ashley onto Facebook, but my boss has disabled this computer's ability to upload/download, so I will have to ask him about that later. I am frustrated because I really want to share those photos with you as well as those from my experience thus far. Three people have sent me packages, but they have yet to arrive, so please pray that they will be found and arrive safely to me here. I was looking so forward to receiving that American love! Plus I really need my camera cord and journal! Ok, that is all for now. I love you and miss you. Have a lovely day:)

Salzburg, Köln, and a new nephew!

First, I would like to announce the most exciting news! My second nephew, Evan Gabriel Ashley, was born on February 15, 2007 at 6:47 pm, weighing 8 lbs. 4 oz! He is beautiful, and I look forward to meeting him in person in May! Welcome to the Ashley clan, Evan! And now, my weekend. Jonathan and Lauren arrived safely on Wednesday, and we went to Geldern that night to play pool with Christian. I can proudly say that Christian and I showed our opponents how it's done! On Thursday, I showed them around Straelen, and we celebrated Karneval in a big tent in the center of town. The Prince made an appearance, and his soldiers performed again, so I am really glad that my friends got to see that. We also enjoyed dönners, schnitzel, and a lot of hot chocolate from the bakery, where we discovered delicious sugary doughnuts called Quarkbällchen. We left Straelen on Thursday night, taking a night train to Salzburg and sleeping in cachets. We arrived to our destination at 5:00 am on Friday morning, so we wandered around the city until a bakery opened at 6:30 am. We bought cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate (known only as heisse schokolade in Austria and not kakao). We checked into our hostel when it opened at 8:00am. It is called Institute St. Sebastian, and for only €25/person/night, we received free breakfast and a very nice room on the third floor with three beds, a private bathroom, and a beautiful view. We began our day with a tour of a famous fortress called Festungsberg, which is known for the following true story. In 1525, the fort was surrounded by the enemy, who decided to wait until the people starved to actually take it over. The people inside the fort were down to their last ox, but instead of eating it, they created a genius plan. One day, they walked the bull across the wall, so that the enemy could see it. During the night, the ox was painted. When the enemy saw it the next day, they assumed that the people had enough food to last them a long time, so they retreated! Since then, the people of Salzburg have been known as "Oxen washers." Next, we went to Salzburg University, where Jonathan studied for four months about five years ago. We visited some churches too, and in one of them, monks were singing, and it was one of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard! On Saturday, we went to Tomaselli's Cafe, which has been in business nonstop for about 200 years. We also took a Sound of Music tour. Although I have never actually seen the movie, the scenery was beautiful, and it was interesting to hear about the making of the film and to take pictures of things that were in the movie. Sunday held my favorite activity. We toured old catecombs, a church, and watched two men play a life-size game of chess in the town square while eating scrumptious sugary doughnuts in the shape of large pretzels. After this, we took the advice of our tour guide, and rode a cable car to Der Untersberg, a mountain in the Alps! When we stepped out of the cable car and onto the snow-capped mountain, I could barely believe my eyes. We were standing on the peak of Der Untersberg, from which we could see the entire city of Salzburg! It was unbelievable! Not even my pictures do it justice, much less my words. The sun was shining, and cool breezes swept over our faces and cleansed our lungs as we walked around the snowy mountain. I attempted to take it all in, but everywhere we stepped, there was a new and breathtaking sight. We saw graves, a statue, and two large metal crosses that had been placed at two separate hilltops. We stopped at a restaurant and bought hot chocolate. Then we sat down on a log, sipping our hot chocolate and gazing out into the open sky and a panaramic view of Salzburg. I could hardly believe that I was actually in the Alps! We could not ski because there was not enough snow, but just sitting in the midst of such beauty was completely satisfying for me. I was overwhelmed with the evidence of my Creator and the incredible work of His hands! Thankfully, my roommates are sending me my camera cord, so I will make those pictures available to you as soon as possible. We left Salzburg at 6:30 am on Monday morning, after purchasing breakfast from the same bakery we visited upon arrival. We stopped by Köln on our way back to Straelen, in order to experience Karneval in its most famous location and to see a famous cathedral called the Dom. Both were conveniently placed right outside the train station. People were gathered around walls and fences, watching the parade. Huge floats passed by, and those who took part in the parade threw candy and chocolate bars into the crowds. Marching bands played music, and people everywhere were singing traditional German songs. The ground was covered with confetti and candy, while the air was filled with national pride. We had fun watching this, caught some candy, and even met some Americans. Then we turned around to take pictures of the Dom, which was right beside us. I tilted my head back as far as it would go, and my jaw dropped, as I noticed the size and detail of the structure. I wanted to grab the passersby and say, "Hey, why are you walking by? Don't you see this incredible cathedral in front of you?!" It is hard to believe that they are accustomed to something so grand, but it is normal for them to see things that were built hundreds of years before America even existed! The gothic cathedral was built in 1248, completed in 1880, and is the most famous landmark in Köln. To my dismay, it was closed for Karneval, but I plan to return so that I can see the inside. I wish I could describe its size to you, but just know that I had to take three pictures just to get the front of the church in a photograph! This was certainly another highlight for me in addition to the Alps. That concluded our weekend travels, so we headed back to Straelen. Jonathan and Lauren are leaving tonight. Christian and I will drop them off in Geldern as we go to my German class, which should be a little easier than the previous one. I am glad they were able to visit me, and we had a lot of fun. Ticket to Salzburg, Austria: €136; Ticket back to Straelen, Germany: €119; seeing the Alps and the Dom: Priceless!

Karneval

The time of Karneval has arrived! This week long celebration, the original purpose of which was to drive out witches and evil spirits from winter, is celebrated in different places in Germany. It begins on November 11 at 11:11am and continues on a calmer level until the 42nd day before Easter. This festival is often considered a way to go wild and crazy before Lent, and my coworker told me it ends with a big bonfire where you burn your sins from Karneval. On Sunday afternoon, Christian took me to neighboring Kapelle for Karneval. When we arrived, people were in costume, lining the main street in anticipation of the parade. Big floats drove by, and marching bands and dancers performed in between them. People in the parade threw candy to the crowd, and little children scurried around with bags in an attempt to gather as much as possible. I was able to take some pictures of the children, my favorite being one of a chubby cheeked little strawberry! I have decided that Karneval, from what I have seen so far, is a combination of Mardi Gras, Halloween, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. On Monday morning, I went to class with my friends from 8:00am-1:00pm. They had three classes, two teachers, but remained in the same room the entire time with two breaks in between. The first teacher asked me to stand up and introduce myself, which was pretty embarrassing and very unexpected. Although I could not understand much in the lessons, I know that they learned about the politics and financing involved in the gardening business. After class, we headed to a gym to celebrate Karneval in Straelen. The room was completely packed with people of all ages, dressed up head to toe in themed or simply silly costumes. A band played traditional German music, some of which I have begun to memorize, and people drank, danced or stood around and talked for hours. The "Karneval Prince" I mentioned before made an appearance with his troops, but this time they had lady soldiers with them. Again, the men performed a marching dance with rifles, and then the ladies danced a sort of can-can, kicking their legs in every direction while wearing big red boots. I remembered my camera this time, but it was much too dark inside to take any good pictures. Luckily, the "Prince" was conversing with the commoners as the party ended and the lights came on, so I took some pictures with him. He even gave me a pin to remember the moment. Outside the gym was a large food cart, and I can proudly say that I tried my first Bratwurst, the equivalent of a long hot dog in a little round bun, and it was pretty tasty, considering I am not a big fan of sausage. So now I have experienced Karneval twice. Jonathan Pinney and Lauren Jones are coming to visit tomorrow, and we plan to see Karneval in Köln, the most popular location and largest gathering, on Thursday and Friday and then travel to Salzburg, Austria for the weekend. Also in Köln, which you know better as Cologne, is a famous Catholic cathedral called the Dom, so I am really excited to see that. Please pray for me though, because I think I am getting sick. My throat is a little sore, but I do not want that to ruin my weekend. Hopefully, we will have a blast travelling and seeing awesome sights. I think I can safely report that after four weeks, I am a little bit homesick. I am thankful that I am here, and I have loved every moment of this experience thus far, but I wish I could have one day in my American comfort zone. I want to see your faces, hear your voices, hug you (I miss good hugs so much!), eat at Olive Garden, devour some Oreos and then work it off at Ramsey, and be in a smoke free environment again! Anyway, I will write again next week and tell you about my trips in as much detail as possible. I love you all very much. And now I will leave you with a few more things I have learned about Germans, some generalized of course from a small sample size...
Germans have no sense of personal space; they wear wedding rings on their right hands; they all know the words and sing and dance to traditional German songs during parties, which I find very patriotic and fun; their school system is very different from ours and kind of confusing; the majority of their TV shows and movies are American ones dubbed in German; they have no problem blowing their noses, anytime, anywhere; they have not embraced smoke free laws, which means that I smell like an ash tray all the time and constantly hear my lungs screaming for help; I have yet to meet a non-Catholic.

Pirates and Buried Treasure

Today, my coworker, Claudia, and I hosted a two-hour birthday party. I was excited because I planned most of the party, and I really wanted the kids to have fun. Nine 9 year old kids came to celebrate the birthday of Nils, who was turning 9. They put on black eye patches and bandanas and instantly turned into pirates searching for buried treasure. We started in the gymnastics pool where they divided into two teams, blue and green. Each team member had to enter the water, sit on a noodle, and while carrying a cup of water, swim between floating balloons to the other end of the pool and back. The first team to finish with the most water remaining in the cup won and got to dive for the clue to the next activity. The blue team finished first, but the green team had more water in their cup, so both teams dove into the water to search for the clue, which was a laminated piece of paper attached to a red ring by a string. They followed the clue to the water slide. There, each individual and team had to slide down the slide as fast as possible. The team with the fastest collective time won and got to dive for the next clue, which we followed to the bistro, where we took a break to eat pizza and cake. The next clue was hidden under the cake, and the children got excited about the fact that we only had two more activities until we found the treasure! So we headed to the jogging pool. Here, the kids had to ride a caterpillar float around in a circle and against a current, picking up as many floating items as possible along the way. The team with the most items collected won and dove for the next clue. This one led us to the diving pool. Each child had to jump off the diving board, swim across the pool to pick up a ring, dive through two hula hoops and attempt to throw the ring onto a big, yellow, blow up octopus. The team who got the most rings onto the octopus won and dove for the last clue, which led us back to the gymnstics pool, where the kids found a net full of treasure boxes containing coins. They could either keep these coins as a souvenir or exchange them for something to eat at the bistro like a pretzel or icecream. Most of them turned their coins in for a snack, but some kept theirs as a memory of the party. They squealed with delight when asked if they had fun, so I am quite content with a job well done. I am happy that they had fun, and I look forward to the next birthday party!

Colorful Detail and Random Facts

Hello again! I apologize now if this entry gets long, but I hope you will enjoy an update on my life in Germany just the same. My mom came to Straelen on Saturday and left this afternoon. I am very glad that she got to visit me, and we had a lot of fun together. One night, we ate dinner at Gasthof Zum Siegburger, a small restaurant around the corner from my dorm that serves traditional German food. The entire place was decorated for Karneval, a German celebration like Mardi Gras that starts next week. Multi-colored, florescent streamers hung from the ceiling, equally colorful flowers lined the windows, and the faces of clowns stared down at us from random places throughout the room. Karneval is a huge celebration in big cities like Düsseldorf and Köln, and my boss has told me that I must not miss the parades and festivities, so I plan to travel to Köln with friends to experience it all! Apparently, Karneval comes to Straelen only every two years, and the residents get really involved. As we were eating, townspeople began to enter wearing festive costumes. They gathered in the room next to ours, which was complete with a DJ booth and more decorations. People were dressed as convicts in black and white stripes, clowns with rainbow colored jackets, and some just threw something random together to create a funny outfit. The guests began to sing to traditional German music, and some got up to dance. All of a sudden, a group of men entered the restaurant through the front door. They were covered head to toe in red and white, wearing long coats with tails and feathered hats, looking just like British soldiers! They marched in, the first soldier carrying a big sign that announced the coming of the "Karneval Prince." They marched loudly into the party room and lined up in a perfectly straight row. One man announced every soldier's name, and then they performed a song and dance as everyone else clapped and cheered with delight! Later, we learned that this group was invited to perform at the party, and the prince acts as such for two years, making many appearances around town. Sadly, I had forgotten my camera, but the mental picture of that night will remain engrained in my mind forever! Tuesday morning, before work, my dormmate Karsten drove us to Kevelaer, another nearby town. He showed us a beautiful Catholic church that was built in the 1600's and stands in the middle of the city. People travel from everywhere to enter a small, round building by the church to light candles in prayer and to receive healing. I cannot possibly describe in words the beauty of this place. We bought two postcards, an information packet and took some video, so you will just have to see those when I return. I stood in the church, mouth agape, in total awe of this man-made structure. It was unbelievable. Afterwards, we drank coffee and hot chocolate in a little cafe. I am so thankful that Karsten told us about the church and offered to take us to see it; otherwise, I might have never known about it. He is so thoughtful. He even gave me his tulips because he was going home on the weekend and knew they would die while he was gone. The ironic part is that I had just been thinking about how dreary my room looked with plain, white walls. The vibrant red, yellow and orange flowers certainly brightened the room. On Tuesday night, I had my German class in Geldern at 7:00, and it turned out to be quite a stressful endeavor. Stefi had to work, so my mom drove the stick-shift and followed my boss to Geldern. The teacher spoke fluent German the entire class period, which by the way was a very long 2 1/2 hours, and we worked on grammar, which is the one thing in which I am efficient. Hungry, tired, and frustrated, I barely survived the lesson. Although I need to hear such fluent German in order to improve, I do not want to sit through such a long lesson and be frustrated at how much I do not understand. So I might step down a level and see if I am more comfortable in that class, but I still do not want to learn how to drive a stick-shift and drive myself to Geldern twice each week for 2 1/2 hours! My mom came to work with me for two days, and she took video of me helping with the baby and children swim lessons. I had so much fun with those classes, and the babies were just as cute as can be, wide-eyed and giggly as we played with balloons in the water. They reached out for everything in front of them, including the example doll named Emma, and bit and licked the balloons as much as possible. When helping with such classes, I am reminded of how simple life once was! Last night, Christian went to dinner with us, and we stayed at the restaurant for four hours, talking, laughing, and getting to know each other better. This morning, I woke up, pulled back my curtains, and my heart jumped as I noticed that it was snowing! Straelen is currently blanketed with white, powdery, fluffy snow! It has stopped and will probably melt by tomorrow, but I am so content that I got to see snow in Germany! Tomorrow, I am going to school with my friends, and I am excited to see first-hand what they really do. So that is all for now. I love you, and I miss you. And now I will leave you with some random facts that I have learned.
German desserts look much better than they actually taste; Paprika is a pepper and not a spice; Pepperoni means hot peppers unless you say pepperoni fleisch (meat); Germans "Prost" (not Roast) the first drink you drink together and any other celebratory drink; You do not receive ice in your drinks or free refills; Ketchup is not free; Talking on your cell phone is expensive, and nobody really does it in pulic.

German Class and a Birthday...

Last night, my coworker, Stefi, drove me to Geldern, a nearby city that is about fifteen minutes away. I took a placement test in order to find out which German class is best for me. Out of 48 questions, I missed only 6, so I have been placed in the advanced German class, so I can improve my ability to hear and understand the spoken language. I was encouraged to find that I had not forgotten all the grammar that I learned in school, and I look forward to my class which meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:00pm. Back at the dorm, I headed upstairs to celebrate my dormmate Stefan's 24th birthday. He cooked for everyone, making a sort of sandwich with one slice of German bread, meat and a fried egg. It reminded me of the delicious sandwiches that my dad makes for me with fried egg, bologna and cheese on toast. However, this birthday meal came nowhere close to my dad's signature breakfast. Everyone gathered in the lounge and sat around for hours, talking, laughing, and watching the guys wrestle like little boys. We had a really good time, aside from the moments of the fastest German I have ever heard and will most likely never understand! Work was really fun today too. I started the day by taking pictures of everything because the place was empty. Sadly, I realized that I forgot the cord I need to upload pictures onto this computer, since there is no place for my camera card. But I will see what I can do, so you do not have to wait three months to see pictures. From 2:00-3:00 and again from 3:00-4:00, I helped with the children's swim lessons. The kids were full of energy, and we did our best to keep them moving. I did pretty well giving them instructions in German. The easy part is that they are young enough to be content with a "sehr gut" or "super" after every performance, so we seem to be getting along quite nicely. Other than that, I just do my best to memorize certain phrases that I need to get through the lesson if I don't know them already. I took a break to eat, and then from 5:00-6:00, I took part in the Aqua Spinning class. For this class, you take bikes into the water and cycle. Christof taught today, and as a great full body workout, it was really fun. The exercise puts no pressure on my knees, so that is definitely a plus! I decided to write this update tonight because my mom will be visiting from this Saturday to Thursday, so I expect to post a long blog after that. If I think of anything else or experience something exciting before next week, then I will let you know. But most likely, I will not write again until next week. I hope you all are well. When you have time, please tell me about school, work, ministry, family, friends, etc. I trust that God is taking care of each of you, loving you as no other can. Continue to turn to Him for every need, and remember that His faithfulness endures forever. Grace and Peace...