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...