Snow is coming

Theres not too much to report on this week.  We have just been planning and getting ready for our Kinderwoche next week.  There was snow not too far from here though.  Id be ok if it didnt get here for another month or two, but I dont expect to be so lucky.  I do have one story I guess I can share below.

On Monday all of us went with Katja, one of our bosses, to her parents house in a smaller city in the country.  I had not planned on going with the girls, but after not being able to make any other plans and being talked into it by Katjas husband, I decided to go with.  We were going for the sauna.  I didnt know it at the time, but the sauna is at her parents house, a small shack really that Matthias had built with another building next door with fresh, cold water in a tub.  If youre into that kind of thing its really a nice set-up and cool that they built it themselves.  Personally, I have never really been to a sauna.  Maybe I have once or twice stepped into one at the beach or in some kind of large gym locker room like at the rec center, but I have never really had too much interest I guess.  I dont think they are exactly the most popular thing in Alabama.  Or the second.  Anyways, I didnt exactly know what all takes place when you go to enjoy the sauna.  We got there and first ate dinner together in a little living room that was to be where we would cool down and relax after going into the sauna.  They told me you do not want to go into a sauna with a full stomach, but then they served a pretty good amount of food.  I was not going to eat too much since they had warned me, but then it seemed like they were all eating a good bit, and she had prepared two footlong hotdog wieners for everyone so I figured I should at least eat that.  I could have eaten more, but I was pretty satisfied with the amount of food I did eat.  Anyways, that may or may not have come into play later.  After dinner we decided the men would go into the sauna first.  So the women left the room and Matthias and I got undressed and put our towels on.  At this point I still was not really sure what to expect.  They had told me many times you go into the sauna naked, and I was a little bit wary of just how much we were gonna see of each other.  I also found out later that the girls, except for Katja, wore a bathing suit when they went.  I had not brought anything like this because they told me I only needed to bring two towels and sandals.  I had imagined we were going into a large public sauna or something and I didnt really want to be the only one in a bathing suit and figured when in Germany do as the Germans.  So, at this point I did realize that it was only going to be me and Matthias, but wasnt sure exactly how it was all gonna go down.  It turned out to be not so bad after all.  We had to walk outside in the super cold to get to the sauna, which was really just a little shack he had built.  He let me go in first and I went to the farthest point from the stove and sat down on the wooden bench.  I kept my towel around me because I didnt know if you were supposed to take it off or not.  He came in and shut the door and derobed.  Once I saw that he did, I did the same.  Luckily, it was pitch black in there so you couldnt see anything at all and so it wasnt so awkward.  We stayed in for about 15 minutes and he told me it was about 185-194 degrees F.  It was warm. I was definitely sweating, but it felt pretty good.  A few more minutes and I would have been at the point where I was definitely ready to leave.  I thought I was doing pretty good, staying in there the entire time with Matthias, and then we went outside and to the cold water.  Ive never really liked to feel cold, so I just splashed a little on my face and body to cool off a little bit.  Matthias derobed again and dunked himself in the tub.  We walked outside in our towels and sat on a bench under the stars.  It was really a nice night and even though it was cold, it felt good after being in the sauna.  But then it got embarrassing.  I dont know if it was because I had eaten too much food or just because I am not used to the sauna and all that, but I started feeling like I wanted to throw up.   I also was seeing a ring of light ha.  I figured it would go away if I sat there long enough and cooled off, but it felt better to kind of lean over.  Matthias saw that and started asking if I was ok.  I told him yea, and just kind of signaled my stomach didnt feel so great.  Well he rushed into action and made me lay down and held my feet up.  Not 10 seconds after I had laid down the girls came out to see if we were finished.  Matthias told them to get me some water quick and then he held my feet for another two minutes or so.  That really did help, and I felt better immediately.  But the girls thought we had been out so long because I had been there a while.  Of course they are from Germany and Estonia which is basically sauna capital of the world after Finland, so they had no problems at all and got to laugh at me.  After youre done with the rotation of the sauna and then the cold water, youre supposed to go back inside to the room where we ate and cool down for a half hour and then start it all over again.  You typically go into the sauna three times in one night.  I decided I was pretty comfortable in the living room and just stayed there the rest of the night.  They acted like they will be going several times this winter, but I havent decided yet if Ill go back or not.