I haven't updated in a while, I hope no one has missed my blog too much. My family visited the week before last and it was a long awaited, good vacation with some of the people I love the most. I had not blogged too much before then because I didnt really have too much to say. I feel refreshed and rejuvenated after my break, but, as will happen when you live somewhere for seven months, this has become my home for right now and in the day-to-day living I dont notice or think about as many things as when I first came over, at least nothing thats blog worthy. Before my family came over I was trying to not overlook all the work and things I had to do here with excitement for my time with them, but nonetheless was definitely looking forward to the break. The Sunday before they came I did preach for the first time in "real church" in German. As there are three different churches that we are associated with here, I preached twice more, once when my family was here and the last time yesterday in our biggest church. It was a good experience I think. I was the most nervous when my family was here, but Im not sure if it was because they were here or because that morning I was told that the week before Barry had received some complaints about not being able to understand me when I had thought it had gone pretty well. My prayer every week was just that God would speak through me and open the peoples ears so that they could hear and understand whatever it was I said with my Southern accent.
Anyways, back to the vacation with my family. It was really a good week and I think we got to see a whole lot. In some ways it was different from what I expected but I think it was still good. It is kind of hard for me to really say though. Part of my criteria and expectations for it being a good trip is/was if my family (Dad, Mom, Hannah, and Luc) got to see everything they wanted to and at the same time see a different culture and learn a little about different ideas and how other people may live. I also wanted them to see and experience the Germany that I have come to love and how different things from history have shaped the country into what it is today, as well as maybe seeing or realizing some of the connections and roles the US has played in that history. For these reasons I can really only speak to the other half of my expectations which was just to travel and spend time with my family, which was great. Maybe theyll comment below to the other half. Before I give more of my thoughts about our week through Germany, Ill share where we went and what we did.
My family started out on Thursday planning to get to Frankfurt by Friday morning and then to Chemnitz by way of car before that evening. They flew about six hours then were told they were landing in Philly. Something was wrong with the plane and so they had to wait in Philly for a couple of hours at 3 in the morning until someone could wake up, fix their plane, and refuel them. They finally made it to Frankfurt by Friday evening but were so tired they decided to just get a hotel there for the night. I know they didnt enjoy it and I know I was disappointed they were delayed. I was hoping Hannah and Luc could go to youth group with me and then the next morning I wanted all of them to come to our Family Coffee in Checkpoint to see what we did there. They ended up getting here Saturday evening and we went and had a nice German dinner at some place I had never been to before. They did get to come to the Sunday service that IMT led and Sunday night to the English service where they got to meet several of the people from our main church, and entertained by our Irish pastor and his band singing and celebrating St. Patricks Day in his own little way. From there we sped to Berlin and spent the next two days there. We saw all of the main tourist attractions there and even had some time for Hannah to go shopping. On Wednesday we drove to Munich and on the way stopped by Dresden and Nurenberg. In Munich we saw most of the "main attractions" although I think it is a much prettier city during the summer when it is warm. While staying in Munich we made day trips to Dachau, Neuschwanstein Castle, and Salzburg which were all pretty big hits I think. On Sunday they flew home and luckily my mom was pretty adamant about getting to the airport early. I did not realize until we had seperated at the airport that the time had moved forward an hour during the night before. My mom said they didnt notice at all.
It was definitely different from when I had travelled before. I believe there were several factors contributing to that, but wonder how my family experienced it. For me it felt like more of a family vacation through a country that was not that different except for some of the food and the language. Im really interested in knowing how it felt to my family though. Because I have lived here for a couple of months, I do not notice as many differences now, I dont think. I also felt at times that I was more focused on being a tour guide than actually seeing what was around me. Because I had already seen most of the places we went and because I can speak/understand a little bit of German now I was happy to do that, but I was not seeing things for the first time or focused on trying to find the differences and similarities in the two cultures as I had been when I had travelled alone or with Alana. As the week went on I did tire a little of my family relying on me to communicate. For one thing I am not that fluent in German that I can speak where the people always understand me or where I always understand them. Since we were mostly in the touristy areas, most people recognized I was from the US and in the end spoke English with me anyways, which was a little bit of a downer as I would have liked to practice my German more and I was never sure if they changed to English because they didnt understand me or they wanted to practice their English. The other thing was that I wanted my family to experience trying to communicate with someone with a different language, and of course, they could speak English with the people just as well as I could. That was one observation I found interesting. I think if I had not been there my family would have gotten along just fine, but because I was there and in their minds I could speak German and had visited before, sometimes they would look to me to communicate when they could have just as easily by themselves.
This trip was also different because it was more than just me and what I wanted to do and see. I had experienced this a little with Alana before, but then I did not realize that some of the problem was me being selfish. Alana had basically trusted me the entire trip to lead us to where we should go and to the things of interest that we should see, which were mostly the things written about in my travel book that I found interesting. I thought she was crazy to want to go certain places just to shop and didnt really give her much time to do that. On this trip, as before, I was a little worried that we wouldnt have time to see everything we "needed to" and may have rushed my family at times. On the other hand, since I had seen everything already I really only insisted on them going to the places that I had found interesting before and let them decide how they wanted to use their time a little more. This meant that we spent some time shopping and perusing stores I would have just walked by if I had been alone. Because I was with my parents and it was my family's spring break, we also ate much better than I had last time. We ate at some really good restaurants just about every day for dinner and several mornings for breakfast had something good from a local bakery.
I also felt that because I was with a group of people that I knew, I didnt notice other people as much as when I travel alone. I guess it is some kind of human need to have some kind of communication and companionship and when I travel alone then I guess I look for it in the simple acknowledgements of other people, such as a little smile or head nod when passing someone on the street. I think that I was more focused on my family, what they were saying or doing, than on strangers. It is also not as easy to meet and start a conversation with random people when you are not staying in the same place such as a hostel.
I think I have more thoughts about the trip, but I cant really think too much more. The last observation that I found interesting is also one that Im very sorry happened. I really felt terrible afterwards and mom I am so sorry I scared you. She and Hannah had visited the inside of a castle while Luc, Dad, and I had walked to an icy lake in the Alps to wait on them. We had set a meeting point at the ticket booth in the small town beneath the castle. As mom and Hannah were walking down they passed by us on the other side of the street but didnt see us. Thinking Id be funny I ran up behind them and acted like I was gonna grab moms bag and run off. I feel terrible even writing about this. Mom really got scared. She was screaming and kind of getting ready to fight back I think. I immediately realized it was a bad idea and how scared she was and tried to let her know it was me. I had to kind of grab her shoulders to try and calm her down and so she didnt freak out on me and I was saying "Mom, mom, its me Joe". I looked her straight in the eyes and said it and the thing that was interesting, although I am sorry it happened, was I swear she did not recognize me and did not realize it was me even then. Hannah had started laughing, but mom was too scared to recognize her son. I had always wondered how people could accidentally shoot someone or whatever, but Im quite sure it has something to do with that state of anxiety where you are only reacting to something in an effort to save yourself. Mom told me later that her and a friend had been robbed like that before in Europe. I really feel terrible about scaring her so much and wouldve never done that had I known what would happen.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Skiing and Sauna- Pt. 2
Its cold. I wear long underwear all the time now. The only time I ever even thought about wearing it back home was the one or two days when we actually had snow to play in. I wear a pair of wool socks over a regular pair of socks with well insulated winter boots I bought here and my feet still freeze when sitting in my room. Im not a fan. I find it even harder to understand what the girls are doing, how they are not doing laundry every few days or not freezing. I have to layer so many shirts and jackets I always have a ton of laundry to do. I am lucky I have so many shirts that Im able to go a little while before I have to wash though. I guess the girls just dont sweat as much or dont worry about stinking and just wear the same shirts several times before washing. I try to wear everything from the third layer up more than once, but I think the first and second layer would start to stink pretty fast if I did that. Oh well, who knows.
We have been pretty busy during the days we have work, and then on our days off there hasnt been too much going on. I always say Im gonna actually try to get out and do something, but its always just too cold to go wandering in the city for me. The last two weekends have been pretty fun, though. Two weekends ago we all went to Claudi's house for the sauna and to ski/snowboard. The sauna went much better for me this time. I knew what to expect and it wasn't quite as awkward even though two of Claudi's cousins came with Matthias and me. This time there was also snow on the ground, so after coming out of the sauna, instead of cooling off in the water we just dove into the snow and made snow angels. I didnt eat as much before we went, and I think that was probably the difference and why I didnt feel sick this time. I went back for the second round and would have gone back for the third, but I had gotten so comfortable under a huge blanket inside a warm room I didnt feel like going back out in the cold. Katja and Matthias both said something or asked me how I was feeling at some point though. I was fine.
We spent the night at Claudis and then the next day Raele, Maretta, Sni, and I went skiing/snowboarding with Claudis dad. Everyone tried snowboarding but me. I dont think they had another snowboard anyways, but I wanted to see how well I could ski, if at all, so it worked out well. I have been skiing only one other time with our youth group at some point during high school. However, I remember the hotel and the place at the ski lodge where you can eat, drink, and get warm more than I do actually skiing. I remember that I didnt go back the second day, choosing instead to stay in the warm hotel. So, I figured this would be a good chance for me to see what I could do. We drove maybe 20 or 30 minutes to a nearby town and the ski lift. I wish I had taken pictures, but I didnt want to carry my camera around all day or have it broken because I knew I was going to fall a good bit. Where we went was just a little building where you could buy a ticket for the lift, the lift, and then a place to ski down. It was nothing like the huge ski places I had seen before, although there were a good number of people. All of us were learning how to either ski or snowboard so Claudis dad just had us walk a little under halfway up the mountain so we could practice away from the crowd and where the slope was gentler. He told me how the skis should be to turn and stop and to watch how other people were doing it and then pretty much left me to figure it out. I think that was definitely the best for me. Sni had snowboarded last year on a trip they took with the church, so she was just trying to remember how she had done it before. The other girls spent the entire time trying to learn and walking back up the hill after snowboarding/falling down. After about three or four times skiing/falling down the hill and then walking back up, I was getting tired. I also felt like I was doing more walking than skiing, so I decided to try my luck going up the lift and on the steeper part down to the bottom. I could have used more practice runs, but I really was getting tired of walking back up the hill so I figured what the heck. Claudis dad came with me to show me how to swipe your ticket and then got a guy that works there to help me on the lift. It was a thing that came around and you put it behind your legs and it kind of pulled you up the mountain as you held on. You couldntwasnt that fast. Several times I ended up way far off the normal path because I was not very good at turning back to my right once I started going so fast. I was able to turn left pretty good, but I always felt that if I tried to turn right at that speed I was going to lose control and wipe out, which I did do a few times. Most of the time though I ended up way off the path and got into deeper snow and snow that had more bumps in it which was even worse for me ha. The deep snow would slow me down though so I could turn back to the right and ski back to where everyone else was without falling, so that was good. After several attempts I finally made it the entire mountain without falling. I realized I just had to not get spooked going down the steep part and saw that I would slow down on the bottom part even if I wasn't totally sure how to stop myself while going so fast. It was definitely an adrenaline rush. And after that I was feeling pretty good about myself. Sni had started using the lift too but the other girls were still walking up the hill to learn. So, anyways I went back and got in line for the lift. By this point I felt like an old pro with the whole process and felt pretty relaxed as I started up the lift by myself. I got about 3/4 of the way up and it all happened so fast, I really am not sure how I managed to do it, but I somehow fell while riding the lift up. I think I tried leaning back/sitting a little too much instead of staying forward on my knees and feet, and the bars that were pulling me up went back with me until I had fallen under them. In a kind of reaction I reached for them to support myself but instead of the line being firm I was able to pull it to the ground with me. From there I held on for a while, being dragged on my side up the hill. I had no idea what I should do. I thought about just letting go and skiing down from there, but then I looked back and decided the next person back was too close and I wouldnt have enough time to move out of their way if I let go. So I decided to just hang on until the top and hope for the best. It wasn't going too fast or anything, it was just kind of embarrassing ha. I guess the lift controller saw me though, and the lift stopped long enough for me to stand up and ski over to the mountain out of the way of the others on the lift. Two guys behind the girl that was directly behind me rode by and the lift and we all shared a laugh. I said "whoops". And then skied down the mountain. I found it pretty amusing and kind of ridiculous that I was able to fall on the lift so I skied over to the girls and shared my story. I was also trying to wait for Sni to come down so we could ride together the next time, and hopefully avoid another such disaster. Claudi's dad had told me to always ask someone to ride with me so they could help me with the lift and I think because it was maybe more balanced with two people riding. I finally found Sni and we went to the lift line together. As we were waiting I shared my story and as soon as I finished it was our time to get on. To be fair, it was a little difficult because she had a snowboard and I had skis, but we had barely gotten on before we both wiped out in front of everyone in line. Sni somehow got ahead of me with the lift so she went on alone and I skied back to the start and came with the next set of bars. I ended up going down the mountain twice without falling at all which I felt was pretty good. I felt super drained after a few runs and towards the end had no adrenaline left. It was a lot of fun though and I think we are planning to go back again in a week or two.
This past weekend we were in Dresden for a planning weekend for a youth weekend in June. It was good to be with other people other than just the girls and I found the meeting/planning very interesting and helpful. We started from literally nothing and came up with the theme for the weekend, the title, a ranking of bands we want to have, and started working on the worship services and small groups we want to have. I had always wondered how exactly the weekends at camp Sumatanga or even the summer camps were planned, and I think I now have seen the process and would be able to do that or help if ever called to do so. One other thing, we had raclettes one night which is something my family does from time to time after my oldest brother Zac had discovered them in France. However, here in Germany we cooked more than just the cheese, like we usually do at home. We cooked all different kinds of meats and made omelets and all kinds of vegetables with them as well as the usual cheese and potatoes. Its a lot of fun and something different if youve never tried them before, Id recommend it for a family dinner.
We have been pretty busy during the days we have work, and then on our days off there hasnt been too much going on. I always say Im gonna actually try to get out and do something, but its always just too cold to go wandering in the city for me. The last two weekends have been pretty fun, though. Two weekends ago we all went to Claudi's house for the sauna and to ski/snowboard. The sauna went much better for me this time. I knew what to expect and it wasn't quite as awkward even though two of Claudi's cousins came with Matthias and me. This time there was also snow on the ground, so after coming out of the sauna, instead of cooling off in the water we just dove into the snow and made snow angels. I didnt eat as much before we went, and I think that was probably the difference and why I didnt feel sick this time. I went back for the second round and would have gone back for the third, but I had gotten so comfortable under a huge blanket inside a warm room I didnt feel like going back out in the cold. Katja and Matthias both said something or asked me how I was feeling at some point though. I was fine.
We spent the night at Claudis and then the next day Raele, Maretta, Sni, and I went skiing/snowboarding with Claudis dad. Everyone tried snowboarding but me. I dont think they had another snowboard anyways, but I wanted to see how well I could ski, if at all, so it worked out well. I have been skiing only one other time with our youth group at some point during high school. However, I remember the hotel and the place at the ski lodge where you can eat, drink, and get warm more than I do actually skiing. I remember that I didnt go back the second day, choosing instead to stay in the warm hotel. So, I figured this would be a good chance for me to see what I could do. We drove maybe 20 or 30 minutes to a nearby town and the ski lift. I wish I had taken pictures, but I didnt want to carry my camera around all day or have it broken because I knew I was going to fall a good bit. Where we went was just a little building where you could buy a ticket for the lift, the lift, and then a place to ski down. It was nothing like the huge ski places I had seen before, although there were a good number of people. All of us were learning how to either ski or snowboard so Claudis dad just had us walk a little under halfway up the mountain so we could practice away from the crowd and where the slope was gentler. He told me how the skis should be to turn and stop and to watch how other people were doing it and then pretty much left me to figure it out. I think that was definitely the best for me. Sni had snowboarded last year on a trip they took with the church, so she was just trying to remember how she had done it before. The other girls spent the entire time trying to learn and walking back up the hill after snowboarding/falling down. After about three or four times skiing/falling down the hill and then walking back up, I was getting tired. I also felt like I was doing more walking than skiing, so I decided to try my luck going up the lift and on the steeper part down to the bottom. I could have used more practice runs, but I really was getting tired of walking back up the hill so I figured what the heck. Claudis dad came with me to show me how to swipe your ticket and then got a guy that works there to help me on the lift. It was a thing that came around and you put it behind your legs and it kind of pulled you up the mountain as you held on. You couldntwasnt that fast. Several times I ended up way far off the normal path because I was not very good at turning back to my right once I started going so fast. I was able to turn left pretty good, but I always felt that if I tried to turn right at that speed I was going to lose control and wipe out, which I did do a few times. Most of the time though I ended up way off the path and got into deeper snow and snow that had more bumps in it which was even worse for me ha. The deep snow would slow me down though so I could turn back to the right and ski back to where everyone else was without falling, so that was good. After several attempts I finally made it the entire mountain without falling. I realized I just had to not get spooked going down the steep part and saw that I would slow down on the bottom part even if I wasn't totally sure how to stop myself while going so fast. It was definitely an adrenaline rush. And after that I was feeling pretty good about myself. Sni had started using the lift too but the other girls were still walking up the hill to learn. So, anyways I went back and got in line for the lift. By this point I felt like an old pro with the whole process and felt pretty relaxed as I started up the lift by myself. I got about 3/4 of the way up and it all happened so fast, I really am not sure how I managed to do it, but I somehow fell while riding the lift up. I think I tried leaning back/sitting a little too much instead of staying forward on my knees and feet, and the bars that were pulling me up went back with me until I had fallen under them. In a kind of reaction I reached for them to support myself but instead of the line being firm I was able to pull it to the ground with me. From there I held on for a while, being dragged on my side up the hill. I had no idea what I should do. I thought about just letting go and skiing down from there, but then I looked back and decided the next person back was too close and I wouldnt have enough time to move out of their way if I let go. So I decided to just hang on until the top and hope for the best. It wasn't going too fast or anything, it was just kind of embarrassing ha. I guess the lift controller saw me though, and the lift stopped long enough for me to stand up and ski over to the mountain out of the way of the others on the lift. Two guys behind the girl that was directly behind me rode by and the lift and we all shared a laugh. I said "whoops". And then skied down the mountain. I found it pretty amusing and kind of ridiculous that I was able to fall on the lift so I skied over to the girls and shared my story. I was also trying to wait for Sni to come down so we could ride together the next time, and hopefully avoid another such disaster. Claudi's dad had told me to always ask someone to ride with me so they could help me with the lift and I think because it was maybe more balanced with two people riding. I finally found Sni and we went to the lift line together. As we were waiting I shared my story and as soon as I finished it was our time to get on. To be fair, it was a little difficult because she had a snowboard and I had skis, but we had barely gotten on before we both wiped out in front of everyone in line. Sni somehow got ahead of me with the lift so she went on alone and I skied back to the start and came with the next set of bars. I ended up going down the mountain twice without falling at all which I felt was pretty good. I felt super drained after a few runs and towards the end had no adrenaline left. It was a lot of fun though and I think we are planning to go back again in a week or two.
This past weekend we were in Dresden for a planning weekend for a youth weekend in June. It was good to be with other people other than just the girls and I found the meeting/planning very interesting and helpful. We started from literally nothing and came up with the theme for the weekend, the title, a ranking of bands we want to have, and started working on the worship services and small groups we want to have. I had always wondered how exactly the weekends at camp Sumatanga or even the summer camps were planned, and I think I now have seen the process and would be able to do that or help if ever called to do so. One other thing, we had raclettes one night which is something my family does from time to time after my oldest brother Zac had discovered them in France. However, here in Germany we cooked more than just the cheese, like we usually do at home. We cooked all different kinds of meats and made omelets and all kinds of vegetables with them as well as the usual cheese and potatoes. Its a lot of fun and something different if youve never tried them before, Id recommend it for a family dinner.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
If youre going through hell...
Disclaimer for mom: If you start worrying before you get to the end, dont. I dont really think Im going through hell.
I have felt like Ive been struggling a little lately. When I first got to Germany and the first few months I was here I felt a surge in my faith and God's presence very close. It was not an easy time, necessarily, coming to a new country, trying to learn the language, trying to make new relationships, living, working, eating, shopping, and living (not a typo) with five girls from different countries and languages, trying to understand girls, and most importantly doing all this while staying plenty busy with our work with the youth and kids, trying to stay in tune with God and do my best to show them love and not get in the way of Gods work and hoping hed speak through me. Despite all of that, I could really feel God working through my struggles and knew that this is where He wanted me to be so that I would rely on Him and grow. I believe the peace and closeness of God I felt was due to a mixture of reasons. Being here I had to mostly focus just on the work here and I actually used up most of my energy trying to interpret and communicate so I didnt have much time to worry about a lot. I also have more time to read my Bible and just spend with God in prayer. I knew that the only way I was/am going to make it here is with God's strength and help. I knew that I just had to stay focused on Him and that Id get homesick and miserable here if I thought too much about back home or how much longer I had in the future here. It didnt always work. There were still times that I didnt feel like being here and wished more than anything I could be back home with my family and friends. This is a bit of an interruption, because just writing this I am remembering and can see how God answered many of my prayers from just a month or two or three ago. Its def encouragement. I also just thought about how God is strongest when we are weakest, and how he leads us into situations where we have to rely on Him. I guess that kind of gets back to what I was gonna say.
Lately I have been struggling a bit. I went home for Christmas a few weeks ago and came back on New Years Day. It was a great time seeing my friends and family for a bit, but it was also pretty busy. There was also a tiny bit of what I guess you would call reverse culture shock, I was just getting used to everything there and then it was time to fly back here. I havent been sleeping very well at all since Ive been back. I think its a mixture of jet lag, not really having a ton of work here just yet, and my thoughts. Over the Christmas break I got some news that has been tough for me. It may have been the answer to a prayer, but not the one that I really expected or wanted. It was a bit shocking and made me sad. It has brought up a ton of memories as well as fear or anxiety for the future. The memories and the fears are mostly what have helped to keep me up at night or awake way too early in the morning. The memories have been both good and bad, happiest times and some painful ones as well. I think I could fill a series of books rivaling Harry Potters' with all the details. I wish I had a memory this good for all the other things Ive learned in school and then couldnt remember as I failed yet another sporcle test. I was also reading a book about heaven and had read something before talking about hell. Both were what theyd be like. I was thinking about all of these things together and started thinking that hell must be where you remember everything from your time on Earth. It must be just a place full of memories and fear. You can never forget the painful things that happened to you. Even worst you are never able to forget all of the painful things that you did or even others did to people you most love and care about. Mixed in with all those memories is fear. Fear of who you are and fear of how are your loved ones. I think thats probably how your punishment starts, or at least a portion of it. Of course thats just the beginning and after that comes all the emotions like hate, jealousy, shame, and basically all of the fruits that are not of the Spirit. And then I started thinking about Heaven. I started thinking I sure hope God erases our memories when we get there. I dont know how it works, but I cant imagine an eternity of time to sit around, even in a happy place, and have to remember the pain of those you loved. I was thinking at the very least maybe thats one of the payoffs of following God, you at least shouldnt have quite as many memories as someone that never did. But still, even a few are enough to make you pretty down. And then I started reading another book, where the author compared God to a parent that was able to comfort their child during a thunderstorm. The parent doesnt make the rain or thunder stop, but something in the kid believes their parent will protect them and finds comfort enough to go back to sleep. And I realized, I dont think that were gonna go through a mind erasing machine when we get to Heaven, but I think that God's love will be so overwhelming that we can't tear ourselves away long enough to even bother trying to remember something else. I also realized that God's love is here with us now, and that He is always beside me, I just have to tear myself away from my memories and fears and look full in his beautiful face and hope and love. But not just with me, He is with everyone, all of my loved ones, and He takes care of them as much as He does me. I just have to trust in Him and pray.
I have felt like Ive been struggling a little lately. When I first got to Germany and the first few months I was here I felt a surge in my faith and God's presence very close. It was not an easy time, necessarily, coming to a new country, trying to learn the language, trying to make new relationships, living, working, eating, shopping, and living (not a typo) with five girls from different countries and languages, trying to understand girls, and most importantly doing all this while staying plenty busy with our work with the youth and kids, trying to stay in tune with God and do my best to show them love and not get in the way of Gods work and hoping hed speak through me. Despite all of that, I could really feel God working through my struggles and knew that this is where He wanted me to be so that I would rely on Him and grow. I believe the peace and closeness of God I felt was due to a mixture of reasons. Being here I had to mostly focus just on the work here and I actually used up most of my energy trying to interpret and communicate so I didnt have much time to worry about a lot. I also have more time to read my Bible and just spend with God in prayer. I knew that the only way I was/am going to make it here is with God's strength and help. I knew that I just had to stay focused on Him and that Id get homesick and miserable here if I thought too much about back home or how much longer I had in the future here. It didnt always work. There were still times that I didnt feel like being here and wished more than anything I could be back home with my family and friends. This is a bit of an interruption, because just writing this I am remembering and can see how God answered many of my prayers from just a month or two or three ago. Its def encouragement. I also just thought about how God is strongest when we are weakest, and how he leads us into situations where we have to rely on Him. I guess that kind of gets back to what I was gonna say.
Lately I have been struggling a bit. I went home for Christmas a few weeks ago and came back on New Years Day. It was a great time seeing my friends and family for a bit, but it was also pretty busy. There was also a tiny bit of what I guess you would call reverse culture shock, I was just getting used to everything there and then it was time to fly back here. I havent been sleeping very well at all since Ive been back. I think its a mixture of jet lag, not really having a ton of work here just yet, and my thoughts. Over the Christmas break I got some news that has been tough for me. It may have been the answer to a prayer, but not the one that I really expected or wanted. It was a bit shocking and made me sad. It has brought up a ton of memories as well as fear or anxiety for the future. The memories and the fears are mostly what have helped to keep me up at night or awake way too early in the morning. The memories have been both good and bad, happiest times and some painful ones as well. I think I could fill a series of books rivaling Harry Potters' with all the details. I wish I had a memory this good for all the other things Ive learned in school and then couldnt remember as I failed yet another sporcle test. I was also reading a book about heaven and had read something before talking about hell. Both were what theyd be like. I was thinking about all of these things together and started thinking that hell must be where you remember everything from your time on Earth. It must be just a place full of memories and fear. You can never forget the painful things that happened to you. Even worst you are never able to forget all of the painful things that you did or even others did to people you most love and care about. Mixed in with all those memories is fear. Fear of who you are and fear of how are your loved ones. I think thats probably how your punishment starts, or at least a portion of it. Of course thats just the beginning and after that comes all the emotions like hate, jealousy, shame, and basically all of the fruits that are not of the Spirit. And then I started thinking about Heaven. I started thinking I sure hope God erases our memories when we get there. I dont know how it works, but I cant imagine an eternity of time to sit around, even in a happy place, and have to remember the pain of those you loved. I was thinking at the very least maybe thats one of the payoffs of following God, you at least shouldnt have quite as many memories as someone that never did. But still, even a few are enough to make you pretty down. And then I started reading another book, where the author compared God to a parent that was able to comfort their child during a thunderstorm. The parent doesnt make the rain or thunder stop, but something in the kid believes their parent will protect them and finds comfort enough to go back to sleep. And I realized, I dont think that were gonna go through a mind erasing machine when we get to Heaven, but I think that God's love will be so overwhelming that we can't tear ourselves away long enough to even bother trying to remember something else. I also realized that God's love is here with us now, and that He is always beside me, I just have to tear myself away from my memories and fears and look full in his beautiful face and hope and love. But not just with me, He is with everyone, all of my loved ones, and He takes care of them as much as He does me. I just have to trust in Him and pray.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
German Hospitality
We have been very busy lately, but its all been pretty good. I am not sure if it is only because I am working in the church or if I have been lucky to find certain families, but the German people here have been as hospitable as most people think the South is. Last weekend the entire IMT went to with Claudi to her families house in a nearby town. It was her sisters birthday so there were lots of people there and lots of new for me, but good, food. Her family made us feel like we were part of them. They fed us very well and made sure we had everything we needed. Her younger brother slept somewhere else and let me have his room for the night. When I went to my room they had two towels and a chocolate bar on top, just like a fancy cruise or something. One of her granddads works with wood as a hobby. They had all kinds of different wooden figurines and pyramids (really they are little things with something like a fan on top that spins with the hot air from candles underneath) decorating their house. It was all very nice. Her granddad made all of them by hand. I was very interested in this as I would love to learn how to do that kind of thing for a hobby and so he took me down to his shop and made me two little star ornaments while I watched. It was really neat to see the process and all. He made it look very easy, but I dont know how easy it really is. Anyways, later after the birthday party we (IMT and her family and grandparents) sat around and talked about the different Christmas traditions from our different countries. They also gave us a present. Her granddad made each of us a pyramid. It was so nice of them and so cool to me. I was wanting to buy one in the Christmas market but they are 50 or 60 euro for even the smaller ones. The one he made for us is bigger than the ones I saw for that much. The week before I had also given Claudi a Christmas list as a joke because she had said she had money now and was going shopping for Christmas gifts, but I had put something made out of wood like that. It is very typical for this part of Germany to have these things made out of wood. I also learned at least one origin story of why people put candles in the windows during Christmas time. Im not sure if this was THE origin story or only one for this part of Germany, but it was interesting nonetheless. They said that the men that worked in the mines nearby would go to work early in the morning before the sun came up and then work until the sun went down. Once they got home they would go straight to bed because it was so late and not turn on any lights, or light a candle as I dont think they had electricity then. They were living the winter months mostly if not all in darkness. Because of this the women began to put candles in the windows so that the men could see them on their way home.
While we were there we also went on a walk around their town. It was a nice little town. The most interesting part for me was the church she showed us. She said it had also been bombed during the war. I had never really thought too much about all the little towns that must have been impacted during the war. You usually only hear about the big cities or sights where major battles occurred, but it was interesting to see a place where no one has probably heard of, and yet it was greatly impacted by the war. It was also on top of a little hill and the wind was blowing very hard. I was imagining being there during a war. The wind alone was so loud you could barely hear someone talking. Im sure with airplanes and bullets and bombs also buzzing around it would have been deafening and pretty frightening.
On Thursday we all got another gift from Claudis family. It is apparently a big thing here to have an Advent calendar and a big tradition for their family to make them. So, all of us got a different Advent calendar from her family. She said her younger brother made mine, which is 24 bags hanging on a line. The first three days have all had different kinds of cany inside them. Again, I found it very nice of them to include us in their traditions. Speaking of Advent calendars, I have seen some very interesting calendars in the stores here. Im not sure, but I think everyone has one here, whether they are Christian or not. I saw one in a store that was something like Playboy. Im not exactly sure how those go together, but I guess its something a little more commercialized here for some people.
We were also invited to another couples house from our congregation for dinner tonight. It was also a very pleasant time. The lady had baked fresh onion bread that was really delicious. With that it was a typical abendbrote, so various kinds of "lunchmeats" and cheeses and pickles. We had a very nice conversation and before we left they also gave us a little gift. They have one son that still lives with them and we all had a good time getting to know each other a little better. They speak very clear German so it was easier to understand them than Claudis family, which speaks Erzgebergisch, which my German tutor had said was kind of like the equivalent of a very southern US accent but for Germany. So, sometimes other Germans have a hard time understanding them too.
The rest of the week has been pretty busy, but good. I was able to get a haircut finally, but it was a little more expensive than I was hoping, and a little shorter than I was thinking. Last time I went to a nearby mall and found a place that did a good job for 15 euro plus 2 euro for a tip. Since then I found out I didnt have to tip hair cutters here so I tried to go back to that place but they were full for the day. I decided to try another place that a lady from our congregation owns. The girls had been there and recieved a hair cut and some other things for free before, so I figured I would at least get a discount there (normally it isnt the cheapest place in town). I even got Claudi and Sni to come in with me to see if they had time that day because I figured they would recognize the girls and realize I was also a part of the IMT. I thought they did. I went in and asked if they had time and one of the ladies came over while she had a customer and set up a time for me one hour later. Unfortunately, I assumed wrong. I went an hour later and had a very nice time. They washed my hair and she even brushed/scratched my scalp with some kind of metal comb I think(it felt awesome) until I was almost asleep. Then I told her a number six for the razer because Im pretty sure thats what I normally get, but it seemed a lot shorter than I thought it was supposed to be. It doesnt look terrible, but I think it is a little different with more of layers to the top and bottom, with the bottom part of my head being pretty short. Then it was over and I realized she wanted me to pay. It ended up being 21 euro with no tip. The lady that cut my hair didnt know any of us and the lady who owns the salon from the congregation wasnt there. I was kinda disappointed ha.
Thursday at Checkpoint was a pretty wild day. We had 19 kids and by the end of the day we were all worn out. This was also the day Barry (the pastor/our boss) decided to come by and see how everything was going. He came for the last hour or hour and half which is always the craziest time for us there. Something triggers in the kids to go crazy and we are all super tired by this point. Anyways, he saw some things he wasnt exactly happy with. He didnt seem mad with us, but he did talk to us about it and was saying that we had to do things differently our we were gonna have to close it down. Everything he said was true, for example, I was playing legos with two or three kids while some of the older boys there were kind of running around crazy with each other. But, I think it kind of got the girls down a little bit. Anyways, I think it was good for us to hear some criticism because it got us all thinking and today we came up with some new plans to have better control and save all of ours sanity. As we were talking, I felt like what we are doing here is exactly what I had done in Bighouse's afternoon programs. Well, I suggested several ideas that I took directly from Bighouse and we are gonna try them out. I have been thinking and seeing how interesting/cool/amazing it is that for the past year or year and half, everything that I have been doing (working at camp, the film, and Bighouse) God is using here in Germany. Before now I was so thankful that God kept giving me job after job and opportunity after opportunity this past year. When I graduated from Alabama I had no idea what kind of job I was going to be able to find. He gave me a job working in New York at a summer camp. While I was there I started looking for another job to do when that was finished with in August. I wasnt having much luck. Then he gave me a job working on a film. It wasnt even really something I was looking for, it was just my mom talking with a lady she works with and her son-in-law being one of the producers of a big Hollywood film shooting in Georgia. Not only did I get a chance to work on this film, but at one point I wasnt sure I was going to be able to do it because they didnt want to pay me for a place to stay, and then friends of my grandparents allowed me to stay in their lakehouse near to where we were shooting the film. After this I was given the chance to go and work for Bighouse. So many games, programs, and ideas that I learned from these three jobs have really prepared me for what I am doing now. I dont know if God wanted me at those three jobs or not. At different points I may could have pursued other options, and I dont know how in tune I was with where God wanted me or not, but whether or not that was exactly where God wanted me, he has used those experiences here, and I know that He wants me to be here right now.
Last night we went ice skating with the youth group. It was really a fun night and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I was very shaky at the beginning and fell three times, twice I caught myself with my hands and the other time I fell pretty good. That time some kids on the side saw me and were laughing pretty good, Im not sure why, because I was laughing at myself, but when I looked over at them they all got quiet ha. Im sure it was funny. By the end of the night I was able to pick up some pretty good speed and keep up with the kids from the youth group. I got to talk with several of them during the night much more than I have before. It was good to get to know them more. We skated at the home of Katarina Witt, one of the best figure skaters ever. We were also skating outside which was pretty neat. Afterwards we all went to Mcdonalds and ate ha. Im pretty sure that was only my third time to go ice skating ever, but I think I shouldve been better than I was ha. Either way it was a lot of fun and a good workout.
One very interesting thing I saw on the tv here is something like a public service announcement. Thats not so interesting, but what it was about is interesting. They had several famous people come on and talk about how great the German language is and how people should speak in German. I definitely have not run into any problem finding people that speak German, or rather anyone that speaks only English and no German. However, I guess that more people are learning English or another language and maybe the enthusiasm for the German language is not as high as it once was. I really dont know, but just thought it interesting that they needed a public service announcement to tell people to speak their mother language.
While we were there we also went on a walk around their town. It was a nice little town. The most interesting part for me was the church she showed us. She said it had also been bombed during the war. I had never really thought too much about all the little towns that must have been impacted during the war. You usually only hear about the big cities or sights where major battles occurred, but it was interesting to see a place where no one has probably heard of, and yet it was greatly impacted by the war. It was also on top of a little hill and the wind was blowing very hard. I was imagining being there during a war. The wind alone was so loud you could barely hear someone talking. Im sure with airplanes and bullets and bombs also buzzing around it would have been deafening and pretty frightening.
On Thursday we all got another gift from Claudis family. It is apparently a big thing here to have an Advent calendar and a big tradition for their family to make them. So, all of us got a different Advent calendar from her family. She said her younger brother made mine, which is 24 bags hanging on a line. The first three days have all had different kinds of cany inside them. Again, I found it very nice of them to include us in their traditions. Speaking of Advent calendars, I have seen some very interesting calendars in the stores here. Im not sure, but I think everyone has one here, whether they are Christian or not. I saw one in a store that was something like Playboy. Im not exactly sure how those go together, but I guess its something a little more commercialized here for some people.
We were also invited to another couples house from our congregation for dinner tonight. It was also a very pleasant time. The lady had baked fresh onion bread that was really delicious. With that it was a typical abendbrote, so various kinds of "lunchmeats" and cheeses and pickles. We had a very nice conversation and before we left they also gave us a little gift. They have one son that still lives with them and we all had a good time getting to know each other a little better. They speak very clear German so it was easier to understand them than Claudis family, which speaks Erzgebergisch, which my German tutor had said was kind of like the equivalent of a very southern US accent but for Germany. So, sometimes other Germans have a hard time understanding them too.
The rest of the week has been pretty busy, but good. I was able to get a haircut finally, but it was a little more expensive than I was hoping, and a little shorter than I was thinking. Last time I went to a nearby mall and found a place that did a good job for 15 euro plus 2 euro for a tip. Since then I found out I didnt have to tip hair cutters here so I tried to go back to that place but they were full for the day. I decided to try another place that a lady from our congregation owns. The girls had been there and recieved a hair cut and some other things for free before, so I figured I would at least get a discount there (normally it isnt the cheapest place in town). I even got Claudi and Sni to come in with me to see if they had time that day because I figured they would recognize the girls and realize I was also a part of the IMT. I thought they did. I went in and asked if they had time and one of the ladies came over while she had a customer and set up a time for me one hour later. Unfortunately, I assumed wrong. I went an hour later and had a very nice time. They washed my hair and she even brushed/scratched my scalp with some kind of metal comb I think(it felt awesome) until I was almost asleep. Then I told her a number six for the razer because Im pretty sure thats what I normally get, but it seemed a lot shorter than I thought it was supposed to be. It doesnt look terrible, but I think it is a little different with more of layers to the top and bottom, with the bottom part of my head being pretty short. Then it was over and I realized she wanted me to pay. It ended up being 21 euro with no tip. The lady that cut my hair didnt know any of us and the lady who owns the salon from the congregation wasnt there. I was kinda disappointed ha.
Thursday at Checkpoint was a pretty wild day. We had 19 kids and by the end of the day we were all worn out. This was also the day Barry (the pastor/our boss) decided to come by and see how everything was going. He came for the last hour or hour and half which is always the craziest time for us there. Something triggers in the kids to go crazy and we are all super tired by this point. Anyways, he saw some things he wasnt exactly happy with. He didnt seem mad with us, but he did talk to us about it and was saying that we had to do things differently our we were gonna have to close it down. Everything he said was true, for example, I was playing legos with two or three kids while some of the older boys there were kind of running around crazy with each other. But, I think it kind of got the girls down a little bit. Anyways, I think it was good for us to hear some criticism because it got us all thinking and today we came up with some new plans to have better control and save all of ours sanity. As we were talking, I felt like what we are doing here is exactly what I had done in Bighouse's afternoon programs. Well, I suggested several ideas that I took directly from Bighouse and we are gonna try them out. I have been thinking and seeing how interesting/cool/amazing it is that for the past year or year and half, everything that I have been doing (working at camp, the film, and Bighouse) God is using here in Germany. Before now I was so thankful that God kept giving me job after job and opportunity after opportunity this past year. When I graduated from Alabama I had no idea what kind of job I was going to be able to find. He gave me a job working in New York at a summer camp. While I was there I started looking for another job to do when that was finished with in August. I wasnt having much luck. Then he gave me a job working on a film. It wasnt even really something I was looking for, it was just my mom talking with a lady she works with and her son-in-law being one of the producers of a big Hollywood film shooting in Georgia. Not only did I get a chance to work on this film, but at one point I wasnt sure I was going to be able to do it because they didnt want to pay me for a place to stay, and then friends of my grandparents allowed me to stay in their lakehouse near to where we were shooting the film. After this I was given the chance to go and work for Bighouse. So many games, programs, and ideas that I learned from these three jobs have really prepared me for what I am doing now. I dont know if God wanted me at those three jobs or not. At different points I may could have pursued other options, and I dont know how in tune I was with where God wanted me or not, but whether or not that was exactly where God wanted me, he has used those experiences here, and I know that He wants me to be here right now.
Last night we went ice skating with the youth group. It was really a fun night and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I was very shaky at the beginning and fell three times, twice I caught myself with my hands and the other time I fell pretty good. That time some kids on the side saw me and were laughing pretty good, Im not sure why, because I was laughing at myself, but when I looked over at them they all got quiet ha. Im sure it was funny. By the end of the night I was able to pick up some pretty good speed and keep up with the kids from the youth group. I got to talk with several of them during the night much more than I have before. It was good to get to know them more. We skated at the home of Katarina Witt, one of the best figure skaters ever. We were also skating outside which was pretty neat. Afterwards we all went to Mcdonalds and ate ha. Im pretty sure that was only my third time to go ice skating ever, but I think I shouldve been better than I was ha. Either way it was a lot of fun and a good workout.
One very interesting thing I saw on the tv here is something like a public service announcement. Thats not so interesting, but what it was about is interesting. They had several famous people come on and talk about how great the German language is and how people should speak in German. I definitely have not run into any problem finding people that speak German, or rather anyone that speaks only English and no German. However, I guess that more people are learning English or another language and maybe the enthusiasm for the German language is not as high as it once was. I really dont know, but just thought it interesting that they needed a public service announcement to tell people to speak their mother language.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Pinterest!
JK. Well only half kidding. Since I lured you in with a promise of fun and crafty ideas Ill at least share a recipe I recently made. Its pretty easy and good for a quick lunch when youre tired of PB&J. So heres what you do:
Take a tomato, half an onion, a quarter of a red pepper (if you like bellpepper), a scoop of sour cream, and some V8 tomato/fruit juice(or you can use ketchup if you dont have that). Mix all of that into a blender. Heat this concoction until warm. Season with a little salt and pepper and enjoy with some fresh cheese or bread.
So, anyways... that was pretty good, I thought. I havent posted in a while so Im gonna try to remember and write about the things I found more interesting that have come to pass over the past few weeks. I feel like Ive settled down into a decent routine. Well as much of a routine as we can have, not always knowing exactly when we may be needed somewhere the next week. The days seem to go by pretty fast here as we are often pretty busy. The past three Sundays we have been in charge of the worship service in the different congregations around here. They all went pretty well. Raele, Maretta, and I all had little slips of paper to read from, and from the feedback we got, we didnt totally butcher their language. Today I actually spoke with no paper, partly because I didnt realize until we got there that I was gonna be talking again, but also because I was confident that I could at least get my point across without having to read it.
We have also started having kids at Checkpoint every day. The first week for Checkpoint was Kinderwoche where all of IMT and the two girls from last years team were working there together. We didnt have any kids the first few days so we went outside to the park and played with kids and met their parents. By the last day of Kinderwoche we had about ten come to Checkpoint to eat some homemade sweets and see where we were. The past two weeks we have worked at Checkpoint only on Thursdays and then Fridays we work with the same kids, but in a gym. Tuesdays and Wednesdays Karen and Sni have to work alone at Checkpoint, and I think it has been a bit stressful. This past week we had a new kid every day and Thursday we had seventeen kids there. It was stressful even with six of us helping out. But its also alot of fun, and I think its gonna be very good for the kids in that area.
Aside from work I have been able to do a few different things in my free time. The weekend before Halloween I went to a Divali festival at the uni here. Its a rather big Indian festival and most of my friends from our language course were there. It was a fun night. They had several presentations about what is the Divali festival, as well as some things that were more just Indian culture in general. One of my friends that I would never have expected to dance, danced rather well to a kind of Indian hip-hop. It was very entertaining. They also had fireworks which is a huge part of Divali as it means the light in the dark. After the fireworks we got to eat. I knew Indian food was spicy, but wow, it was spicy. I have no idea what I ate, but most of it tasted pretty good and a tiny, little bit actually didnt light my mouth on fire. Once all the cultural activities were finished they turned the place into an Indian disco. It was a good time to talk with my friends I hadnt seen in a while.
For Halloween I was invited by one of the Turkish girls to come to a Halloween party one of her friends were having. I didnt have anything else to do so I decided to go. She told me what time and where to go. So I showed up right on time and where she told me to go. I was not exactly sure what to expect, but I did think she and our other friends would be there when I arrived. I should have gone later. I showed up to the room and walked in as the door was open. There were maybe four people there putting the finishing touches on all their decorations. The girl, who I assume it was her apartment, was not very fond of me. Complicating things was that I wasnt sure whether to try and speak German or English, I tried German but couldnt express myself very well as I was a bit flustered by my welcome and trying to think in another language. The girl thought I had invited myself. I asked her if she knew the girls that invited me and she said yea, and I told her they invited me, but I dont think she believed me. She also was mad I wasnt "dressed up" for Halloween. I was actually a homeless person(I know a pretty bad costume but I didnt have anything else here and didnt put too much effort into it because I didnt decide until an hour or two before that Id actually go). I thought with my scruff it was an ok costume, and it definitely wasnt what I would normally wear out. But, I think everyone here thinks you have to wear face paint to be "dressed up". Everyone there had some kind of very cheap looking face paint on, and I really think they expected everyone to come with face paint. I ended up leaving before anyone else showed up because I could tell the girl didnt want me there, but I saw pictures later and everyone had this cheap face paint, and some with normal clothes on. They may have all been zombies, but I didnt think their zombie costumes were any better than mine, if thats what they were going for. Oh, well.
I have also found/gotten some opportunities to finally play some sports. Last weekend the hospital had a volleyball tournament for all of their employees that we were invited to take part in. Our team consisted of me, four of the girls from IMT, and one middle aged guy from the hospital. I had never really played volleyball except at the beach and one time when I first got here in Zwickau, but it was a lot of fun. Considering that we had never practiced together and most of us had never really played that much at all, we were not too bad. We ended up in 5 out of 8 teams, but I think we were really the 4th best team and maybe could have beaten the 3rd place team. They did a kind of random draw for the first round where we played three games. We only won one of those, but were fairly close to one team and lost on the last serve to the other. We were competitive with all of the teams we played, and the girls said that they think the girl keeping our points actually messed up our score in the game where we lost on the last serve. That may or may not have come into play when they seeded us for the secound round. They added up all of the points each team scored and then ranked us 1 to 8. We fell into the second group of 4, but if our score had not been messed up we may have been in the first group. In the second round we completely dominated the other three teams, which was fun, but at the same time, I think it would have been more fun to have had a little more competition.
My second opportunity to play a sport turned out to not really be so promising. I had talked with several people here about wanting to play basketball and last week Barry told me I could go to this gym at this hour and practice with a team there. Because I was working at Checkpoint, I wasnt able to get there until about 35 or 40 minutes after Barry had said to go. I figured Id go on anyways and I could at least figure out where everything was and maybe still get to play for a few minutes. So, I found the gym and changed into my basketball clothes. I should say I found the building where the gym is, I had to walk around a little bit before I heard the sounds of shoes squeaking and running to find which doors to enter. I finally found them and walked in. I was in the right place, but not really for me. The guys there were scrimmaging and there two or three managers/trainers on the side who looked at me as I walked in. Most of the players were at least a foot taller than me, and it was very clear I was nowhere near as good as they are. I talked to the managers anyways and told them I had heard I might could play basketball here. They were a little befuddled and I dont think they knew exactly what to say. They were very nice about it. Finally one guy that was a sub helped me out and took me to look at the schedule to show me when the "second team" or the league behind them practiced. They were the professional basketball team here in Chemnitz. I looked them up when I got home and found one guy was actually from Tuscaloosa, but had played for UCF. I was really just looking for some kind of pick up game, or a league where regular people play, so I dont think Ill go back.
I also got a chance to hang out with my friends Oznur, Esma, and Sefer and talk about all different kinds of things. Esma invited us all to her room and prepared two different Turkish dishes. I am really not sure what they were but they were very good. Sefer wants to make a movie while we are all here in Chemnitz so Im pretty excited about that. I also got to share with them about what I believe. They were very interested and had several questions. I told them all the basics of what we believe as Christians, answered their questions, and tried to clarify where and why some of the differences arise between Protestants and Catholics. They had a hard time believing that Mary could have been a virgin and God just put Jesus in her womb. It was also very tough trying to explain the Trinity and how they are all one and yet different. I tried to stress the fact that Jesus came from God to save us from our sins. That He came so that we could be reunited with God, that we were seperated because of our sins. I found it tough to explain how Jesus came from God to save us, that He died a human death, and at the same time He is God and was making a bridge for us to Himself/God. They also shared some of their beliefs about Islam with me. It was a very good/interesting conversation.
I guess thats about all that Ive been up to. Thats all I can really remember for now. I hope Ok State and LSU lose soon. If we have to play LSU again for a shot at a National Championship, I think we will win, but Id rather play someone else since I kinda feel like its cheap to LSU. oh well. Roll Tide!
Take a tomato, half an onion, a quarter of a red pepper (if you like bellpepper), a scoop of sour cream, and some V8 tomato/fruit juice(or you can use ketchup if you dont have that). Mix all of that into a blender. Heat this concoction until warm. Season with a little salt and pepper and enjoy with some fresh cheese or bread.
So, anyways... that was pretty good, I thought. I havent posted in a while so Im gonna try to remember and write about the things I found more interesting that have come to pass over the past few weeks. I feel like Ive settled down into a decent routine. Well as much of a routine as we can have, not always knowing exactly when we may be needed somewhere the next week. The days seem to go by pretty fast here as we are often pretty busy. The past three Sundays we have been in charge of the worship service in the different congregations around here. They all went pretty well. Raele, Maretta, and I all had little slips of paper to read from, and from the feedback we got, we didnt totally butcher their language. Today I actually spoke with no paper, partly because I didnt realize until we got there that I was gonna be talking again, but also because I was confident that I could at least get my point across without having to read it.
We have also started having kids at Checkpoint every day. The first week for Checkpoint was Kinderwoche where all of IMT and the two girls from last years team were working there together. We didnt have any kids the first few days so we went outside to the park and played with kids and met their parents. By the last day of Kinderwoche we had about ten come to Checkpoint to eat some homemade sweets and see where we were. The past two weeks we have worked at Checkpoint only on Thursdays and then Fridays we work with the same kids, but in a gym. Tuesdays and Wednesdays Karen and Sni have to work alone at Checkpoint, and I think it has been a bit stressful. This past week we had a new kid every day and Thursday we had seventeen kids there. It was stressful even with six of us helping out. But its also alot of fun, and I think its gonna be very good for the kids in that area.
Aside from work I have been able to do a few different things in my free time. The weekend before Halloween I went to a Divali festival at the uni here. Its a rather big Indian festival and most of my friends from our language course were there. It was a fun night. They had several presentations about what is the Divali festival, as well as some things that were more just Indian culture in general. One of my friends that I would never have expected to dance, danced rather well to a kind of Indian hip-hop. It was very entertaining. They also had fireworks which is a huge part of Divali as it means the light in the dark. After the fireworks we got to eat. I knew Indian food was spicy, but wow, it was spicy. I have no idea what I ate, but most of it tasted pretty good and a tiny, little bit actually didnt light my mouth on fire. Once all the cultural activities were finished they turned the place into an Indian disco. It was a good time to talk with my friends I hadnt seen in a while.
For Halloween I was invited by one of the Turkish girls to come to a Halloween party one of her friends were having. I didnt have anything else to do so I decided to go. She told me what time and where to go. So I showed up right on time and where she told me to go. I was not exactly sure what to expect, but I did think she and our other friends would be there when I arrived. I should have gone later. I showed up to the room and walked in as the door was open. There were maybe four people there putting the finishing touches on all their decorations. The girl, who I assume it was her apartment, was not very fond of me. Complicating things was that I wasnt sure whether to try and speak German or English, I tried German but couldnt express myself very well as I was a bit flustered by my welcome and trying to think in another language. The girl thought I had invited myself. I asked her if she knew the girls that invited me and she said yea, and I told her they invited me, but I dont think she believed me. She also was mad I wasnt "dressed up" for Halloween. I was actually a homeless person(I know a pretty bad costume but I didnt have anything else here and didnt put too much effort into it because I didnt decide until an hour or two before that Id actually go). I thought with my scruff it was an ok costume, and it definitely wasnt what I would normally wear out. But, I think everyone here thinks you have to wear face paint to be "dressed up". Everyone there had some kind of very cheap looking face paint on, and I really think they expected everyone to come with face paint. I ended up leaving before anyone else showed up because I could tell the girl didnt want me there, but I saw pictures later and everyone had this cheap face paint, and some with normal clothes on. They may have all been zombies, but I didnt think their zombie costumes were any better than mine, if thats what they were going for. Oh, well.
I have also found/gotten some opportunities to finally play some sports. Last weekend the hospital had a volleyball tournament for all of their employees that we were invited to take part in. Our team consisted of me, four of the girls from IMT, and one middle aged guy from the hospital. I had never really played volleyball except at the beach and one time when I first got here in Zwickau, but it was a lot of fun. Considering that we had never practiced together and most of us had never really played that much at all, we were not too bad. We ended up in 5 out of 8 teams, but I think we were really the 4th best team and maybe could have beaten the 3rd place team. They did a kind of random draw for the first round where we played three games. We only won one of those, but were fairly close to one team and lost on the last serve to the other. We were competitive with all of the teams we played, and the girls said that they think the girl keeping our points actually messed up our score in the game where we lost on the last serve. That may or may not have come into play when they seeded us for the secound round. They added up all of the points each team scored and then ranked us 1 to 8. We fell into the second group of 4, but if our score had not been messed up we may have been in the first group. In the second round we completely dominated the other three teams, which was fun, but at the same time, I think it would have been more fun to have had a little more competition.
My second opportunity to play a sport turned out to not really be so promising. I had talked with several people here about wanting to play basketball and last week Barry told me I could go to this gym at this hour and practice with a team there. Because I was working at Checkpoint, I wasnt able to get there until about 35 or 40 minutes after Barry had said to go. I figured Id go on anyways and I could at least figure out where everything was and maybe still get to play for a few minutes. So, I found the gym and changed into my basketball clothes. I should say I found the building where the gym is, I had to walk around a little bit before I heard the sounds of shoes squeaking and running to find which doors to enter. I finally found them and walked in. I was in the right place, but not really for me. The guys there were scrimmaging and there two or three managers/trainers on the side who looked at me as I walked in. Most of the players were at least a foot taller than me, and it was very clear I was nowhere near as good as they are. I talked to the managers anyways and told them I had heard I might could play basketball here. They were a little befuddled and I dont think they knew exactly what to say. They were very nice about it. Finally one guy that was a sub helped me out and took me to look at the schedule to show me when the "second team" or the league behind them practiced. They were the professional basketball team here in Chemnitz. I looked them up when I got home and found one guy was actually from Tuscaloosa, but had played for UCF. I was really just looking for some kind of pick up game, or a league where regular people play, so I dont think Ill go back.
I also got a chance to hang out with my friends Oznur, Esma, and Sefer and talk about all different kinds of things. Esma invited us all to her room and prepared two different Turkish dishes. I am really not sure what they were but they were very good. Sefer wants to make a movie while we are all here in Chemnitz so Im pretty excited about that. I also got to share with them about what I believe. They were very interested and had several questions. I told them all the basics of what we believe as Christians, answered their questions, and tried to clarify where and why some of the differences arise between Protestants and Catholics. They had a hard time believing that Mary could have been a virgin and God just put Jesus in her womb. It was also very tough trying to explain the Trinity and how they are all one and yet different. I tried to stress the fact that Jesus came from God to save us from our sins. That He came so that we could be reunited with God, that we were seperated because of our sins. I found it tough to explain how Jesus came from God to save us, that He died a human death, and at the same time He is God and was making a bridge for us to Himself/God. They also shared some of their beliefs about Islam with me. It was a very good/interesting conversation.
I guess thats about all that Ive been up to. Thats all I can really remember for now. I hope Ok State and LSU lose soon. If we have to play LSU again for a shot at a National Championship, I think we will win, but Id rather play someone else since I kinda feel like its cheap to LSU. oh well. Roll Tide!
Friday, October 21, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
A Day in the Life of Iva... me.
So I have been here working with IMT for about five weeks now, and I can finally give a little more insight into what a typical week looks like for me and what I am actually doing here. We have several different programs that we work with throughout the week. All of them are with kids, youth, and some college aged students, but mostly kids and youth. Ill give you a rundown of the week and then add some extras at the end. On Monday we have a free day. This is our day off to do whatever we want. The past few Mondays we have usually done at least one thing together as a team, such as going to the town center to shop or going out for lunch or something like that. Its also a good day for me to meet up with other people from the school or do laundry or whatever other errands I may need to run. Tuesdays we usually have breakfast with Katja, although we will meet with Barry, the pastor here, once he is back from his break. We use this time to just see how we are doing and they let us know about events or whatnot that we have coming up. In the afternoon we drive to the next town over called Floha, for K2. K2 is a program with the kids from the city there. We all meet in a kind of flat there and then usually have a short little Bible verse or story or something and then just play with the kids. Sometimes we have played insid eand sometimes outside, but it is getting cold here so Im not sure how much outside playing we will do from now on. This may or may not be a problem. The kids in K2 can sometimes be very rowdy so it was good to be able to go outside and let out their energy. We will see how it goes if were stuck inside. We will need some good games and things to keep them busy. They do have a foosball table so thats always fun. We also always have a little snack with the kids at the end. On Tuesday nights we drive back from Floha, eat dinner, and then have Hauskreis. This is kind of like a youth group meeting in our room in the hospital. There is a school for nurseshere and Im pretty sure most if not all of the students also live here with us. The Hauskreis is something we do to try and get them to come and join us and learn a little bit about God. We usually have a little message mixed in with some kind of creative activity or game and then afterwards we have tea and cookies and just hang out. On Wednesdays we have time in the morning to plan and work on ideas for our different programs. Wednesday afternoon we drive back to Floha for Jump and Kirchenclub. Kirchenclub is with the same kids from K2. This is a program run by another church here, so we just go and play with the kids or help with the cooking. At the same time this program is going on, two of us have to go to the church and run Jump. Jump is a program exactly like K2 except in the church. Apparently they use to be the same thing but some of the parents didnt want their kids to mingle with the kids from K2 so they had to create two different programs. It is really ridiculous. I can not understand how the parents in the church thought it was ok to not let thos children come to the church. Anyways, Wednesday nights we dont have anything, but for the past few weeks I have been meeting with Tobias to work on my German. I have really enjoyed my time with him and his family. He has a really nice wife and two young children. Its good for me to have time to just hang out with some other people than the girls I work with all the time, as much as I love them we all need a break sometimes. On Thursdays we have been meeting in the morning to plan different programs that are not weekly. The past few weeks we have been working on our Kinderwoche, which is a week at the end of October where we will meet with the same kids every day for the entire afternoon. Thursdays are also now a time to work on and plan a new project we are starting, and in the future will be where we work during the afternoons. The project is called CheckPoint. It is here in Chemnitz and one of the girls from last years IMT is in charge of it. They have an apartment where the kids can come every day of the week and participate in different activities. From what I have understood it sounds a lot like BigHouse, or rather our afternoon programs at BigHouse. They will have a few different activities such as English or dance lessons every afternoon, and then also just time to eat and play. I really wish I could understand more German, because I think I could really help with my experience form BigHouse. Friday mornings we have more time to plan and work on different things. In the afternoon we go to a gym here in Chemnitz and play different games with kids there. This program is called SSS- Sport, spiele, spas. which means sports, play, fun. After this we go to the youthgroup at the local church here. I have only been once to this so I am not sure how involved or how much we are in charge of that. Saturdays we have a few different programs that meet once a month. The only one I have been to so far is Wesley Scouts which is basically scouts for all the kids at the church. Sundays we have church in the morning and then free afternoons. We have also had two weekends where we went to big youth events for the conference here. They were like weekends North Alabama Conference would have at Camp Sumatanga.
We also do many things together as a team besides working. We eat all of our meals together unless one of us is meeting someone for German lessons or gone for a work related reason. We also sing and pray together just about every day after dinner usually. We make our breakfasts and dinners here and then for lunch we eat in the hospital cafeteria.
This past weekend we had a youth event for the conference again. It was a lot of fun. The highlight was going to a Planetarium. They said it was a kind of thank you for all the youth leaders there from the conference. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have always wanted to go to a planetarium, and I hope to go back to another one. We actually saw more of a show than just looking at the stars, which I think I would also like. Im not sure if what we saw is what typically people go there for or not. It was a kind of laser light show with Queen music and the dome was used as a screen for video and all sort of like an IMAX theatre. They used old Queen concert footage as well as what I think was the actual night sky all meshed together. It was really cool and in English so I could understand it. Which reminds me, I find it very interesting how many English songs they sing in the churches here. Also, how often I come across English in their phrases or just every day life. It sounds funny to me when the entire congregation sings with their accents and how they pronounce some words. Im sure I sound the same way to them, but its cool and makes me smile to hear them sing some of the same songs we sing and how differently it sounds. Sometimes the German people really struggle with the pace or getting all the words right. Its exactly what would happen if our churhc tried to sing a German hymn or song.
I also noticed this weekend a very interesting observation. When I cannot understand someone talking, such as a speaker for a large group, I am much more aware of their body language and actions. It reminded me of a show I had seen with Penn and Teller. They were doing magic tricks and showing how it was done, and they showed one where it was really quite easy to see what had happened... when they muted themselves. They knew that by talking and distracting you with a story or whatever, they could easily move something with their hands without you noticing. When they muted the volume it was obvious they were moving something around. Anyways I noticed the same phenomemon happens when you cant understand the other language as well.
We also do many things together as a team besides working. We eat all of our meals together unless one of us is meeting someone for German lessons or gone for a work related reason. We also sing and pray together just about every day after dinner usually. We make our breakfasts and dinners here and then for lunch we eat in the hospital cafeteria.
This past weekend we had a youth event for the conference again. It was a lot of fun. The highlight was going to a Planetarium. They said it was a kind of thank you for all the youth leaders there from the conference. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have always wanted to go to a planetarium, and I hope to go back to another one. We actually saw more of a show than just looking at the stars, which I think I would also like. Im not sure if what we saw is what typically people go there for or not. It was a kind of laser light show with Queen music and the dome was used as a screen for video and all sort of like an IMAX theatre. They used old Queen concert footage as well as what I think was the actual night sky all meshed together. It was really cool and in English so I could understand it. Which reminds me, I find it very interesting how many English songs they sing in the churches here. Also, how often I come across English in their phrases or just every day life. It sounds funny to me when the entire congregation sings with their accents and how they pronounce some words. Im sure I sound the same way to them, but its cool and makes me smile to hear them sing some of the same songs we sing and how differently it sounds. Sometimes the German people really struggle with the pace or getting all the words right. Its exactly what would happen if our churhc tried to sing a German hymn or song.
I also noticed this weekend a very interesting observation. When I cannot understand someone talking, such as a speaker for a large group, I am much more aware of their body language and actions. It reminded me of a show I had seen with Penn and Teller. They were doing magic tricks and showing how it was done, and they showed one where it was really quite easy to see what had happened... when they muted themselves. They knew that by talking and distracting you with a story or whatever, they could easily move something with their hands without you noticing. When they muted the volume it was obvious they were moving something around. Anyways I noticed the same phenomemon happens when you cant understand the other language as well.
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