The End

I am safely back in the states! My flights did not go smoothly, but I did make them, so thanks for your prayers. It was at the JFK layover that I had some snags. I found out, after having already re-checked my bags and having gone through security to my gate, that my boarding pass was invalid (something that none of the previous airports had caught, including when I re-checked my luggage at JFK). Back in August I discovered that my Paris-Newark flight had been canceled; I was told to wait and Delta would re-assign me a flight, which they did in November. The new flight put me from Paris to JFK and then from JFK to STL. While they did book me a flight from JFK to STL (my previous one being from Newark to STL) they didn't actually buy me a ticket. I only found this out after reaching JFK. Initially, Delta wouldn't swap me a flight onto the JFK-STL flight because my original (Newark-STL) had been through Continental. However, after I explained to them that the original switch from had been there own doing, they realized it was their fault and were quick to get me a ticket to the flight my baggage was already on. :) If you followed that, then good. All in all - I was looking forward to my 5 hour layover at JFK to relax, call some friends, and rest. Instead, I spent 4 hours of it going through customs and jumping all over the airport, back and forth, waiting in lines, to fix my ticket problem. I've never been so glad to pass through the gate onto the airplane before in my life.

It's good to be home again. I'm still a little out of the swing of things, but I look forward to getting into a schedule and hopefully finding a job for this semester. I look forward to the Christmas season approaching and to catching up with friends and family.

Thanks for following my blog! This'll be my last post as my time in Germany has ended. I've enjoyed journaling on here and sharing my experiences with you. Thanks for reading and commenting. And...Merry Christmas!

Homeward Bound

Even though writing about it now, it is still difficult for me to imagine my time here being almost over. It's like that "upcoming event" that is always upcoming, so much so that you never imagine it to arrive. When it finally does, you don't know what to do, you only anticipated the anticipation and are at a loss with what to do with the arrival.

The Formans left this Monday for a 2-week holiday to England. It was hard to say goodbye to them, knowing I may never see them again. I gave them a few gifts after we watched our last night of X-Factor together. In the morning, I got up a little earlier and sat in my usual spot on the stool in the kitchen, leaning my head back against the refrigerator and chatting with Jan about whatever came into my head or hers as she bustled about getting ready for their trip. It was a sweet memory to leave on, one I've had many times since being here. Yet, the day quickly picked up with its usual array of activities, and before I realized it, I was swept up with the "next phase." I wonder if the rest of my goodbyes, though initially dreaded, will end up being that way? I realize this doesn't mean that I didn't care about the people, but rather that life is full of a continual stream of "hello's" and "goodbye's" and that you have to invest where you are as you can but then be prepared to move on to the next. Some respond to this pattern by never planting down roots and never investing emotionally because "they can handle it without that investment" or "it hurts too much otherwise." This isn't right either, however. God provides us with what we need to plant, root, and uproot over and over again because it isn't those relationships that sustain us anyway. This makes me grateful for long-distance communication. I'm sure I'll still keep in contact with the Formans, and I am content for my 3 months with them to remain as a memory: a wonderful and joyful time.

Heidi is still at home, working full-time at Starbucks. So, I'm doing most of the dinner cooking this week and am having fun with it. Last night I made orange chicken over rice and mixed pomegranate and clementines for a fruit salad dessert. Tonight I'm going to make a herb grilled potato/chicken/vegetable medley, I believe. Lots of olive oil, garlic, onion, and rosemary. Mmmm. One thing I really look forward to baking back in the states is homemade bread. That's always been my favorite thing to cook and I've missed it.

The week, otherwise, has been a little slow. Because I'm not teaching, I've had lots of time to enjoy some pleasure reading and entertainment. I just recently finished Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis and thought it was amazing. Though, I'm going to have to re-read the last few chapters because it got very deep very quickly and completely went over my head.

I'd like to request prayer for my flight home. I normally feel completely comfortable flying and getting around, even when I don't know where I'm going. But, this time for the first time, I feel angst about it. I've had some flight switch-ups and hope that I still have the 3 flights I need; I have to mess with claims, checked luggage switches, and going through customs; I have a rather short layover in Paris and am slightly concerned about making my flight (Paris is big and poorly designed - confusing!). So I'd appreciate your prayers for smooth and safe travel.

The first 10 things I'm going to do in the states:
1) Hug my parents and dog
2) Tackle my sisters
3) Drive a car while talking on my cell phone
4) Eat at Panera Bread and listen to the surrounding English conversation
5) Throw all of my trash in one garbage can (there are 3 types of required recycling here)
6) Push a shopping cart around Walmart aimlessly
7) Eat half-price appetizers at Applebees
8) Meander for hours through shops without ever leaving the building (aka the mall)
9) Go to an English bookstore
10) Read every sign and printed matter with perfect understanding and clarity.

Good Company and Good Fun

What a great week! Josh and I had a great time doing a variety of activities.

Thursday night we had a "British High Tea" with the Formans. This consisted of lots of yummy, traditional foods and good company and fellowship with the Formans. Josh and I also explored the town and enjoyed walking in the crisp, night air. I showed him the local dorms as well as the "terrifying golf course" and other local attractions.

Friday, Josh came to school with me and got the opportunity to see what my average day is like at BFA. It was quite fun watching the students' faces as they entered the classroom looking from Josh, to me, and then back. Some of them knew and word quickly spread that my boyfriend was at school. Many of the girls gave me big smiles. :) I had a little fun with 7th period and gave them the following multiple choice quiz:

Is Josh my A) brother B) cousin C) boyfriend or D) a visiting teaching considering teaching here. There was a resounding agreement on "C" to which I smiled broadly and continued with class. During the sixth period resource class, we decorated the room with Christmas details and cut out snowflakes. Josh and I made a 3-D snowflake that was so fun that we made 3 more at the Forman's later.

Saturday was probably my favorite day. After a relaxing morning, we went to the local dorm, Palmgarten, and I did formal updos for the girls there in preparation for the Christmas Banquet that night. It was a great opportunity for me to get to know the girls better outside of class, and I really enjoyed our conversations. It really was a dual-fold blessing because I loved doing the hair and making the connections, and they loved getting their hair done. You could tell by some of their smiles that they simply felt like princesses when they looked in the mirror. The dorm set up booths for manicures, make-up, and hair that several women volunteers ran according to their talents. I received so much joy from watching the girl's smiles widen in wonderment and awe as they surveyed their done-up hair and makeup. They could tell they looked like something special and lived in the glow of it the entire night. They all looked really beautiful

After my own fiasco with my hair, I got ready for the banquet as well and matched Josh in black and red. He brought me a bouquet of pink roses and we set off for banquet. It was chilly out, but the banquet was fun. The students performed different, prepared acts including singing, playing, rapping, and monologuing. Two teachers acted as hosts/MCs for the night. BFA has a tradition of granting several "Christmas wishes" that the students write before-hand. No one knows which ones will be answered on stage; this year's ranged from "seeing so-and-so eat an apple in 3 bites (which he then did on stage in two)," to "eating Korean rice at banquet" to "hearing a 'rap off' between teacher Bowen and student so-and-so." All of these were done on stage, most extemporaneously, but some pre-planned. It was great!

After we went to church on Sunday, Josh and I went to the Basel Christmas Market with some of my friends. The Germany Christmas Market is a big deal, and most towns host one. They consist of little stalls covered in pine branches and lights that sell various trinkets, foods, and drinks. It's fun to walk around and get into the spirit of Christmas.

Monday I took the day off school, and Josh and I went to Freiburg. It was nice to be back again since Julie and I went a while ago. We visited Heidi at Starbucks, looked at the local Christmas Market, walked around the town, and enjoyed Italian pizza. It was a full and rainy day, so we were glad to relax later that evening with the Formans at home.

Tuesday was my last day teaching! It was very bittersweet because while I am glad to not have to write lesson preps anymore, I'll miss teaching the students and interacting with them. I announced the news at the end of each class, and received lots of hugs from my students, which was very touching. I also had my final observation from Laird, which went very well. These observations have been very effectual in making me a better teacher and teaching me more about my strengths and weaknesses. I have grown a lot over the 3 months of observing/teaching. It'll be weird now to go back to sitting in the class and observing. A little boring, most likely, but it'll only be for 1.5 weeks. Tuesday night we went to a Kari and Mike's apartment for dinner. We ate Raclette. It's a really fun, social meal that involves cooking your own food over a table-centered grill. Mike and Josh then introduced Kari and I to Monty Python, which I was surprised to find that I quite enjoyed. I actually do really like that style of humor. But, it becomes wary after watching too many "Sketches."

Now, Wednesday, Alec and I dropped Josh off at the airport, and I returned to another school day. It's weird to think that I only have 1.5 weeks left. Transitioning back to the states will be quite different; it'll be hard to leave this community that I've grown to love so much. But, I do believe that the next stage and location of life is in God's will, so I will look forward to being back in the states and to see what lies ahead.

Thanks for reading!