Ice cubes and straws?

Well this past weekend I went to Frankfurt to see my good friend Vicky. She did an exchange program to the States Sr. year, and we had a few classes together and became close friends. I hadn’t seen her in almost two years, and haven’t gotten to hang out with any friends in three months, so it was much needed. Frankfurt is such a cool city, because in downtown there are skyscrapers and such but then also some really older buildings. But then you just go out a few minutes from the city and are in the country. It was absolutely gorgeous. We even went to a castle on Saturday up on a hill and could see miles and miles away. As we were driving out in the country on Friday I also got to see Bavaria! I know I only could see it, but I still thought that was pretty exciting.

While I was there I noticed that Frankfurt is so much different than Dresden. Everywhere we went they gave me ice cubes in my drinks… and straws. It confused me much, because maybe three times since I have been in Dresden I have gotten one or two ice cubes in my drinks, and I was beginning to forget what a straw looked like. So it was just fun for me to see another side of Germany and get to relax and have some fun.

Also why I was gone I noticed that I’m different. I have changed since I have been here. It should be interesting to see how that affects my life when I get back in June. Maybe most of it has to with how much I am reading my bible while I am over here. I was thinking earlier today and wondered how I managed to make it my whole life with not ever getting so deep into God’s word. Maybe that’s why at some times I didn’t think I would make it. I notice that it has made a huge difference in me and my attitude about things, and how I think and act. And when I go one day, two days, or three days without reading, I notice that things definitely start going a little crazy and I get really irritated, it’s like letting a crack open for satan to sneak his wants into my life. But when I am actively reading the bible I am actively fighting that. So I really have no idea how I made it through life without this. I just finished reading Philippians and it was really good. I started with Matthew at the very end of February and then moved on to John, Acts, Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians and next I’ll read Colossians. It is just such a good encouragement and there are so many interesting stories. I suggest if you haven’t been reading it you should definitely start. I had never read any of those books whole before and I also see now how much knowledge it is giving me and I just really hope I can keep this up once my busy schedule starts again in the fall.

And here is a picture of Vicky and I out by a castle outside of Frankfurt.

Halfway

Sorry for the lack of updating this month. I guess things have just been a lot busier, so I'll give a quick update and then hopefully I'll post something more real by the end of this week. Things are going really well, we spent five days in the "mountain" area about 1 1/2 hours from Dresden a couple weeks ago. It was for a team training thing. I feel like it really helped our team a lot to see why each other is the way we are. This next weekend I'm going to Frankfurt to see my friend Vicky, which I am really excited about! She went to my high school senior year for an exchange program and we became really good friends. I haven't seen her in almost two years, so I think it'll be really good.... however the 5 hour train rides I'm not too much looking forward to.

We have less than 2 months left, which is a really strange feeling. I know it's going to go by really fast, a lot faster than the first half, which is also a strange feeling. I miss people in the States a lot, but it will be hard to say goodbye to Germany. I guess I'll just need to have patience and faith that if this is where I am supposed to come back someday, it'll happen in time.

Something I would really appreciate prayer for would be that God helps me learn quite a bit more German before school starts in August. I've only taken level 1 in college, and they offer 2 in the spring only, and I'm signed up for level 3 for the fall. But in order to get into level 3 I need to learn quite a bit more. Plus if I could actually use that German while I'm here that would be really exciting. I've got the basics down, I've had the basics down. What I'm having problems with is just getting past the little creek on to where I can have conversations. Making my vocabulary turn into actual sentences isn't that easy at all.

A list of things I have learned to eat, and actually enjoy since I've been here... things I would have never ever ate at home.
-Potato soup... Amy makes GREAT potato soup... (and I thought I hated potatoes??)
-Tomatoes... so I've stopped picking them off of hamburgers, sandwiches, and other such things.
-Carrot cake... I had a fresh baked carrot cake today and actually enjoyed it.
-Cooked carrots... I usually avoid them in my soup, that and Peas... well I don't avoid them anymore.
-Peas... Not only in soup, but also in chicken pot pie
-Cucumbers... yeah they are decent now
-Doner/Durum... which can't be found in the States, but if it could I wouldn't eat it. But I'll eat the chicken ones here.