Catch up!

Hey guys,

Sorry it's been so long. Some of you need to cool it and calm down about my 3 week hiatus. I've been busy, and I wanted to stay chronological with my posts.

A few weeks ago, I got to go to Wiesbaden which is near Frankfurt to visit with some friends from home: The Osiers (who are from Folsom but are living in Wiesbaden), my friend Michelle and her husband Daniel (they live in Cologne, but I know Michelle from middle school youth group where she was my small group leader) and another friend, Diane. We all know each other from Folsom, and joked that we were having a Lakeside reunion, since we all went to Lakeside Church in Folsom. It was a great time! I also got to visit the commissary which was nice, where I got some (and by some I mean a lot) of American food.

We also found a great Mexican place! It was seriously so delicious

The week after that was Halloween, and I worked at the DAI's Halloween party, which was a blast. I got to work the pumpkin carving table, so I was up to my elbows in pumpkin guts all night, but I got to hang out with some cool kids, practice my German, and meet some Germans, so it was a success. I made friends with a family I met there, which was really fun, and we spoke in a mix of German and English which was an added bonus.

I visited my friend Ashley in Mainz the next day, where she's teaching English through a Fullbright there. We played some Tischtennis (okay, she played some Tischtennis) and wandered around Mainz and went to the Gutenberg Muesum (GO THERE! I'd completely go back, we didn't get to see it all because I had to catch a train). It was great to see her, and also fun to be shown around a town by someone who lives there, as opposed to touring with a guide, or alone without any real idea of what's up.

The same day, when I got back to HD, Dan and I went to a game night at the church we go to, which was really fun. I didn't necessarily get to know as many Germans as hoped, but I definitely had a good time (I even made it into the message the next day).

Halloween was the next day, and Haleigh, Anne, Annika, three other girls and I (although really, everyone else did a lot more work than I did so I can't take credit) made some delicious pumpkin soup and had a mini Halloween party.

My grandparents came the next day, and my week got super busy! Monday my grandma and her friend Diane got in, and then my step grandparents got in on Tuesday night so I didn't see them until Wednesday. On Thursday, they all cooked dinner for my friends and me at my building, which was really nice; everyone got to meet everyone else and eat delicious food. We spent Friday shopping (I got a very nice coat from my grandma, but was unable to find shoes. It seems large footed women are prejudiced against even in Europe) and then I met up with some friends later to try (operative word here) to go bowling.

Ah, bowling. In German, Bowling, or Kegeln. We knew where a place was, so a bunch of us met up and walked there, but since it was a Friday night, the lanes had all been reserved. Megan remembered a different place in a different part of town, so we walked around HD for about 3 hours looking for a place to go bowling, and ended up stopping at Rewe (a grocery store) to get chocolate, and then heading back to the Wartburg (my building) for leftovers and talking. We talked for a long time, and it was a lot of fun, though bowling never was achieved. We have plans to make it happen though.

The next day my grandparents and I went to Baden Baden which was a nice town, and we basically just spend the day at the baths. It was certainly an unexpected and interesting experience for me. We went to a Beethoven concert the next night, and it was a really good decision. The room was beautiful, the orchestra talented, and the tickets were reasonably priced. On Monday I had breakfast with everyone and said goodbye, which was sad, but I had a good week with them!

Stay tuned for my adventures in France!