Schwetzingen Schloss and Gartens

Where's Waldo?

Today I went to the Schwetzingen Schloss and Gartens about 11kilometers from Heidelberg. I went with a few of my Deutsch classmates: Katuska (Cuba), Paty (Mexico, and Petr (Czech). It was a beautiful fall day and a very nice walk around the grounds. A peacock welcomed us right out front as we passed through the castle wall tunnel. We strolled, frollicked, took pics and rode on a swan or two across the pond, oh wait, maybe that last part was a little exagerated but it was fun to pretend. It was a nice day. Tonight is another birthday party so who knows what lies ahead.

This weeks happenings......

Monday was my first day of Deutsch lessons on my own. I decided to do the second course at home to save money. It is going good. My tutor, Carolin corrects my work and gives me some pointers. I am pleasantly surprised that I am learning it well. Just need more practice speaking. I must say learning another language is pretty challenging but a really cool experience that I have never had before. Monday night was a night of Bowling with big birthday party group where we had to wear party hats, give high fives after every bowl (for extra points) and speak German. Oh wait, they do that anyway! Ha, it is still fun to pretend I know what they are saying and to say a few words that I know myself. I didn't live up to my last name by the looks of my score but I did get a few strikes and spares even when I rolled it down the lane with two hands a few times. On Tuesday I met up with some of my classmates from the first course because one of them was going back to Cuba. She insisted that we have some wine and some true Havana Club straight from Cuba at her place even though it was only 2 in the afternoon. With a couple drinks and some salsa music and dancing the afternoon was pretty fun. Then I went to a place called Cave 54 that evening. On Tuesday nights they have a Jazz Jam Session. The place is in the basement of this old building and really does look like a cave. Very small and intimate. It was really good. I think I will go more often. Wednesday I volunteered for a Halloween party for little kiddos at the German-American Institute. Was cute to see how excited some of the little German kids were since they don't celebrate Halloween in Germany. I have been networking with some of the people at the Institute in my job search and have been able to speak English more. They also have a Library with english books and dvds so I will probably be there more often. Tonight we are off to good ole' IKEA for a some shelves and lights for the apartment. Tomorrow my classmates and I have plans to go to Schwetzinger to the Schloss Gardens. It is a very beautiful garden area and castle not too far from Heidelberg. I will post some pics this weekend. The weekend will probably filled with unpacking some more and just hanging out. The weather is definitly getting colder and it is feeling more like winter. Can't believe it is almost November and I have been here almost 2 months. Crazy!

First Course of German complete

On Friday, I officially completed my first German course. Can't believe it has already been a month. Now I am planning on doing the second course on my own. It is a little expensive so this next one would be the one to skip since it is another basic one. I can say a few sentences dealing with ordering and finding things in stores. Kind of fun to practice but I do have to force myself. I can say that I am understanding it and reading it better now though. Seems a bit neverending and hopeless at times but I guess I always expect more of myself and need to give myself a little break. I can't really expect to be fluent in 4 weeks :) That would be nice though! I have attached a pic of my last day of class. There are a few of my classmates missing but this is the majority. Was fun to meet some new people that were in the same boat. Not all spoke English though so it was interesting trying to communicate in strictly German.

Trip to Italy postponed.....

Well, things for Italy aren't quite panning out at planned so I have decide to postpone. I won't say cancel cause I will make it one of these days but right now just isn't feeling like the right time. Right now I don't feel like I could enjoy it as much as I would like to. So the job search begins and then I will reevaluate more travel. Plenty of time ahead!

Off to Italy in a week

So a little note that I just purchased at ticket to go to Rome next week. Haven't planned it all out yet but should be fun. I don't have a return ticket yet cause I will probably hop the train and make my way back up to Heidelberg while stopping in a couple places along the way. Looking forward to the trip.

Neu Wohnung.....

Neu Wohnung….
So this weekend was a time of packing, loading, cleaning, designing, unpacking, more cleaning and the list goes on. We moved into our new apartment and it’s gonna be pretty cool. With the help of some of Caro’s great friends we were able to accomplish the large task of moving in everything that Caro owns, oh, and my two suitcases :) It is quite different moving into an apartment in Germany because you are responsible for putting in the entire kitchen and any appliances and/or fixtures yourself. It has been a bit hectic and disorganized and have spent many hours staring at the place where the kitchen is suppose to go trying to figure out how to fit it all in. After moving everything around many times and talking through every situation we were able to agree on an arrangement. Now we just need to have our personal carpenter put it all together (THANKS FLO!) Last week we proudly and successful put laminate flooring in one of the bedrooms and the kitchen. It wasn’t quite as exciting as Extreme Home Makeover but we were definitely patting ourselves on the back for a beautiful and fairly quick project completion. Here are a few pics of the place empty with everything loaded in. There is also a pic of the view from our livingroom window. I will post the finished product hopefully soon. Our second official night was celebrated with a little bottle of Merlot and some Chinese Takeout (healthy takeout of course ;)) Other news….one more week of German class and then I will be fluent. HA! I still have a long ways to go but I am getting better. I need to take another class but not sure when or if that will happen. Now I have the task of finding a job or more clients. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers to recognize the path I am to follow. I know the answers will come but they aren’t quite as clear as I have hoped yet. Still having a good time though and living the life I was meant to live. I truly believe we are all in the place we are supposed to be at every moment and I know I’m here for a reason. When I look at my life over the past few years there are sooo many things that have happened that slowly lead me here. I always felt the urge to travel and go to Europe but never in my life was Germany on the agenda. But here I am and I don’t feel like I should be or want to be living anywhere else. Not sure what is next and even if it is a bit scary sometimes it is also very exciting to think about what may be in store. Sometimes my patience is a little slim cause unfortunately the “money” and “income” situation will come into play but I constantly remind myself I will always be provided with everything I really need. One of my favorite quotes… “Faith makes things possible, not easy.”

Sorry it's been so long......

Well, it has been a little while since I have blogged and I am now hearing about it so I thought I better get on and give you an update. I am still going to my daily German classes and it has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. Sometimes hopeless and other times very motivating. I always have to remember that it has only been a couple of weeks and I won't be fluent in a month. Sometimes I like to think I am. It has been really cool being able to understand a ton more and able to read things. I'm sure Carolin is getting sick of me reading aloud every sign and poster I see. Especially when I sound like Jim Carrey on Dumb and Dumber when he can't pronounce "the" T...T.....heee.....T....hee." Or it sounds like the game Mad Gab if you have ever played. Example : "My Kojak Son". It's pretty funny sometimes. Also I make up my own sentences that make sense to me but aren't structured correctly. It is cool when I talk with my classmates and we understand each other but if a fluent German speaker was listening they would probably be laughing their butts off. Oh well....all I can say is the communication barrier is breaking down. Other updates.....well, unless I get kicked out of the country I have decided to attempt to reside abroad. I am currently looking (not too hard yet) for a job and Carolin and I are moving into a "sehr toll" apartment this weekend right in the center of Heidelberg. I will post pictures soon. Pretty exciting. I finish my German course on the 23rd and then I am hoping to take a trip for a week or so. I'm considering Italy so we'll see. I need to go a few places before I actually have to get a job. I have been working with some clients in the states though so that is a little income I guess. Please recommend my services to anyone that you know may require a nutrition coach as I would love to keep it up. I can send brochures and am able to work via phone and internet. Actually works out pretty good.
New food experiences.......let's see......oh.....Last week I had Knodel. It is a sort of dumpling made with potatoe, wheat flour, egg and spices. It is served with a sauce or gravy. Very tasty. Especially since it was homemade. Other than that I haven't tried to much different....oh wait...Sunday I had a Weisswurst (white sausage). Not my thing but I have to try thing at least once. I don't think I have seen so many sausages in my life ;) As far as sweets go, Carolin's Papa continues to provide us with Pflaumenkuchen (plumcake) at least once a week. Sehr gut! Hope all is well with you all. I'l update again soon so check back. This time it won't take me so long :) xoxo

My brain hurts but the beat goes on

So I just completed my first week of German lessons. It has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride from excitement and little glimpses of hope to complete and utter frustration. The teacher speaks German the entire time and only a few of the students in my class speak English. I must say though that this is probably the best way to learn. I know lots of words but my sentence structure is a bit of mess. I can answer and ask where I come from, what my name is, how old I am, how long I have been here, what language I speak mostly, where I live and a few other conversational questions. One week down and three weeks of classes to go.
No big plans for the weekend except for maybe to walk around Heidelberg and check out a church on Sunday. I've been doing alot of writing and getting things together for my nutrition practice. I have a couple clients in the states and may be able to get in contact with some American's over here since there are military bases near by and I'm not sure I could take on many German clients without too much language experience yet. If you you know of anyone in need of a little nutritional guidance, please send them my way. I will be setting up a few things to make it easy to do it online and over the phone. Auf Wiedersehen!