Nurnberg, Germany

Okay, yes it has been a long time since my last post but it is not because I think I am too cool for all you who reside in the states. I am not that European yet (j/k). No actually everyone has been really nice. I have only had a few people stare or glare at me because I don't speak the language(s) here but hey, I bring $ to their businesses so really they should not complain.

I went to Nurnberg 2 weeks ago and I definitely had a very enjoyable time. Our adventure (Jessica, Ms. Deatherage, and I) started at the Documentation Centre which is located on the Nazi Party Rally Grounds. All the pictures you see about the Nazi Party Rallies happened here in the 1920-1930s. The centre was part of the Kongresshalle which was built to look like the Colliseum in Rome because Hitler was fascinated by Roman rule and architecture. Below is a few pictures of the building.

This is a photo of a photo but this is an aerial view of the Kongresshalle. The square shaped portion on the right side is where the Documentation Centre is.

Outside view of the Kongresshalle (pic by me this time).

This picture is taken from a "half bridge" or "plank" that you walk out on to see the middle of the 'colliseum'. Yeah it was a little scary because you have to put your faith in suspension and metal flooring but you also get a great view of the inside.

The Documentation Centre is really a museum of pictures from the start of Hitler becoming the German Fuhrer to the end of the Nurnberg trials. You look at pictures and listen to audio about each successive moment of Hitler and the Nazi Party. It was very interesting to hear about the justification of Hitler and is party and how they munipulated the people of Germany, Poland, and other countries so that they could control Europe. Unbelievable! I highly recommend it. The other thing about the musuem is that it takes place in the rooms of where the Nazi Party planned their take-over. Everyone once in a while I would just pause and think that such disturbing moments in history took place where I was standing. I have walked where Hitler walked. - I am just at a loss of words for how I felt because so many people suffered things that all of us cannot even begin to comprehend. And as much as you come to put this fact together and this fact you still wonder how World War I & II and the holocaust still happened!

After our scary walk out on the 'plank' we headed to Zeppelin Field. Zeppelin Field is where Hitler made most of his speeches. When the U.S. reached Nurnberg they blasted the swastika on top of the stand. Pic below is of the U.S. Soldiers celebrated their defeat of the Nazi Regime after blowing up the swastika.

Me on the steps at Zeppelin Field.

Pic from the ground, where the fence is on the top-left of the picture used to be pillars but in the 1970s the pillars were removed.

This picture is of a broken stature of Hitler's face and a German soldier's cup. This was in a hole in the flooring of the Documentation Center.

Well, that was my adventure in Nurnberg. We also went to the Germanische Museum which is an art musuem. Of course I have no pictures of that since they are not allowed but I did get to see some Rembrandt, Durer, and more.

My First Day of Student Teaching!

I can't believe that it is finally here!! Besides being in Europe, I feel like I am constantly dreaming because I have now officially started my last semester of college. (Well, at least for now and I will be officially a college grad soon). Yeah, 119 days to go! - I'm not counting the days till I leave but the days I have left before I graduate!!

Rothenburg, Germany

First lesson in German - Rothenburg is pronounced Row-ten-berg. Okay now that that is over, let's move on.

Rothenburg is a medieval village about 18 km from where I am. Within the fortress they filmed the old version of "Brother's Grimm". (Sorry not the Matt Damon version girls). Once you enter the 'town limits' you climb stairs and walk along a wall that is probably 2 or so miles long. Along this wall you can look out at the rooftops of Rothenburg and the other side is a stone wall with a few peep holes that were used as spyholes or a place to shoot arrows at intruders. That's the summary, now here's the pics!:

Picture through one of the peepholes. Nice view eh?!

So cute isn't it!!

Rothenburg is now a tourist town but at the same time it really did not feel like it. They had shops galore with beautiful teapots, cuckoo clocks, souvenirs, and small cafe's. It was a very nice and relaxing environment. We just walked the streets, looked at the beautiful buildings and checked out the cute stores. One of the stores is the famous Kathe Wohlfarte collection. The store is full of Christmas ornaments, more than you can even imagine! They even have a museum but we didn't feel like spending the money or time there. Check it out online. It is amazing!

Truck parked outside Kathe Wohlfahrt store.

The rest of the pictures are of some buildings that I thought were pretty cool. Also the pic of me on the stairs is in front of St. Jakobschricke church. We didn't get to go in but apparently there is a scene of Christ and Judas that is remarkable and also a huge organ. I hope to go back there again so maybe next time.

Just a cool looking clock down one of the streets.

This last picture is somewhat of a famous scenery spot from Germany. Mom, you will have to check and see if that puzzle I bought before I left is a picture from Rothenburg and is part of this scenery. And somewhere there is supposed to be an old castle but I don't think I got a picture of it. Maybe I will go back when its spring so everything will be in bloom. Oh how gorgeous that will be!! - Jan 24th, 2009

Next post...Nurnberg, home of the Nazi Party Rallies and Nurnberg Trials

The Journey - 1st blog from Germany

So do you want the long version or the short. Short version is that it took me 6 days to get to Germany but I am finally here. For the long version continue on or else skip to the red writing.

So to begin my flight was scheduled to leave Sunday, 18th January at 8am. I was not able to get on the flight to Atlanta because it was full (I had a stand-by ticket). Little did I know that the valley had thousands of extra visitors for the NFC championship game, P.F. Chang's Rock and Roll marathon, and Barrett-Jackson car show. Not to mention people leaving AZ for the inauguration in D.C. I tried for a 1:30pm flight but it was overbooked so I definitely didn't get on the flight. So I then called my sister to pick me up and decided to try again. What's one more day eh? Monday came, no available flight. I then tried for a flight at 1am Tuesday. Yep, that one was full because so many other people had been bumped from previous flights the last 2 days they filled up the supposedly 'empty' red eye flight. Well, the next flight to Atlanta was 6 am so I decided instead of having Heather bring me back in just a few hours that I would wait. We did go to Denny's and had some delicious pancakes and then we slept in the car (or at least closed our eyes) until 4am. Luckily I did make that flight because it was time to get somewhere. I thought I was on my way. Yipee!!


I hadn't even mentioned yet that during my days in the airport, my luggage had traveled across the U.S. I guess just like me they wanted to go to New York. I don't know why my luggage got special treatment but I certainly wanted to know the secret. Needless to say the workers where supposed to NOT load my luggage UNTIL I boarded an airplane. Well, someone must have misread the bright green tag that read "stand-by baggage" and loaded it on the first flight I tried to get on. Then since my next flight was going to go to New York, they sent my luggage from Atlanta to New York. Yeah, it kind of made me nervous not able to see my luggage. And luckily I had packed some extra clothes in my carry-on. Now we continue on with the rest of the story...


So I finally made it to Atlanta. My flight landed about 15 minutes before the inauguration so I headed to my next gate even though my connecting flight was 5 hours away. I got there and pretty much the whole airport paused for the inauguration. It was kind of cool to be there in the South for the 'momentous' occasion of the first black-president. Anyways, after that I needed to check on my luggage because I didn't want to it to not make it to Frankfurt. Well, short story-I spent the next 2 hours trying to track down my luggage which had not been sent back to Atlanta from New York even though it had been requested 24 hours earlier. I then was not able to make the flight from Atlanta to Frankfurt because I could not leave the USA without them and they could not fly from New York to Frankfurt without me. Yep, once again I was left in an airport with no flight out. Luckily my cousins live in Atlanta so I spent the next 2 days with them. What's that? 2 days you say? Oh yeah! The next day we tried for a flight from Atlanta to Frankfurt once my luggage was in but that flight was cancelled due to mechanics. (Glad to know they DO check the planes right?) So yet again I was delayed another day. - side note again, thinking that I was definitely getting on this flight because there were a lot of open seats I had put my shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, and stuff in my checked luggage. - Thursday I spent the morning hanging out with my wife's cousin Kelli, who is awesome may I just say, and we went to a chinese restaurant. I'm thinking I should have eaten Chinese a few days earlier so I could have gotten a furtune cookie before this. But I did not just receive one fortune, I received four! At this point in time, I definitely was in need of 4+ fortunes! My favorite, which gave me hope, read "Keep up the good work. You will soon be rewarded." I took this as a good sign that my flight that was 2 hours away would get me to were I needed to go. And as luck would have it, I did!! Wahoo! Let me tell you it was so great to get in the air again.


The flight over here was fine and wonderful. First class was an exciting experience!! Definitely paid off all the hectic stuff I had been through the last few days. Even though I was able to lay down all the way, on a full stomach I really didn't sleep much. I wasn't really tired because it was 2pm to me but I think I got enough rest that it helped me push through the next 24+ hours of having to stay awake to beat jetlag. I got to watch new release movies for free, first course was hummus stuff and it didn't look appetizing so I didn't touch it, soup, and spinach salad. The soup was pretty spicy. The first bite I was coughing because it was so spicy. Hopefully no one saw my reaction because they probably thought I didn't like it but I did. I didn't have anyone next to me so that was nice too. For the 'main' course I ate sun-dried tomatoes w/ravioli. It was delicious! But I was pretty full so I only ate half of it. Then came dessert-oh wait, it never came!! Mark and Mike (my cousins who are pilots) told me to definitely try the ice cream sundae so I was going to go for it. I didn't want the fruit and the lady took my order for the sundae but she never gave me any!! I kept waiting and saw that no one was eating it either so I didn't think of it much until they stopped walking the aisles. I was bummed! Oh well, less calories right?!


Next was customs after landing. When I was going threw customs, the guy checking my passport kind of gave me a hard time since I didn't have a visa. So that definitely scares me for my return because one dude on base said that you have to leave the EU (Europe) area in order for it to count not part of your 90 days. So hope that I can reenter the U.S. with no prob cause Italy is not going to solve my problem like I thought it would. Going to the UK might though, we will just have to wait and see. (If not then NAU is in trouble because they advised me not to get a visa eventhough I am going to be over 90 days!)

My bags were the first on the baggage claim carousel so that was a relief to stop worrying about whether they were there or not. I also think everything arrived safely. I was afraid that some of my clothes had fallen out when my luggage ripped but it all looks good. --Whao! I forgot to add this to the list but when my luggage returned from New York, my brand-new luggage had ripped all along the top seam on one of my pieces. Luckily the airline had extras on hand to replace it.

My next problem was finding the train station!! Seriously I had to go up a floor, walk 100 feet, catch shuttle, go back down, walk 100 feet, go up, go down, get ticket, go down, and then get on the train. Let me say that with stairs/escalators or whatever it is not fun with all the luggage I had. My last down to the train only was escalator and I couldn't take the luggage cart so this indian guy who also had lots of luggage, just grabbed my carryon (which had me laptop bag tied on) and just sent it down the escalator. Well, needless to say I am glad my laptop is still in one piece because from it 'falling' down the escalator I was afraid it might have broke. All I'll say is that they need elevators and little lift door things (like what they have an handicap vans) to lift people with heavy luggage onto the train. My shoulder is a little out today. I think from lifting my bags hundreds of times. I had to get on and off 3 trains, 1 bus, and then 2 cars yesterday. (The 2 cars were Mr. Young, who picked me up at the station, and then Ms. Deatherage when we came home.) There were a lot of gentlemen who helped me (which I was nervous about) but I am glad they were nice, honest people who helped me and didn't rob me cause they just smiled at me while they grabbed my luggage. It was just scary when people kept reaching for my luggage to help because I just wasn't sure what they were going to do. :)

I was able to meet some of the teachers at the school once I FINALLY arrived at Ansbach. The teachers are really nice. I will have to re-introduce myself to them on Monday because when I met them yesterday I looked horrid!! I have proof because its on my base id!! So much for dates! I will now be know as the ugly-traveling-student-teacher on base! Oh, yeah, I had to get my id asap I guess. It was raining/snowing when I got here and after standing at bus/train stations over and over my hair did its wacky curly thing. And I didn't have makeup on AND I hadn't brushed my teeth for 48 hours because I had put my hygeine stuff in my big luggage once it got back from New York not expecting the flight to be cancelled. AND I had worn my black undershirt for 4 days without washing it but it was the only thing I had AND I was lacking in sleep! (I know TMI right but there was nothing I could do with no luggage for 5 days!) After I got ready today I went down stairs and Ms. Deatherage's reply was "WOW, You really do look different!" In my head I said Yeah tried telling you that yesterday but just smiled. It was wonderful to feel and look like a normal human being.

Well, that is the beginning adventure(s) and I have more because I did get to see a cute medieval-ish town today. I'll prepare the post tonight or tomorrow so look for more. Don't worry it will be more pics and less 'talk'.

Christmas, New Year's, A Week and Counting...

Yes it's been almost a month-well okay exactly a month since I last wrote but I have had this and that with the holidays and exercising and planning my trip to Germany. Plus I usually go on 'strike' with the computer after each semester because I seem to have it attached to my hip 4 months straight (as all you college students know) so it is nice to step away from the technology. Okay enough excuses but it is all true. Here's how the last 744 hours went for me...

After school ended, I was welcomed back into reality and fun. I have been able to spend some time with Kyler, my nephew. He is a brilliant genius (but then what genius is not brilliant?). But literally this kid is too smart. His mind picks up anything it sees. Just amazing-I will post a video of him later singing the abc's.

I also had time to spend a week with my other nephews and niece. We played the Wii, jumped on my bed, decorated cookies, played ping pong, shuffle board (on the kitchen floor) and more. Oh and Christmas was fun because we played this game called "Sorry Sliders" (the game "sorry" but you slide your pawns) and I highly recommend it. I think its $12-15 at Wal-Mart. It is fun. We played it pretty much all day. Christmas was so wonderful. We spent good quality time with the family and I should say even though it was a change from the traditional Christmas we had had in the past, it is a Christmas at the top of my list. Not because of the gifts but of the time I had with the fam and the spirit of the holiday that I felt. :)


New Year's - what can I say?! The clock struck 12. I could really 'vent' about the turn of the year moment(s) but its in the past and I must move on. New Year's day was spent on the road. My cousin Brittany and I headed to Mesa once our eyelids opened from all our 'wild partying' hours before. We spent the whole weekend shopping. It was nice and I have some nice outfits for student teaching :) Shopping is fun (but very emotional wouldn't you agree?!).


**WARNING! - NEVER, EVER use a piece of icicle tinsel stuff as a head band!! It will burn your skin!! Yes, this happened to moi right before we headed to the movies. It hurt and left a red mark on my head for a good deal of time! **

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So what else is up? Not much from what is mentioned above. A week from now I will be in the air, flying over the Atlantic Ocean, with 3 hours before I set foot on foreign soil for the first time in my life. (Well I guess I did set foot on Mexican soil when I was 10 or so for 2 hours but this is just a little bit different wouldn't you say??!) I will land in Frankfurt Germany, and from there take a train to Oberdachstetten where I will be staying with the principal and her fam. Hopefully I will be able to sleep on the train over otherwise I will be looking at a 36+ hour day.

I am really excited. I must admit that my mind is constantly occupied with the upcoming experience that I could not even concentrate in church today. I had to keep pulling myself out of the clouds. (But I did remember some things I have to do before I leave so it was not a total loss). And I am not saying that the talks and lessons were boring, I just could not keep my mind from traveling off to Germany if you know what I mean.
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That is it for now. Trust me, my blog will be rockin' in just over a week. In a week and counting I will take you to places you have never seen and will experience the remarkable culture, nature, and people of Europe.

Few more things before closing...
1. I miss hot chocolate! I have only had 1 this winter which is BIG for moi. Darn calories!
2. I enjoyed seeing all you 'chubs' over the holiday. Keep in touch eh!
3. I know the second coming is soon because the Cardinals are in the NFC championship game-only 1 win from going to the Super Bowl. Good luck you red birds - if you win...Well, I guess I am already at a loss of words.
4. This blog is long enough.
5. I really shouldn't keep on typing
6. because it is long enough.
7. I guess there are longer blogs
8. out there but I
9. just have to keep explaining why this is
10. SOOOO long. That happens
11. when you don't post anything for 744 hours, i.e. 31 days
12. on your blog. Did you know Kate Winslet
13. won 2 Golden Globes tonight?
14. Her first 2 ever even though she has been
15. nominated for 8. Just shows to never
16. give up. Oh what's that you say?
17. My blog is long?? Well then stop reading! If
18. you would stop reading then I would
19. stop typing but since I know you want to ignore those
20. dirty dishes in your sink I will keep typing. I just
21. typed "talking" like "will keep talking" because it does
22. seem like sometimes you are talking to the people who read your post
23. instead of typing your thoughts and memories.
24. We have eliminated interpersonal relationships and replaced
25. them with blogpersonal relationships.
25. Yes I made that word up but I think I will get it copyrighted
26. because that is how our society works. We socialize through forms of communication
28. That avoid real human interaction. I would totally write an article on it because
29. I think of it all the time how we not longer do things with out technology and they all or mostly avoid real human interaction.
30. I'm not saying that we should get rid of blogs because it has been helpful to know what ya'll
31. are up to but how many of us really talk to fam and friends on the phone (and
32. I do not mean texting) but actually "Hello?" "Hello, is John-Jacob-Jingle-Himmer-Schmidt there?" "Oh yes, let me get him for you." telephone conversation.
33. I'll drop it there. But seriously, are you still reading??
34. Did you notice that I typed 25 twice and not 27? I
35. didn't do it on purpose I just had to fix a sentence and
36. didn't want to fix all the numbers after it so I let it be. Okay seriously I am stopping.
37. Have a good day, afternoon, dusk, twilight, night, midnight, or what ever time of
day you are reading this. I must be really tired or bored
38. for writing all this. Oops - Call me Britney Spears-I did it again. I am typing or should I saw 'talking' again. - I'm stopping now.
39. Dowt!!

HALLELUJAH!!!

May I just take a few moments of your time to express my overwhelming joy because I have just (pause, take a breath...) - I have just completed my final final for my bachelor's degree!! Oh HeCk yes!! Another semester down, flattened like a cookie without baking powder! (That is seriously flat-trust me I know!) I am almost there. Only 80 days of student teaching left before I can walk across the podium as a officially cross into the 'real world' of teaching!! ...oh dear! hmmm, okay what do I do now without homework to run my free time?!?!

Oregon: Nov 14th-17th 2008

This was my first trip to the "beaver state" where the state road kill is possum. Seriously within a 10 mile stretch you see 5+ dead possums. So why Oregon? Well my friend, Lynell, grew up there and wanted to surprise a friend at her wedding so I tagged along to provide company and assistance (which I will get to later).

So the trip began at 8pm Thursday night when we left straight from class to Mesa. Woke up at 5:30ish, left for the airport 20 minutes late, checked in our baggage with 2 minutes to spare before the cutoff, got hairspray and facewash confiscated at security (but they didn't take my scissors-something wrong there eh?) and then our names where announced throughout the terminal because we were late. You kind of feel goofy as all eyes on the plane are watching as you walk down the aisle to your seat right before takeoff. I don't recommend it.

When we arrived in Portland, we went to get our rental car. All is good, get in the elevator to go to the car and what do I notice? Lynell's arms are free. I ask her "where is your suitcase?" Poor girl left it at the rental counter. Luckily security was not called on her 'unattended bag'. So she gets her bag and we go out to the car lot. May I add here that we were on a girl's trip and wanted to have fun and part of that fun was the rental car. Long story short Lynell sweet talked the guy into renting a mustang! (Way better than the Dodge neon we were going to drive). Lynell had lots of fun gunnin' it on the freeway and through the streets of Portland. Too bad the blocks were really small so once you gun it and enjoyed the thrill of the horsepower, you have to brake.

Friday we walked the streets of Portland. It was beautiful to see the colorful leaves everywhere. I still kick myself in the pants for not taking any pics because 'I didn't want to look like a tourist'. Stupidest reason ever. Anyways we rode the streetcar, ate a delicious pumpkin bagel w/pumpkin cream cheese (which I have craved since), and shopped Powell's Books, the 2nd biggest book store I have ever seen in my life (the 1st being Barnes and Noble near Rockefeller center in NY). We also survived a brisk walk down Burnside St, which is the equivalent to VanBuren in Phoenix, right as the sun was setting. Little did we know that we would be stared at by the creepiest people, walk around homeless people who we hope were just sleeping and not dead. Lynell decided to walk in the street so we would be farther away from the 'not giving off the best vibe' people down Burnside as I walked with keys between my fingers so I could stab anyone who got in my bubble uninvited. - That's Day 1.

Day 2 - The wedding was in Jefferson, about an hour and a half from Portland. On the way there we got into heavy traffic. Another thing that we did not know was the two BIG football games for OSU Beavers and UofO Ducks in Corvallis and Eugene. Every other car had flags in the windows, pom-poms hanging out the trunk, and duck or beaver footprints on the doors, as thousands of cars headed to the two games. The cute thing of the drive was a little kid holding up his shirts in the window saying "go beavers" and practically jumping out of his seatbelt. We made it to the wedding with minutes to spare because of the traffic. After that we headed to Lincoln City on the Oregon coast (another hour and a half drive) where we had delicious pizza. Then another 30 minute drive to Newport where our hotel was. The hotel was beautiful, right on a cliff overlooking the ocean and we fell asleep listening to the rolling waves.

Day 3 - I love the ocean! It is an amazing thing. Of course it was too cold to play in the water but nothing like a nice morning walk along the beach to start the day off right. It was so peaceful!

The rest of the day we hung out at the harbor and checked out little shops. We also watched a bunch of sea lions. It was funny to watch them yell back and forth at each other. One cranky sea lion kept yelping at a younger one. The young one would put its tail (foot, fins or whatever it is on a sea lion) on the cranky one's face. I think the kidster was just trying to get a rise out of the ol'fogee. When we had inhaled enough fish smell we headed back to Portland. It was quite the trip because half of the way you could only see about 40 feet in front of you because of the fog. After getting lost we got a hotel at 10:30ish. Since we had to be at the airport at 5:30 in the morning we headed to bed.

Day 4 - you would think I would tell you that we woke up, flew home, and unpacked. Well, you are wrong. This time we got to the airport with time to spare though. We got on the plane and we were ready to take a 3 hour nap UNTIL..."Sorry we are not able to take off right now. We are having trouble with the latch on the door. We should be in the air in 10 minutes...30 minutes...1 hour..." Finally 2 hours later they realized that the door and 'other mechanical problems' would not be fixed in order for us to take flight so we had to get off our plane and board another. It was great that everyone on the plane remained calm and didn't complain. I had good company. I sat by a guy from Alaska and he happened to be LDS so we visited the whole time. Anyways, once we were in the air and on the ground again we hopped in the car, drove 3 hours to Pinetop to our class, sat in class another 3 hours, and went to bed. May I say it was one of the longest days of my life... but in all it was an interesting and fun adventure.

More than I thought...

I have been busy with school, subbing, and traveling that I have not updated my blog for over a month. In a way I thought nothing really exciting happened but now I look back and smile at all the fun I have had. I'll do a few posts but here's the first one. So lets travel back to October 16th, 2008. My Grandma Solomon celebrated her 89th birthday. She is such a trooper and I love the spirit she has always had with her. Grandma Solomon has been tried and tested throughout her whole life. She is a great example to me that there is nothing in this life that you cannot handle. She has also continued to have a strong testimony and live the gospel, her faith has been her guide. I LOVE ya Grandma! (Pic of me with her on her birthday)

So next was my birthday-my "Golden" birthday. It was a simple birthday but I really enjoyed having the family over and spending time with them. The best gift I got was this fabulous video on my phone from my beloved neice and nephews. (Hope it works-this is my first vid to post).

I must say I bawled hardcore when I received it because I really miss them! I couldn't even talk to them on the phone I was so teary-eyed. They are my heroes!

The last thing I will post for today (so it isn't long because I have more to share) is this cute picture of my nephew, Kyler, and my mom. This kid LOVES his Grandma! He won't even come to me if Grandma is within 100 feet of him. Anyways, this is a picture of him right after he woke up, threw a fit, got the diap' changed and got a snack. He sat there cuddling my mom for 5 or so minutes. It was precious!

Ich Bin Gestellt Worden!

I love mail!! It is just a wonderful, joyous, exciting, ecstatic, time when you receive something just for you. I have to say that it is more exciting than email. Yes, I check my email everyday, sometimes several times and I get excited when I have something there to tell me about how you guys are doing but its not the same as getting a personal handwritten or typed letter from the good ol' post office. (I know run on sentence there). This week has definitely been no exception. I have received gift after gift from the pony express. First I received notice that I passed my AEPA test for teacher certification and today I received this...

I have received my placement to do my student teaching in Ansbach, Germany in a 4th grade classroom! I am very excited for this! I still cannot believe that I will be leaving my little town of Taylor and entering the unknown world of Germany. The adventures that await me in the classroom and outside the classroom are just too amazing to even grasp. I can't wait to get in the classroom and work hard and put to work my pedagogy (<--means pretty much your teaching philosophy - nothing like a little new vocab every once in awhile eh? Now try to pronounce it...). And I can't wait to get out and really 'see the world'! Germany holds SO much history along with its many neighboring countries. Prague is 3 1/2 hours away, Paris 6 1/2 hours, Rome 10 hours, Berlin 7 hours, Munich 2 hours...and the list goes on. Of course these are driving time so probably riding time will be shorter on the Metro (european train system).

This will definitely be a time in my life that I cannot and will not forget. I plan on forming memories to last a lifetime (sigh-ahhh). All I can say is bring on the German Chocolate Cake! I am ready for it!!! (so much for a diet eh?!)

P.S. Anyone know German????!???!!!?

YiPeE for mE!!!!!

Do you know how long a month is? Besides the 'sunday school answer' of 30 or 31 days except for February which has 28 or 29 days depending on whether it is leap year or not. Or 744 hours or 44,640 minutes or 2, 678, 400 seconds - really what is a month?? Here is what a month is...

An everlasting, black hole which conceals every movement into a canister the size of a pinky finger and goes on and on and on and on with no way of nowing when this black canister is going to end. Okay so I am not the best metaphorical master but that is what comes to my mind. Now the next question, why would I share with you this meaning of 'month'. Well a month ago today, Sept 20th, I entered a testing room at Gilbert High School to take the Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessment (AEPA). I was locked in a classroom with no electronic device that would get me out in an emergency, the emergency being a brain-attack or complete exhaustion. It was just me, 10 pencils, 1 eraser, 1 bottle of yucky water, a bubble sheet, and test booklet. (I void out the others taking the test because I could not even concentrate on them.) For three hours I was flashing back to every past moment of my education courses over the last 8 yrs. I KNOW my brain had never worked so hard. Ms. Cunningham's AP Seniors English final wouldn't have even come close to the pain and suffering my poor brain cells had to go through for this test. My synapses have never snapped in such fashion or cleaned off so many dusty shelves in the 'long-term memory' department. I'm telling you this was the bar exam for teachers. Not fun!

Well, today is October 20th, a month later and I have finally found the end to this black hole canister that my brain has been concealed in. I have received word that I PASSED the AEPA test. I CAN NOW OFFICIALLY BE A TEACHER in the state of AZ!! - I still have 8 weeks of school left this semester and my student teaching (which I still have not received word on where I am going) but I know I will pass the rest of the schoolwork so I am in good shape!

I dedicate my sucess for this test to Mozart, bananas, Moki's chicken katsu and a mighty brain who stayed with me throughout the whole 3 most agonizing hours of my life yet. YiPeE for mE!!

An insight...

I really don't have much to add to the blog but since it has been awhile and I am waiting for some big news I will give ya something to read about...

For those who might not know, my brother David is serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Rome, Italy right now. This past week he wrote to us and told us about how the members of the LDS church reacted to the announcement of a temple in Rome. He said it was like a soccer game! Now if you need to know how the Italians (or any European for that matter) celebrates 'futbol' then you need to google World Cup 2006 and watch the videos. I must say that not only was this the response here on this earth but also the rejoicing of generations in Heaven. For all areas that are blessed with a new temple, not only is it felt here on earth but in Heaven because the door is opened to so many others to receive the blessings of our Heavenly Father who in this life did not have the opportunity to accept His gospel. It's absolutely amazing to think of!

Uhm...Well I was going to post more but it is of a different 'tone' so I will post it another time.

P.S. For those who are reading this and would like to know more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, please go to www.mormon.org.

My Dream Come True!!

It's not a snow-white fairy tale dream that came true but this is pretty big to me. Last March I went to this meeting about setting up my student teaching for this coming Spring semester. I was sitting in the meeting, listening to the presenters about this and that, talking about all the paper work I would have to complete and lo and behold I heard "DoDDS program...You go to Europe and do your student teaching on an American military base." Boy did I about jump out of my seat. I thought to myself "How cool would that be! I have saved for years to go to Europe but how awesome would it be to go there AND do my student teaching!" The more and more I listened the more I had a feeling that this is what I needed to do. It did take a little bit of push and support from Lynell and my parents, but I have now gone through my interview with NAU and luckily they have selected me, Yes me, to be a part of this awesome program. Some stuff is still in the works but come January, I am 99.92435783214837% give or take a few millionths sure that I will fly to Germany, Italy, or England and teach kids on an American military base! Europe...Here I Come!!!!

I Got Tagged!

20 years ago...
1. I was a pupil in Mrs. Roger's kindergarten class.
2. It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship with Carlee (Shumway) Cullen.
3. I was learning to read.

10 years ago...
1. Got my driver's license.
2. Had my first date.
3. Survived Ms. Cunningham's Sophomore English

5 years ago...
1. Thought I was almost done with college.
2. Worked with Moneeka and Sara
3. Obtained my Associates degree from MCC

3 years ago...
1. Still lived the dream of a college student
2. Visited Carlee and her family in Connecticut!
3. Parents moved down to Mesa, I moved in with them.

1 year ago...
1. Moved back to Taylor to complete my education through NAU
2. Made new friends with all the gals in my cohort.
3. My brother and sister-in-law adopted one of the cutest kids ever, Kyler
4. Cut my hair REALLY short.

This year...
1. Enjoyed the summer without having a job.
2. Went to Utah and hung out with Becca.
3. Got selected by NAU to be in the DoDDS program.

Yesterday...
1. Lynell's car got a flat tire before we took the AEPA test.
2. Took the AEPA Profession Knowledge test (for teacher certification in AZ).
3. Destressed over a delicious plate of Fettucine Alfredo at Macroni Grill.

Today...
1. Traveled back from from Mesa to Taylor.
2. Blogged, check email, and my history test score.
3. Celebrate my Grandma Rowley's B-day.

Tomorrow...
1. Hopefully sleep in.
2. Read Pictures of Hollis Word for class on Tuesday.
3. Go to class and learn how to assess students.

In the next year...
1. Celebrate my golden birthday - 26 yrs old on the 26th!
2. Complete my student teaching in Europe!
3.GRADUATE FROM NAU WITH MY BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN ELEM. EDUCATION!!
4. one more for good luck - GET HIRED!!!

I tag Becca, Katie, and Bethany. Hee hee enjoy!

2012 Olympics: Here I Come!??!

Maybe it is the feeling of you can do anything you put your mind (and body) to as you watch the olympics and hear of the many stories of how someone reached their goal as an olympian or its the cool weather in the morning or insanity setting in but I accomplished something this morning that I probably never would have thought I would do probably two weeks ago. Over the summer, I have (sparatically) been walking in the morning. Well about a month ago my right foot started to really bother me and if I don't wear arch supports or wrap my foot, it feels like I have left cactus needles in my heel for two years. So instead of walking, my friend Lynell and I started to ride bikes so we could still do a little bit of exercise. I think I am past the sore 'hiney' now but today I really pushed myself and I am pretty proud of myself that I did it. (Even though I was slower than the others).

So what did I do to make myself think that I can be an olympian? I rode from my house to the stoplight in Snowflake! Our guess is about 10 miles (I'm clocking it tomorrow) but this is definitely a big physical accomplishment for me. And its harder than you think. When you drive between Snowflake and Taylor 20 billion times in your life you do not notice all the hills. Let me say that if you ride a bike you will notice every slight incline there is. You know the phrase "Uphill both ways", thats what it felt like.)

There was only one time that I did loose my sanity temporarily and had to chant to myself "pump, pump, pump" as I climbed a hill, but I did okay since I am not Ms. Exercise herself (I just hate to sweat-a little phobia I have, I know I am weird). And I am not sore at all either, but I did take a nap because I was so drained and did not have enough energy to even keep my 2 oz eyelids from closing this afternoon, so I do feel good about it.

Okay so I may not end up waving to the Queen of England as I race through London in 2012 as a cyclist but I do have a smaller fear of not doing 'this' or 'that' because my mind tells me I can't do it because my body is weak. I am definitely the little train who not only said "I think I can" but "I know I can." I still have a long ways to go to receiving the title of Ms. Exercise but I know that I can do it. Just takes a little bit of will power and a good friend to get you up early each morning to do it.

DAWN has BROKEN

Okay, I know I wasn't the only one out there that was psyched to have the final book of the Twilight Saga published. I only became a fan of Twilight at the beginning of the summer because before then I really had no time for 'recreational' reading. Thanks to Deb who insisted I read the books, I have been entertained this summer (along with my mom, sister, and sister-in-law). Anyways, I was a 'Twilighter' that attended a "Breaking Dawn Party" at Barnes and Noble. It was fun and I made a shirt with my sis Heather and friend Debbie to wear to the party. (No we were not crazy enough to dress up in a prom dress or vampire outfit, definitely not that crazy). Here's a pic of us showing off our newly acquired shirts.

The party was fun. We spent over an hour doing the trivia. Of course we didn't win anything but we sure got the book. I was actually the last one to purchase a book that night (long story) and I am definitely glad that I purchased it. The story is very INTENSE!! If you have not read the books and need some good reading I highly recommend the saga. Stephenie Meyer's is simply put - a GENIUS!! (I also recommend "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer).