Go Nurnberg Red Devils!!

I can officially say that I have been to a Deutsch Fussball game!! And it was more than I expected - and I was expecting a lot. The crowd was crazy and the game was exciting. Not to mention Mr. Young, my cooperative teacher winning 100 euros at half time. You want the story? Here goes...

Mr. Young is a fan! He played soccer, his kids play soccer, he watches, breathes, eats, and sleeps soccer. (Not to tattle but he was watching the draw for some cup today during class.) Anyways, Mr. #1 FCN fan has season tickets for the Nuremberg Red Devils and since he won the opportunity to have dinner with some player he was nice enough to give his tickets to Jess and I. I really have nothing to complain since the tickets where front row. Excellent view of everything! Did I mention front row??

Yep, that is my best pic wouldn't you say?! I must mention that I am glad that I have a black coat and gray scarf otherwise I would have felt out of place. I would say 99.9999999% of the clothing in that stadium was red, black, or white. They have team spirit beyond what you would think is even possible! (Lobos could learn a little bit from them. Sorry to say but you all know its true.) Here are a few more pics from the game...

Team warming up.

"Flag ceremony" as players were announced and entered the field.

I say those flags had to be heavy.

Hmmm, I wonder if the Germans favor soccer over football??!! Not to mention this was the 'fan' area. The area has no seats, just cement stairs and this section cheered and sang the whole game. The sound was absolutely awesome! (I only wish I knew the words so I could have joined the party.)

We did win the game! Not bad for the first game of the season. The best part of the game was when it started to snow. It topped off the night.

I have lost my life to grading.

So besides planning and hoping that your lesson is carried out well and the students are able to understand you, life as a teacher is eaten up by grading papers! I feel like I am constantly grading and not able to even eat because it takes time away from gading.

Hopefully this week with Terra Nova testing I will be able to get a better handle on it all but only time will tell.

P.S. I have tried to post stuff this week, finish the blog on Munich but blogspot has been SO slow this week and I can't load pics so I am trying to get stuff posted.

Backerei ein Oberdachstetten

So I have been here a few weeks and had yet to go inside a "German" backerei (bakery) that was not in the mall or train station. It was definitely time. This is a pic of the delicious bread we bought at the backerei here in Oberdachstetten. The only this is that it was hard to keep fresh because it dried out too fast.

Oh it was a sweet white bread with raisins in it. I don't remember the name of it-something that starts with an "H." The crust seemed to be glazed with something (and no I am not referring to the saran wrap). Mmmm, mmmm good!

Kiss me! I've Been to Ireland!!

FYI - I started this blog when I got back from Ireland however, I have not had time to finish telling my adventure till now...

I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer fly! Mom and Dad, if you ever see me in person again, you might have to pick me up at Los Angles harbor because I can no longer fly and will have to sail home. It just doesn't work for me. After spending 6 days in U.S. airports I think the TSA saw me enough on security cameras, past my information to all airports in the world, and now they all make sure if I, Stephanie S., am scheduled to fly somewhere, something must happen; they must either cancel or postpone my flight.

Now that I have set up the drama I will tell you quickly that after making a 5+ hr train trip to Frankfurt Hahn airport due to weather in London, our flight was cancelled. Jessica and I were headed out for our 4-day weekend to 'english speaking' countries, London and Ireland but no, it was bad weather in London so our flight was cancelled. Did I mention it was already 11 pm? And it was Friday the 13th? Needless to say, we rescheduled our flight to go straight to Dublin and we missed London. :( Con - no Prince William yet. Pro - more days in lovely Ireland!

Once we were on the ground in Ireland, all was okay. The first thing that was glorious was being able to converse with little or no confusion. Communicating in Germany has not been all that bad but it is nice when you can speak, joke, and communicate in your primary language. Jess and I had reserved a car for all the days we were in Dublin but once we were there we decided to just walk around. I'm glad because it would have been really hard to drive in Dublin on the wrong side of the road. But more on driving later...

Of course public transportation in Europe countries are AWESOME! Bus or train - no matter what you need you can get there with public transportation. So we hopped on the bus outside the airport and I knew at that moment that I was in Ireland where they know humor. It was great to laugh. But that driver was a jokester. Of course now I don't remember what happened but he teased me and I was a little bit embarassed but at the same time it brightened my day. Thanks Mr. Bus Driver!

From the airport to our hostel, we drove through a tunnel that I swear was 10 km long! Jess tried holding her breathe at first but there was no way she was going to make it. After our mini-tour of Dublin we found our hostel and I my germ-aphobia came to the surface. The hostel was not dirty...well a little, but this is Stephanie S. from little town of Taylor, USA. I didn't know what to expect but really you can't have much expectations of hostels. Long story short, I had to use the blanket Jess brought because I wouldn't get in the covers (until I got cold during the night) and put my towel over the pillow. Nothing looked dirty, I was just freaking out. Since we arrived one night earlier than our scheduled time we did get a nice view with the 4 bed dorm. Luckily, no one else showed up so we didn't have to share.

Front of Kinley House, our hostel. The window on the 2nd floor in the middle was our room the first night in Dublin.

Our room - not bad eh? I was just germaphobic to much to enjoy it. But what do you expect for 15 euros a night...

Of course we were starving when we got there so we hopped across the street to a pub/restaurant that was recommended by the 'hostel bellboy'. Let's say we THANKED him for the recommendation. And I am sad to say that my first meal in Ireland was not corned beef but a hamburger. But before you get on my case, it was one of the most delictable hamburgers that I have ever had. So flavorful with onions, juicy, with a ciabatta bun. Mmm Mmm good! And the fries...this is proof of my sheltered life. People put malted vinegar on fries and oh my word! There is no other way (except for ketchup) to eat fries. Not even ice cream beats it. I'm craving it as I type this its so good. Anyways, it was a delicious first meal that was greatly needed because we had little to eat since lunch on Thursday at school. And FYI-its not yellow mustard or french mustard in Ireland - its English mustard. Go fig...

After filling up our tanks, Jess and I walked around to burn off the several hundred calories we ate and toured a little bit in our neighborhood. Just a street away from the Dublin Castle. Unfortunately we never got to go on a tour but here are some outside pictures.

After that we headed to Temple Bar. No it is not a drinking bar filled with 150 guiness beers, it is names Temple Bar after the Temple family and is coined "Dublin's Cultural Center." Really it was little tourist shops, little cafes with a few pubs. But it was cute and magical.

That was the first day. Second day had a few highlights too. To save our feet we purchased tickets for the city tour double decker tour bus. We were able to do Dublin in one day with the bus and it was very nice. If we had more time we would have spent more time doing things but we did get to see a lot. Instead of a play by play, here's a pic by pic...

Dublin is famous for its different colored doors. The reason for the colored doors is decades ago it is said that one night a man was so drunk that he wandered into the wrong house and went to bed. Well when the real husband got back and saw his wife in bed with another man he shot the drunk that was 'in bed with his wife.' So to make sure drunks at night don't wander into the wrong house, each door is painted a different color on each street.

Me on Half Penny Bridge (pronounces Ha'penny). When the bridge was first constructed you had to pay half a penny to cross the bridge. It is one of 17 bridges in Dublin that cross the Liffey River.

For lunch we eat at M.J O'Niell's pub. Who is M.J. you ask? I don't know but the restaurant is over 300 yrs old and the food was delicious. I couldn't eat another meal without eating authentic corned beef and potatoes so I did it. Oh my, no offense to you mom but M.J.'s is awesome! Maybe it was the Guiness beer gravy (which I honestly didn't know was the ingredient until afterwards but it was awesome. The roasted potatoes - I've got to learn how to make those. Honestly the best potatoes ever! Oh and I must mention the bathroom. Yep, the bathroom ROCKED! Of course you go two stories down into the dungeons of Dublin but with blacklights and the coolest hand dryer by Dyson, you forget you are deep down in the earth. Yes, each stall was lit by a blacklight. Very interesting but very cool at the same time.

Corned Beef w/parsnip gravy, Cabbage, and roasted potatoes.

My Valentine gave me this rose. And it doesn't bother me that everyone else in the restaurant got one either.

This had been a heavy day already so we headed to the bus and rode it back to our hostel where we hung out in the t.v. room. This is where I literally almost lost my delicious food and really wondered what kind of place I was staying. There was a not so clean woman in the t.v. room and I actually saw her...sorry while I settle my stomach...I saw her eat a scab!! OH yes! It was the most grotesque moment of my life!!! Sorry but I had to share.

Day 3, Sunday, we decided to take a drive through the country. Even though it was mid-winter, we were still able to enjoy some beautiful scenery. Oh before I go on about that, yes Ireland drives on the left side of the road so I was very nervous picking up the rental car. Ask Jess, I was nervous and so grumpy. I was so afraid I was going to run into oncoming traffic. Luckily nothing happened, well except for when Jess drove. She accidently headed done a one-way road (but I probably assisted in that with my directions so I don't blame her 100%) and luckily there was a turning lane that no one was in so all was okay.

Our drive was to Blarney castle where we headed to kiss the 'stone' was beautiful. Ireland is still green in the winter time. I know they say that you don't know what people have done to that stone and hundred or so people kiss it a day so that is just plain gross. Well, I did feel safe because they had bottles of sanitizer there so I know it was not covered in centuries of left-over kisses and more. Blarney was absolutely beautiful!! Definitely the top destination so far in Europe! Oh the scenery, oh the climb! To get to the stone you had to climb the most tightly wound staircase for 5+ stories. If you see the pics, you will understand. Enjoy as we did at the castle.

The VERY nervous driver - can't even give a smile for the camera...

Our Little Speedster - How cute!

Outside of Blarney - don't take the size for granted...especially if you go up to the stone.

How many steps you say? I lost count after the 2 floor.

Stuck in the wet, cold, dun-dun-dungeon

Well that is all for Ireland for now. I have a LOT more to tell about Ireland and LOTS more pics. (I am averaging between 100-200 pics per trip). I have 3 pages in my notebook full of memories. But another time and another day.

Snow Day!!

I think I have officially seen the most constant daily snow storm in my whole life. I know what you are thinking, "you live in Arizona. How can you compare AZ winter to German Winter?" Well, all I am saying is that it has snowed every day for the last 2 weeks. It may be a sciff here and a blizzard here but it has snowed constantly. I am now complaining it has been fun but bring on spring! I want to see Europe in full color :)

But then again, I want it to keep snowing so we can have one more snow day. We have only had one with all this snow so can't I just get one more? I guess I need to have another one on one with the Commander. Also, since it has snowed everyday for 2 weeks the kids have had no 'true' recess for a long time so they are getting pretty antsy.

Well, we couldn't take it anymore last Friday. The kids needed to get out and get some exercise so us 4th grade teachers rebelled and took out the kids. Here are a few pics of the kids running around having fun. Unfortunately...who am I kidding - luckily I didn't have any snow boots so I didn't get to play. I wasn't going to have cold feet the rest of the day like the rest of them. :)


Oh the priceless smiles!!

You would think Big Foot was trying to eat these boys but they were just afraid of the camera.

Munich and Matt Damon, Part 1

I am really excited to write this blog. The post has been sitting in my 'edit' box for awhile but I must write now. And I have about 1 hour to do it so here goes.

07.02.09 - No not, July 2nd 09, but February 7th, 2009 (yes that is how they write the date here in Europe - very confusing, still getting used to it) Jessica, other student teacher for DoDDS, and I headed to Munich via train at 7:34 am. It started with a 7 minute walk to the train, wrapped in our coats, scarfs, gloves, hats, and double layered socks. We then took the train to Treuchligten, switched trains and connected to Munich. We arrived about 10:30ish and the real fun was about to begin.

First thing off the train in Munich we were a little nervous because of a supposed "non-violent" demonstration that was to happen in Marienplatz (Mary's square) there in Munich. I guess Joe Biden was in town meeting with the Iraqi president and other world leaders so the Europeans took the opportunity to exercise the right of speech/complaint/drama/hippy days or something like that. (The military had sent out a warning but everyone told us to still go-all would be fine). Anyways, right off the train there was several groups, each about 20+, polizei or squat team members tramping through the train station. And I should say it is very intimidating because of the way they walk. Outside the train station police vans and cars were wizzing by, patroling the city.

After we failed at finding an actual map of Munich to help us navigate we set out with my hand-drawn map from googlemaps.com to find Marienplatz before the demonstration started. We were able to find it with no problem but it wasn't hard to find once you found the crowd of protestors and shoppers heading the same way you were going. Once to Marienplatz, we looked in a few stores for it is mainly a wide street with shops on both sides. We were able to also find Frauenkirsche (Church of Our Lady). This church is an icon of Munich. It has beautiful architecture in and out. We spent about 30 minutes there, enough to warm up. And now a few pics (I know haven't posted any for awhile).

Interior of Frauenkirche, built in 1468-88

Organ in Frauenkirche, I so would like to have played it!! Or hear it for that matter.

Church over yet?! Just me sitting on a bench.

After the Frauenkirche, we headed to the main center of Marienplatz. This is where the Glockenspiel is which is a big clock and under the clock is a place where at certain times figures come out and enact the Dance of the Coopers. We didn't have time to wait for noon since the square was beginning to fill with protestors and militia so we took a few pictures. We tried not to talk while we were there since the demonstration was against Americans. (Hmm, yeah we are smart eh?!) I really don't have a good picture of the Glockenspiel but I hope to have time to go back before I leave.

Glockenspiel is at the bottom of this picture where the greenish-portion of the building is with red in the middle.

Zoomed out, you can see the sqaure filling up with demonstrations. If you look closely at the bottom of the picture in the middle you can see a man in the background. He was going on and on in German about something to do with the demonstration.

Just a cool building and clock on one end of Marienplatz.

After our quick-view of Marienplatz we headed to Hofbrauhaus. Hofbrauhaus is the famous beer hall in Munich, the place where Oktoberfest originated. An those who know me know that this was not on my 'top 10 things to see in Munich' but Jessica had to go so I tagged along. It should have been a sign that it was not meant to be since we got lost but thanks to my good sense of direction, which some of you can testify of (not mentioning any names Mom and Lynell), we were able to find it. But just before we found it we stopped at a little pizza joint and ate some delicious pizza. It wasn't Bits great but it was delicious considering we hadn't eaten anything for 6 hrs. Once we got to Hofbrauhaus it took us another 10 minutes to figure out who would seat us. Finally we found a 'rude' waiter who said, "Just sit." So of course we sat. Jess got her beer and drank and drank and drank. I don't know how big that thing was but it was probably just under a gallon. It took her 2 1/2 hours to drink it! Yeah me! I shouldn't complain because from there it kind of got better. I was kind of down because we had lost time since we got lost and I was sitting forever in a beer hall but soon came along a group of 6 gentlemen who sat at our table. It was an eclectic group 3 Americans, 2 Asians, and one delicious Matt Damon.

Oh yes, Matt Damon - the german version! Okay so it wasn't the real Matt Damon but boy did this German beauty look like him. And I should mention it now of how sad I am that we never got a picture but please believe me. We were not brave enough to get a picture of him. But time to stop the girl talk, we became friends with this group of guys and they offered for us to tag along with them. Since they were pretty much heading our way and they had a map and 'german Matt Damon" who knew the way we could not reject the offer. (Don't worry mom and dad, they were all very nice and I didn't get a creepy feeling. It felt like a blessing since we had already had been lost in a city with a protest against Americans going on.) We then headed back through Marienplatz, where the protest had begun but it really sounded and looked like a festival or parade because it was all happy music and dancing, to BMW Museum and Olympic park.

Besides drooling over our German tour guide, who's real name is Tinno, we drooled over all the beautiful cars in the museum. I think the cheapest we found was 75000 euros which would probably be about $125,000. I put one on layaway. I should pick it up at a quarter past NEVER! The building was magnificent also!

BMW-museum or in German BMV

The Olympics where held in Munich in the summer of 1972. Today the facilities are used for local events, soccer for profession and amateur games along with concerts. We were able to go into the swimming hall where Mark Spitz set is 7 gold medal record. Sadly we saw many amateurs belly flop it from the high dive. When they hit the water, you thought there were 20 guns going off at the same time. Had to hurt!

Swimming hall where Mark Spitz set his 7 gold medals record.

Sadly this is where I must end for this portion of "Hanie in Germany." I do have more to share about Munich but due to early mornings I must head to bed now. Check your local computer screen for the next blog in a day or so.

Virginia Coalition

A few weekends back (yes, I am still catching up on telling you about my fun here in Germany) I had the opportunity to go to a concert at one of the other bases here in Germany. Luckily the nurse at the school has a daughter who is in charge of activities on Katterbach Base so we were invited to go to the concert. She also arranged for us to get a ride to the base since Jessica and I don't have a car and the train does not go to Katterbach. So concert night we were picked up by 3 soldiers in a Red Mercedes. But don't get too excited, it was a Mercedes 8-passenger van. German grandma next door has a fancier date car! The soldiers were pretty nice too, well at least on the way there but more on this later.

So the concert was of a new band on tour in Europe called Virginia Coalition. The concert was awesome!! I really enjoyed it. As of now, they do have a place on my ipod. We also got free cds of their album so I get to enjoy their music anytime I want to. (Check out their website www.virginiacoalition.com). But this post is not just an advertisement or sales-pitch for the band. There is more to the night.

After the concert, we had to wait for our "chauffeurs" to clean up since they are on the base's activity committee. So we waited, and waited, and waited. While we waited we also got to meet and greet the band. Well since we were waiting and waiting for our "chauffeurs" to do their job, we got to talk a lot with the band members. We talked about how they became a group, where they have had concerts, where they were going. It was cool. Time was soon winding down for us to go when the drummer dude invited us to dinner!! Wow! Me, invited to dinner with a touring band. Needless to say I was pretty estatic that this was happening. Luckily our "chauffeurs" were invited too so we were able to go. That's right, no ride on the tour bus darn it. We then headed to a local italian restaurant. (Yeah we are in Germany and head to an italian restaurant. Ironic eh?)

At the restaurant, we were not the smartest gals. There were places at one end of the table and some at the other end. Which end did we sit at? Oh, yes the one not at the end with the band!! Jess and I did get to sit by the manager and head singer but all they did was talk business. We regret it to this day but we really could not change our seats once we realize what we had sat. From then the night only got worse.

We soon said goodbye to Virginia Coalition and they headed to their next stop on their tour. Unfortunately we still had the ride home. I did mention earlier that the ride to the concert was pleasant but on the way home I was shocked by the language I heard from the soldiers, well actually one and he really got on my nerves. I 'swear' he talked the whole way home which was about 30 minutes and 29 1/2 minutes of this time he said the "f" word and every other cuss word in the 'trash-book'. Ahhhh!! He wasn't even making sense! (And he wasn't drunk either.) I wanted to call up the commander (whom I had previously met that night) and tell him how disrespectful this kid had been! (And I could do that actually.) But I didn't want to get into all that.

Overall it was a fun time and if Virginia Coalition ever makes it to the 'big charts' I can really brag that I saw them in concert and had dinner with them "back in the days." Oh, and I was a lucky winner of the night. During the concert there was a raffle and I won! I didn't win the ipod docking station but I did win "The Littliest Big Man" (or something like that), the biography of some wrestler! Yeah BABY Yeah!! I accidently forget to forget it in the van but eh its I nice space-taker on my dresser. Just haven't been in the mood to watch a movie about WWF. Crazy aren't I??!!!!

Ridin' the Train

I LOVE TRAINS!! I love how convenient they are, that you are able to get from place to place with no problem (most of the time), no rush hour, and lots of people to watch. Unfortunely, it goes vice versa with people being able to watch you and hear you. The downside is that we can't understand what the others are saying. Sound thing called 'not speaking the language' or something like that. But here are two stories about Jess and I on public transportation in Germany...

Story #1
When you meet someone, there is always a lot to learn about the other person and you most likely have a lot to share with them because you have stories to tell that they have never from you. When you have 30 minutes to spare on a bus with this new person, you have a tendency to get carried away. Well, when I first got here to Germany the train between Oberdachstetten and Ansbach was out of service due to a broken water line so the usual 10 minute ride on train ended up being 30 minutes on bus. Jessica and I were just getting to know each other and one day we got carried away with talking about hot actors like Orlando Bloom. About half way through the ride, it dawned on us that we were literally the only ones talking on the bus. And yes, we were not whispering either. That was the first time we realized that the bus was also 95% male passengers. We bother bust up laughing!! Even though we cannot understand German, the majority of Germans understand English. This bus of males was totally eavesdropping on our conversation about hot guys in Hollywood. EMBARRASSING!!! - We did not talk the rest of the trip but it wasn't silent because we could not stop laughing. Pretty much since then we haven't talked much during our trips unless we are alone. - Moral of the story and advice to future foreign travelers: Most people still understand English so beware of what you say.

Story #2
In an upcoming blog I will tell you about my adventure to Munich but for now, I must share the train ride home. The trip was wonderful but I had a lot to plan for the upcoming week with it being Abraham Lincoln's 200th Birthday. Mr. Young, my cooperative teacher and lent me his ipod because he had downloaded some history channel shows about Lincoln to see if I could use any for my lesson. Well, I had heard enough about bogus claims about Lincoln so I thought I would browse what other shows was on the ipod. The angels sang as I saw "The Office" new episode. The episode's name is "Fire Safety." If you are an "Office" fan, you might agree that this episode is one of the top episodes! It was hilarious (with a few slow points) but overall it rocked! So the first few minutes of the show, Dwight is trying to teach the rest of the office that they should have paid better attention to his fire safety presentation the other day. To get their attention he sets fire to a trash can and the rest must be watched. As I watched, I bursted out in uncontrollable laughter. Jessica gave me weird looks and I shared the funny moments with her. She started cracking up, both of us could not stop because it was so funny. Now I should mention the guys on the other side of the aisle. This German guy just gave me the weirdest look. Between gasps of air and my laughter I finally burst out "Funny show." I didn't get the kindest look at that moment and I could only imagine what was going through his head but I was loosing calories as I laughed and he was only gaining wrinkles from his furrowed brow. Moral of this story: Laughter is good for the soul. Just be careful where you watch "The Office" if you don't want grouchy people frowning at you.

First lesson with a little "Ross and Rachel"

So this past week I took a bigger step into teaching. I gave my first lessons in Social Studies. Everything went well. The kids are still getting used to me being another authority figure in the classroom and not just someone who sits in the back of the classroom. There is a good mixture of personalities in the classroom so there has yet to be a boring moment.

Tomorrow I start teaching Math which I am very nervous about because this isn't 1+1 math. I hope I am able to teach and deliver the lesson clearly so I "leave no child left behind." (Gotta love NCLB 2001 eh?). I also am putting together a lesson on Abraham Lincoln to celebrate his 200th b-day this Thursday so that will be interesting.

Oh and to share a "Friends" moment that happened the other day in the classroom. So 4th grade, girls no longer chase the boys or vice versa; cooties no longer exist. As a boy and girl walked into the classroom the other day they arguing about something. I caught the last of it when the boy says, "He doesn't want to break up with her; he only wants to take a "break!"" And yes he did the quotating fingers when he said "break." I totally was dumbfounded. How in the world would 4th graders know about 'breaking up' and 'being on a break'? ??? Too much adult tv I guess...

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?!?!