WHAT A DAY

I don't think I've ever experienced anything like today. It was one of those days that things just kept going on and on and getting weirder and weirder. DISCLAIMER: Mom & Dad- Do not freak out after reading these accounts! Anne & I are safe and sound in the hostel right now!! Moving on...

1. At 4:30 this morning, we were awakened by a man barging in our room wearing a ripped blue bathrobe and yelling at us in French. He went over to Anne's bed and started yelling at her and Anne kept saying "Parlez vous English?!" and finally another girl in our room said "ALLEZ ALLEZ!" (Leave!) and he allezed! We should have known our day would only get weirder...

2. We missed our first train to Italy and had to wait around another hour for it. Wasn't so bad b/c we saw the BEAUTIFUL waterfront in Nice and got a few pictures. Made our next train and on the way had to stop and the police escorted a man w/a knife off the train. Continued our journey but when we went to switch at another station found out that the next train was an hour late. So we walked around the Italian port of Villa something and got some tiramisu and coffee before finally getting on the next train.

3. We got to our destination-- San Remo--and had a great time walking around on the beach and soaking up as much of the Italian Riviera as we could in 2 hrs. We got back to the train station to get our train back to Nice only to find that that train had been delayed 80 minutes. So Anne and I played Spit in the train station until our train came.

4. Got on our train headed to Nice...or so we thought. It stopped for a good 20 min at a random stop and then started heading back in the direction of San Remo!!! We found out that the train we were on you had to switch at another train stop!! So we got off at a random stop w/two ladies and a little boy also needing to get to Nice. After debating whether or not to take a bus (there weren't any more) or wait on the next train at 11pm, we decided we would split cab fare back to Nice. Anne & I went across the street to grab something to eat and when we came back our cab sharers were GONE! So...to make a longer story shorter, we got a cab and took what is the longest cab ride of my life back to Nice.

Between the chaos, we actually had a great day. Weird, albeit, but great. The Italian Riviera is beautiful and the food was awesome as was the view! We're leaving tomorrow but not before we head into Nice one more time and see a few sights there....Ciao bellas and bellos.

St. Tropez & Cannes

Today was our looooong journey to St. Tropez and then onto Cannes. It's no wonder all the stars go to St. Tropez b/c it takes FOREVER to get there. We took a train from Nice to St. Raphael which was a 45 minute journey. Then we got on a bus and two hrs later arrived in St. Tropez. Nothing much was opened and to get to the beach you had to take another bus. Well, we had arrived so late that we had to immediately get back on the bus. Not before getting a few pics of the port and a quick bite. We took the bus back to St. Raphael and then to Cannes. Ok I could DEFINITELY get along just fine in Cannes (btw, it's pronounced Can...or at least that's how the locals there say it!). We walked to the theatre where the Cannes Film Festival is and got lots of pictures and looked at all the handprints of the stars around the area. Then we walked onto the beach right as the sun was setting. It was beautiful!!!! We sat on the beach and took some pictures and took in the scenery. Cannes reminds me a lot of Miami Bch and Ft. Lauderdale. On the way back to the train station we stopped and looked in all the fancy shmancy stores i.e. Valentino, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana. We just got back to the hostel a/b an hour ago. Tomorrow we are hopping on another train and venturing over the Italian border just 20 min away to go to the Italian Riviera!!!! Anyways, I'm pretty exhausted and a/b to head upstairs for a quick shower and a good night!

Nice, Cote d'Azur, FRENCH RIVIERA!

I have to admit that I still cannot believe I am here in the French Riviera. And for so CHEAP! Looking around this area you wouldn't believe how cheap you can actually travel here!

Anyways, Anne & I arrived last night at around 9pm. We had some trouble finding our hostel and God was truly watching out for us b/c we were wandering around on the OPPOSITE side of where our hostel was (Dad I know you are freaking out reading this but you already know I am safe & sound!) and a couple drove up and gave us a free ride to our hostel. They were so nice and I was actually shocked at the kindness of strangers...esp in France!

Our hostel has been rated in the top 5 hostels in Europe by Lonely Planet & Rough Guides travel books. It's an old monastery that has been redone and has a lot of charm to it. It's about 20 min from Nice's city centre but completely worth the bus ride! It's the only hostel I've ever stayed in that offers free internet access, a full breakfast, and free linens & towels!!!

Today, Anne & I took a day trip to the medieval town of Eze. It is an old village situated on top of a hill that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. I honestly felt as if I were in the middle of a postcard! From Eze (pronounced Ezz) we took a bus into Monte Carlo/Monaco. I honestly felt as though I was in Palm Beach and Beverly Hills!!! It is so posh!!!! The casino in Monte Carlo is unbelievable. We felt like big podunks going in there b/c all these poshy people were walking in and out and we probably looked VERY out of place. We then walked to view the palace in Monaco and it is a breathtaking view! By the time we got back to our hostel it was nearing 8pm. We just finished eating dinner and are a/b to go up to our dorm and get some sleep. Tomorrow we are day tripping again this time to Cannes & St. Tropez.

Like I said before, I still can't believe I'm here.

Yes I'm still here!

I know sometimes I tend to fall off the face of the earth but it's usually because I am busy w/school and church and lazy...yes I admit!

This last week was busy due to the fact that we are off all this coming week for Fasnacht Break. Fasnacht is the equivalent to Mardi Gras in the States complete with parades lasting all day and festivities all week. Infact, they are so into it that Thursday at 2:30am I was awakened with drums and horns blaring down our street. Ahh, the joys of European celebrations!

Last Sunday, Anne, Andrea, Catharine, & I went to Lorrach to enjoy some of the parade of their city's Fasnacht. It was a lot of fun and I have some great pictures that I hope to put up soon. My computer has been acting up and so it's been difficult to post pics lately :(

As a lot of you found out at Christmas, Anne & I got a GREAT deal on airfare to go to Nice, France. The total was (Drumroll please)....a whopping $16 roundtrip!! When you live over here Easyjet.com truly DOES make it easy to go where you want for a cheap price. We are hosteling it up in Nice at a lovely hostel we found on cheaphostels.com. I think total we are paying $40 for the week! So, we are leaving at 7:45pm tomorrow evening and will arrive in Nice at 9:00pm. We'll be there until Thursday evening and are really looking forward to a much awaited break!

Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well. It's been quite warm over here. (Warm to us is 55 degrees!) The sun has been out almost every day this week which has been so great. I was sick for most of the week but managed to make it to class.

Ok, I will update some more once we get settled in Nice. Miss you all and big hugs!!!!

Of all the weekends....

To get sick! I woke up yesterday and my throat was a bit tickly but this morning it's worse and I'm coughing up a storm. I REALLY cannot afford to get sick this weekend as tomorrow is a church retreat and tomorrow night is a big staff Valentines Party! I'm taking lots of Vitamin C and these cough drops from the local pharmacy that seem to do the job normally. Please just pray that I am not sick and start to feel better soon!

Anyone know?

Does anyone have a clue on how you get Christian artists to come to THIS side of the world and do a concert? My friends and I aren't asking for much...just a simple concert by one of the following: Chris Tomlin, Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, Jars of Clay, Chris Tomlin, Rebecca St. James, Chris Tomlin, Bebo Norman, Chris Tomlin...

Any ideas?

PS I know that I put Chris Tomlin down several times....We (and by "we" I mean myself) just REALLY want him to come in concert here!

Happy Valentines Day!

Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Valentines Day! We had a great time today celebrating at RIA. Most of the students had never had a true Valentines Party so we did it up big time. Anne, Andrea, Nathan, & I had a joint party w/the 2nd-8th grades. They made their own valentines (no store bought ones over here!) and then exchanged them. Afterwards we had a big sugarfest in my classroom. The kids were all on sugar highs but it was all good b/c they went straight home as soon as the party was over! Tonight for dinner the staff went to one of our favorite restaurants on the Hauptstrasse in Weil called Buklu aka the half chicken place. You can get a half roasted chicken, fries, & salad for 4.50 euro! YUM! Anyways, here are a few pics of our day. Hope you all are having a wonderful day :)

Just on my mind

It's 11pm over here and I should really be asleep...however, I'm in blogger mode and have found it's best to complete my thoughts rather than wake up tomorrow morning and forget what I wanted to say.

As most everyone who reads this blog knows, I grew up going to bigger sized churches where you didn't know everyone and all that mattered was the size of the church and the size of the Sunday School classes and the choir and so on and so on. None of that matters in eternity. None of it. It doesn't matter if your church is the size of the Super Dome or the size of a walk in closet. What matters is the HEART of the church. What you do or don't do isn't important. I mean, I think it's fantastic that my father has been in the ministry for 35 + years and that he has done countless pageants and programs and let's face it, my dad just ROCKS as a music director. But even if he hadn't done any of that and was just a simple member of the congregation and had a heart for serving the Lord that is ALL that matters.

Am I against mega churches? No, not necessarily. I do think it's harder to find your place in those ginormous (if you've watched the movie ELF you get that word haha) churches but if that's what brings someone closer to God then hey, I'm all for it. Is it for me? Nope. After growing up in those kinds of churches I'm quite content in a smaller "arena." But what works for me, isn't necessarily what works for others and that's great.

Just as long as your church has a HEART for serving others and HIM that's really all that matters...

A time for reflection...

Sitting on my couch with a nice, hot cup of Earl Grey tea and completely vegged out in a comfy pair of pajama pants and an old tshirt. It's raining pretty hard outside and from my view you can't even catch a glimpse of the vineyards. Just cloudy sky from all around. Anne is cleaning her bedroom, a feat I performed last night woohoo! Andrea has been napping since we finished lunch. This is why I love Sunday afternoons!

I've lived in Germany now a little over six months and I can't explain how much I love it. Through pictures, yes, I'm sure you've seen the smiles and the fun I'm having but I wish you could all be here with me experiencing every moment along the way. To think that God would've brought me back to the area that I love is still incomprehensible to me. I never thought after leaving here 3 1/2 yrs ago that I would've ever come back and ever decided to call this place "home." But it is. It really and truly is home.

I have this wonderful little school that I call "work" and inside it's filled with some pretty awesome kids. Of course we have our little dramas in the classroom and not every day is a "good day at school." But for the most part, I think everyone, kids included, looks forward to coming back on Mondays.

I have a wonderful, wonderful, WONDERFUL church where I truly feel part of the family. An awesome pastor and pastoral family. Two roommates that God has blessed me with. We can be ourselves around each other and not feel the least bit inhibited.

To sum it up: Yes, I am happier than I have ever been! Weil am Rhein, Germany is my home. I can't imagine doing or being anywhere else right now and I can say this w/o the least bit of hesitation: I am right in the center of where HE wants me and at the end of the day that's all that matters.

PS The rain has suddenly stopped for the time being, the sun is out, and the vineyards are in full view.

New Room & IKEA run!

Some of you have heard me mention my "seashell" bed in my bedroom. If you don't know what I'm talking a/b I'll do my best to describe it to you. It was a full-sized bed that took up nearly my entire bedroom. The headboard of the bed was shaped like a giant seashell thus getting its nickname the "seashell bed." Because of its size, it was nearly impossible to do anything in my bedroom at all. The slightest bit of clutter made it look extremely messy. So, my dear friends Nathan & Amanda so graciously donated one of their twin sized beds and we spent most of lunchtime taking the old bed apart and putting together the new one. My bedroom looks brand new!! I have so much space!!!

After we put together the bed, Nathan & Amanda took Anne & I to IKEA. We were able to get some things we've needed since we moved in 6 months ago! Anyways, we are so excited w/our place and how it's really starting to feel like home more than ever! Below, a picture of my "new" bedroom :)

Annie takes over RIA

A few weeks ago in music we watched the movie Annie. Most of my kids had never seen it and therefore became OBSESSED with it. At recess they now all play "Annie" and it's the funniest thing to watch. Basically it's tag b/c all they really do is run back and forth to the "orphanage" which is a wooded area in the park we play in. It brought back some memories as when I was in 1st grade my friends and I used to play Annie on the playground as well!

Yesterday, I announced in Music that for our big Spring Concert we would be doing two numbers from Annie. One of them is the orphans song "Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" and six girls were chosen to be in the number. You would've thought I had told them we were taking it on tour or something b/c they were quite giddy all day yesterday. We practiced and I taught them some choreography to it and now the entire school is walking around belting the song! Two parents told me this morning that their girls practiced all night and couldn't wait to perform it.

Being a true theatre person at heart I love watching the kids get excited about this. They're going to REALLY be ecstatic when I tell them next year that we're going to do the whole entire musical of Annie for our Spring Concert!

Super Bowl What?!

Being that I am not up to date with current happenings in my home country, I completely forgot that Super Bowl Sunday was last night. I didn't even know who was playing until I woke up this morning and saw that the Colts had won over the Bears. I did know, however, that the game was played in Miami and that's a/b it. So how did I spend my Super Bowl Sunday? Went to church, met some friends for a coffee, came home, and the roomies and I ordered pizza and watched two episodes on Season 8 of Friends. We all went to bed around 11. Pretty normal Sunday if you ask me.

I'm still here!

I realize it's been a week since my last post and just wanted to let you all know I'm still alive and here :)

It's been a busy week. Last week me & Anne's new roommate, Andrea, moved in and on Saturday we all went to IKEA to get some stuff for our apt. I wish so much that Jax had an IKEA. That store is just amazing!

On Tuesday was the Talent/No Talent Show at RIA. I put it together and it was so much fun to watch the kids! Our big finale number was the 2nd-5th doing a dance to "Open Skies" by David Crowder. At the end of the number the staff joined in the dance and really shocked the kids which was great!

No more snow and it hasn't been that way since last week, though I've found that for me 45 degrees is completely normal. I no longer get cold at that temperature! Weird.

Nothing much else to report just that I've been running here and there and haven't had time to blog so much. Hopefully soon I'll be able to post some more pics, etc.

Miss you guys.