The Christmas the kept going :D

Yes, normally I do update my blog on Sunday. This week was different because, well because I have started to get a life :) Since that is not where my week starts, you don't get to hear about it yet. The suspense just might get to you waiting!

Not much of note happened the first couple days of the week. I made sugar cookies, since that is what one does when preparing for Christmas. What one usually doesn't do is stroll up and down the aisle looking at things in a foreign language trying to find something as simple as powdered sugar and baking powder. After much consulting with the trusty translator on my computer, I was able to find the baking powder and something that resembled frosting (it turned out that it was pretty much royal icing in a packet). I was later taught why I couldn't find the powdered sugar, it is in a box apparently. Didn't see that one coming. After a lot of messing around, translating items in the kitchen, and finding a way to make frosting without powdered sugar, the final result was delicious! I will prove that I can still cook my food even in a foreign country with strange ingredients.

After much baking of sugar cookies and frosting, it was finally Christmas Eve. A family in my ward, the Manners family, invited me to share their Christmas. Tim and Michele were amazing and welcomed me into their home. Their children Makay, Riley, Spencer, Haydn, and Ashton were all fun to be around for this holiday as well. They took me to the ward Christmas party and there was a lot of beautiful singing and there and I sang along, trying to use my German. It was a little difficult because I was so focused on the words, trying to make the sounds, that I sometimes forgot to pay attention to the notes. It was all good because you all know that even if I had been paying attention to the notes, I still wouldn't have hit them :)

It was nice to be in a house where Santa was real again. Where there were shouts of "RACHEL WAKE UP!!! IT IS CHRISTMAS!!!" that were not needed since I am still a little kid at heart and was already awake :) It was a lot of fun to watch them open their presents and play with them. Just the excitement of it all was a lot of fun. The Manners.. I mean Santa... Got me a few things that I really appreciated too. The main thing that made me happy was the very German Christmas tower decoration. I have been wanting one since the first time I saw them. They have a fan on top of the tower and below it there are different scenes depicting , in my case, the Christmas story with the angels and wise men and such. On the bottom there are six candles and when lit, the heat rises and makes the fan at the top move. When that moves, it rotates the scenes on the lower levels. I LOVE IT!!!

Not only was the company great for Christmas.. but the food!!! Oh the food!! WARM AMERICAN FOOD!!! Ham, funeral potatoes, pumpkin pie, carrots, potatoes, yams (or sweet potatoes. the debate goes on), Roast beef (from American cows!), cookies, and more yummy things! I was in heaven! Good food, good company, all around an awesome Christmas.

I went home on Saturday night and woke up bright and early Sunday to start the trip to Church. I seem to have the habit of leaving the house really early or rather late when it comes to catching my train. This time I thought I was late, got close, then realized I was ahead of schedule. So I decided to walk on the train tracks... I got some funny looks for doing that. Apparently that is not all that normal here. Meh :) After a nice little train ride, and then a nice little skate, I was back to the place where I understand things!!! Yay for English church! It is nice to feel the spirit AND know someone says to you. Great feeling.

Right as sacrament was about to start, the couple next to me (McKenna and Josef) lean over and ask me what I am doing after church. After a quick mental run down of my plan for the day (go home, nap... read?) I say nothing and they invite me over for dinner. How fun! An outing! Once sacrament is over a lady in my ward asks me what my calling is, or more if I have an active one. I am currently in the activities comity. On hearing that she asked if I would be willing to substitute for her in the Young womens. SCORE! I told her I would love to! So next Sunday I am going to give a lesson to the entire YW... All four of them. It will be epic.

This Sunday I also had to say goodbye to one of my favorite missionaries. Usually the missionaries are the only ones who talk to me at the institute and FHE stuff so I know them better than the other people there. It also helps that most of them know one of my favorite people back home. Elder Eaton called me a hippie cause I bike everywhere and then I took my longboard to church. It is called cheap not hippie :)

Church was over and now I had a dilemma. I had my purse backpack thing, a bag, a longboard, and then a big ol box that contained my Christmas in it. Now how to get this home? I wasn't allowed to open the box until I got on skype so my mom could see. Mckenna saw me trying to figure out how to juggle this all since we were taking the train home. Bless her heart, she found us a ride to her place. It is a nice experience I rarely get these days. Ridding in a car.

Once we got to their apartment, she offered to let me call my mom, tell her to wake up and get on skype so I could open the box. The plan worked out great except too many people wanted to see me open it, but only one could... it was crazy honestly. Finally I got it open and found an amazing site. PILLOWS! Real pillows! The pillows here are just sad. They look big and squishy, then you lay on them and you can't quite tell if there is actually a pillow still there. They also gum. Amazing Stride gum. YES! and then a bunch of random things from ring pops to a Barbie key chain. All in all I loved it! My little brother also sent me some rockin jewelry that I love!

My Christmas finally over, I sat down and ate dinner with McKenna and Josef. They are a lot of fun! It was nice to just talk and enjoy the food and company. It is also fun because McKenna is from Orem, went to Timp and graduated in 2005, and was married in the Timp Temple. It is nice to have someone understand what I am talking about when I mention places or Utah things. I had fun talking to them about things like books (Josef works in a book store and said he would tell me where some amazing used books stores are in the city) and artsy things (McKenna is a photographer, you should check out her stuff! She is fantastic! http://makephotographie.blogspot.com/ ) After a nice meal and some fun games, we all went to the train station and they saw me safely on my train. They are so much fun and I am looking forward to getting to know them better.

The past few days have been uneventful. I have been feeling a little sick so I really haven't done much... really... not a whole lot. I went and visited Susie before she left back for the states, and got milk. That is all. Other than that I have been reading (finished the 3rd HP book in a day....), researching and making notes of the places I want to go while I am in Europe, and playing with photo shop. I have been spending WAY too much time on photo shop, but I am having so much fun and I am not half bad. I want to learn more with it.

So I think that catches me up. If I forgot anything, I am not likely to ever remember it so it is lost forever. Hopefully it wasn't too important.

Sunday seems to be my blogging day.... So why not!?

This week has been a fairly normal week. Almost got ran over by a bus, biked 5 miles to go shoe shopping, biked another 5 miles in 13 degree(F) weather, and found a street with my name on it. Ya know, normal :)

Apparently people here are not really sure how to treat a person on a longboard. They understand how not to hit someone walking, or ridding a bike, but it seems to be rather difficult for them to grasp the concept of not trying to kill me. I was skating along, and mind you there is plenty of room on the road, and this bus pulls in from behind me, cutting me off. If I had not stopped, me and my board would be a lot closer than I would like to think about. I also get some funny looks after church when I am walking home in heels carrying my board. Who knows.

Friday was the first day of my two week vacation, so I decided I needed to go and buy some boots. The little town I live in is rather expensive and the cheapest boots I found were 100 euros. Not happening. I talked to Nikki before she left and she wrote down a store name that would have better priced boots, and so like the way to find answers to everything in this world, I googled it. The nearest one was only 8 km away (no I had no idea what that really meant) and according to the walking directions it would take an hour and a half to walk it. Sun was shining, my hopes were high, so I decided to bike it. It was a rather enjoyable ride. Most of it was flat so it wasn't too bad. Only got lost a few times but I was some how miraculously able to find my way back(I thank The Big Man for that one!!!). I made it there in only about a half hour! I was rather proud of that fact, just so you know.

Locking my bike up, I start to walk around and look at where I am. I can't find the shoe store I want, but there is just so much to see I eventually stop looking. Most cities here apparently have these areas where it is just a pedestrian zone and there are shopping places and bakeries there. I just kept going in and out of stores just looking. Finally I find shoes! There were some AMAZING ones, I just couldn't bring myself to buy them... I needed to stay focused and find that store. When I finally left the store I realized I was in the one I wanted. Ooops. Oh well, no boots that caught my eye. What did catch my eye though, was the euro store. It is the dollar store equivalent, but with things that are actually useful! Well.. mostly. I ended up getting a few things I ACTUALLY needed, and a few I may not have needed as much. Like the random scent thingy that is called 'Weihnachts zauber', which translates to Christmas magic. How could I not?!

After a quick stop by the bakery to get me a buttered croissant and a donut thing (Which I quickly discovered had an apple type filling. What is with Germans and apples?!) I unlocked my bike and prepared to head home. I would like to add a little note here. When I left my house it was starting to snow slightly, and stopped right after I was out of town. Well, this storm had caught up with me by this time. Realizing that I was a panzie and that I had no desire to bike home in a snow storm... I took the train home. They are warmer.

Still boot-less I decided to try again on Saturday. I pulled out my bike, got on the train to the Hauptwache in down town Frankfurt. The Hauptwache is a HUGE pedestrian shopping area with street vendors, street performers, and random guys under umbrellas selling bratwursts. I am trying to add pictures, but I seem to be having issues. Oh well. After a little shopping I not only had new boots, but also a new skirt. It is warm... So it works, right? :)

Moving on I started to bike towards the Christmas market. I was worried I would take a wrong turn and be lost in the middle of a city where I couldn't tell you which direction was North or even which direction I lived. The great thing about the Frankfurt Weihnachtsmarkt is that it is HUGE!!! There is no way to miss it. I don't know how to explain it really. It is kinda like when you are at a county fair and there are all the little booths and they are all selling their own little things. Some of these booths had Christmas ornaments, jewelry, gloves and hats, there were even a few that had brushes. Not really sure why these brushes were so amazing but the people selling them sure made them look like you needed them and your hair would all fall out without them. I may never know, seeing how my German sucks and I have no idea what they were saying. I will just have to buy a wig when my hair is gone from the lack of using those brushes.

That is about all that the Weihnachtsmarkt is. A county fair with a Christmas theme. They even had little kid rides, ok they only had a merry go round, but you get the idea. One thing that was NOT like a county fair was the drinks. Here they really like to drink their Glühwein, which is hot wine. They get the wine, put in a thing to warm it up, and they serve it. Usually they serve it in glass mugs too. You pay them like 5 Euros and when you give them back their glass they give you back 2 Euros. They are pretty eco friendly here. After a lot of searching I was finally able to find a place with hot chocolate and after much discussion got the woman to understand that I wanted it without the rum in it. I think she put the bendy straw in my drink to mock me. All the big kids with their Glühwein didn't have the straws. :)

Feeling a little warmer and a bit more refreshed, I started on my way to the church for the ward Christmas party. I got a little distracted on the way by Saint Bartholomeus's Cathedral. It was completely stunning. It is 311 feet tall and I want to go back when I have time to go inside of it.

Once I was no longer distracted by the beautiful cathedral I realized something. I was completely and totally freezing! I saw a sign with the temperature on it, -10 degrees Celsius. Not knowing exactly what that was in Fahrenheit, I caught on quickly that it was REALLY cold. When I got home I converted it. 13 degrees. No wonder. Realizing the faster I bike the warmer I get, I quickly start going. Even quicker I realize something else. That 5 mile bike ride the day before, apparently left me a little sore. Needless to say it took me a little longer than 30 minutes and there was some walking mixed in with it this time.

Being sore may have sucked and made me walk more, but because of that fact I realized something at a random street corner. Checking to see where I was and make sure I was still in fact on the correct road I saw an amazing sign. It read 'Ludwig Strasse' which for all of you who don't speak German and don't realize what that simple sign would mean, it says 'Ludwig Street'. Quickly whipping out my camera, and getting a few strange looks from the locals, I take a picture of my street with pride. I love randomly finding my name here. It seems to happen a lot. It is like my last name is German or something... Weird.

Finally I made it to the church, with my make-up running down my face as my eyes were watering from the cold. But I made it. I cleaned myself up and sat down, ready to have fun. Honestly the Christmas program was amazing. It was two wards combined, the international ward and the German one. So it started out with a prayer in English, then my bishop got up and spoke in English. It was then followed by a series of songs, some just instruments, others singing. There are some AMAZING voices in my ward. Completely phenomenal. Mixed in with those there were narrations telling the Christmas story. One lady would get up and say it in English, then another would stand and say it in German. Then when it all was coming to a close, the bishop in the other ward said some stuff in German, and then we had the prayer in German. It was a lot of fun.

Then there was food. Oh amazing food! Normally I loath ginger bread, but I have discovered something. In Germany it actually tastes good! After a lot of good food and fun chats, I hopped on my bike, went a few blocks, and gratefully took the train the whole way home.

So now I am back to Sunday. It was an amazing day. I loved the spirit at church today. It was so peaceful, loving, and the epitome of the Christmas spirit. Something did happen today that was out of the ordinary for me. I got my tithing all ready, put it in the envelope, sealed it, then realized something. In my wallet I had about 5 Euros... I needed 7 to get home... crap. I quickly say a little prayer and tell him I am going to trust him on this one. Maybe someone in the ward would give me a ride? That would work. Nope. I walked to the train station trying to figure out what was going to happen. I put my hands into my pockets to keep warm. There are some coins there. Slowly I start to pull them out, hoping they are 2 Euro coins... Nope. I now have about 50 more cents. Playing with them in my pocket I still don't see how I am going to get home. I go to the machine to buy my ticket. I decided to check my pockets again and see if by some Christmas miracle there was enough there. Slowly I pull out the coins. Nope. Still just 50 cents. Then I get this feeling that I should look in my little wallet that holds my credit cards and such. Sure enough, there was a 10 euro bill. THANK YOU!!! But my Christmas miracle doesn't stop there. I go to buy my ticket, and what do you know, all 4 machines are broken. I tried them all, and a few other people tried them, no avail. So I hopped on my train and headed home, with a huge smile on my face I might add.

Normally that is where I stop telling stories, because nothing happens from the train station till I get home. Not today. The train was packed, every seat taken, and most the standing room filled as well. Across from me is a cute little old man that reminds me of my Grandpa Beazer. At one of the stops, right after the train stops moving, there is a loud crashing sound. Not a good thing to hear while sitting on the train. Then the lights go out. Not good. People are talking back and forth, and I still have no idea what is going on because for some reason everyone decided to speak German. Strange. Well the cute little old man starts talking to me in German. I had no idea what he was saying, so I just smiled and nodded like I do with my Grandpa (Granted I understand him) and tried to make him feel like I was listening because I really did want to understand him. The only word I caught was 'kaput' which is broken. Great word to catch. After about 5 minutes the lights come on and we start moving again without any other problems.

After that I just walked home in 2 1/2 inches of snow and curled up in my nice warm bed after my long adventure. Then I had to use my translator on my computer to translate the directions to cook the lasagna. I tried to do it without it but the only word I could read was 'please' and that confused me more. Why was my food saying please?! After some translating I discovered that it was saying if I please I can cook it till the top is the crispy level I would like. Huh. That works. Well I survived another week in Germany and I am really looking forward to Christmas here.

Frohe Weihnachten und guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr

My conversations are just smiles ;)

So nothing too exciting this week has happened... Till yesterday! I had just a normal week but did get to go to the bakery and order some stuff. I tried this apple cake thingy... Which I am sure would be AWESOME if I could handle eating cooked fruit. I can't so I fed it to someone else :) There was this one thing, not sure of the name, but it tasted like a donut and had a slice down the top of it and was filled with custard stuff. Made my belly happy!

Like I was saying earlier, things got more entertaining yesterday. We went up to Eppstein, which is maybe 10 minutes away? Anyways there was a Christmas market up there which was pretty interesting. This was apparently just a really small one, and there were just little stands selling random fun things. Everyone walks around drinking their hot wine (except me and the kids :) We had hot chocolate). All of this is at the base of a little castle, and it was really pretty and I liked walking around it. Oh and I also had my very first authentic German bratwurst. My life will never be the same. I will never be able to eat one in America again.

After that I ended up going to a bar for Susie's(the current nanny here) farewell party. Man it was smoky! I was not prepared for that because that never really happens in Utah. Anywho, someone ordered my drink for me cause I didn't know how to say it. All it was is apple juice with a little bit of mineral water to make it bubble a bit. Actually pretty good. So I have fun mixing and mingling with the people there and all is grand. I do feel rather proud of myself though, I ordered my second drink all on my own! It took like 5 minutes of me saying it over and over to get it. I went up to the bar tender and asked for one "Apfelsaftschorle" and amazingly enough I didn't screw up and they understood me! YAY!

The funniest part of the night was I was talking to a guy who I had just practiced saying the drink with, and he was like "So what is the deal with the Apfelsaftschorle?" Like there had to be something wrong with me for not drinking. I simply replied that I don't drink. His reply "I am sorry" Then we had fun laughing about it, and how I should become a designated driver and make bank! (Germans may drink, no doubt! But they don't drink and drive. So if I cost less than a taxi, BANK!) When I left that night.. I smelled like smoke totally and completely. I mean even my bra smelled smoky... That is intense! It was fun and I am glad I have that little memory.

Today I went to church (Sadly with my jacket that smelled so lovely like a bar) and I really had fun! I really do love my ward already. They are all very welcoming and make me feel right at home. Oh! And I only had to take the train one way today, which I think I bought the wrong ticket... It was a lot cheaper than last week... hmmm... anyways, Anna from my ward drive me home today! It rocked so much! We had a fun conversation, she showed me where the embassy was, and I didn't have to figure out the train system backwards!

Can I find church? Why yes, yes I can!

Today is the first Sunday since I have been here and I was really looking forward to going to church. So I get online and see where it is. 20 minutes. No problem! That will be a breeze. Well since I don't have a car, things are a little more difficult. Not to be outdone, I decide to prove that I can do this. I do a little research and then ask someone who understand the train system better than I do how to get around. I am all set now. I wake up and leave the house at 8:30 in the morning and head to the station. Nikki was confused that I was leaving that early, so she asked me where I was going. When I told her she got this look on her face. The "Oh my the new nanny is going to get herself killed before being here a week" you know the look right? So I write down the number to the house, just in case and head out the door. (I would like to mention that I am on my longboard with my skirt and heels in my bag. ). I go to buy my ticket, I get it pretty much all ready... Then realize I don't know where to put the coins. Everywhere I have gone they gave me change back in euro coins... hmmm... ten minutes later I figured it out. Me-1 ticket machine-.05 (it did put up a decent fight, it deserves something)

Feeling pretty good at this point, I am on the right train and I only have one more train to catch till I am there. I get to the main station and follow the directions I was told, and got a little confused. So I found a security/police man. Not sure really which one he is, but he helped me in my broken German, and by broken all I could do is look confused and say "Offenbach? S2?". Bless his soul he pointed me in the right direction.

Well at this point I got REALLY confused on where I needed to be. There is a train coming... is it mine? Should I get on it? Should I wait? If I wait and miss it when will the next one come?! So I go up to a little old lady who, of course, doesn't speak English. Using my 'broken' German I start saying pretty much the same thing. "Offenbach Marktplatz? S-drei?" That sweet little old lady said a lot of things I didn't understand. I didn't actually understand a single word she said. Realizing that I didn't understand what she was trying to tell me, she walks onto the train that just pulled up and waves me in. HUGE step of faith getting onto that train. What if this crazy old lady didn't understand me in the first place?! Where would I be then?! So I follow her. She was right. She counted how many stops till mine and I got that part. Then she hopped of the next stop and carried on her merry little way. God bless that angel! I get off at the right station, skate for a bit, then see a sign that made my heart just fly out of my chest. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Visitors welcome. Granted it was in German, but all the same I knew the sign without reading it.

Walking into the building was a little weird because I was in a pair of jeans with a tear in the knee, and carrying my board, but I was insanely happy to be there. I changed and then sat down to read my Ensign, when a missionary comes up to me. "Ich Heisse Elder something something" he says... I feel proud to say that I was able to respond with "Ich Heisse Rachel". The next thing out of his mouth is "oh you are from America?!". Why yes, Elder, yes I am. So we get to talking because he is from Iowa and it is all grand fun. Then I ask him if he knows one Chad Roberts who served his mission there. Small world, he does! So here I am, some 5 thousand miles away from home talking to someone who knows one of my favorite people! GREAT Sunday!

Then I go and sit myself down and wait for church to start. It is crazy how many people came up to talk to me! I loved it! I felt the love they had for me already and the love of my Savior so strongly. I loved every single minute of it. It amazed me how many people took me under their wing today. I was given multiple pieces of paper with names, numbers, and addresses on it and told to call if I ever needed anything. These are some of the most amazing people I have ever met honestly. They made sure I never had to sit alone and that I knew where I was going. They even set me up with a ride home.

After church there was a baptism for a little girl in the ward. I was debating staying or not, but that was decided by the fact my ride was staying. So I sat through it next to Anna, who I love! She just was fun to talk to and I enjoyed her company. Then like any Mormon function, there was food after. I had to ask a few times what I was about to eat. It worked out well though.

Finally we are in the car headed home. It has been a great Sunday but all I want is my bed. They take me to the train station by their house which is only two stops from mine, I get out and buy my ticket and figure out when the next train is. I had just missed it, so I was going to have to wait an hour. AN HOUR!!! My head is just hurting at this point. All I can dream about is my bed! So we go back to their house (I can't remember their names right now... I know I should and I know it is right there, but I can't bring them up!) and we chill there for a bit and just talk. It was really nice and I did enjoy it.

But it is all over now. I am home, on my bed, and deciding it 6 is too late for a nap or not. It has been a 9 hour Sunday ordeal, but it is over now. It was amazing and I loved and needed that, but I am ok with being home now. God is great. I love my life. And I decided it is never too late for a nap!!!

Out into the unknown....

So I went shopping today! It wasn't all that different, I just didn't find too amazing of deals and just looked funny at the people who would talk to me. I did feel pretty proud of myself because I went into a store all by myself and got what I needed. Rock on me! There is some random food here that I am really starting to love! This one thing.. It was kind of like a hashbrown pattie that is deep fried, and then you eat it with apple sauce. Going to take some getting use to but I kinda liked it. And the crepes, whoever thought that putting nutella in a crepe was GENIUS! My favorite food of the day though is something that I don't know the name of or how to really explain it.. The name translated is kinda racist. But since I didn't make it up and it is not derogatory I don't feel too bad. They are called negro kisses, well they use to be called that, but the guy translating didn't know what they are actually called now. He just calls them that because that is what they have always been to him. So these things are kinda like marshmallow cream, dipped in chocolate with different things on them (such as amaretto, mint, white and dark chocolate and so on). THEY WERE AMAZING!!! I could only eat one though, which made me sad. I wanted more! And a real glass of milk (Don't get me started on what they CALL milk here)

Day one... Here we go!

I have to say so far I am loving it here!!! I am pretty sure it is going to stay that way. The family is great and I really do enjoy them and we are quite similar. The flight here wasn’t too bad in all honesty. Normally I am very happy with my long legs and enjoy my height all around… Not so much on a long plane ride though… Yeah. I pretty much slept the whole flight, mostly in weird ways cause that was the only way I could find to sleep. At one point in time my head was shoved between the side of the plane and my tray table… Wasn’t too bad actually.

I am now a resident of Kelkeim Germany and it looks so interesting! I can’t wait till I have the energy to go and explore the city. I have a feeling I am going to get lost a lot though. I was trying to figure out which way was North… I keep thinking South is North, so I was a little confused on why the sun was rising in the West. There are no Rockies to help me figure out where I am…. I am use to being a little spoiled that way.

The apartment we live in is really cute and fun. It is on the third floor and it is nice. I will post pictures sometime… If I can get my camera to work that is. I was thoroughly entertained by the toilet though. Not the actual toilet, just how you flush it. Above the toilet there is a button a little bigger than a paperback book and you just push it… I know I am weird but I think it is fun! Also it is going to take some time to get use to the light switches to be on the outside of some of the rooms. That should be easier than figuring out which trash can I throw things into. I think there are at least three different trash cans that you throw different things into. All in good time I guess.

In all honestly I am completely happy to be here. I think God has a reason for why I am here and I am ready to figure that out. While it was hard to leave behind my family and friends who I love so much, I know there is a reason I am here and that I have a whole lot to learn. Starting with German with any luck:)