To say I have been neglecting my blog would be an understatement. The great part of this all though… Is the fact that it is a blog! The only feelings it has, are the ones I give it. I guess I have been long overdue for that.
The reason I have not written anything lately, is because I have not really been on any trips or anything and writing about my everyday life…. Well I would have been writing the same things over and over. I think the only thing that has changed (who knows when this changed and if I mentioned it), is my biking habits. I usually bike about 24 miles twice a weeks to the church. It is actually a really fun little ride. I will probably include a video of it next time I go.
Ok, back to the point. Months ago I was told about a YSA (JAE auf Deutsch) convention and I automatically wrote it off. I didn’t really see it happening since I have work and why would I randomly have from a Wednesday to a Sunday off? Wrote it off, never thought about it again. THEN I was sitting there in Church on May 9th (I am being specific for myself later on when I don’t remember these things. Deal with it.) And there was some mention of it. I leaned over to Em and realized that I did in fact have from Wednesday to Sunday off. No idea why still, but I did and that is what mattered. I was up in the air about it, then Monday some stuff happened that finally pushed me over the edge or off the fence, and I decided I was going.
The convention was in Leipzig, so after chatting with Em and phone calls I had a ride. Awesome! Had no idea what I was getting myself into, but it was getting me out of Frankfurt. The car ride was a lot longer than I would have liked. It was a long weekend so EVERYONE was going somewhere. But here… There are not too many ways to get away. So everyone is using the same road. AH! Here we are, stuck in a parking lot of an autobahn. Sad really. We finally got there at about 1 in the morning. Just in time to help clean up. Not the best start, but again, I was out of Frankfurt.
We (meaning all of the YSA’s. From Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and well a bunch of random Americans) were all staying in this old gym. One floor for the guys and the next for the girls. Us girls lucked out :) we got to sleep on the old sweat smelling carpet floor with the toilets that kept breaking. Oy. At this point in time I don’t even care. I worked 10 hours that day, been awake since 6:30 in the morning and it was coming close to 3. I could have slept anywhere.
At 5:30 in the morning I discovered something. I am not a European girl. I will give them this… They look AMAZING! I am sorry… I couldn’t do it. I was woken up at 5:30 as they started getting ready for the day, blow dryers going, hair brushes flying, even though they hadn’t gotten to bed till 3 as well. I was content to roll over and ignore them until about 8:30 since we didn’t have to get to breakfast until 9.
This brings us to Thursday. I was actually annoyed the most with this day. Everyone was speaking German (which is to be expected. I am still in Germany), but nobody was trying to help me be less confused and I had a hard time with that. We were doing this scavenger hunt, and I MIGHT be a little competitive. Possibly. But I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t help, write, look. Nothing. Everyone was just going and I was left in the dark catching a few words that were not helpful at all (I don’t know why the word potatoe sticks out so much to me, but it does. Not helpful though). Someone in our group wasn’t feeling very well, and it gave me an excuse to leave. I couldn’t stand being useless anymore.
We went back to the institute building and there was a pool table! Oh I was happy. So I started playing a game with someone and since I was slightly angry, wondering why in the world I was there. The great thing about playing pool when I am mad… I rock. I somehow make these insanely amazing shots! Everything is just perfect. BUT when that happens, it is hard to stay mad when I am being that amazing. I can’t help but smile. Then my game is just not as good, and I end up losing even though I was doing fantastic. Oh well. I needed that.
There was also a bunch of Americans there (like 6 of them), and they were in Dresden doing a study abroad thing, and so they came to the convention as well, since they were there. Anytime I would try to talk to someone to get clarification about what was going on, they would try to put me back with my group, then were confused when I would tell them I wasn’t with that group. That I actually LIVED in Germany. They couldn’t quite get that one :)
Most of that day was kind of a blur. I was really tired and most of the thing I did was just get to know people. I really met some fantastic people that I never want to lose contact with. OH! I remember! We had little classes. Not going to lie… didn’t get much out of them. The whole language barrier thing played a big factor in that, mixed with sleep deprivation. The second class I had a translator. Kinda. Tony was from Ogden and served his mission in Leipzig and was living in Stuttgart doing… an internship? I think. Anyways, he tried translating, but it didn’t end so well. Pretty much we just ended up talking since he would forget to translate, I would forget to focus and listen, and the teacher was an odd duck :)
Afterwards we were having a movie night. There were games in the other rooms and I wasn’t really ready to sit down. I didn’t feel like sleeping and if I tried to watch a movie I would have been out! I heard them gathering people for a game and I couldn’t help but join! Werewolf. I played this game time and time again with friends from home and I was so excited to play something I ROCKED at and knew. I learned that it is significantly harder in German. The game is like Mafia, if you have played that one, and it is all about trying to convince people you are innocent and that the other people are the werewolves killing everyone.
Like usual, I was a werewolf. This was bound to be a fun game. I had someone translating for me, Jan. Rockstar of a translator. It was hard to get them playing because very few people had ever played it and they weren’t quite sure how to make it work. I was worried about Jan and if he would keep translating when my head popped up as a werewolf. He just kept on going! Never skipped a beat and became the best asset since everyone assumed he wouldn’t do that! Amazing! It was funny when he would forget to listen and I would ask what is going on. His reply “Well this guy over here, he says he doesn’t like your haircut.”. The first time he said that it totally caught me off guard! That has NEVER happened to me! Not the bad haircut comment (come on, if you have known me for a while you know there have been a few), but someone that I had just met was messing with me! It is sad how much I have missed that. I miss smack talk ( I will get back to that one) and I miss being made fun of in a fun way. Dinner is just not the same without someone getting insulted.
As usual with that game, I won (thanks to Jan they didn’t see it coming!). I decided I didn’t want to do another round. It is just not as fun when you can’t tell what is going on. I would take my victory and walk away. I ended up sitting down and talking to Ashley, Esther, F…… Why can’t I remember his name?! I remember that it started with an F and that I just wanted to keep calling him Fabio because that is the only F name that comes to mind after Frieda. This is going to bug me… He was really cool too! AH! Anyways. We were sitting there talking about our stories. What brought us to the church. When we kinda got our testimonies. It was really cool to hear others and share mine. Then somehow it turned into this singing circle. Ashley and Debby were singing with this girl, who I don’t know her name! I feel awful but I don’t remember it! They were amazing. I couldn’t believe the talent in that little circle! Florian (THAT IS WHAT IT WAS!!!) was beatboxing to the songs (phenomenal), girl whos name I forgot was playing the guitar, Ian, Ashley and Debby were singing. Goodness! I don’t know if there is something in the water here, but I am going to drink more of it in case I start singing anything like these guys! Amazing.
Cleaning up, going back, and the cycle starts again. Girls waking up and getting ready for the day. I was on the verge of dying at this point. All I wanted was a shower. But well… I don’t do communal showers. I was trying to find a way to make this work. I was contemplating waking up at like 4 in the morning to shower then go back to sleep. Luckily I was informed that someone had found a single shower downstairs. I was the happiest person you could have found! AH! Just another point proving that I make a crappy European girl. That is normal for them, not me. Nope nope nope.
After another night of sleeping on a lovely cold floor and waking up earlier than I would have liked, we headed over to the church to eat breakfast and get ready to play. I was really excited. We were playing volleyball! I couldn’t tell you the last time I got to play volleyball! I was still a little annoyed with some things and this was my life line. I don’t write too much about my emotions on my blog, cause I think it is strange to tell the world these things, so I will just leave it as, if I didn’t get to play volleyball I might have accidentally killed someone with my emotions. Even though nothing was their fault. They were just there.
There were a few hang ups trying to get to where they were playing volleyball. I almost had a break down when I thought I wasn’t going to be able to play. Luckily I got there. It was a really cool place. It was indoor beach volleyball. After a few dives I was covered in sand. It was everywhere. Ears, toes, hair, everywhere.
I learned something funny then though about Europeans and volleyball. When it comes to soccer (it is really hard to focus and think if I should write soccer or fußball) they rock. They KILL! It is amazing. But for the most part… they don’t really play volleyball. There were a few times they would try and call some weird rule because it made sense in their minds. Like when I hit the ball when I was out of bounds. That is when I realized I couldn’t play this game for real. I just had to relax and play. No score, just laughing.
A lot was learned about the German people during this time. I was having fun smack talking, cause that is what you do :) Half the fun of the game. Well I decided I wanted to learn to smack talk in German. Apparently Germans don’t really smack talk, or don’t understand the concept of what I was trying to do. Which I just don’t get. Have you ever seen a German at a soccer game?? The competition is there. So the smack talking should be as well, right? Sadly I didn’t learn how to smack talk in German. Still on my list of things to do, but it was just going to have to wait for another day.
After this long day of running around and playing in sand, all I wanted was a shower. I was about to break down and deal with communal shower issues. Then my lovely American friend Erika informed me that she found individual showers on the bottom floor! Oh bless her soul!
Feeling clean, it was off to the dance! If you have been following the blog, you will remember when I talked about how odd the dances here were and I didn’t know how I felt about them. I LOVE THEM NOW!!!! I pretty much have the disco fox down, and I learned that when I was confuse and wondering why I couldn’t figure it out and what was wrong with me… It was the guys who couldn’t keep a beat. Now to find a guy back home that can disco fox….. hmmm…
The next day was mostly just to ourselves and enjoying the city. All the sleeping on a cold floor had gotten to me. I was starting to get sick. All I wanted was a Mcflurry. So I got me one :) Tony was smart enough not to argue with me when I was sick, and instead just would tell me when I was being grumpy. I avoided some people cause I knew I was too grumpy to be around people.
Then it was off to dinner and another dance. I was feeling a bit more sick, and knew it was going to get worse. You know when that happens? When you just know it is going to be a bad one? Well I decided to take the defense. I talked to my friend Esther and she found two guys to give me a blessing. Funny thing… It was in German :) I was able to catch a few words here and there, but that didn’t matter. It is really amazing that the Spirit has no language. I felt the Spirit so strong and knew everything was going to be ok. Esther translated some of it for me after and it was great. No I didn’t magically get better, but I started feeling better, and it wasn’t that bad. I felt fine, just had the sniffles for a while.
This brings us to our last day there. Sunday. We just had sacrament and I somehow managed to end up at the stand to bear my testimony. Before I went up I had Esther translate some things I didn’t know how to say so I could bear my testimony. I have NEVER been that scared in my life to bear my testimony. I started in English, and then went to start my testimony and got to “I would like…” then realized I didn’t ask how to say bear my testimony. Typical. Oh well. I kinda just blurted out something like “ooops, I don’t know how to say bear my testimony in German” and someone behind me said it, but I couldn’t understand. I was still freaking out a bit. So I just kinda mumbled nothing and people chuckled and forgave me. I then said my testimony in German, the little paper in my hand shaking like mad, but I did it :) I still feel rather proud of that.
Then it was time for goodbyes. I didn’t like that part so much. But now I have reasons to go to some of the places I should see. Esther lives in Austria where Sound of Music was filmed, and she says it looks just the same, so I will need to come and visit her down there for my sound of music tour :)
Honestly I am really glad I went. I almost didn’t go, and I would have been missing out on a lot if I had stayed home. I also was told once I got home that Leipzig is where my Grandpa was born :) that makes me so happy!!! Brings new meaning to ‘The Fatherland’ ;)
