After getting an email from one of Texas A&M's most avid tennis fans about my two month delay of new posts, I thought I should fill in the few loyal readers on what I am doing these days. Right now I am in Lexington, Kentucky, and getting ready to play 5 (hopefully) consecutive tournaments in the U.S. this fall. My A&M teammate and friend, Anna Lubinsky, will be flying up to Kentucky to play a tournament in Ashland with me and then we will go to Troy, AL and Southlake, TX. I am so glad it has worked out that we can travel together since I was originally planning on driving by myself. This will make for cutting down gas costs, helping the time go by faster and of course spending hours and hours with one of my best friends. We will be teaming up for doubles and I am honored considering Anna has two doubles titles from previous pro tournaments. Whoop! Anyway, I am going to be working on making this blog more interesting to read and more current as well.
Love!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
The countdown has begun!!!
After spending 5 weeks in Germany and about 4 weeks of chaotic travel in France, to say that I am ready to go home is an understatement. I like Europe. I really do. It is very different than the U.S. and ¨I have broadened my horizons.¨ I enjoy how every single home I slept in over this time frame has less stuff and junk in their homes than American homes. It is possibly to raise a family of 6 children in a 3 to 4 bedroom house. Sharing rooms and bathrooms does not hurt anybody, in fact I argue they make the bond closer. I also enjoy not using my cell phone except to get calls from odd agent man who tells me what city to venture to next on my goosechase through the country. I love visiting markets with fresh fruits, bread and meat and watching people carry their goods home in cute little baskets as opposed to thin plastic bags that cut off your circulation when trying to carry a gallon of milk in them.
Here are a few things I will not miss:
trains- although efficient and good for the earth I will not miss the strikes that take place and wonder if it will effect me, or the smell of the train station, or the chime that rings like every 25 seconds
white bread- ate too much, often it was the only option when running through the train station and knowing i had a 6 hr train ride ahead of me
raw meat-gross
I can not wait list:
I can not wait to drive!!!!!! Freedom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am not confined to small roads with bumps and potholes... in fact if I want to I can take a road trip on a whim with smooth safe roads and an automatic smooth ride!!!!!!!
I also can not wait to communicate in English!!! I do not have to use short simple sentences and I can ask anybody anything and I will get an accurate answer!!! (I am thinking of directions, restaurant menus, planning, etc.) I should have taken French lessons before coming here, but I didnt. I gave them one more reason to curse the ¨ignorant Americans¨ but actually there are Indians and South Americans here who are in the same boat as I am.
I CAN NOT STINKIN WAIT TO SEE MY FRIENDS, MY FAMILY, and OH YEAH MY FIANCEE!!!!!!!!!!! (That story will come later, I am still waiting to tell a friend personally back home)
Love
Moi
Here are a few things I will not miss:
trains- although efficient and good for the earth I will not miss the strikes that take place and wonder if it will effect me, or the smell of the train station, or the chime that rings like every 25 seconds
white bread- ate too much, often it was the only option when running through the train station and knowing i had a 6 hr train ride ahead of me
raw meat-gross
I can not wait list:
I can not wait to drive!!!!!! Freedom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am not confined to small roads with bumps and potholes... in fact if I want to I can take a road trip on a whim with smooth safe roads and an automatic smooth ride!!!!!!!
I also can not wait to communicate in English!!! I do not have to use short simple sentences and I can ask anybody anything and I will get an accurate answer!!! (I am thinking of directions, restaurant menus, planning, etc.) I should have taken French lessons before coming here, but I didnt. I gave them one more reason to curse the ¨ignorant Americans¨ but actually there are Indians and South Americans here who are in the same boat as I am.
I CAN NOT STINKIN WAIT TO SEE MY FRIENDS, MY FAMILY, and OH YEAH MY FIANCEE!!!!!!!!!!! (That story will come later, I am still waiting to tell a friend personally back home)
Love
Moi
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
So, what are you actually doing in France anyway?
People that I keep in touch with know I have been in Germany for 5 weeks and now France for about 2 weeks. Only 12 days remaining of my 9 week journey!!! This should sum up what my purpose was in coming to Europe.
-After getting chewed up and spat out in Portugal this past Feb., I only played 4 matches in the course of 4 weeks. I decided I actually want to play as opposed to travel far distances without a guarantee of matches. Of course, if I had won I would have gotten more matches but I thought I should take a different route for a while to play more.
-Many people thought it was a good idea for me to come to Europe and play in their leagues. This is pretty much playing tournaments that different clubs sponsor with players mostly from France and some international. The tournament lasts an entire month but since it is like a feed in draw, I come into the tournament in the quarterfinals or so...sometimes only the finals depending on the level of the tourney.
-How is this possible? I do not have an actual ranking yet, as I am new to the system. But I have an assumed ranking which lets the tournament directors know where I stand. I actually have an agent who is French and I have never met him. I got his contact info. through a friend of Anna Lubinsky who worked with him a few years ago. Anyway, we communicate by cell phone and he tells me which city to travel to and which train to take. There is someone at the train station to pick me up and take me to the courts.
-Ok, the original plan was for me to spend 2 months in France. Yikes, glad I scaled it back to one!!! It can get a litte lonely by myself. After meeting a nice girl in Portugal, she asked me to play for her club team in Hamburg, Germany which is where I was last month. That was an AWESOME experience and I really do love Germany. The people were great and the bread was superb, too. Haha
-I took a train from Hamburg to Paris and now the goal became for me to play 10 tournaments from June 5th to June 30th. It is June 18th today and I play the finals of tournament number 5; Tomorrow I travel and play number 6 on Fri and Sat. Then an overnight train on Sat. night and play another one on Sun!!! This will put me at playing touneys 8 through 10 from Monday til Sunday. Whew! I am already tired thinking about it!!!
-Why ten tournaments??? I want to have the option to play for a French club next May. Some clubs house you and you play 5 matches for them every weekend for 5 weeks and you get paid. Then during the week I can play more tournaments like this. If I were a European citizen I would not have to play the 10 tournaments... But I am not, so I am. (I like that sentence)
-I am not totally sure if I will play for a club next year but I want to have an option. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that there is prize money involved which has been great! It pays for my travel expenses (food, train, hotels somtimes) and I have some leftover!
-When I get back to the U.S., I will be playing a few tourneys in July, maybe one is September, then hopefully 2 in October.
When I think back before I came here I sort of can not believe I came over here alone for over 2 months. I am glad I did though. When will I ever get to spend this much time overseas again? Talk about an experience...I learn so much everyday. Example: Yesterday at my first match I played a local girl. When we met I sorta stumbled though saying that my name is Sarah in French. She told me hers, then we did the little kiss cheeck, kiss other cheek thing. This still just cracks me up and I feel so silly when I do it. Anyway, she went in for a third cheek kiss and I stopped at two. She was sorta taken back and immediately said ¨Pardon.¨ I, of course, tried to smooth over the awkwardness but saying I am foreign and do not know the proper etiquette. After the match when we shook hands, she did it again and I forgot AGAIN!!! Idiot!!! Then the tournament director whose house I am staying in told me (thankfully!) that in south France they do 3 kisses. Well thanks for letting me know!!!! haha She said in Paris they do 4 which must just take so much time.
Au revoir!!! Kiss cheek, kiss cheeck, kiss cheek!!!!!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Dunkerque, Libourne; now Perigueux
Howdy...please excuse grammatical errors
After not having internet access for 3 days it is good to be reconnected with the world via emails, gchats and of course, the blog. I won a tourney yesterday in Libourne. Afterwards we had another 2.5 hr meal of odd pork brain looking meat for starters which I did not try even though I usually try everything once. Along with that were baguettes that just sit on the tables and everyone grabs chunks of bread...Then 30 min later came meat and potatoes...sausage and huge bacon slab looking things that were very fatty and not really great... 30 min later came cheese which I had the day before but not last night...30 min later came dessert of ice cream cones which I loved!!!!! Then most pople smoke. I did not partake. Everyone had wine all night... Tournaments here are a big club social... They last for one month although i am only there for a day or so...so, for the last 15 days bout 30 club members have eaten together !!! Lunch and dinner but only bout 5 come to lunch... I seriously is so different. It is such a relaxed atmosphere and they are like family to one another.
The family I am staying with have a vineyard and this week they bottled all their wine:::bout 120,000 bottles I think. I got a lot of the process on film. The husbqnd and father here is the fourth generation of his family line to do it. HOW COOL!!! I actually do not paricularly care for wine; but it is not an option here even though i still get goosebumps with almost every sip. It really is hard for me to swallow but I do and just say "Oui, oui" when they look for my reaction. I have also tried 3 cheeses and have had to forget about the mold that surrounds it and try toavoid it on my plate. Yikes. Other than scraping the mold off, the cheese is very very good. till tryin to get used to all the white bread. The long baguettes are so funny and I feel so French when i eat them.
This is a beautiful place in the country and a place i have never seen before. Bout 15 min away is a town of buildings and a church that is so old it is a joke. A man who took me said, "this dates back to the Romans and after the Roman empire fell monks lived here." Little restaurants are stuck in tiny spots and of course there are tons of places to buy wine.
I actually won some wine but do not know how to get it back since it is illegal. I may have to pay for an extra bag to check since it is also illegal to carry it on. Anyone wanna help with advice? I am flying with US Airways and recenty someone told me they allow an extra bag for sports people. ???
This is by far the nicest and prettiest place I have been to. Tourney num 4 finishes on sunday in Perigueux then the next one finishes Wed. Hopefully I can get in 5 more by June 30th!!! I love it here, well I mean I really like it...but I can not wait to get home!!!!
Love
Sarah
After not having internet access for 3 days it is good to be reconnected with the world via emails, gchats and of course, the blog. I won a tourney yesterday in Libourne. Afterwards we had another 2.5 hr meal of odd pork brain looking meat for starters which I did not try even though I usually try everything once. Along with that were baguettes that just sit on the tables and everyone grabs chunks of bread...Then 30 min later came meat and potatoes...sausage and huge bacon slab looking things that were very fatty and not really great... 30 min later came cheese which I had the day before but not last night...30 min later came dessert of ice cream cones which I loved!!!!! Then most pople smoke. I did not partake. Everyone had wine all night... Tournaments here are a big club social... They last for one month although i am only there for a day or so...so, for the last 15 days bout 30 club members have eaten together !!! Lunch and dinner but only bout 5 come to lunch... I seriously is so different. It is such a relaxed atmosphere and they are like family to one another.
The family I am staying with have a vineyard and this week they bottled all their wine:::bout 120,000 bottles I think. I got a lot of the process on film. The husbqnd and father here is the fourth generation of his family line to do it. HOW COOL!!! I actually do not paricularly care for wine; but it is not an option here even though i still get goosebumps with almost every sip. It really is hard for me to swallow but I do and just say "Oui, oui" when they look for my reaction. I have also tried 3 cheeses and have had to forget about the mold that surrounds it and try toavoid it on my plate. Yikes. Other than scraping the mold off, the cheese is very very good. till tryin to get used to all the white bread. The long baguettes are so funny and I feel so French when i eat them.
This is a beautiful place in the country and a place i have never seen before. Bout 15 min away is a town of buildings and a church that is so old it is a joke. A man who took me said, "this dates back to the Romans and after the Roman empire fell monks lived here." Little restaurants are stuck in tiny spots and of course there are tons of places to buy wine.
I actually won some wine but do not know how to get it back since it is illegal. I may have to pay for an extra bag to check since it is also illegal to carry it on. Anyone wanna help with advice? I am flying with US Airways and recenty someone told me they allow an extra bag for sports people. ???
This is by far the nicest and prettiest place I have been to. Tourney num 4 finishes on sunday in Perigueux then the next one finishes Wed. Hopefully I can get in 5 more by June 30th!!! I love it here, well I mean I really like it...but I can not wait to get home!!!!
Love
Sarah
Friday, June 6, 2008
France 1
I am pecking at the keyboard from the court site of my first tournament in Elbeuf Saint Aubin which is near Rouen;. Somehow I managed to get here sane enough to play well and win. Yay! I played a &- yr old girl from Paris who was trying to psyche me out before we played. She asked me if I get bored at 10k tourneys. She was trying to figure out my level and make me feel old. Hehe oh well. I play tomorrow at 9am. The tourney is a feed in draw, meaning higher level players do not have to play until later rounds. So, I play a girl who did not play in the yourney today. We get free hotel rooms, so thqt is great! Some man just pointed and grunted at the girl I will be rroming with. Maybe she will speak French and I can learn from her and follow her around.
I stayed with friends at a very nice and prestigious academy for two nights and one of their players was in the quarters of teh French Open Jrs. We got free tickets to watch him, so I got to go to Roland Garros! I did not see anyone else play but the atmosphere was great and a little more formal than I would assume teh US Open would be. I have not been there, so I really can no say...
gotta go!
I stayed with friends at a very nice and prestigious academy for two nights and one of their players was in the quarters of teh French Open Jrs. We got free tickets to watch him, so I got to go to Roland Garros! I did not see anyone else play but the atmosphere was great and a little more formal than I would assume teh US Open would be. I have not been there, so I really can no say...
gotta go!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Blankenese Tournament!
Today I played in a tournament in which Blankenese is the host site. I am playing in the Women's Division, kinda like the open division back home. There are also 12's, 14's, and 16's (no 18's, they grow up faster here and are herded into the adult divison). The club has it's own restaurant that is a separate building in itself but it is joined to three indoor carpet courts. Most people sit outside to eat and enjoy the courtside view and today I went in the restuarant, Da Giovanni (?) and looked at the last court. The lights were off but sunlight shone through windows. I saw tons of tennis bags and people just sitting and some walking around and my first thoughts were accurate: some groups of kids bring sleeping bags and pillows to sleep on the court to save travel $. I don't think we'd find that in America...It is a good idea since we are in an expensive location. (The girls said the hotels were pricey around here.)
My first match was at 10:00 and honestly I was a little nervous. She was a 31 year old German woman that actually teaches here at this club. The first match jitters just don't go away no matter where I am or what is one the line. After her first groundstroke, a forehand, in the warm-up I knew I could handle her. Although I lost the first game I won 6-2, 6-1. I moved her around a lot and practiced all my shots: lobs, volleys, dropshots, slices, high top spin...It was really fun! My next match was scheduled for 4:00 but I decided to stay at the courts all day and munch on my pbj while I watched Johanna (the 15 year old sister) with Mrs. Spincke. Mrs. Spincke is such a hoot. I can't really describe her but she is always laughing, saying her opinion, telling someone what to do, stirring up something good in the kitchen or practicing her English with me. She is light hearted and tonight at a party (I saved this as a draft and have now returned) I passed her on the way to go to the bathroom and she just laughs and says, "Cook-ooo!' like I am crazy or something! haha We have a lot of fun and she has made me feel incredibly at home.
I continued to wait around, watching some matches and just enjoying the beautiful weather of prob about 75 degrees. The time quickly passed and I was playing this girl that I had noticed all day because she has, "the look." She walks really confidently and has a strong presence. Well, I tried to strut out to the court with her and I guess I did a good job of showing my stuff too because I won the first set 6-3. Halmuth (Claudia's father) and her mother were up on this balcony thing watching and that really helped. I guess I am pretty vain to play better when people are watching...oh well, it worked! After my first set finished she took a bathroom break and Claudia was warming up right next to me to start her match. Inni (the Russian girl I was playing) pretty much just walked over me in the second set, 6-1. I remember getting frustrated because my accuracy was so inconsistent and just kinda stupid. I was making dumb mistakes and getting pushed around like the runt in a puppy litter. After that episode, I took the bathroom break to redo my hair and marched out to the court. About 20 minutes later I was down 4-1, then 5-2 and was really upset with myself although noone knew expect my head. I was serving on the good side where the sun wasn't right in the ball toss path and was down 0-40. (OK, I am almost positive it was 0-40, it was atleast 0-30 but the other way makes a better story.) Somehow I scraped that first match point out of the way, then the second, then the third and was content when it got back to deuce. Yay! I was back in the game! Then I won the game, broke to make it 4-5, held serve again and should have been up 6-5 but she held. We switched sides again and I remember finishing my water bottle (they don't drink the tap here) but then I was like, 'Well, next time I sit down it'll be over anyway!' I pushed her to a tiebreak and at that point I was pretty sure I was going to take her since I had a lot more momentum. I got off to a good start in the tiebreak and won 6-2! Yippee kai yai yay!
There was actually a good crowd because they put the adult divisions on the center court right outside the restaurant and under the balcony thing and I had the Spincke's cheering for me and this really sweet lady who only speaks German so we just smile at each other, and then smile again, and then nod, then tilt our heads at one another, and then wave. She organizes our team stuff for the season. She was clapping for me, too. The atmosphere seemed sorta sophisticated because they recognized good points and only clapped and cheered on key moments. There were probably about 100 people or so watching total and it made for a very unique memory for me. A lot of the kids just hang around at the tournament site and were sitting along the ledge next to the other side of the court. As my mom would say, "Small town America" meaning the kids are just outside and content and love tennis. Anyways, I really wish I had some of it on camera but I will take a pic tomorrow so you can understand. I am trying to upload pics to my blog but of course the computer stuff is in German so I don't have a prayer. Oh yea, the iceing on the cake! The girl I played was the number 2 seed and I didn't know that until after the match. The burnt part of the cake is that I play Claudia tomorrow in the quarters. Oh well, that's part of it. We don't play 'til 1:00 so we are going to church in the morning beforehand.
I was really excited to have this win. I can't remember my last win over a good player in a hard three set match. It is a very good feeling.
I am tired. Much Love! And if you read this on Sunday, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, Mama!!!!!!!!!! and Amy! and Grandma! and Rhonda! and soon Emily!
My first match was at 10:00 and honestly I was a little nervous. She was a 31 year old German woman that actually teaches here at this club. The first match jitters just don't go away no matter where I am or what is one the line. After her first groundstroke, a forehand, in the warm-up I knew I could handle her. Although I lost the first game I won 6-2, 6-1. I moved her around a lot and practiced all my shots: lobs, volleys, dropshots, slices, high top spin...It was really fun! My next match was scheduled for 4:00 but I decided to stay at the courts all day and munch on my pbj while I watched Johanna (the 15 year old sister) with Mrs. Spincke. Mrs. Spincke is such a hoot. I can't really describe her but she is always laughing, saying her opinion, telling someone what to do, stirring up something good in the kitchen or practicing her English with me. She is light hearted and tonight at a party (I saved this as a draft and have now returned) I passed her on the way to go to the bathroom and she just laughs and says, "Cook-ooo!' like I am crazy or something! haha We have a lot of fun and she has made me feel incredibly at home.
I continued to wait around, watching some matches and just enjoying the beautiful weather of prob about 75 degrees. The time quickly passed and I was playing this girl that I had noticed all day because she has, "the look." She walks really confidently and has a strong presence. Well, I tried to strut out to the court with her and I guess I did a good job of showing my stuff too because I won the first set 6-3. Halmuth (Claudia's father) and her mother were up on this balcony thing watching and that really helped. I guess I am pretty vain to play better when people are watching...oh well, it worked! After my first set finished she took a bathroom break and Claudia was warming up right next to me to start her match. Inni (the Russian girl I was playing) pretty much just walked over me in the second set, 6-1. I remember getting frustrated because my accuracy was so inconsistent and just kinda stupid. I was making dumb mistakes and getting pushed around like the runt in a puppy litter. After that episode, I took the bathroom break to redo my hair and marched out to the court. About 20 minutes later I was down 4-1, then 5-2 and was really upset with myself although noone knew expect my head. I was serving on the good side where the sun wasn't right in the ball toss path and was down 0-40. (OK, I am almost positive it was 0-40, it was atleast 0-30 but the other way makes a better story.) Somehow I scraped that first match point out of the way, then the second, then the third and was content when it got back to deuce. Yay! I was back in the game! Then I won the game, broke to make it 4-5, held serve again and should have been up 6-5 but she held. We switched sides again and I remember finishing my water bottle (they don't drink the tap here) but then I was like, 'Well, next time I sit down it'll be over anyway!' I pushed her to a tiebreak and at that point I was pretty sure I was going to take her since I had a lot more momentum. I got off to a good start in the tiebreak and won 6-2! Yippee kai yai yay!
There was actually a good crowd because they put the adult divisions on the center court right outside the restaurant and under the balcony thing and I had the Spincke's cheering for me and this really sweet lady who only speaks German so we just smile at each other, and then smile again, and then nod, then tilt our heads at one another, and then wave. She organizes our team stuff for the season. She was clapping for me, too. The atmosphere seemed sorta sophisticated because they recognized good points and only clapped and cheered on key moments. There were probably about 100 people or so watching total and it made for a very unique memory for me. A lot of the kids just hang around at the tournament site and were sitting along the ledge next to the other side of the court. As my mom would say, "Small town America" meaning the kids are just outside and content and love tennis. Anyways, I really wish I had some of it on camera but I will take a pic tomorrow so you can understand. I am trying to upload pics to my blog but of course the computer stuff is in German so I don't have a prayer. Oh yea, the iceing on the cake! The girl I played was the number 2 seed and I didn't know that until after the match. The burnt part of the cake is that I play Claudia tomorrow in the quarters. Oh well, that's part of it. We don't play 'til 1:00 so we are going to church in the morning beforehand.
I was really excited to have this win. I can't remember my last win over a good player in a hard three set match. It is a very good feeling.
I am tired. Much Love! And if you read this on Sunday, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, Mama!!!!!!!!!! and Amy! and Grandma! and Rhonda! and soon Emily!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Sunday, May 5th
Hello!
Yesterday morning we left for the festival, Cristival, in Brenem. Our hour long trip took us along the autobahn before we landed in some huge parking lot among thousands of other Christians about our age. What we thought was a free event ended up being €35 each, but it was money well spent. We started out by going through a large warehouse type room that had a couple hundred exhibits set up from different international and national Christian organizations. I knew that YoungLife was international and in Germany, so I was on the prowl from the beginning to find their booth. Now let me back up...when I was in Dallas about a month ago, I stayed with a family who is very active in their local YL. All three of their kids participated and worked in YL and now this couple still goes to camp and attends club weekly. Their son is planning on coming to Germany this fall to work with YL here for 3 yrs! One of their good friends (from Dallas) now is very active in the German YL as well and I saw his family pic on their fridge...anyways, because of this distant connection I thought I may be able to stike up a convo if I found them. Well, at last! There was the YL booth. It was pretty simple and I started looking at the pamphlets and stuff when a guy named Michael introduced himself to me as the rep. I told him I was interested in finding them since my boyfriend volunteered for several years in college and did all the stuff in high school as well. Then out of the blue, to make myself seem somewhat knowledgeable about them and like I was on the incrowd I said, 'Hey, do you know Dave Martin?' (the man on the fridge of the Dallas family) He goes, 'Yea! That's my boss.' Sweet, huh? Then after Michael told Claudia where he was from, she asked him if he happened to know one of her distant relatives (her brother-in-law's cousin) and he said, 'Yea, he's my roommate.' A few minutes later the roommate-distant relative showed up. It's a small world after all...
Most of the day is a blur to me right now. So much was in German and the group I was with primarily spoke in German. They are very nice and ask me questions and stuff but I know it slows them down to not speak their native tongue. I did go to an English speaking event by myself for 2 hours that I thoroughly enjoyed. If you know me well you will know that I was fine being by myself, so don't think, 'Awww...she was alone.' They had 3 different individuals or couples speak on what they do for missions whether it is in their backyard or across the globe. A young couple from the UK said they spent a year in the Phillippines doing mission work before they started their careers and found several thousand inprisioned children due to petty crimes. With their legal background they were able to help free one young boy who was in jail for sniffing glue. It is obviously a very sad situation but they are still trying to free more.
After that we ended up staying for the Matt Redmond concert even though we hadn't planned on it. After an exhausting day we left and I got in my bed at bout 2:00am. We knew we would be too tired to make it to church today so I slept 'til 11 and got up for a minute and woke up again at 1:30! I don't know what my deal is because I am always tired. But here I go again at 11:45 when I should be in bed. One thing is that if I want to talk to anyone back home I have to stay up and another thing is that I think I relax more away from my daily routine. When I am at my aunt's and uncle's lakehouse in GA, I melt into a blob, and the same thing when I go to Kent's family's house.
TODAY:
We had a BBQ at their home today with all 6 of their children. How cool! The oldest 4 all have are either married or dating and they brought them along, too. The only boy (and the oldest sibling) had his two adorable kids...I don't know who to spell the 2.5 year old girl's name...Carlotta Bella maybe. The 7 month old son's name is Kjeel, pronounced like the ending part of Ezekiel. From 1-8 the house was full and we all ate together outside in the beautiful sun on their new front porch. After the meal we played this give called Wikingspiel or something close to it. It took 2 hours! It's a little like horseshoes, but with no horseshoes...haha, you basically throw wooden blocks and try to hit the other team's. It was very fun but took a while for my team to win! (I was no help to my team...Mr. Spincke takes MVP.) Claudia went on to church and her older sister offered to take me to see the Elbe which is a very big river that goes through Hamburg. It was just amazing. I videotaped a lot, hoping to be able to show everyone the extremely steep and never ending narrow stairs we went down to get along the riverside. Bikers, couples, rollerbladers, walkers, people dining were all around although it was not a busy atmosphere. The property of these homes and apartments must be out the roof! We saw the sun go down and continued our walk back up and went a different route. This time we went up a street called Wereveg (I totally butchered that) that is famous because it is an extremely steep incline and is in a famous bike race in Hamburg. I felt the burn just from walking it!
Well, that is my day. It was fun. How was yours? I love email so please send me something that is going on with you. A day without an email is kind of like a day without food...chew on that. Hahahahha
Yesterday morning we left for the festival, Cristival, in Brenem. Our hour long trip took us along the autobahn before we landed in some huge parking lot among thousands of other Christians about our age. What we thought was a free event ended up being €35 each, but it was money well spent. We started out by going through a large warehouse type room that had a couple hundred exhibits set up from different international and national Christian organizations. I knew that YoungLife was international and in Germany, so I was on the prowl from the beginning to find their booth. Now let me back up...when I was in Dallas about a month ago, I stayed with a family who is very active in their local YL. All three of their kids participated and worked in YL and now this couple still goes to camp and attends club weekly. Their son is planning on coming to Germany this fall to work with YL here for 3 yrs! One of their good friends (from Dallas) now is very active in the German YL as well and I saw his family pic on their fridge...anyways, because of this distant connection I thought I may be able to stike up a convo if I found them. Well, at last! There was the YL booth. It was pretty simple and I started looking at the pamphlets and stuff when a guy named Michael introduced himself to me as the rep. I told him I was interested in finding them since my boyfriend volunteered for several years in college and did all the stuff in high school as well. Then out of the blue, to make myself seem somewhat knowledgeable about them and like I was on the incrowd I said, 'Hey, do you know Dave Martin?' (the man on the fridge of the Dallas family) He goes, 'Yea! That's my boss.' Sweet, huh? Then after Michael told Claudia where he was from, she asked him if he happened to know one of her distant relatives (her brother-in-law's cousin) and he said, 'Yea, he's my roommate.' A few minutes later the roommate-distant relative showed up. It's a small world after all...
Most of the day is a blur to me right now. So much was in German and the group I was with primarily spoke in German. They are very nice and ask me questions and stuff but I know it slows them down to not speak their native tongue. I did go to an English speaking event by myself for 2 hours that I thoroughly enjoyed. If you know me well you will know that I was fine being by myself, so don't think, 'Awww...she was alone.' They had 3 different individuals or couples speak on what they do for missions whether it is in their backyard or across the globe. A young couple from the UK said they spent a year in the Phillippines doing mission work before they started their careers and found several thousand inprisioned children due to petty crimes. With their legal background they were able to help free one young boy who was in jail for sniffing glue. It is obviously a very sad situation but they are still trying to free more.
After that we ended up staying for the Matt Redmond concert even though we hadn't planned on it. After an exhausting day we left and I got in my bed at bout 2:00am. We knew we would be too tired to make it to church today so I slept 'til 11 and got up for a minute and woke up again at 1:30! I don't know what my deal is because I am always tired. But here I go again at 11:45 when I should be in bed. One thing is that if I want to talk to anyone back home I have to stay up and another thing is that I think I relax more away from my daily routine. When I am at my aunt's and uncle's lakehouse in GA, I melt into a blob, and the same thing when I go to Kent's family's house.
TODAY:
We had a BBQ at their home today with all 6 of their children. How cool! The oldest 4 all have are either married or dating and they brought them along, too. The only boy (and the oldest sibling) had his two adorable kids...I don't know who to spell the 2.5 year old girl's name...Carlotta Bella maybe. The 7 month old son's name is Kjeel, pronounced like the ending part of Ezekiel. From 1-8 the house was full and we all ate together outside in the beautiful sun on their new front porch. After the meal we played this give called Wikingspiel or something close to it. It took 2 hours! It's a little like horseshoes, but with no horseshoes...haha, you basically throw wooden blocks and try to hit the other team's. It was very fun but took a while for my team to win! (I was no help to my team...Mr. Spincke takes MVP.) Claudia went on to church and her older sister offered to take me to see the Elbe which is a very big river that goes through Hamburg. It was just amazing. I videotaped a lot, hoping to be able to show everyone the extremely steep and never ending narrow stairs we went down to get along the riverside. Bikers, couples, rollerbladers, walkers, people dining were all around although it was not a busy atmosphere. The property of these homes and apartments must be out the roof! We saw the sun go down and continued our walk back up and went a different route. This time we went up a street called Wereveg (I totally butchered that) that is famous because it is an extremely steep incline and is in a famous bike race in Hamburg. I felt the burn just from walking it!
Well, that is my day. It was fun. How was yours? I love email so please send me something that is going on with you. A day without an email is kind of like a day without food...chew on that. Hahahahha
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