On the Worst Part of My Day

True Loves,

Every morning after my aforementioned awesome night's sleep, I have to force myself to crawl out of the warm comfort of my bed and arise into the day (ariiise and seize the daay..."Newsies").

Many find comfort in the fact that not long after leaving their bed they will soon be in the steamy bliss of the shower. Not I. My Shower, here in Freiburg, a mere cell of a stall, hates consistency. On my worst day, I am less ADD than this shower.

Hot, Cold, Ho---BURNING, cold, the temperature has me doing moves akin to a chicken dance...or perhaps one of those odd mating dances those puffy birds do that always seem to be featured in Animal Planet features. And it has me in a catch-22! Often even on the coldest temperature the water feels like the boiling "Ramen Noodle" water I spilled on myself as a kid!

Needless to say, when I finally finish my bathing regimine I am far less refreshed than desired and far more irritated.

With Love,
Emily

On Sleeping...Or Not

True Loves,

Falling asleep at 8, staying up until 6, sleeping until 2, 3, 4, and 5 in the afternoon, my sleep schedule here is well, F***ed. I don't know if my body subconsciously wants to be up with my friends at home or what but it seems hard as I try I simply can't change my schedule. I've tried forcing myself to sleep, pulling an all nighter in hopes that the next night I'll be back on track, tea before bed, warm showers, everything. And still, every night as my friends here in Germany are wrapped up in dream land I consistently look like this:



With Love,
Emily

On Produce

True Loves,

I've mentioned before that produce does not have a very long life here. This is one of those great things about Germany but in my American way I just can't get used to. Germans use a lot less preservatives and pesticides thus the not so long life of their fruit, but being someone who expects my food to last a week can't get in the habit of regularly going to the store. Instead I end up in a race against the clock eating whole boxes of nectarines or bags of apples in just a few days. Let's just say sometimes it is fiber overload.

With Love,
Emily

On Germaphobes

True Loves,

One thing that you notice quickly when traveling is what ticks, who off. Some people can't handle less than 9 hours sleep, others hate sitting in one place for a long time. Some people need to be around others, some people need their space. Some people (myself in this category) have no issue trying new foods, or care about the cleanliness of the kitchen while others are total germaphobes.

As I am not in the later camp I decided to illustrate my reason of why not.

With Love,
Emily

On Summer in Germany

True Loves,





With Love,
Emily


PS!
Happy Father's Day to my wonderful dad!!! We'll Celebrate the 19th :)

On Being Loved

True Loves,

I've been pondering this entry for a while now. I've been visited in the last three weeks by both Andy and my parents and I just feel...well so many things. It's an experience and I thought I would outline how a visit feels when you're used to being on your own, in another country, where people who speak your language are few and far between.

Why are you in my space?: This is absolutely the first thing I felt. While I was absolutely psyched to have my loved ones around me, having people to adjust my routine around was definitely a bigger shock than I anticipated. This was especially true with Andy as we were sharing a bed that I wouldn't doubt is the same make and model that serial killers use in hide outs. Thin mattress, narrow width, no room for escaping snoring. Thank goodness my sister sent me ear plugs prior.

Welcome to my world!: This follows naturally after the initial shock when you get to share your life changing experience with others. Taking my parents and Andy to my favorite places to eat and drink, watching them experience the same annoyances I did when I arrived (rain, rain, doors that look like they should be pull but are push, and more rain), and the droning back drop of the world cup was truly special. I felt blessed for the opportunities I've had and the people who allowed me to experience them.

Why are you leaving my space?: Saying goodbye here is different than any other goodbye I've ever had. I can't quite express it. Just as I'm getting used to having people I truly love and appreciate around me again they leave. It's sad, it's hard, and I'm glad that I have people in my life that I am sad to leave. Freiburg really does feel like home, but I don't miss missing these people, and it will certainly be really wonderful to be back in their presence when I arrive home.

Anyway, thought I would give you all a quick update on the visits,

Much Love,

Emily

PS.

Pictures from both visits are on my facebook page

On Language Gaps

True Loves,

One of the unique experiences I'm having to a lot of my friends is I am not a native speaker in the country I am studying in. Though I've improved greatly there are still times where if not better comprehension, at least quicker comprehension could be useful.

Andy (my number one lover) was here for the week. It was wonderful having him here and I felt pretty secure in my German leading him around Freiburg and translating for him. After dropping him off at the train station this morning I headed up to the platform to catch my tram, throwing my bag over my shoulder to hold my dress down in the breeze.

I walked around the platform, feeling melancholy as I had just said goodbye to my boo when a rather sketchy looking man (there are a lot of these in Freiburg, and in most cities I imagine), who started to talk to me. I simply said "Nein" or "No" before he got very far, assuming he wanted a cigarette oder Etwas (or something). He walked away hastily. It was only later that I realized what he had been trying to tell me was that my dress had gotten caught up under my bag leaving my butt cheek exposed to the world. Good news is I was wearing solid unmentionables and I will probably never see these people again.

One of those "don't judge a book by its cover" stories.

With Love,

Emily