Heidelberg revelation of the day...

Have you ever found yourself having a hard time paying attention to your own conversation while out to eat or getting coffee because you are distracted by conversations around you?

Of course, I'm guilty of it. Well, I can honestly say that I have carried on a whole conversation by being prompted by listening in on another. One time while my mom, sister, and I were at Hickory Street, we sat at our table, and scarfed down our food without any time for coming up with our own conversation. I happened to be listening to the ladies next to us, and I would take what they would say and add onto it at my own table. Then, we would be quiet again until something else they would say would spark my thoughts on something. It was absolutely hilarious that our lunch conversation was based off of listening in on the other table. (Maybe this doesn't happen to everyone? But you have to admit that you sometimes try to catch on to what others are saying.) But come on! Our lives are just as interesting, and sometimes even more interesting when we stop and put all of our focus into the person or people we are with!

My roommates and I made this discovery today as we were out to lunch. We were talking about how much we loved the atmosphere at Starbucks here, and then it occured to us: We can sit in starbucks here and actually either think without any interuptions or carry on a conversation without being sidetracked by what others are talking about. How you might wonder? Because EVERYONE else is speaking a completely different language! Of course thats not the first time we've noticed this haha but we didn't realize how sidetracked we can get when we are 'listening' to others. Back in America, I would be in the middle of a sentence while trying to listen to another conversation, and I would completely stop talking without even realizing it! SAD!

We are surrounded by noises, but at the same time the only ones that matter to us are what is happening to us right then. I mean, granted I have learned German, but come on, I can't actually multi-task that well (speaking in english while listening and comprehending German). So, we decided that we LOVE living in our little fishbowl here. We are able to give our full attention to those we are with (aka the most amazing people in the world!) and not feel guilty about only 'half' listening.

Of course, we realized how lucky we are to get to experience this. While walking down a street full of people its like being in your own little world, like part of a movie where everyone is walking fast but you are just walking slowly and peacefully. Okay, that was corny. But anyways, we will take advantage of not being distracted for the very small number of days we have left here (we don't dare mention the actual number here), and be thankful that we can sit in starbucks and appreciate the calssic SB music, sounds of coffee machines, and the universal language of laughing instead of there being just a sea of others voices trying to talk over one another. With all of this, our (starbucks) cups runneth over!

**here are some random pictures I've taken the past few days trying to document our every moment! enjoy! (I'll leave out the pictures of Austin and I acting like we were pregnant haha our point was to give ourselves a laugh 10 years from now...)

Look familiar? We reinacted our first night we all met in Moore Haus Zimmer 10 for our themed room check of 'favorite heidelberg memory'...of course we WON! and got a cookie:)

Chelsea and I at the castle for the sunset.

The crew watching the sunset over the castle wall.

Hanging out and playing football before the sunset.

Eating our subway outside on the hauptstrasse on this gorgeous day!

Es Schneit in Heidelberg!!

A Snowy Day in Heidelberg

ITS SNOWING IN HEIDELBERG! For those of you who know me really well, I have been banking on a March snow here in hberg. I absolutely love nothing more than snow, and to get to be surrounded by a snow covered castle and hills was my dream for this year.

Well, March rolled around and STILL no snow!

BUT THEN...Saturday came along and after cuddling with 6 people on austin and my bed watching August Rush we looked out the window to see SNOW! It was more like little dip-n-dots of ice but still created white which was all that mattered. We ran outside in our shorts and sweatshirts and uggs and had a snowball fight. Then, it snowed all day on Easter Sunday, but nothing stuck. Finally it snowed hard on monday and actually stuck! It melted by the end of the day, and I was so sad because I really wanted to see the castle all white.

This morning, my roommate chelsea and I woke up at 9 to find an unexpected white Heidelberg! So of course, we threw on layers and ran to the castle. It has been the best day ever! I LOVE SNOW!

who would have thought...life goes on after heidelberg

This has been a crazy past 3 days of realizations and crazy situations. Everyone is really starting to get emotional about everything coming to an end. After all, we leave in less than a month. Our days now consist of words like 'we have to do this before we leave...', which last semester wasn't as sad as it will be this time. I had been in a somewhat stressful state earlier this week about school work and housing for next year. I found out that I wasn't eligible for housing where I had applied, and that would leave me without a place on campus. I found an alternate plan about living off campus in a rediculous house across from the beach, but for some reason I just couldn't be happy about it. But then last night I got an e-mail from housing saying that I WOULD be eligible and they wouldn't sweat me being 2 units short. This only caused more confusion.

In the end, I have decided to stick with our first plan of living on campus even though those plans had gotten wishy washy these past few days with the girls we were supposed to be living with. Before I realized where my loyalty should be, I remembered back when Stacy, our house mom, talked about a situation simular. She got a job, but then had the opportunity to leave it behind and take an even better one. She decided to stick with her first choice no matter what, and it ended up that she was rewarded for not changing her mind and moving on quickly to 'something better'. I automatically knew that we had to go back to our first plans. Ever since I made that decision I have felt a clarity that is oh so soothing! I hadn't felt this calm about things in a while, and I am so thankful and confident in the decision I made. I have a whole new outlook on 'loyalty' now, as I realize that I can't make my decisions based on what would be cooler or better.

Okay, enough about that drama. I have felt very uplifted these past few days, and I have been journaling like crazy and reading 'My upmost for His Highest' more than usual. I have found it way easier lately to put away my school work for later and focus on having my own quiet time. This has been a big struggle for me all year, but I finally feel like I'm getting things back together. It is such a blessing to have a calming feeling about me, especially as we get ready to leave and have to face life outside of our comfort zone. I am honestly scared about leaving, make that terrified. But I know that next year will be special in its own ways.

Okay okay, I promise I'm done talking...now for the good part...here are pictures from spring break!

...remember that one time we almost sank in the Aegean Sea?!

Well, I have slumped back to a horrible blogger once more. Time is flying here, and I hate it! We have been so busy with school work, and then I left last Friday for spring break and just returned last night. 9 DAYS with friends, freee to do whatever...this is how life should be i've decided. Here is a quick update of the past week:

SPRING BREAK OH EIGHT:

Group: Kristen, Dustin, Dex, Zach, Karsten, and Pierce
Destinations: Santorini, Greece and Lake Como, Italy

Santorini Highlights:

• Our apartment consisted of 2 rooms: Bedroom and kitchen (with 2 twin beds on either side of the table). Our host, Stefoula, brought us breakfast every morning...so basically Dex and I had breakfast in bed because all we had to do was sit up and we were at the table!
• Seeing as we hit Greece in February/March, it wasn't exactly high season. Most things were closed, but to be able to be the only 4 people in Oia looking at the whitewashed buildings, or alone on one of the black rock beaches was amazing! I mean...not many people can say they've done that.
• We ate at the same restaraunt 3 times...and our waitor that we were insane.
• It was actually warm enough to lay out (in clothes anyways)...and being a genius..I wore a v-neck shirt at the beach...and I have a big red V on my neck to prove that the sun was most definitely out!
• The ferry back to Athens (9 hours long) was quite the experience. The Aegean is known for its choppy waters...hence we almost tipped over multiple times. We thought we were going to dieeee! Kristen was on the phone with her dad asking him to wikipedia 'most dangerous animals in aegean sea' so we would know what to look out for once we sunk. They even came down and showed us how to put on the life jackets when it was really bad...aka we were scared out of our wits. Luckily, we survived, and now and ONLY now, it is funny.

Lake Como:

• This is one of the most gorgeous places I've seen in Europe. Its this clear blue lake surrounded by the Alps. The mountains were snow capped, yet on the ground there were plam trees! Way cool combinations.
• BIGGEST attraction: George Clooney has a villa here! Part of Casino Royale was filmed there. AND the house at the end of Star Wars 2 is on the lake as well! Its an attraction for movies apparently!
• We stayed in an apartment in a small town called Vernezza, and we cooked pasta every night! I've always helped make pasta at home, but this was my first time to actually be in charge of cooking...and to think it all started in Italy! How perfect!
• and the pasta might I say was delicious!
• I finished my book, C.S. Lewis's 'The Four Loves', here...it was amazing to be able to read a book of my own and actually finish it! I think that 5 days is the fastest I've ever read a whole book...I don't think thats an actual record breaking time...but I'm proud.
• The train ride back to Heidelberg was SO long and full of anxiety to be home!

But finally, we made it! I have never been so excited to see Moore Haus! Today has been fun reuniting with all my friends. It was fun traveling with different people, but at the same time I was so ready to be back with my core group of people. Two are still not back yet, and I'm SO excited to see them! 11 Days is a really long time here in 'study abroad time'. How funny is it to think that a week here in Heidelberg is actually like a month back in Pepperdine?! Only because we are always together which is not exactly the normal college experience.

Well, enough for tonight...my mom and sister come a week from today!!! I'm SOO excited, and everyone here is so ready to meet them! That is what will get me through the week!!

thats all for now, tschuss! (pictures soon to come!)

LOVE is in the air...

We have room checks every monday night, and we always have a theme. This week was a love theme, and our room decided to decorate for the firs time! Well obviously we go all out! Valentines day is also our guy RA's birthday so we made him a microwave cake...and we sang love songs to him when he came in. WE WON! So now we just have hearts everywhere..so fun!

So now.....my Valentine's Day:

On this collllddd winter morning in Heidelberg, I woke up early to get ready for the day as usual. I have been really excited lately for this day of love (even without a valentine!) normally bitterness comes out of this holiday, but I was feelin the love today for sure. (but not yet). So I get ready and I run into one of the girls who says 'Oh my gosh, I love our boys!'. So of course I grab my camera and head down to the breakfast room. And here is what I found:

The boys had secretly snuck around the night before and made us all little valentine notes to go along with a flower for each of us! How cute are they to think of us! Of course, I know these boys and they are pretty much unbeleivable so it figures they would do something so unexpected and thoughtful! They each signed our notes with a little 'special' comment. Here are a few examples:

'I love you and Abilene is close to Lubbock, hint hint'

'how's mrs. england sound?'

'happy valentines naked cheese!' (one of my many acclaimed nick names)

'happy v-day even though your from TEXAS' (from a bitter californian haha)

'if you ever want to date....'

and many many more funny ones that wouldn't make much sense without long explanations!

So then I walked (or froze) down to class. I went to German, then english, then we headed off to our essighaus lunch. As we were sitting down two of our boys, ben and cam, made all the girls stand up in the middle of the room. They turned their hats sideways and performed a rap they had made for us! It was HILARIOUS! They said it was just a few minutes of portraying how they feel about us (from all the guys). It seriously made my year! By the way these are two very talented boys, for real! The rap consisted of funny things about how we are the girls of moore haus, the best girls to travel with cause the rest they unravel, and talking about how they love it when we get sweaty walking up the hill so don't take a taxi! Obviously I don't have quite the rhythm they are gifted with haha but it was a whole page that made us feel so good about our selves, seriously it was the sweetest thing ever!

Now, its almost 6 and me and a few other girls are getting together a surprise dinner of pizza with blankets and candles at the castle for some of our guy friends! We figured it was our turn to do something thoughtful! Then everyone will probably all meet up somewhere after dinner to just hangout. It has been the best valentines day ever!

Oh yeah, and it was made better when I got a package from home that included the traditional valentines day rubber ducks my mom is so well known for. hahaha I love it! I hope everyone else had an amazing Valentines Day as well! It has been great to have such a wonderful day, and for once not be depressed about not having a Valentine! Shoot, I have about 26 Valentines here. Right now I would not trade any one of them for just one boy!

Well, I'll conclude with the true phrase of Valentine's day, ICH LIEBE DICH!

who needs sleep when we've got love...

Love. Such a major concept floating around Moore Haus right now. I guess its just the whole Valentine's Day sickness everyone has been infected with. I know to some in the house it creates an akward feeling, to some it causes us to missed loved ones at home, to some it causes loneliness, and to some...all of the above PLUS being thankful for all the love we have around us.

I woke up the other morning having had a terrible dream. I dreamt that I had just gotten home from this semester, but I couldn't stop crying! Obviously I love being at home, but I just had this horrible feeling in my stomach of how much I missed my family I've formed and just being in the house in general. All I remember about the dream was not being able to stop crying, and asking for just one more chance to go back and do it again. Well, I woke up and you can't imagine the relief when I realized I am still here for 2 more months! When I think about leaving though, it makes me want to cry because I realize nothing will ever be the same again. But obviously NOBODY talks about that because we all feel the same way. So instead I just am thankful and constantly reminded about how much love has grown in this house. I can't wait for my family to come visit; I know that even just walking through the house our love for each other will be so evident. (post soon to come with more specifics! get excited.)

Oh yeah, the reason I have love on my mind is as I was listening to the new Jack Johnson CD (aka my life right now)...the line 'who needs sleep when we've got love' popped out at me. Considering our house doesnt get quiet until about 2 am every night...you could just consider this our motto!

I just finished my German homework which was to write 10 sentences (auf Deutsch) about our 'lieblingsplatz' (our favorite place). I chose 'meine Kuche' (my kitchen). I really enjoy these assignments oddly enough, and I'm really starting to love speaking German! Staci, our faculty family wife, told us today how nothing can be blown off as 'not important'. She took German in highschool and part of college and realized it was a waste of time, but now she's in Germany and it's all coming back! Very interesting...

Today, Staci spoke at convo. She did an amazing job! This was like the first convo that everyone stayed awake. She talked about decision making, and she kind of gave us a testimony of just the major decisions she has made in her life. She and her husband have moved so much and made so many decisions in their marraige...it was really cool to hear her talking back over and evaluating how she did it. Things that helped her decision making were: prayer as a lifestyle, knowing that God is bigger than any decision therefore he will be there either way, and knowing scripture. Things that hinder her decision making were fear, being deceived by loyalty, and a few other things. She has a gift for speaking about major life matters and making them sound so simple and clear. I really enjoy listening to her! I know that a lot of people, myself included, are finding it hard to keep a lifestyle of prayer, find God time, and really embracing each other as brothers and sisters of Christ. I came into this year with expectations of it being a completely life changing spiritual experience, and of course it is, but its not playing out as evident as we all expected. We realize that its something that is gradual...even this dream we are living in has its own bumps and curves along the way. I guess we just expected that being taken out of our safe-zones we would automatically feel more spiritual, but I know that can't just happen at the snap of a finger. I am really trying to work on this part of my life right now, and today Staci's talk really helped put us back into perspective. I love having wise older (she's not old) people around!

Alright, enough for today...gutennacht!

the rain in SPAIN falls mostly on the plane

Mark, Jess, Me, and David at Toledo


A view of the moat around Toledo


Palm trees in Sevilla!

View from the top of the cathedral in Sevilla


Jess, me, and Dustin trying to portray how warm and fabulous it was!


I beleive Eliza Dolittle was wrong because there was absolutely nothing but spain sunshine shining on us all week! It was GORGEOUS weather...such a nice change! We just spent a week in Madrid, Spain for our Educational Feild trip! It was such a great trip. We got to indulge in the fact of being as touristy as we wanted seeing as we were with a group of 60...so we lived it up without a care in the world! I really really like Spain, I can't say that Madrid is one of my favorite cities because my favorite parts of the trips were spent in smaller towns.





Our hotel was extremely nice! We were told that our hotel was right down the street from El Corte Englis (a HUGE 7 story department store which housed a supermarket). We all went to check it out because we had kitchenette and were so pumped to cook. We looked like a bunch of 5 year olds running around Toys R Us. Everyone had a dazed smile just in awe of all the food we could purchase! Needless to say, when in Spain, buy TONS of mexican food! So, my roomie and I bought a nice little stash of guacamole, salsa, queso, chips, pida bread, frozen burritos, eggs, tropicana orange juice, and chocolate (duh). We looked like such nerds, everyone running around smiling and laughing in awe of this magical place. I can proudly say that I only paid for one meal in Madrid...the rest of the time we cooked! One of the boys even made Steph and me omeletts one night!





The rest of our trip consisted of a bus tour of Madrid, eating paella (a very famous spanish dish consisting of rice, chicken, calamari, and other random things), and singing acapella as we parade down the streets. We visited Toledo, a small town surrounded by a wall and a moat, which is known for making gold things including intense swords that we got to play with! The next day me and 3 others went to the southern town of Sevilla. The weather was absolutely amazing and the whole town was full of orange trees and palm strees. It also is home to one of the biggest gothic cathedrals in Europe, and Christopher Columbus's tomb is inside. We climbed to the top of the tower (33 floors) and had an incredible view of all of Sevilla. We met up with my friend David's friend who studies there, and she and a few of her friends showed us around. They were all from Texas Tech so it was fun to talk to them! I had a funny experience on the train ride back including wine in a box. Picture me drinking wine out of an orange juice carton while playing gin rummy...it was a pretty funny sight! The next day we visited a monastary..but by this point we were all getting a little tired of planned tours. We visited a few museums in Madrid and saw paintings by Picasso, El Greco, Goya, Rembrandt, and Velasquez. We also went to an symphony which was okay, and a flamenco dance which was so cool to watch!





All in all, Madrid was an amazing trip..not only was Spain amazing, but being able to spend an entire week with the whole house was amazing! Comparing it to our EFT last semester, we have all grown so much closer which made it all the more fun. Well, time for our Sunday night dinner at Essig. Bye!!