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!)