8/8/2010

Hello All!

I just realized how long it's been since i've written last! And i'm sure lots of you are getting anxious to know whats been going on!

Our first week of camp was crazy. We had 48 kids with 6 staff, and they were crazy. Our theme was ocean jamboree and it ended up being a good week. I worked with eight five year olds and fell in love with all of them. They were all so cute and most of them were behaved. Just so you all know, these british kids say the CUTEST things in the CUTEST accents. They say Pardon if they can't hear you and say please for everything.

The first weekend we were able to do weekend trips, we went to Munich. It was super amazing and fun! We got there really late on friday night but saturday me, kelsey and kat went and explored the city for about five hours. We walked around so much and got to see a lot. That night, we went to the famous hofbrauhouse for dinner and drinks and it was a lot of fun. We sat next to the stage where they had live performances of their band and german dancing. Sunday we walked around the city some more and came back to hohne. We were excited to be back, and it felt a little more like home.

The next week of camp was a lot better. We only had 29 kids and I worked with the 7 year olds who were adorable as well. Our camp theme was Space and Cosmic Invaders. The kids are pretty hyper and crazy but last week went really well. We had visits from Bobbi and Chris as well. Bobbi is our project coordinator and my trainer in oregon and chris is pretty much in charge of all of the bases in europe. They said we were doing a tremendous job and didn't have anything to critique us on. It felt good to know that i had been trained VERY well and that i was doing everything well.

So then this weekend we headed off to Berlin, and it was a blast. Every time I go to a new place in germany, i fall in love with it more and more. We took a walking tour on saturday that was about four hours long and it ended up being the best part of the trip. I learned so much about WWII and pretty much the whole history of germany and got to see a lot that i wouldn't have been able to if i just walked around with my group. On saturday night we met up with the girls from Paderborn and went out for a few hours, and it was soooo much fun. Then today we went to the Ritter factory where we got to make our own chocolate(sweet!) and hung out for a bit before heading back to base.

We got back to base around 8pm and I am EXHAUSTED. We've had a fun and eventful weekend and i'm loving it so far. Tomorrow we start another week of camp and I get to do morning bus duty(boo). I will update when i can! Love you all!

Day... I don't know:) 7/25/10

We have had a busy couple of days for sure! Friday we went to the school that we would be working at to see what our facility was like and what we could use. I believe that we honestly couldn't get any luckier. We have a huge cafeteria to work in with so many open windows and an outside eating area. We are also able to use some of the staff rooms for ourselves as well as the library area and game area. There is a "Tiny Tots" play ground right outside the cafeteria and two bigger playgrounds outside of the library. Our space is huge and i couldn't be any more grateful.

After that we came back to camp and got ready to go out for the night. We went to a little italian place for dinner and was able to chit chat a little more. The pizza was soooo good and they had about 50 different kinds! It was pretty crazy. We then went and walked around and went to some bars(sorry, mom). It was a pretty fun night. There are a few irish pubs around town and some other bars for many of the officers on base. The place we ended up at was called Viva, and it's a generally for young, drunk soldiers. Thankfully we have a guy in our group, so we call clint our designated boyfriend and he protects us:)

Yesterday we went to Hamburg for the day. It was my first time on the train system and it was pretty cool! We got into hamburg around 2 p.m. and went to this really cool bakery with sandwiches, pasta, and desserts. After that we walked to St. Peter's church and the inside was AMAZING again. But we had the opportunity to walk up to the top of the tower. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but it was SCARY and HARD. I was dripping sweat at the end of it but it was so worth it. Check out my pictures on facebook if you want to see them:)

After that we walked around the city and looked at some more things. We got back to the train station at about 9pm and rode home. It was a pretty awesome day. Today we went to brunch and soon we'll be going to the bergen belsen concentration camp where Anne Frank died. It'll probably be amazing, and i'll try and post more later!

Cheers!

Day 4-22/7/2010

Updating my blog everyday might not be so realistic now. Our internet is really bad, and had to pay about 40$ to sign on for a month. I think it's worth it, but it doesn't even reach to our barracks. So now, me and another counselor, Clint, are sitting in the cellar of the mess hall until we wait for dinner (It's 6:56pm here).

Going to a country in Europe, you probably think that you'll be able to get by with english since it's such a "universal language". But no, that is definitely not the case in Germany. Being on a British base is even hard enough. I never realized before how hard it actually is to understand someone with an english accent, even if they are speaking the same language.

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to go to a town called Celle, which is about thirty minutes away. Our POC, Lynn, wanted to take us to the place where we would be taking the bus back to camp and then she gave us a few hours to roam around the city and explore. Even this first trip to an actual german town made this whole trip that much better. It is exactly how I pictured it. Brown and white houses with geometric patterns and little flower pots in the top windows. There were so many cute stores and cafe's that it was overwhelming. My favorite part was when we were able to go to this really old church, built in 1227 I believe. The inside was absolutely incredible with original paintings everywhere. There was so much to see and every bit of it was so detailed.

There is in no way one word to describe my trip so far. Sorry to say, that I don't miss the states that much. Germany is amazing and is everything I wished it would be and more. I'll write again soon!

Day 1-19/7/2010

Well hello there, all who are following me. It is about 4:57pm on June 18th in Oregon as I write this, and I am currently flying over the tip of Greenland (Crazy right…?). It’s 2am right now and I’m sitting next to one of my friends Sarah for this long 8 hour and 5 minute flight. This morning I woke up around 2:15am and me, Mariah, mom and Megan went to the airport to send me off. It has been a long day to say the least, and I still have about five and a half hours left on this plane.

The trip so far has gone surprisingly well with little to no home sick-ness. Everyone got a little teary eyed at the airport but once I was past security with the rest of the girls going to Germany, I felt like this is where I belong. It’s going to be a weird adjustment but I know that I’m doing the right thing. There are some things that I’m nervous about and some things that I’m excited about, but I really just hope that everything goes as smoothly as possible.

My flight from Portland left at 6:10am this morning and we got into Atlanta around 2pm. We were able to get a quick bite to eat and head over to the way other side of the airport to go to our next gate. Luckily the flight was delayed a bit, so we had more time to sit and relax before having to jump on a long flight again. It took us another 30-45 minutes from when we boarded to actually take off. This plane is MUCH better than the one from Portland to Atlanta. They have movies playing and we had a delicious(as much as it can get) airline dinner. Complete with chicken, mashed potatoes, frozen veggies, bread, cheese, Caesar salad, crackers and a brownie.

Now me and Sarah are looking out as the sun is setting(so weird) and watching some shows to pass the time. I can’t wait ‘til we finally get into Germany and all this traveling can be done with. I hope to hear from all of you guys soon!