You'd think that baby steps would be easy as an adult...

So I guess it's time to update y'all about the exciting move. Well, it has been challenging and interesting, but most of all it has been good for me. There comes a time when you need to find out what it's like to live independently. It is definitely my time. So on Thursday morning we said our goodbyes to new friends from the FSA conference and all 150 of us headed into the Kölner train station to head off in all possible directions. The nice thing was that several of the people I knew from the conference, including one of my roommates (Nina S), were on the same train as me for most of the journey. It was kind of nice to have someone to talk to, or even just sit beside who wasn't a complete stranger. And who could watch over your stuff when you had to pee. And I found more vanilla coke at the train station, so I definitely made use of the tag-team-pee opportunity (see this post for definition) several times. It's funny to see myself become more confident as time goes on. The first couple times I took the train I didn't get up out of my seat cuz I was too shy to a) bother the person sitting next to me and b) figure out how the whole train bathroom thing worked. I know that it sounds really really really silly. It sounds unbelievably infantile to me, too, when I write it out, but that's just how I am. Especially when I'm on my own. Everything is easier for me when I've got a sidekick. :) But seeing as how that is no longer an option for right now, I just have to grit my teeth and quit being such a wuss. Easier said than done, let me tell you.

So in Halle I had to say my last goodbyes and board my final train to Eilenburg solo. Now by this time I had already been travelling for 6 hours and I was pretty beat. After another hour of waiting at the train station and a 50 minute ride I was welcomed to my new 8-month home by Rita K, my "mentor teacher" with a Zuckertüte.

For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, it's basically a giant ice-cream-cone-shaped ... thing... filled with lots of chocolate and candy and presents. 1st-graders in Germany always get them on the first day of school and usually the Zuckertüte is as big as the child. Mine was a more ... humble version, but I was pretty pumped cuz I always felt a little ripped off that I never got one as a child.

Rita then drove me to my apartment where I was welcomed by my landlord, Michael H. I put my bags in my bedroom and then immediately marched upstairs to find a cup of hot green tea waiting for me. We sat and talked for a bit, after which Rita said a quick goodbye so that Michael could show me around my new digs. (Am I too white and female to use that expression? Oh well...nothing you can do about it...) Then I had about half an hour to kind of start unpacking my giant suitcases into a REAL LIVE CLOSET. Well, it's not alive, like Beauty and the Beast alive, but you know what I mean. The dresser in that movie always did kind of freak me out. Then I got onto my primary means of transportation for the year - a bike. I haven't ridden a bike in several years, but I guess the expression "it's like riding a bike" came from somewhere, cuz riding my bike is really like "riding a bike". That is one of the most convoluted sentences ever, but you catch my drift...I hope. Michael dropped me off at Rita's for supper. It was a really nice evening. First of all cuz I was super hungry, but also so that I could get to know her. She is really great. She really takes care of the language assistants.

I got home around 9pm, dog tired and feeling a little forlorn. I mean, I've never lived on my own, never mind in a small city half-way across the world from everything I know. So I did the only thing I could think of: I emptied every suitcase and travel bag until I fell into bed at 10:30pm.

On Friday morning I had an appointment with the bank on the hill (I live on a hill, the rest of the city is below...hence the bank on the hill) and opened an account. Then Michael took me around Eilenburg a bit, showed me the schools, etc. The high school I'm going to be teaching at is actually split up into two buildings. The grades 5-8 are in the center of the city at the bottom of my hill. Then there is this second part of Eilenburg called Eilenburg-Ost (aka. Eilenburg East). It's all the same city but it's kind of a long city instead of a round city and Eilenburg-Ost is on the other side of the river Mulde. That is where the second school building is for grades 9-12. It's about a 15 minute bikeride from my apartment. It also happens to be the school I'll be most involved in, because Rita told me that this year they wanted to use me in the older classes, seeing as how I'd probably be most useful there. (I totally agree and am excited about that.) So let's just say I'll be quite fit this year, whether I work out or not.

That afternoon I went grocery shopping, which was pretty fun. I've been looking forward to that for months. Lame, I know, but I think that thanks to this blog we're all slowly getting the idea that I have many many lame tendencies. Naturally Heinz ketchup and Miracle Whip were among the first items I picked up. No surprises there.

Oh, and here are some pics of my apartment.

one half of my living room. how much do you love my baby tv?

other side of living room...

bedroom...

obviously I have made myself quite at home already...

little breakfast nook in my kitchen. I spend most of my time at home here for three reasons:
1) it's right by a giant window so I get lots of natural light (I am being super cheap this year to save travel money by trying to use as little electricity and heat as possible. lol)
2) this is where I get the best wireless connection for my computer, which has taken up permanent residence on this table.
3) it's right beside the heater.

kitchen...

bathroom. the tub is made of, like, ceramic, so it's always freezing. I'm going to have to find one of those rubber mats you put in your tub to keep from slipping. that won't feel so cold...

Ok this blog is already really long so I'm going to rush through the rest. On Saturday I had lunch with Michael and Ulla again (had pumpkin soup for the first time ever. SO GOOD!!!), had coffee and cake at Rita's, and then went with Rita to her linedancing group's evening performances. Yes, you read correctly. Linedancing group. Apparently it's picking up in popularity out here. First they were at a wedding and then at a giant biker festival. As in big tough guys with leather vests and chaps. I really enjoyed the first performance. The second was a little stranger because I was surrounded by hundreds of either semi or entirely inebriated men, watching the performance by myself in the crowd. Let's just say I gripped my purse tightly. And then there was a striptease on the stage next to us. Like a real one. Honestly the last thing I wanted to see by this point. I was so tired already and I was looking forward to bed. I think my brain is still on information overload. Trying to get used to a whole new life, knowing a grand total of 3 people in this whole place, and remembering how to get from place to place in a city that is far bigger than the town I grew up in make for exhausting days. So after the fireworks we drove the 45 minutes back to Eilenburg and I once again flopped onto my bed.

Today I went to a rowing competition with Rita. She and her husband are members of the Eilenburger rowing club and they play lots of sports and do lots of fitness at this place. I get to be as involved as I want without having to even pay any kind of membership fees as a guest member. Pretty cool. Apparently they play volleyball, too, which I'm excited about. We'll see. Apparently I'm going to learn how to row in spring once the season starts up again...hmmmm.

After that we went back to Rita's for lunch and on the way we rode past this non-denominational evangelical church that Michael had shown me on Friday morning (I guess the whole "my dad is a missionary" thing set off some kind of bells...). I stopped to check out their billboard and it turned out that they had an afternoon service today, preceded by a little "tea time" thingy. So I thought that would be really really nice to attend. It looked like a miniscule church, but brand new (apparently the old one was kind of destroyed by the flood 6 years ago) and so I decided to go. I haven't been around a group of Christians for so long and I was really starting to crave it. I mean, everyone around me is trying to get me to go out and party. Almost all of the other Language Assistants that I met at the conference are practically here for that reason. No one seems to understand that I just don't ENJOY that. I mean, I love being social, getting to know new people, having a few beers, etc; but getting wasted and dancing like a monkey on acid is not my definition of a good time. I just wanted to be around some people who have some of the same belief systems that I have. I don't want to spend this year holed up in my apartment by myself watching bad TV, so I figured I would just have to go out and meet some people who wouldn't ever ask me to dance on a table top. Now, as I have mentioned several times previously, walking into a room full of strangers is not my idea of a good time. But I knew that I would have to make this step by myself. No one was going to take me to church voluntarily. And I'm so so so thankful that I did it. I walked into this cute modern church building with a congregation of less than 20 people. Literally. Obviously everyone immediately noticed that a stranger was amongst them and I seriously got a chance to talk to pretty much every person at that church. They were extremely welcoming and interested in what the heck a 21 year old Canadian girl (without an accent) was doing there all on her own. And the kids immediately grabbed me by the hands and dragged me around the building. I really think I made important connections here today. One of the church leaders already got my phone number and email address and on Tuesday I'll be going to a Bible study! Haha. I don't really need to do any more church shopping, seeing as how this is literally the only church close to my MB background. It's amazing how a town of 4000 like Niverville can "fill" 7 churches, yet a city of 18,000 like Eilenburg can barely keep 4 running. Germany's churches are definitely struggling.

So anyways, I felt really welcome and know that I will be able to get super involved in a very short time. They also work a lot with different handicapped homes and stuff. It's a relief to know I'll have some social options that don't involve a keg.

Tomorrow I start at the school. I think I'm at the point where nerves are no longer a factor. I just want to get started already! Either that or I'm too tired to care about being nervous or anxious. Both sound quite plausible.

That's all I've got for today. My parents should be calling soon. If anyone wants my phone number here to get ahold of me just send me a quick email or Facebook message.

Gute Nacht