Mermaid Moments and Corn Strings

Written Friday, August 14th

So I went to Camp Arnes for Wednesday and Thursday with a veeeeeeeeery good friend of mine, Naomi, where her parents have a cabin right on the lake. It is now officially an annual tradition (right? after the 2nd year you can already label it a tradition, right?????). We'd already been planning it for practically a year. lol. I spent as much time as possible in the water. I don't need any toys (slides, diving boards, pool noodles...nothing...although dinghies are always a good time...why is the singular spelled 'dingy' and the plural spelled 'dinghies' with an 'h'???? so many questions...)...as I was saying tho, when I'm in the water I don't need any toys to keep me occupied, I don't need anyone to go in with me. I can just hang out in there all by myself. Brings back mermaid moments. I always used to pretend I was a mermaid when I was a kid. Especially that one summer I spent in Italy with my aunt and uncle...don't judge me...I was the only child there, so I had a lot of free time. And what better way to use said time than to pretend you are Ariel minus the clam shell bikini?? I would just dive for hours on end.

Made grilled corn on the cob for supper. After shucking them (is that what you call it? And is it an ear of corn? Or a head? I'm getting all confused...) there were corn strings EVERYWHERE for the rest of our stay. Officially dislike corn strings.

Wednesday evening we had decided to go skinny dipping once it got dark, because I was still a skinny-dipping-virgin and the cherry just had to be popped. (I have been on the brink of various skinny dipping ventures before, but we always ended up being far too sleepy to rouse up anything resembling the willpower to get naked and then cold...never mind at the same time.) Anywho, so we watched a movie after dinner and then headed outside. Only to find the sky alight with lightning. But I was so not ready to give up. or Put on clothes. or Deal with the disappointment and consequent comfort eating. :P So we figured the lightning was super far away anyways and we would brave it just for a little bit. So I got in there, chucked my towel onto the rocks, spent a grand ... oh, I'd say .... 20 seconds getting wet and then decided the lightning all along the horizon was just waaaaaaaaay too freaky. so we ran (as quickly as rocks slipperier than a lubed-up fish and a pitch black sky would allow) out, wrapped ourselves in our towels, and sat down on the stairs to watch the storm in the distance. Incredible lightning, unbelievable starry sky above us, and shooting stars! Lots of them. One of them was soooooooooo close to earth. I've never seen anything like it. And it was moving along the sky so slowly, with a super long tail trailing along behind it. Unbelievable.

But at least I can officially say I've been skinny dipping.

And then came Thursday morning. It was kinda chilly and cloudy outside but the waves were pretty sweet so I was determined to go for a swim. Which I did. And the waves kinda mauled me. I was laughing so hard tho that I had no control as to what the waves were doing to me, as you can see in the pic. Thanks A LOT Naomi. Good times tho.

Then, after about an hour and a half, we packed up all our crap to head back to the cabin. And the second we started walking away the sun came out. And beat down for the rest of the day. Typical. Anyways, after spending some time in Gimli for the afternoon we went back outside and I took one final swim. Divine.

I. Love. Lakes.

My raging disillusionment...Nr. 2

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ THE WHOLE THING. I'D LIKE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS. -jh

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No, THIS particular raging disillusionment is not about marriage. Let out that breath of air and relax. Well, that's until you read what this post IS actually about. :P

So blogging has been a lot more difficult for me since I returned to Canada. I think it's because I don't feel I have anything to "report" anymore. I mean, I'm home. So I'm either at work or hanging out with a friend or ... watching One Tree Hill. LOL. No joke.

So what could I have to say now that's worthwhile? What could I possibly talk about that would actually interest anyone? There are no more crazy German tales or adventures. Just my old life. And don't get me wrong...I LOVE my old life. I love my ruts and routines. And I love and appreciate this incredible home that I have (country, province, and town) more than ever before. But I have also been wrestling with the feeling that perhaps I should just delete my blog. When 4 or 5 days go by and I can't think of ONE thing that would be interesting enough to put out there on this grand world wide web, I start to panic and wonder whether I might end up losing what has become one of my favourite pastimes over the past 12 months. I love to write. It keeps me sane. And I don't think I suck at it. But ... what if the material is gone?

So I was sitting here today, wondering what I should write about. See, my worst posts are the ones I write when I'm trying to think of something fun(ny) to write about, just to keep ya'll entertained. Because those aren't coming from a real place inside of me. They sound forced ... because they are. And my best posts are the ones where I sit down, place my fingers on the keyboard, and suddenly realize 500 words later that my post is done and I didn't even have to think about it. I realized this I'd say...maybe half a year ago. So I've since then been trying to only write when I get that urge. The urge to describe, portray, create, even entertain. And to erase the anxiety that creeps in when I'm afraid I might forget a certain feeling, sound, smell, place, person, event. I have SUCH a fear of that.

And while I was sitting here today, wondering what I should write about, I thought to myself: "how have you been feeling lately? why can't you be honest, Julia? what's with the frigging writer's block?" And I realized that I've been wrestling lately...well, more like finally admitted...I already knew I was wrestling. As opposed to a light fun-filled blog post with a gazillion silly metaphors, painfully-thought-through alliterations, colourful descriptions, off-the-cuff judgments, and an infinite amount of "frigging"s and "frickin'"s to give it my own little flair :P, this one is a bit more difficult to put out there.

I once again find myself disillusioned.

That is the sentence I haven't been wanting to write for months. But haven't.

I find myself disillusioned about my own faith. See, I was hoping that while I was in Germany this year I would figure some things out. I would spend more time reading my Bible, trying to understand exactly what it is I believe and why. Without the usual distractions of university, work, friends, more friends, and life. I don't want to be one of those Christians who believes because that's how she was raised. I refuse to be. And while most people find it difficult TO believe, I have to admit that I have the opposite problem. I would find it difficult NOT to believe. I mean, I've grown up with this all my life. I only know a world with a God. With a Jesus. So I would be more afraid to face a world where this doesn't exist, just cuz I can't imagine it. And I don't want to. But the worst Christians in the world are the ones who only believe because that's how they've been raised. The ones who haven't tested it. Or made it their own. I recognize this. But that only leaves me with a larger dilemma. What do I do about it? How do I fix this? Can this even be tested?

I really really really don't like fake Christians. I call them "bubble Christians". They live in their little impervious bubbles ... hardly made of soap and water....more like bricks and concrete...and they put a happy face on everything. They listen to worship music 24/7. They judge everyone around them with a simple snide remark or glance, holding a Bible in one hand and a gavel in the other. They claim to believe in something they've never lived a day in their life. And they turn me off. So if they're turning ME off...a good Christian girl...then what must they be doing to those out there who might finally be looking to Christianity for the answers?

The more fake Christians I meet, the more I run in the opposite direction. The more I examine myself...my flaws...and then the more I try to expose my flaws and draw them out, even show them off...to make sure that I don't turn out like THEM (the "flawless" ones). It's the religious equivalent of pinching yourself really hard to make sure you're awake. But in case you haven't extrapolated this further than "it's a GOOD thing to not wanna be a phony, Julia" let me just tell you that this isn't exactly a positive trait...just like pinching yourself on a regular basis probably wouldn't be much fun either. It makes me say things...do things...feel things...that I probably shouldn't be doing or saying...or even feeling, all in an attempt to not end up on the opposite end of the spectrum. But I don't want to return to middle ground. I find myself so tired of middle ground. I'm sick of it. Bored of it. I crave the extremes. Any extreme? No, an extreme. But is it good for me?

A high-school friend of mine, Kyla, blogs too (you can find her in my blogs list on the side). And I find myself checking her blog ALL the time. It seems that while she and I may not have spoken face-to-face for...oh, I'd say...2 years or maybe more...she seems to be having similar thoughts. Similar struggles. I can totally identify with so much of what she's been saying. And it is actually her honesty...her courage to put her personal issues about her own faith out there for all to see that has given me the strength to do it myself.

Is there safety in numbers?

Or are there answers in numbers?

Another reason I decided to write about this ... even though I REALLY...and I mean REALLY ... didn't want to, is that Pastor Sieg actually mentioned the whole "being a Christian because you were raised that way" issue in church this last Sunday. I was immediately intrigued because this has been one of my main concerns for a few years. I was waiting for him to placate my fears and spoon-feed me a pat little answer. But instead he said this (among other things): "God doesn't have any grandchildren." I was paralyzed for a moment and these words are still ringing in my ears. And I need to figure this stuff out.

So I come to my final points: Why are Christians so afraid to admit they are struggling? Why has it taken me 22 years to admit it? Is it because I feel that after 2 decades of believing in something that actually LITERALLY means life and death I feel I should have at least a few things figured out? Isn't that what others would expect of me?

I may not have actually said that much in this blog. Perhaps nothing significant. But it was real. It was ME. And you wanna know how I know? Because a few minutes ago I sat down, I placed my fingers on this keyboard, and 1,341 words later, here I am.

England in Detail

Did you already check out the post before this one? If not, DO. It's short but funny.


Ok, so, what has been going on? Let me think. I went grocery shopping on Wednesday.


Um, then came Thursday. What I affectionately refer to as the expect-anything day. You know, my day at the Zschettgauer kindergarten. Oh man, and yesterday was no exception. I was outside with the kids, walking near the sandbox and Seline was coming up behind me. All of a sudden she says to me "Your butt is smaller than it used to be". WHAT THE? WHERE DO THEY COME UP WITH THIS STUFF? I'm beginning to wonder if the kids all get together before I arrive to think up new ways to insult me. Or is that supposed to be a compliment? Was my butt in need of shrinkage? I guess that's what two weeks of eating English food does to ya. :P But Seline and Elisabeth more than made up for it later when they told me that I'm so beautiful, that my face is so beautiful, that I always look so beautiful. Haha. Now can I just dismiss the insults by rationalizing that they're 6 years old and have no idea what they're talking about while at the same time accepting their compliments as the truth? LOL. Or is that a little bit relativistic??? Um, hmmmm.


So I got an email from my dad the other day asking if "that was all I was going to blog about England". Which I assume means he would like a more thorough account. So I shall oblige while still attempting to keep it relatively short. :) Key word here being ATTEMPTING. So settle in for the long haul...

We got to St. Bede's prep school in Eastbourne (East Sussex) around midnight of Sunday, the 19th of April where the director of the program, John Endean, met us and showed us our little "boarding house", also called Down's House.

The next morning we met Lisa and James, the two afforementioned English teachers. For the first two "class periods" we got a bit of a tour around the absolutely gorgeous and so totally English Mede's Village (which is, like, the ritzy part of Eastbourne and just happens to be where St. Bede's is located). In the afternoon we were taken into the "downtown" area of Eastbourne (population approximately 80 000) where the kids could look around and shop for a bit. I could not BELIEVE how much allowance some of them had along from their parents. As in some actually had more money along than me! That's depressing. Haha. Anyways, they basically spent most of their money on candy, chips, ice cream, and coca cola. No joke. They were in England for two weeks and spent their money on crap they can get at home. Oh well, their loss.

On Tuesday the kids had class in the morning and us teachers went to "the library" (<- again, insert definition of what you think the "library" is here...). In the afternoon James taught the kids how to play "baby rugby", which basically means non-bone-breaking/concussion-causing rugby. I actually just realized that I took a video of this attempt, so here it is. Also another chance for you ladies to drool over Sir Hamblyn. :)

After that he taught us rounders, which is basically a variation of baseball. The bats are much shorter and you're only supposed to use one hand, but I couldn't get used to it and couldn't hit properly like that, so I just basically used it like a baseball bat. Oh ya, and there are 4 bases, which I could not get used to the entire 2 weeks we were there. So annoying. A few other rules that differed from baseball, but I won't bore you with the details. :P It was super fun and I went absolutely crazy-like (hence earning the title of Crazy Canadian Julia) when we played it, which apparently amused the kids and the teachers greatly. And made James try to get me out the whole time. I came close to using brutal physical force several times. He was lucky that I was usually across the field from him. Jerk.

On Wednesday I tanned and read my book right next to the ocean. I could live there, I'm tellin ya. Maybe I need to move to a coastal area at some point in my life... In the afternoon James took us on the Falling Sands Walk (Lisa's afternoon off). That was to the beach where Robin Hood Prince of Thieves was filmed (well, the scene where Kevin Costner washes up on English land...). It was such an incredible walk. First up over green English meadows and then down to the crazy and slightly treacherous beach where you have to make your way across this giant stretch of massive rocks that are all slippery with moss and algae (cuz they're normally covered in water during high tide...). Needless to say, me, James, and some of the more ambitious kids got there approximately 20 minutes before the teachers and dawdlers. :) But it was so beautiful. I could have sat there for days.

Then on Thursday Lisa took all of us to London. We visited the Tower of London, the London Bridge, Westminster Abbey, the Parliament buildings, Big Ben, and St. James Park. It was obviously quite rushed because we only had a certain amount of time and EVERYTHING takes a little longer when you've got 30 brats in tow. :) But it was just beautiful. I have to say, London is different than I thought it would be. I don't really know how, but it was just such an incredible mixture of new and old and everything was just so British. And it was actually LESS touristy than I thought. I mean, I probably heard more American-English and German than British-English that day, but the actual city didn't feel so awfully "on display". It felt comfortable and not nearly as crowded as some tourist-traps that I've been to. But like I said, I was only in London twice, so what do I know? But you wanna know something crazy? Approximately 8-10 million people live in London! Do you realize that that is approximately 1/4 to 1/3 of the ENTIRE population of CANADA??? A little mind-boggling, isn't it? I still can't get over that fact. Everytime I think about it I go on the Internet and check the numbers again. Haha.

Friday was nothing special....Then Lisa was off for the weekend and James took us to Brighton on Saturday where we visited the Sea Life Centre and spent the afternoon in the city centre. According to James it is THE gay city in southern England. And after sitting in the market place with him for 2 hours of people-watching, one of my fave pasttimes, I'm inclined to agree. Especially after I saw this one muscle-bound fake-baked too-much-hair-gel-wearing dude strut his stuff, wearing a baby pink t-shirt ... with diamonds in the ...ahem.... nipple regions. Plus all the posters announcing the upcoming LadyBoys of Bangkok drag show were kind of a dead give-away. Was an interesting afternoon. And I was slightly ravenous. You see, one of the packed lunches we got from the school cafeteria in the morning didn't have a sub sandwich in it. And since I wasn't very hungry during the two weeks we were in England (don't ask me why, very uncharacteristic, I know) I told one of the teachers to give it to James when he got there and I would sacrifice myself for the sandwich-less lunch. But then James left his lunch at the train station so he was lunchless and I was sandwich-less. And of course, Murphy's law kicked in that day and I got really hungry in the afternoon. Well, at least I had a water bottle along. Filled stomach with tasteless calorie-less liquid. That's what I get for being nice.

On Sunday we were in Portsmouth where we took the kids to see the HMS Victory (Admiral Nelson...British victory, etc...). Then the kids got some free time in the afternoon to shop the outlets in Portsmouth, right next to the ocean. Everything from Burberry and Ralph Lauren to Next, Nike, and the Gap. I just went straight to Starbucks, where I ordered a venti Tchai Tea Latte (well, actually I ordered a venti Tai Chi Latte, but I think the girl knew what I meant...) ...after which I received a tall Tchai Tea Latte...after which I demanded a venti because I paid 3 fricking pounds 40 and didn't want that dinky little drink. So she poured something from a container on the counter into a venti cup. And it was the worst Tchai Tea Latte I have ever ingested. Ever. But I drank the whole dang thing because I paid good money (**read: lots of money) for that mofo. Blech.

Monday was the only rainy day during our stay. Walked from Eastbourne's city centre back to Mede's Village in the pouring pelting rain and hurricane-like winds. Like, I'm from MANITOBA and I've never experienced a wind like that. Needless to say had to do hair twice that day.

Tuesday was London again with Lisa. On Cannon Street I saw more business men than I have in my entire life combined. It looked so cool. All these important Londoner people rushing here and there. I'm soooooo small-town. Then Lisa took us to St. Paul's cathedral. (By the way, love love love London's underground system. So practical and quick and urban feeling. lol) At St. Paul's Lisa told a big fat lie to the people working there. Told them we were a British class because that way you can climb to the top of St. Paul's and look out over London for 2 pounds as opposed to 10. The lady totally didn't buy Lisa's story (especially after one of the German teacher's joined in the discussion with her VERY OBVIOUS GERMAN ACCENT!!!) but Lisa is possibly the feistiest New Zealander I know (ok, so I only know 3, but trust me, she's basically the definition of FEISTY) and somehow managed to get us in for the cheap rate although the employees there basically didn't believe a word of it. We told the kids they were not allowed to speak a word of German so as not to give us away. ONLY ENGLISH. It was so cute. They actually listened to us, they were so scared. They even asked me if they were now criminals. I told them a little bit, yes. Haha. Needless to say Lisa asked me to act as the group leader with the kids going up (Lisa's not a fan of heights) because my Canadian accent was definitely a better alternative to the German accents of the teachers. :P After St. Paul's we went to Madame Tussaud's where I met the 3 most important dead people in my life (somehow that sentence doesn't seem quite right :P): Audrey Hepburn, William Shakespeare, and Charles Dickens. While all the Germans wanted their photos taken with Barack Obama. (They LOVE him out here...)

On Wednesday we went on the Beachy Head Walk with Lisa. Very pretty.

And then Thursday the kids had to do presentations (whatever they wanted, basically, as long as it was in English.) I made a video of the cross-dressing fashion show (for which I was employed as make-up artist/hair stylist) but it's too long to upload here. If you ever wanna see it (cuz it's actually pretty funny) ask me when I get home.

Ya, then in the evening we played one final game of rounders, where James and I actually ended up on the same team, so we kicked some major bum as opposed to the usual him trying to get me out followed by my snarky threats. Then it was time for goodbyes, which was sad. One of the girls actually cried her eyes out and said she never wanted to leave England. (NO IT WASN'T ME).

Oh, I nearly forgot Wilson! He is my ultimate England souvenir. See, this weird rubber volleyball appeared in the staff room one day (no one seems to know where it came from) and it basically never left my hands after that. I so rarely get the chance to play volleyball that I go a little overboard when I do. So anywho, volleyball and Julia, the whacko canuk, became inseparable. John tried to steal it a few times but he wasn't very successful. So on Thursday James decided that I should take my Wilson (you know, "Cast Away") home with me as a souvenir. John, Lisa, and James even signed it (some veiled insults and inside jokes...I love British humour...wait, no, English...they hate being called British as much as we hate being called American. And dad, I apologized to James for you! Haha. He forgives you.)! That was really cool. And SOMEHOW I managed to stuff it into my carry-on bag. Still not sure how it fit but I was determined. That sucker is coming to Canada! lol.

P.S. If you're interested in pics and haven't clicked on the links yet, go back 4 posts and you'll find three.

i. am. squirrel.

Oh man i nearly forgot my second favourite Brit word! "Knob". It's just an insult. Not quite sure exactly what it means, but I have a feeling it's not very nice - I'm a little afraid to ask; it's probably pervy. Oh, and "dodgey" is my third favourite word. Brilliant. Plus I love how British people constantly use insults as forms of endearment. They have such an incredibly morbid sense of humour. Maybe that's why I love their movies and comedy so much. I was born on the wrong frigging continent. LOL. Anyways, they always call one another "fatty" or "knob" ... or worse; whereas we North Americans refer to one another as "love" or "beautiful" or "darling" or "gorgeous" and the list goes on. Strange. **Note: this is NOT an invitation for you to all start your emails to me with insults. I'm still a Canadian... :P


Um, what else? Today was my first day back at school in 3.5 weeks. Actually I shouldn't have even bothered getting out of bed. I didn't have to attend 3 of my 4 scheduled classes. Fruitful day, don't ya think??? Grrrr. I hate days like that. Especially when you bike ALL THE WAY OUT TO THE SECOND SCHOOL BUILDING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CITY ONLY TO REALIZE THAT MOST OF THE STUDENTS FROM YOUR AFTER-SCHOOL ENGLISH CLASS ALL WENT HOME 2 HOURS EARLIER - i dunno, why they didn't have regular classes - don't really care. Meaning class is cancelled (cuz there's no point in teaching 2 people and then repeating it all again next week for the other 5) so you may as well just swing that tired a** back onto your rickety, rusty mass of spokes and rubber (I want my car back!) and pedal back home before you've even caught your breath from the ride THERE. Grr. Grr. Grr. Stupid voluntary classes that students aren't obligated to attend...It's ok, Julia, you're not around next week and then it's just two more lessons... THIS IS WHY I DON'T WANNA TEACH HIGH SCHOOL. I DESPISE SNOTTY 17 YEAR OLDS. Apparently I only like little snotty kids. Actually I shouldn't give you the wrong impression. The older kids are really nice. I just don't really enjoy teaching those classes as much as the younger ones.


Anyways, point of the story: frustrating day in terms of school. Or I guess LACK OF IT.


You're probably wondering why I won't be in school next week. Well, I get to go on another school trip! YAY! But it's just a short one. 3 days with the grade sixes. Sweet. I LOVE those kids. So cute. Plus they worship me, which always helps. ;P


My iTunes is playing Taylor Dayne again!! Think it's trying to tell me something? Or does it just KNOW that I LOVE THIS FRIGGING SONG!!! "Take me I'm yours...into your arms...never let me go....tonight I really need to know..." TELL IT TO MY HEART baby. frick ya. Sorry, need to stop for a little 80s dancing session (ah, the joys of living alone...)


Ok, I'm back. That was fun. And yes, I used a hairbrush as a microphone. And no, I feel no shame. What you see is what you get...


Can you tell I have too much energy? I've got the attention span of a squirrel. Did you know that my right calf is more defined than my right? I noticed during my workout today...


Ok, by the way, I find it hilarious how many emails and messages I've gotten about getting James to come to Canada. LOL! Geez, most of you ladies are married/engaged/dating! Oh, did I mention that he's a professional personal trainer? Trained the likes of Emma Thompson, Lily Allen, and Ioan Gruffudd (from Fantastic Four). Haha. I did tell him today tho that apparently he (and his impressive rugby skills) are always welcome in Canada. :P


Ok, I can't keep any thoughts straight anymore. In fact none of the "thoughts" above seem to be very organized either. So I'm gonna quit while I'm ahead. Happy day-after-Audrey-Hepburn's-birthday. ... I'm ridiculous.

Mind the friggin gap...

I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! Just got home from England about 2 hours ago.

Wow. All I have to say is wow.

Ok, so that's not ALL I have to say... Come on, ya'll must know me a bit better than that by now. :P


First things first: I got accepted to the U of W and U of M Education programs and have decided on the U of W one. I actually decided that a long time ago but didn't think I'd get in. Apparently they liked my application cuz they got back to me a lot quicker than they said they would, even tho my application only got there way past the deadline, due to the whole me being overseas thing. so YAY! I no longer need to worry about being a bored bum next year! :P

Second things second: My phone is offically cancelled so that I won't have a phone bill in June once I'm already moved out. So don't try to call me. Either skype or email.


Ok, so England! Where do I start? How about.... I want to move there! No joke. It's beautiful. I mean, first of all we were plain old lucky. In 12 days we only had ONE DAY OF RAIN! Do you realize how rare that is for the coast of England????



The beach where Kevin Costner washed up in the beginning of "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves"!!!!!!!!!



So ya like I said, I was there for 12 days with 30 ridiculously pubescent 12/13 year olds and 3 other teachers. It was incredible. I loved it. Got along with the kids great and had girls hanging off both arms basically constantly. Literally. Somehow they mistook me for a very cool and fashionable role model... Hmmmmm. Don't tell their parents. Seriously, tho, last night I was in one of the girls rooms and they were laying on top of me, latching onto my hands and legs, and wouldn't let me leave! Got a little disturbing after a while...



Anyways, so the reason we were at St. Bede's prep school (rich kids joint) for 12 days was for the grade 7's English Experience where they went to special English classes every day.

We teachers spent the days "in the library" (<- insert whatever you think I mean by library here). Major highlight: 23 year old James Hamblyn, one of the 2 English teachers. Eye candy. Period. Plus everyone knows I'm a sucker for British accents. Let me see if I can find a pic (for all the single ladies... although i really don't have many single friends. sigh. maybe 2?) I took 396 pics total in England, so he should be in there somewhere. Hang on...

This is all I've got...



James trying to teach 13 year old german kids how to play rugby... Needless to say the girls were a little bit in love.








Lisa and James (the teachers) and John, who organizes this English Experience school for St. Bede's. This pic was at the "awards ceremony". Three of the coolest people I've ever met. Lisa is this crazy nutso awesome woman whom I love to death. She is funky and loud and ridiculously interesting. And John is really fun and great to have a laugh with. He made Canadian jokes all week. Was a good time. (Couldn't hit him back too hard tho...he's got five kids, including newborn twins, so the poor guy gets an average of 1.5 hours of sleep a night...)

James after dropping all the key chains on the floor. Clutz. :P



At the end of our stay we spoiled our hosts with some small presents. I had to come up with the gift for James, seeing as how he and I are the same age and all. This is him reading the note I wrote to him from Anne Hathaway, the love of his life. I have a great pic of his face as he's killing himself laughing about the note, but he might hurt me if he finds out I posted that one, so I'm not gonna. And there's John eyeing the Canadian maple syrup I bought James. I paid FLIPPING 6 POUNDS for, like, a spoonful! I cannot believe how expensive good syrup is outside of Canada. But he likes it, so whatevs.



John, James, and Lisa watching the kids' presentations on the last day. (Lisa also happens to be James' aunt.)




James once again showing off his rugby skills. Used to play semi-professionally. Basically broke every freaking bone in his body...and then some, even if that is illogical. It took him about 20 minutes to recite his list to me. And I'm guessing that with his bi-daily rugby concussions he's probably forgotten a significant amount of bone-crushing moments....




Anywho, that was my highlight. lol. It was hilarious because all the girls (and actually most of the staff strangely enough...) wanted me and James to passionately fall in love and elope or something. The kids kept telling me we'd look so good together...and we have such good chemistry...and we're both so nice. LOL! First of all ... what do seventh graders know about chemistry? They can barely spell "hormones". Secondly, ... WE'RE BOTH SO NICE???? SO NICE PEOPLE SHOULD JUST MARRY??? That's some kinda logic. Heck, then I should have about 30 husbands already. And thirdly, James and I talk to each other in English. 90 percent of which these kids can't understand anyways. How on earth would they know if we can even stand each other? lol. But it was funny. Sorry to disappoint, girls. :P Just eye feasting.


I'm so nasty. My parents are probably nervously drumming their fingers, wishing I would return to "the other continent". lol. No worries. In 29 DAYS I'M DONE SCHOOL HERE. THEN 19 DAYS OF TRAVEL AND I'M HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Crazy. Although James did tell me he's gonna come visit. He loves Canada or something... :P :P



Ok, anyways, I kept a list of stuff I wanted to blog about when I got back so here goes...



1) England is breathtakingly beautiful.



St. Bede's prep school is located in Mede's Village (belonging to the city of Eastbourne) where all the rich snobby people live. It is right on the ocean and is just a phenomenal place for a holiday. The houses are so English. The countryside straight out of the movies. Sheep everywhere. And where there are no sheep there are cows. Just gorgeous.

2) London is the new coolest city on my list. Definitely wanna experience it someday minus 30 little brats (even tho I do love them) and with people my own age. But seriously, it's a city unlike any I've ever seen. Part of it is just the FEELING you get there. It's so .... nope, not even gonna try. Just go. I'll post all the good pics on Facebook and give you the links cuz I'm tired of uploading here on blogger. Such a hassle.


3) The fashion in England is INSANE! It's so over the top crazy! I have literally never seen anything like it anywhere else. Ever. No wonder London is one of the fashion capitals. Seriously every other girl here has just nutso taste. Crazy. And the other half just have crazy outta this world you'd never believe people actually wear that kind of stuff taste. lol. And I got to shop in TOPSHOP!!! Kate Moss's stuff!!! How freaking cool is that???

4) The girls think I look like Angelina Jolie. Um, I think they need to start eating some more carrots or go for eye laser surgery. I would need some serious botox, a major nose job, an eye lift, and about 25 other procedures to even come close! haha. I almost choked on my Starbucks frappuccino when Julia S. told me that...

5) We played a lot of Rounders. The English version of baseball. Frick was that fun! I haven't played baseball in years! Kicked some ass, I did. Boo ya! Definitely couldn't get used to the whole 4 base thing tho...much to James' amusement.

6) Sarah and Nancy think I'm going to make an amazing teacher. They told me they loved my classes. Awwww. I'm so excited! I'm gonna be a teacher!!!

7) THEY STILL HAVE SEPARATE HOT AND COLD TAPS IN ENGLAND. LIKE, WHAT CENTURY ARE WE IN????????????? Apparently technology is one of England's weak points. That's what I've been told. BUT BASIC INDOOR PLUMBING? I MEAN WHAAAAAAAAAT? Ok, so some places have regular taps, but I could not believe how normal it was to have a tap for only cold and a tap for only hot. Do you understand how complicated that makes washing your face? I would fill my hands with freezing water and then quickly thrust them under the boiling water to end up with a handful of unevenly warm water so half of my face was a numb ice block and the other half bore 3rd degree burns. This must be why the English need so many pubs. To drown their water temperature sorrows. HOW DO THEY LIVE LIKE THIS???? lol. Flipping thank goodness the showers were normal!!!!!!!!

8) Ladies beware of English garbage men. Walked from our boarding house (Down's House) to the school for lunch. Garbage truck drove past. 6 men in it between 20 and 50 years of age. All 6 men stuck their heads out of various windows and garbage truck ... openings ... and stared at me. For a full 10 seconds. Including the driver. Was sure I had something stuck to my pants. Turns out I didn't. Anyways, major "ew" experience. Stay away from the garbage men of Mede's Village.

That's all I've got for now. I'm sure much much much more will follow. 12 days of crazy awesomeness is hard to keep organized in my overtired brain. We had to leave for the airport at 2:45am today. Not cool. Thankfully I have all weekend (including Monday) to do nothing but sleep. And relax. And not wonder what the thirty hormonal boogers are up to. We had three couples this week! (Nancy and Robert broke up, but the other two are goin' strong...woot for 3 day anniversaries!!!)

Oh wait, one more thing. My list of cool British words. I fricking love British English. Always have always will. Here are some of my faves. If I think of more, I'll let ya know...

- knackered = exhausted, wasted, finished, drop-dead tired, hammered (well, the literal meaning is actually castrated, James informed me. ew)

- gap: I realize this is a relatively normal word for us, too, but think of how often you actually use it. (Other than when you're talking about the store.) In England, they use 'gap' ALL THE TIME. Everywhere. It's so funny. Or maybe that's just me. "Mind the gap", "gap year students", the list goes on...

- nappies = diapers (like I said, John has newborn twins....heard this word a LOT)

- buggy = stroller; hahaha. who still says buggy? The English are so strange....

- mate = friend/buddy; i thought that was an australian thing, but apparently not. i love how everyone calls everyone else "mate". just sounds cool. and british.

- I also love that British men can use words like "lovely", "darling", and "thanks, love" without sounding completely gay. Brilliant

Oh, here, in my search for a decent picture of Sir James (seeing as how I don't have any) I found one! He added me on Facebook, so I stole one of his profile pics. Is that creepy? I'm just doing it so you can all comprehend/partake in my 12 days of joy. :P

Frogs and Sunshine

So holidays have officially begun! I just got home from my day at the kindergarten where I left with a record of ONE insult! And it was a pretty minor one. Celine asked me why I had such a funny jacket on. But I personally love this jacket and I get compliments on it from every female I meet ... over the age of 15 ... so obviously it's fabulous. I really shouldn't expect a 5 year old to take notice of it's Audrey Hepburn-esqueness, right?? That might be a TAD unreasonable...

Anywho, today was another gorgeous 25 degree sunshine fest. So I went on a giant frog hunt with some of the older kids in the creek behind the kindergarden. We caught 12. No, let me rephrase that. I caught 8, Tommy caught 4. Once they realized that I am neither afraid of nor grossed out by these slippery, slimy creatures (I tend to like things that are slippery and slimy ... except the male Homo sapien kind...) they would simply scream: 'Tchoolia! There's another one!' Hence frog-catching skills have now been perfected and I was heralded as the queen frog-chaser. Always dreamed of earning that title... Here're some pics of the funness...

While the kids took their naps we (as in employees, I'm not having a random schizophrenic day...) all just sat outside and soaked in the sun, eating cake and drinking coffee. Basically hoping the kids would never wake up. Obviously hopes went unfulfilled....

deceitfully normal looking...

letting our true colours shine....

Oh ya, and I'm taking off tomorrow. Easter holidays at my relatives' and then 2 weeks in England with the school. So ya. Blogging will probably be infrequent ...or more likely completely non-existant. But keep checking back. Ya just never know ... Hope you have a good April!!!

All My Children **title not meant literally

I feel like I'm in a soap opera: you don't watch for a week you can be guaranteed that the next time you tune in everyone will be married to their ex's brother's cousin's granddaughter's twin-sister ... who had a sex change while the actress was on maternity leave (read: frantically trying-to-get-rid-of-pregnancy-induced-muffin-top leave ... which wasn't successful -> hence actress was replaced by Antonio Banderas wannabe because a size 4 soap actress is unaccaptable) and suddenly reappeared as a very sensitive, effeminate, yet passionate Spaniard with a pencil-thin pedophilic moustache. (Don't ask me where that sentence came from. My head? Not a chance!) Seriously, you could just film the going-ons (or is it 'goings-on' ... I never quite know...) at the Tausendfuehler kindergarten and completely eliminate the overblown costs of crappy soap actors.

Yes, you've guessed it, things have developed since the last time you heard about the pre-school romances. Isn't there a soap called "all my children"? That's what they should rename the kindergarten. Anywho, so this week Eric and Elizabeth had nothing to do with one another anymore. No more secret hand-holding or stolen makeout sessions. Nope, Eric went cradle-robbing. That's right, he traded in his willowy true-and-faithful for a golden-haired trophy girlfriend (Coralee) and a honey-brown cheeky little mistress (Hannah). And they know about each other! In fact they traded turns kissing the guy! So all you men who are convinced your innermost fantasies can't come true ... think again! What is this world coming to ...

Ha, for those of you wondering, by the way, what the most flattering way to measure age might be, look no further! You no longer need to disclose telling numbers or frightening figures. Lynn demonstrated the new and improved method for me this afternoon. She was telling me about her family and when she got around to her grandmother she said: "my oma, she is...(**short pensive pause**)...she is THIS old", spanning her spindly little arms as far as they would go. ... Or wait, is that an UNFLATTERING way to portray age??? Hmmm.

As they say ... From the mouths (or arms, in this case) of babes...

And to end on a serious note. I have come to realize in the past month that there is no feeling comparable to the love of a child. Nothing. My hands are never empty. There are always five sticky, but warm, fingers gently pushing their way into my palms, pulling my hands to their faces, just so they can feel me close to them. There are always a dozen bobbing heads awaiting the slight, gentle stroke of my fingers, two dozen eyes searching my face for an approving smile, and countless limbs clammering to grab onto my legs. So while they fight and bicker about who gets to sit with me at the table and have absolutely LIMITLESS amounts of energy that manage to have me exhausted by lunchtime, all they have to do is come up from behind and give me a hug for the world to resume spinning in the right direction.

Sappy Julia over and out.

arachnophobia

(Written Sunday)

Today I woke up. Then I read. For four hours. And finished my book. Frick I love not studying and having time to do things like this! Not for long...



Oh, also, I haven't gotten ANY pics from anyone yet! I mean of your houses/apartments. I dunno if you all assume that everyone else will do it so you don't need to, but um ... I THINK YOU'RE ALL THINKING THE SAME THING...hence I have a problem. Please please please, if you even have 5 minutes just send me 2 or 3 little pics. PLEASE. I would be very grateful.



Um. So you will NEVER guess what I did yesterday. Now many of you probably know that I HATE SPIDERS. WITH AN UNBRIDLED AND LIMITLESS PASSION. I sometimes have dreams that I'm in our old living room in Ellefeld and there are spiders everywhere. Covering the walls, carpet, ceiling, piano, everything. And the giant coffee table that was always in the middle of the room is actually a GIANT MOTHER SPIDER. And I'm frozen. I can't move. I'm just in a room full of God's nastiest joke on 90% of the female population. Rebekah (my sister, Rebekah) knows what I'm talking about. In fact I think she might hate them even more than me, if that's humanly possible...


So yesterday I was in Chemnitz for the day with Daniela, Claudia, Elisabeth, and Ulli. We visited the Naturkundemuseum (a nature museum???...i don't know how else to translate that) and they had a giant "Insektarium" in there. Oh, and by the way...there were INSECTS in there. And bugs. And beatles. And gross yucky living creatures that in my opinion simply have too many legs. I mean, things that scuttle, scurry, and can disappear in the folds of my sweater or my carefully straightened hair without me noticing. CUZ THEY JUST HAVE PLAIN OLD TOO MANY LEGS. Anywho, so this lady had brought out a giant spider and had it sitting on this piece of bark in the middle of a table where a photography class was going nuts over it. We didn't even notice what they were taking pics of til this insect lady overheard me say I was going to barf if the tarantula we were examing behind the glass started moving. She then proceeded to pick up giant tropical centipedes and reach into cages with scorpions in order to test my gag reflexes and try to convince me that they really do belong in the "cute and cuddly" category. Um. No. But anyways, she then drew our attention to the table with the giant "Kraushaarvogelspinne" just sitting there. No cage. No net. No bullet-proof glass separating me from this nasty hairy fang-bearing creature. And then she started petting it ... and then she TOLD ME TO PET IT!


Instinctive reaction: "ARE YOU CRAZY, WOMAN? DO YOU ENJOY CLEANING UP BILE AND CHUNKS OF TOAST AND APPLE????" (My breakfast...in case you didn't get it...) Well, thankfully I was blessed with some primitive form of filter and managed to clamp my jaw shut before these words escaped my lips.

But then I was like, "No way. I'm not some silly girly-girl who's afraid to try new stuff and get over stupid fears. And I won't turn into one now" So I FREAKING TOUCHED A TARANTULA. TWICE. It was as soft as velvet. Seriously. Incredible feeling.

And I'm just gonna say this: I'm fricking proud of myself. Boo-yah.

oh, if you're interested, pics of the gals and me in chemnitz here: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=111180&id=573967603&l=bc4ed4fcea


Last point for the day:

I've noticed something curious here in Germany. If you go to the movies here, you'll quickly realize that once the film is over and the credits start rolling ... you should just stay sitting. They actually watch the credits out here. I mean, some get up and leave, but it doesn't quite take after the bomb evacuation drill that the post-movie-stampedes in Canadian theatres resemble. I mean, honstly, as soon as the screen goes black and the last sentimental instrumental sequence trails off, indicating the finality of said cinematic experience, North American movie-goers are almost out to their cars already. It's like someone walked into the theatre with one of those baseball game t-shirt guns packed with 10 kilos of anthrax or something. But here in Germany you just sit. And wait. I find myself tapping my heels and drumming my fingers, even considering yelling "Fire" at the top of my lungs. I mean, do I really care who did Anne Hathaway's makeup? Or who did Anne Hathaway's makeup artist's makeup?

Mmmmmm. That would be a no.


l

Finding the time

Halli hallo, as the Germans say. So how ya'll doin'? Did you know that I will be done here in 74 days?? Isn't that INSANE??? So little time left.
Seriously. So little time. I got home from my weekend in Marburg with my childhood best friend Elisabeth last night and about an hour later my phone rang with another random stranger who found out about the ''Canadian living in Marburg'' and wanted to hire me to tutor her (adult!) son in English. I wanted to. I really did. But I can barely keep my head above water right now and I knew that I couldn't take on another project, even if it is only til the middle of April. I have a hard enough time finding a moment to work on the classes I teach, never mind another person who needs tutoring. I mean, the extra cash would have been nice and all, but not at the expense of my sanity.

:P

So ya, not much to report about my weekend. Except that it was fabulous. We just had a fun time. It was 13 degrees outside. Things are budding and blooming already! It just SMELLED like spring. Do you remember the smell??? :P (I'm mean). No worries, in a few ... weeks, hopefully ... you will be smelling it too!!! Ya, so Friday night we just chilled and watched ''Snatch'', which is one of my all-time faves. The German version wasn't even too shabby, besides the fact that all the cool accents were missing and the guy who dubbed over Brad Pitt didn't even NEARLY do as good a job with the gypsy language. haha. Um, on Saturday we went to Giessen for the afternoon. Got lost but happened to find a really pretty neighbourhood in the process. And in the evening we went to the movies. Saw ''Mord ist mein Geschäft, Liebling'' (Murder's my job/business, darling''). A new German comedy. ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS. Um ya. On Sunday I baked a cake, we dropped by Dirk and Ulli's to say happy Birthday, and in the evening we went to Elisabeth's church's International Service. Meaning it's all in English. Except the sermon, for some reason, was in German this Sunday. lol. Strange.

Ya, like I said, not a very exciting weekend, but it was super super fun, because I just hung out with Elisabeth and all her friends, who are SUPER nice and we just spent a lot of our time chatting and laughing. Elisabeth has 3 roommates, so there's never a lack of action around there. :) I had met all of these people back in January during my New Year's break, and seeing people for the second time is always so much nicer, because they're not absolute complete strangers anymore, you know? A lot more ... comfortable. lol.

Good times.

Ok, well, I should get back to work. If I complain about not having time to work on lessons, I probably shouldn't waste the little time I DO have on the computer. :P

Got to get that freaking U of W application finished. Hope they still accept all my stuff this late...

OH. And I almost forgot I FINALLY got my first hamburger since JULY!!! We went to this sweet American style diner in Marburg for supper Sunday evening. Elli and I ordered wings, onion rings, hamburgers, fries, and Ben and Jerry's ice cream (double fudge brownie, baby). I think I can make it til June without a hamburger now. Seriously, try to find a German menu with a hamburger on it. I dare you! Basically impossible.

Ok, that's all. For real.

Peace out.

Hopefully tact comes with age...

I don't think I've ever been insulted so many times in one day.

Today was my second adventure with the Tausendfuehler kindergarteners where I have been hired to speak ONLY English with the kiddies. The older ones that I played with last week were at a book fair today so I hung out with the 3-5 year olds for 6 hours. I was accused of many things. One of the 3 year olds (Nina) doesn't speak yet, and a 5 year old, Julius, decided it was his job to inform me of that, since I might not be able to figure it out all on my own. :P He then paused for a few seconds and added "but then again you can't speak either, right?" Ya. Um. Thanks. The good thing is I can defend myself as heatedly and long-windedly as I like...in English. So I gave him a piece of my mind in a friendly sing-song voice with a smile on my face.

I was not meant to become a pre-school teacher.

Lol. I was also told that I have a weird name (a "j" sounds like a "y" in German, so if I say Julia the way we say it in English I first get very strange looks and then they all run off yelling my name as if it was the funniest joke they've heard in months.) I mean, how degrading is it to be patronized by children that barely come up to your knees and leave out the numbers 4,5, and 9 when counting up to 10? Seriously, they'll ask me something, I'll answer in English, they look at me like parents look at their children when they say something completely childish and illogical, then pat me on the hand, turn to their friends and say "she can't speak properly yet." And the icing on the cake was when Hannah insisted I couldn't even speak English properly! (Who knows...after 7.5 months in Germany, she could be right...)

But the real kicker...the absolute tip of the iceberg, was a little conversation I had with Hannah, Coralee, Elli, and Lena in the sandbox. Coralee asked me if I have a husband. I said "no". Hannah asked me if I am looking for one. I was a little stunned but how do you relate, using only your hands and feet, "Actually, Hannah, I am a content, confident, independent young woman who does not need a man to complete or fulfill her ... or at least that's what I recite to myself every morning when I wake up in my quiet little apartment." Trust me, it's even harder than it sounds. So finally I just nodded my head and said "yes." I mean, despite my serious relationship phobia and previous anti-marriage rants on this blog, I still have this slight, fading glimmer of hope that one day I just might find some guy ignorant enough to propose. :P Anyways, about 5 seconds after I had responded with my meek little "yes" Lena turns to me (and keep in mind I had just met this girl about 2 minutes earlier) and says "well, it's not that hard!"

You're killing me, kid! I mean, single girls are hard enough on THEMSELVES. The last thing they need is OTHER people reminding them how pathetic they are. AND THEN TO HAVE A 4 YEAR OLD RUB IT IN! FOR THE SECOND WEEK IN A ROW! (see here if you don't know what I'm talking about) Now come on! That's just unnecessary!


Ok, but all complaining aside. Today was SO MUCH FUN! I had an absolute blast with those kids. And again they stuck to me like bugs on fly paper. I will probably contract some new cold virus every single Thursday when I'm there, but it's so worth it. After they got over the weirdness of "how I talk" (read: after I refused to respond to their pleas to "speak like a normal person") they couldn't get enough of me. We sang songs, played ring around the rosie ... over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over ... well, you get the idea. Anyways, it's amazing how quickly 6 hours can go by. :) What I love about such young kids is that there is still no concept of what is "cool" or "loserish". Weight, clothing, even smell! don't matter to these little munchkins. Speech impediments aren't even noticed (as long as you SPEAK THE RIGHT LANGUAGE, that is...). No one cares whether your hair is combed or whether you have the latest Dora the Explorer slippers. As long as you're up for a good game of tag or always have a funny song on hand you're good. And I like that. I never get tired of singing. :) :)


P.S. To all you mamas, aunts, grandmas, uncles, grandpas, fathers...or just anyone who is frequently around kids ... or remembers their childhood incredibly well: if you happen to know any fun songs (with actions are good) and games, please let me know in the comments box or send me a mail at jdhiebertAThotmailDOTcom. If you have a good game make sure it's something easy to explain in English. :) I already have some of the basic songs that I remember (bah bah black sheep, old mcdonald, bingo was his name-o, itsy bitsy spider, etc. But any further ideas would be greatly appreciated!!!

The Tausendfuehler

Ok, I've only got about 15 minutes until my next class starts, but I wanted to blog today because my cousin, Carina, is coming out for the weekend and I won't have time to blog for the next few days.

So yesterday was my first day with the Tausendfuehler in the Zschettgau pre-school. I will be spending 6 hours there every Thursday. It was fun, but a lot of hard work. See, I'm not allowed to say ANYTHING in German. The kids are supposed to just hear me speak English, play English games, sing English songs, etc. That makes it really difficult, cuz I can't say something in English and then translate it for them if they don't get it. That basically limits me to either saying things that I can point to or make up comprehensible gestures to. It's a LOT harder than it sounds. Plus every once in a while a German word slips out by accident. But so far the kids have never noticed. The funniest thing is that they (obviously) always speak to me in German, I answer in English, but then they ask me if I can speak any German. It makes me laugh, because a more mature mind would be able to reason that if I can understand everything they say in German perfectly, then I would most likely also be able to speak German. But they are completely convinced that I can't speak a word of German, I can only understand it. Makes me laugh.

They are little sweethearts, though. I had little hands tugging on my fingers, tickling my tummy, and petting my hair. Little arms clinging to my legs, little lips pressing sticky kisses on my cheeks and bony bottoms fighting for a place on my lap. We played in the sandbox, coloured, climbed on a jungle gym, and much more. It was a lot of fun. Especially just because it's totally different from what I do all day at school. I just get to play with them and horse around. And let me tell you...by the time 6 hours are over, you're pretty exhausted. But no rest for the weary. Have to go home, work out, and then get ready for 1.5 hours of tutoring. And this all takes place after two classes at school at 7:30 in the morning. But I can't complain. First of all, I get paid for all of this, and second of all Thursdays used to be SO boring. I would get home from school at 9:30 in the morning, get back into my pajamas and spend the rest of the day trying to find stuff to do. But now with all the class prep and the extra classes that teachers are asking me to do and having to really work on my u of w application, I'm starting to feel a little stretched. But nothing I can't handle. :)

The funniest part yesterday was when we were all sitting around for snack and one of the little boys, Patrick, asked me whether I had a baby. I told him "no", which is a word thankfully all of them understand. Then he asked what my husband's name was. So I told him I don't have one. Then he wanted to know what day I was getting married. To which I once again had to tell him "I don't know". And then Eric piped up "she probably doesn't even know WHOM she's going to marry". ... I had to bite my lip really hard to keep from laughing. I mean, I was being judged about my single status bya pack of freaking 5 YEAR OLDS!!!!!!! It's bad enough when people my age bug me about it, but now I'm even considered an abnormal anomoly by pre-schoolers. Patrick then informed me that he was going to marry Magdalena, who was contentedly sitting on my lap chewing around on a graham cracker. She didn't seem to mind the statement. How pathetic am I? Snotty-nosed children with koolaid stains on their chins running around in leotards and slippers are already declaring their love for one another while the most I can get is a honk, a whistle, or some scruffy-looking construction worker's head swivel...

Learning to teach, teaching to learn

Hello!

I just realized it's been a few days since I last blogged. And then I realized it's cuz I didn't have anything to say in the last few days! lol. miracle of miracles. But I didn't wanna leave you hanging, so I'm just gonna pull something out of my a**. I've got an hour to kill here at school...

Here goes.

Um, I'm really enjoying being at school these days! As I've mentioned before, coming home from holidays is always a little difficult for me. I really have to struggle with the whole "back to the routine" feelings of slight depression. lol. Especially since it meant saying goodbye to my mom and sister-in-law. But into the second week of school now I'm really really having fun! I feel more at home here now than ever. When I walk down the hallways I recognize a lot of the kids and they all actually smile and say hi! I mean, who knows what they do/say once I'm past them but who gives a flying crap? And you know those weird nervous feelings I talked about before? Like how I got really nervous before doing a lesson, even thought once I was actually up there doing it, I'm ok? Well, I don't really get that anymore. I just go up there and do my thing! And I REALLY REALLY enjoy it. Today has been a blast so far. I had one gr. 12 class where I did a powerpoint presentation on Canada, including playing two songs (one by Dala, one by the Matthew Good Band) as examples of Canadian music. The students were really nice, interested, and even asked questions after. Plus they told me my presentation was actually interesting, unlike others they've seen. lol. I told them that making a boring presentation would have bored ME, so why would I do that to myself?! haha. And then I went into another one of my regular gr. 12 classes where I spent about half the class talking about Canada-US relations. That was fun! And the students got quite interested. They kept asking more and more questions. I also did a presentation about Canadian schools with a gr. 10 class yesterday, but they were a little shy when it came to the question period. haha. They were really nice, though.

It's strange, because I've realized that when I go up there and just act like myself the students really seem to enjoy it. I'm actually funny! Like, seriously, people laugh. AND NOT AT ME. (I knew that's what some of you were thinking...jerks...) They genuinely find me humourous. I've discovered that being all stiff and rigid turns people off like crazy. (I don't think I'm capable of being stiff and rigid in front of a class, but I have seen some prime examples. Heck, I want to have a good time teaching! I don't wanna spend the rest of my life with a career as some boring spinster with a rod shoved up her behind...I'm gonna be an oober-cool spinster with a great sense of fashion and an interest in what and WHOM she teaches....at least that's the general goal...) The students really seem to relate to me and I hope it's something I can keep up as the years go by. I hope I don't get all outdated and lose my sense of knowing how to reach them. I mean, obviously I'm there to teach. But learning should not exclude 'fun' and 'interesting'. At least in my opinion. Then again, what do I know? I haven't been teaching for 15 years...Maybe I've got it all wrong. I'll let you know once I know.

Peace out.

pajama pants, heidi klum, and little brats

Confession: I didn't actually really journal during the second week that my mom, Andee, and Brenda were out here. I seriously had no time. We went to Berlin on Monday (got up at 4 am, got home at 10pm), Tuesday we went shopping and to see some traditional Vogtland stuff, Wednesday we went to Dresden, Thursday we went to Eilenburg and Leipzig, Friday we went shopping again and had supper with old family friends, and Saturday the three ladies had to get all their stuff packed and take a taxi to Munich for their flight the next day. We were actually gonna drive them there Sunday morning but seeing as how they managed to stuff the Manitoban winter with them in their suitcases it basically snowed for, like, 3 days straight in Ellfeld. Roads were really bad and we didn't want to chance them missing their flights Sunday morning by not getting there in time. So they left Saturday afternoon and spent the night in the Munich airport - unpleasant I'm sure, but I wasn't there.... As soon as they left I went to visit my friend Christina for a few hours and then met up with another friend Claudia after that. Busy busy. Um, on Sunday there was church and I hung out with my "brother" Sebastian (aka. part of my rental family, as mentioned in previous blog entries) and one of his friends in the evening, and then kept myself awake with the ever so lovely "Black Snake Moan" until the Oscars started at 1am. I mean, heck, I was not about to miss Hugh Jackman as the host. HELLO. LOVE OF MY SECRET HOLLYWOOD LIFE. Ahem. Anyways...I lasted until 3:30 am and then crawled into bed. Ya, that was the last week of the holidays. See, not much to report...



Ok, but now onto the list of what I wanted to write about today. Okay, let me check... (yes seriously, i have a written list. but it's short...)



1) It's 8.9 degrees celsius outside. +. +. !!! In the sun yesterday it was +20 at one point! I hung up my laundry outside in pj pants and a t-shirt. neener neener neeeeeeener!!!! (you may detect a hint of immaturity there, but I prefer to call it my personal fountain of youth. I shall never age... ???)



2) Miracle of miracle I found pajama pants in the LAND OF NO PAJAMA PANTS... aka germany. seriously, you can't find a nice pair of normal pj pants to save your skin! And while you may not be able to imagine a situation in which your life depends on the discovery of said pair of pj pants, imagine sleeping in a bedroom at 9 degrees celsius for 5 months with only itsy-bitsy teeney-weeny shorts. ya. that's right. anyways, the point of me writing extensively about one of the possiby most mundane topics on the freaking globe ... aka. pajama pants in case you hadn't caught on yet ... is the fact that I happened to glance at the tag in my pants the other day. (Does that sound dirty? I didn't mean it to...) Anywho, on the tag is printed in BOLD red letters: KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE.

Um ................. OK ..................... I mean, I had started to make a habit of roasting my pyjama pants over a bonfire like a freaking hotdog wiener, but since the all-commanding tag suggests refraining from my absolute favourite new hobby I shall abide by the scary BOLD red print. Oh no! Hand ... slowly ... subconsciously ... creeping ... toward box of matches ... Must ... stop ... myself. Must ... not ... set .... fire .... to ... PANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whew, that was a close one...



??????????



3) I am now employed at a kindergarten approximately 7km away from where I live! I think I blogged a while back about this lady who asked me to possibly come to her kindergarten once a week and play with the kids in English. Well I met with her on Thursday and I decided to do it! From 10am - 3pm every Thursday I'll be at the Tausendfuessler Kindergarten rolling in the dirt with the cutest snotty-nosed future bankers, cut-throat businessmen/women, CEOs, hairdressers, teachers, and plumbers. Sounds like a good time to me! And all I have to do is make sure I don't speak in German. At all. Ever. I think that's gonna be the hardest part for me. lol. And surprise of all surprises they're PAYING me to do this! 300 euros til the end of May, which is when I leave Eilenburg. SWEET! I totally was thinking this was a volunteer thing. lol. Woot woot.



4) So the new season of Germany's Next Top Model has started. I'm addicted and it's on my one free week-day evening, which rocks. Well, it starts after my evening English tutoring class, anyways, so I should always be able to catch it. Anyways, so Heidi Klum, Germany's most famous supermodel/wife of Seal is the host. And lately she has been sporting a very pretty but very simple hair style



I kept thinking throughout this last Thursday's entire episode: "It's not fair! Her hair looks so effortless and simple and gorgeous. I ONLY do simple things with my hair and it never looks like that! I mean, she also happens to have a perfect face to set the tone and all, but still!" Anyways, and then I happened to watch red!, Germany's version of Entertainment Tonight, where they happened to interview Heidi Klum's hair stylist. Which is where I found out that during the months of filming Germany's Next Top Model she goes to Heidi Klum's house EVERY MORNING FOR TWO HOURS to do her hair so that Heidi can be at home with the kids. Uh....huh.... Imagined scenario in my twisted mind -> Heidi: "Children whose names I can't remember because I haven't had time for you since I climbed from the hostpital bed into the makeup chair after each respective birth, go play while mommy gets turned into Barbie..." How does getting your hair done for 2 hours in the same house the size of Rhode Island that your children are somewhere also occupying qualify as quality time with your kids? And she gets GOOD press for having her stylist come to her so that she's home for her kids! Now, I'm not saying I think Heidi Klum is a bad mother. Heck, maybe she's awesome. Maybe she does spend buttloads of time with them. She always seems like a super fun grounded woman in interviews and on Germany's Next Top Model. But how can one of the most simple hairstyles on the face of god's green earth POSSIBLY require 2 hours of PROFESSIONAL hair styling??? Mirror Mirror on the wall...ANSWER ME THIS! Please...I WANT to understand. Heck, if some Hollywood guru spent that kind of time on my hair I could be a super model too. Ok, from the shoulders up...



Well, that's it. Aren't you glad my blog list for today only had 4 things on it???

more vacay...

Written February 12th - warning: it's a lengthy one.



Yesterday we took the train to France.


How cool is that? I mean, you travel a couple of hours in any direction out here and you’re in a completely different country. You do that in Canada and chances are you're still in the same freaking province! It only took us 1.5 hours and three trains to make it to the French city of Strasbourg (which used to be German for a while…hence the German-sounding name). There’s actually not much to tell about this day - you have to have SEEN it, been there, taken it in for yourself. As cliche as it sounds. We spent all afternoon just walking around the city and taking in all the sites. I found it kind of amazing that we had barely crossed the border but you could already tell it wasn’t a German city. I can’t explain it. Just the architecture and the … well …everything. It was just French.


It is also home to one of the most amazing cathedrals I’ve ever seen. I know I say that all the time, but every church I go to seems to be cooler than the last. It’s called the Notre Dame of Strasbourg for a reason! I mean the detailing of everything! It just takes your breath away. And to think they built something so awe-inspiring in the freaking 12th century! I mean, it’s practically unimaginable that they were even capable of such a task. It never ceases to amaze me. I wish I could describe the outside of that church to you. It was … it was… oh never mind. go visit it yourself one day :)


You know what's funny? I realized just a week or two ago that I actually feel closest to God when I'm in one of these amazing cathedrals or churches. If I really take the time to just sit down and think and pray. I just look at the amazingness around me and am in awe of what people were capable of when trying to express their adoration and love of God. Now obviously a lot of these cathedrals were built for ... let's say less divine ... reasons. Kings and emporers who wanted to show up the neighbouring monarch; greedy, power-hungry bishops and supposed men of God who wanted to attract tourists, pilgrims, and commerce (yes, even in the 12th century!); starving carpenters and masons who simply needed to provide for their families and put food on the table, with possibly no second thoughts about WHAT exactly they were building. Or for Whom. But it just doesn't matter to me. I look at the grandeur and simply see arches reaching to a heaven I can only dream about. I look at the altar covered in gold with the most splendid paintings and sculptures you can imagine and see just a glimpse of the greatness that I will one day be standing in front of. I can become completely still and sense His presence filling the endless caverns of these cold stone structures. So while Tennessee Bob, his wide-as-tall fake blondie face-lifted wife, Wendy, and his 3 bratty, spoiled-beyond-all-comprehension, all-American offspring annoyingly twang their unasked-for opinions at 30,000 decibles about the "old-school" stained glass windows with no regard to the rest of the visitors...while Japanese school groups traips noisily down one aisle and up the next, Kodaks and Canons flashing like a freaking pack of papparazzi, causing other tourists to drop like flies as epileptic seizures make the rounds ...while some sulky German/Canadian/French/whatever teenager gazes completely uninterestedly at the image of a crucified Christ muttering something about having better things to do with her time ... I can find a stillness and peace that I hadn't found anywhere else before. And it seems that this is the reason I have found myself attracted to every single historical church building out here, even though I didn't understand it myself at first.



Back to Strasbourg... :)
My mom, my aunt, and I climbed the church tower. 329 steps up. I think it was something like 66 metres. And the view was so cool. Absolutely no organization or purpose in the city’s layout. It’s weird to think that a place like that started out as some village in the medieval times and obviously everyone just kind of settled down where they felt like it with no regards for city planning or transportation logistics. Lol. It looked exactly like I imagined the view of Paris from the top of the cathedral when I read Victor Hugo’s “Hunchback of Notre Dame”. Exactly how I imagined France. I mean, I’d been there before, but as a young teenager and I just wasn’t able to appreciate any of it properly. I feel like I could pack up my stuff today and move there. I would relearn French, buy a beret, master yelling all nasal-like at people on the street like a real French person, and just read books all day long at outdoor cafes. Doesn't that sound like a dream??


One of the best parts of yesterday was pulling out my school French. Man I have forgotten a lot! But it was so fun to see what I could still understand and stuff. Thankfully I always knew enough to order our meals and understand the cashiers in stores. Before we got to Strasbourg I was pretty nervous about the language thing. I thought I’d feel like such a fool with my stammering and flawed attempts at one of the world’s most beautiful languages, not to mention my terror of the notorious French disdain for foreigners and tourists who either butcher or on the other hand don’t even attempt to speak their language. But actually everyone was super nice! I mean, Strasbourg clerks are obviously used to tourists since they’re so close to the German border and almost all of them can speak German as well as English, but I always spoke French to them for fun. I didn’t think I would enjoy pulling out my rusty cob-webby remnants of a language that has been lazily dozing away in my brain for the past 5 years, but I had a blast! And the lady in the bakery where we bought REAL FRENCH ECLAIRS (which I'd been waiting 10 years for) told me my French was excellent. Lol. I mean, I know she was just being sweet and I think she meant my lack of terrible accent was surprising, cuz that’s one thing I’m really good at in most languages, but either way, it totally made my day. And people - there was a bakery on every street corner. Plus another 2 or 3 bakeries between the street corner bakeries. Seriously. And a chocolatier beside every baker. INSANE! How do French people stay so tiny??? (What did you say, Jordan, about me not obssessing about weight and food??? lol) I have never been in shops like those. Anything you’ve ever imagined about French specialty chocolate shops … is true. But better. Oh, and the CLOTHING STORES! Honestly, it’s no wonder that French people are always dressed impeccably. Every store is just filled with the most amazing fashion sense! I didn’t see one poorly dressed person all day. The girls in their brightly-coloured leggings, crazy boots, peasant pea-coats, with half-curly windswept dark hair and cute hats. The guys in dressy well-fitting jeans, Lacoste shirts and sweaters with HOT dress jackets and always the perfect scarf around their necks. And much less hair gel than German boys. Just the right amount. I mean, there wasn’t any BAD fashion. And most of it was high-end. French people don’t have a choice but to dress beautifully. I tried to find a French vogue, but no luck. I’ll try again in June when I go back. :)

Um, ok, so I said there wasn’t much to tell about France, but apparently I was wrong. Lol.
We finished the day with supper in a ‘traditional’ French restaurant called Le Gruber. I had onion cake and salad. Actually quite decent. I mean, I would never recommend the restaurant to anyone cuz it was some of the slowest and worst service I’ve ever seen (even though we were the only ones in the place, seeing as how French people don’t eat supper at 6pm), plus the waitress spilled my aunt’s beer on her … and didn’t even APOLOGIZE!!! ??? Whatevs. It was fun to spend the evening complaining about the service and debating whether we should forewarn the incoming customers. :P
Ya, so then we took the French train (TGV) back to Germany and were back at my aunt and uncle’s at about 10pm. I scored: an oober-cool tanktop that is just oh-so-French and a black peacoat that was super on sale and is just what I’ve been looking for all winter! Yay. But I’d have to say the éclairs were the highlight of my day. I’d been looking forward to them all week.
Well, I think that’s all I’ve got for now. It snowed overnight and it’s actually coming down quite thick now too. We’ve got quite a layer of the heavy giant flakes (it’s about +1 degrees) and I’m looking forward to going for a walk this afternoon.

Hope ya’ll are having as good a week as we are. I can hardly believe my mom, Andee, and Brenda have been here for a whole week already! Folks, enjoy every minute cuz you’re never gonna get them back. Even if you’re at work or changing your two-year-old’s diaper or watching yelling at the computer because of the crappy Internet connection...ok ok, so the last one is directed at me. Take hold of that second. And the next. And the one after that. One day you’re going to wonder where it all went.

Apparently watching this incredibly gorgeous snowfall is making me feel all philosophical… :P