Signing out for the last time from Germany

Well, it seems that I have contracted the plague. At least, that's what I have not so affectionately named it.;) Now that I'm staying at my friend LeAndra's house, I thought I was allergic to her cat-Jack. So, yesterday I went for a nice long walk along the Neckar river. Beautiful. An ancient, ivy-covered wall, to my left. A river with pebble beaches and families enjoying the sunshine, on my right. And bikers enjoying the afternoon, wizzing past me. Germany in a nutshell. However, my "allergies" only got worse. Blah. Luckily, I am feeling much better today and am hoping to get out of the house to see the nearby town of Ladenburg. But, we'll see.

It is my last full day in Germany. Wow. Part of me can't believe that I am leaving. It was hard to imagine what Germany would be like and now it's hard to imagine what being back in the States will be like. I suppose I don't need to. I've come to the place in my heart where I am prepared to take the changes that God brings. I know that this is only the first of many opportunities to be immersed in a culture. So, I'm just flowing. Sure, there are things that I will miss, but I don't want to get bogged down in missing so much that I don't enjoy what God has for me now.

That being said. I had a fabulous time in Berlin this last weekend! Yes, I went back. It was my last weekend as a college student and I wanted to spend it with other college students doing fun things. So we went, stayed in a youth hostel and painted the town red. (Heh heh. That wasn't actually meant to be a Cold War pun.) Our biggest challenge of the weekend came as soon as we stepped off the train. No joke, we spent an hour circling the same three blocks and getting the same directions from multiple people to the tourist information center. He he. We did find it eventually and then hit the ground running to all our exciting destinations. I got to see the things that we didn't have time for last time: the Brandenberg Gate (where the Wall first started to fall), the former bunker of the SS (creepy and cool at the same time), the Jewish memorial, and the rest of the East Side Gallery (the largest outdoor art gallery in the world where artists from around the world painted murels of peace on the old Wall). We also giggled and played cards. Well, worth it.

Oo, ooo! I almost forgot to tell you. Prepare yourself...I got to drive a fancy Mercedes Benz on the Autoban. Yeah, I know! Really, stinkin' cool! My friend needed someone to help her get her rental car returned. If you don't already know, the autoban has sizeable sections that have no speed limit at all. So, I had the supreme joy of driving at 110. Even if it was only kph, which translates to about 65mph.;) But, I still had a lot of fun.

Now that I am about to arrive back home, I want to let you know that I will continue to update the blog. I have had the opportunity to make many new friends abroad and would love to stay in touch. So, even though my student teaching may be over, teaching and learning are a part of my life. Feel free to check in and share some life about what God is teaching me and how he is using that to teach others. Signing out for the last time from Germany, tschuss.