Birthday Bliss : )

My 26th year is off to a great start! Genna made an authentic Anne Nelson Apple Pie on my birthday, It looks like it went up in flames, but don't worry it was just the flash. 

Over the weekend we stayed in a cute cabin and enjoyed the beautiful fall colors in the mountains.

 Blowing out my mountain cheese birthday "cake"

 A huge thanks to Genna, Adrian, Iza and Kat for organizing the amazing weekend! Thanks to everyone for the cards, gifts and kind messages. Your love was felt from near and far! 

Year 2!

Poland 2.0 is off to a busy start. Time is flying by and there is never a dull moment. School has been going really well. I have almost all the same students as last year, which has been really nice! I'm teaching 26.5 hours a week. Mondays and fridays are my busiest days teaching 8.5 and 7 hours each day. It makes for a really busy schedule, but I enjoy it for the most part. It is so great to know what is going on at school and not feel lost and confused all the time. 

After 2 crazy roommates this year we have an AMAZING roommate. Katherine is from the UK. She spent the last two years teaching in Vietnam. Kat is super nice, really interesting to talk to and loves traveling. I think we will be great friends. YAY! 

We also got some pets this year. We started off with a delightful array of tropical fish. Kat, Genna and I each got 3 of a different kind and cool coral colored sucker fish. Day by day we came home to more fish belly up. Now we are left with 2 of Genna's and our awesome sucker fish. We kind of want to get more, but I'm afraid they will just die too.

After a pretty crappy September, weather wise, October has been AWESOME! We have been spending lots of time outside on the weekends and soaking up all the sunshine we can before the Polish winter is upon us. 

Happy Birthday Reed!

Happy Birthday Reed! 

Keep working on those muscles. 

But remember your sisters are always right behind you 

if you need a little extra push. 

Love you lots! 

Have a fun day! 

Berlin

Berlin Wall 

TV tower

Cool fountain near the TV tower

blowing bubbles in a big park

a huge monument at the center of the park

AMAZING guacamole!

After falling in love with Munich and feeling so at home there I was very excited to return to Germany and see Berlin. Looking back, I have a lot of great memories, from Berlin, but I just didn't love it the way I loved many of the other cites we have visited this year. Berlin is rich with history. While there we saw where the Berlin Wall was, Check Point Charlie, The Holocaust Memorial and Museum, and an interesting communist time museum. 

The most impact-full part of the visit was walking through the Holocaust Memorial. It is pictured above. The large cement blocks start flush with the ground and quickly grow taller and taller. From the outside they don't look that big, but once you walk in they engulf you and you soon wonder how to get out.  

I think it represents intolerance well. It starts off small a joke or a snide comment and quickly it grows and becomes so big you don't know how you will ever end it. Kudos to the designer of this unforgettable memorial. 

Visiting the Lewerenz Family

 Genna's brother is in Ecuador on exchange for the year. His best friend in Ecuador is Jan. Jan is from Hemer, Germany. When Jan heard we were going to be back in Germany he invited us to visit his family. It worked out great because we went there on Tuesday night and Wednesday was Labor day so they had a free day. 

 Jan's little sister is adorable! 

We spent the day at a huge park in Hemer. We also went to a cool cave. The weather was great, but the food was better! The Lewerenz's were amazing. We loved our day in Hemer! 

A HUGE thank you to Frank and Tanja!