boredom

so, i'm not sure if i put it on my last blog or not... but lately i am VERY bored, and very lonely.... due to my boyfriend working full time this current week and next, i spend my days alone... with nothing to do but watch tv, cruise the internet, read a book, or play computer games... today, is day 5 of my days alone... and frankly, i am bored out of my mind...and the ironic and sad part of it is: i keep waking up earlier and earlier.... yesterday i was wide awake at nine am, today i'm wide awake at 8 am.... ack!

so, my important conclusion is, I need a hobby. but... i've never ever really had a hobby and i don't know where to begin to think of finding one... i suppose you could call reading a hobby, but its one that i can't do allt he time... sometimes, i want to read, and sometimes i don't. i pretend i like to do crafts, but i always start things i never finish.... someday, i would like to get into scrapbooking more, but i think that is something better left for after i return to the states in a year. i dont' want to build anything - what would i do w/hundreds of toy boats, or model cars or airplanes...? so.... what does that leave me? puzzles also are great, and i enjoy them... but... again, it doens't really fit my lifestyle right now.... i would have no where to put one while working on it. so, if anyone has ANY ideas... i am wide open to suggestions!

what else is new? nothing really... i had some scary dreams last night, two of them, in which i was fighting for my life, literally... and i think that God is telling me that I am currently in a fight for my life... to stay Godly, i think... but also to find my own personal niche in life... as with any move, for a while a person feels "out of place." i currently feel a little "out of place" since I have no friends other than my boyfriend's that are here (well, my army friend.. but i can only see her now and then) and no way of makingfriends. i'm not very outgoing and especially am shy now speaking German, even with my bf. also, my sense of personal style... ie what i wear and how i look, seems a little dull and boring, i'm dying to go shopping and start being more feminine.... not because i want to attract a lot of attention or something, but because i want to feel better about myself, and when it comes to clothing and style, i've always sort of been stuck in the "i don't have any money to spend on clothes at all" look... which means a lot of t-shirts and jeans... which, is fine, i love t-shirts and jeans... but i'm eager to update my closet with some cuter t-shirts, than the five dollar ones i bought at college because they were cheap and i'm a student.... i'm sure someone out there knows what i mean!

but i suppose, that's all from me today. i'm in need of a shower, and some food (and i get to do laundry - oh yeah! i'm sooooooooo excited!) and then i'm going out... either to the river and a park that's down there to read my book (Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik - aka - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) or to go wander around some stores downtown, to get an idea of what stores offer what for what price, so i can be more educated when i finally get to go shopping (it has been over a year since i have really gone shopping for me... i've only bought a couple of shirts and pants here and there.. and i can count them all on one hand probably, so i'm in need of some shopping). but, anyways! thanks for listening to me blog...

week number 3

hi again! Sorry it has taken me so long to write anything up here again.... I can't get the pictures to work on this website, so i am tinkering w/making a webpage, and have spent most of my time working on that instead of writing up here!

well, last week's "only speak german in the daytime hours" idea, failed... and so, we are trying again this week... though it is not going so well either. It is difficult for me to speak in only German, since I can't always understand what someone else is saying and i can't always say what it is I want to say or need to say in German. due to this difficulty, my boyfriend and I keep reverting to english, since it is easier and what we are used to. Also, it seems that I "clam up" when it comes to german. When I am thinking in my head,when i am alone, about how to say something in german, it goes well.... however, when someone actually starts talking to me in german, all my knowledge of german goes out the window and i am left w/hardly any knowledge of the language to make a simple sentence out of.... so... while my listening comprehension is getting better... my speaking is making little progress, which is really no one's fault but my own. alas - life is a work in progress though, and i am definitely a work in progress... so, i'll continue to work on it!!! After all, that is why I am here.

Well, not much else has happened.... the weekdays are spent just hanging around the apartment relaxing (watching movies, playing Age of Empires 2 on my computer, surfing the internet, attempting to read a book in german), and the weekends are spent doing whatever. Last weekend we went to a barbecue for my boyfriend's old class, who completed their Abitur (the highest high school diploma you can get in germany). that was interesting. I only talked to one person, a guy named Lukas, who talked to me in german, and I actually talked back! until i didn't understand what he was saying anyways... but it was a little. I spent the evening listening to everyone talk, which was good for my listening comprehension skills...every little bit helps...

i had started reading Der Herr der Ringe (Lord of the Rings) in german.. however I decided to wait and read it at a later time, when i can enjoy it more and concentrate on all those words I don't know right now a little less. Instead, today, I started something a lot easier - Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). Since it is a book meant for children, and since my german skills are at the level of a child at the moment, it suits me well, and I can read it without having to look up everyother word.

other than the things I've been doing, everything is going well here. I'm still extremely happy i'm here, and am enjoying my time. i do have to keep reminding myself though, that i'm actually in Germany and I'm not leaving - as it still seems like it isn't really real. Sometime today a man (or woman) is coming to fix the dishwasher, so that should be interesting... we'll see how my german goes... :) also, later, a friend is coming over to watch movies, so that should be fun too. I keep hoping that the dishwasher person won't come until after my friend comes, so if i can't get my point across to the person, she can help me. but anyways, i'm going to say goodbye for now, and when i get someplace to post my pictures up on, I will put a link on this website!!!

Week Number 2

Well, its week number two of my time in Germany. Already it is starting out as an interesting week, and definitely an interesting monday, but before I get into all of that, let me tell you about this past weekend.

This past Friday, my friend Tiffany came down from the Army base in Giessen where she is stationed. I met her in Middle School sometime, and we graduated together, so we've been friends for nearly 10 years now. Ironically, she came to Germany this past March w/the US Army, and I just came here for the year to study. So, since we both happen to be in the same country at the same time we decided to get together.

Well, she arrived friday evening in a nice BMW she rented (it was a 500 series, for those of you who know about cars, and it was really nice). After I showed her the apartment we went down to the All Stadts Fest (not sure about spelling). The festival is a yearly thing, w/lots of food vendors and live music for a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. My boyfriend was working security, so we visited with him, and enjoyed a slice of pizza (i had hawaiian, it was good, though it tasted different than the hawaiian you get in the states). Another friend, from over here, visited us as well, so we all had tons of fun.

On Saturday we went to an area near by known as the Saarschleife. It is a gorgeous area, and there are castle ruins, so we hiked back to them. The trail was really pretty, though it was up and down the mountain a little and 4 km (about 2 or 3 miles) long just to get to the Castle, so it was sort of a tiring walk (okay, so really tiring). There is a photo of the castle ruins...

After our long, tiring walk, we headed over to an overview area, where we could look at the whole beautiful area. There is a picture of this as well. It was very gorgeous. On Sunday we merely watched a movie, while my boyfriend worked, then my friend went to her home in Giessen. We are planning on seeing each other again sometime, before she leaves for Iraq in September. It was really nice seeing her again, and spending some real time with her. We all had a blast.

Okay, now on to this week. This should be an interesting week, because starting today, I have to speak only German during the daytime hours. This will be good for me, since it will help me to learn more vocab, get more confidant in my language skills, and ultimately help me understand others better, but since i've hardly had to speak german so far, this first week of it should be interesting. ALso, today should be interesting, because very soon, I am leaving to go the University to talk to a woman about some things I need to do for them now that I am here. It will be my first time out and about in the city by myself, and my first time that I will have to completely understand someone all by myself without any help at all from a native speaker, so, i'm a bit nervous, and we'll see how it goes. It should go well, and the woman who I need to talk to will help me to make sure I understand her! But still, i'm a little nervous!

well, that's all for now. there are a few pics for you all to see. I'm off!

A Realization

So, today I realized, that I am actually in Germany. You'd think, I would have realized this days ago... like when i got here on saturday, or on any of the other days since then. well, i knew then too, that I am indeed in Germany, but it really set in today.

Today we drove to Luxembourg. Not the city, but the country. We drove there, a distance of about 66 km (which is about 40 miles) and back just to save 20 cents (Euros) on gas! Actually, it is a pretty common thing to do, I guess. Luxembourg is a tiny little country that borders France, Germany, and other countries, and is very rich. They're gas prices are cheaper there, so we drove there today to fill up my boyfriend's mom's gas tank in her car. It was actually a gorgeous drive, with lots of pretty views of the mountains and valleys. I meant to take pictures, but I was unable to since I forgot my camera at home!

Well, Monday is the day. Monday is the day that my boyfriend and I talk only German all day long. Well, that is, starting Monday. So from Monday on, not only do I have to try to understand others, but i have to try to make myself understood... it should be interesting. Well, actually, I think it will be good for me. Right now I am still thinking and talking in English, so German is harder than if I would be using German all the time.

Well, I suppose I should be off. Take care everyone... and maybe leave me a comment? :)

Coming to you from Germany!

Well, here I am, in Germany! Today is Monday, and I arrived here on this previous Saturday, the ninth of July. It has been an interesting, and almost frustrating few days....

My flight from home to Chicago was pretty good. A lot shorter than I was expecting. You spend the first twenty minutes rising up to the correct height in the air, (which is only 29,000 feet high) then you spend five minutes up there, and twenty minutes coming back to the ground in Chicago... all in all, almost a pointless flight :) but sort of nice too, having just a short flight.

my flight from Chicago to Frankfurt went well, I suppose you could say. I was originally supposed to sit in the second to last row of the airplane, but my seat got moved to the very first row behind First Class, which was nice. Except that I got stuck next to a rather creepy old man, who spent the entire flight flirting w/the flight attendents, and drinking 6 cans of beer. I suppose 6 cans in 9 hours isn't a horrid thing, but since he was already creepy, it just made it worse. But I shouldn't be so harsh, afterall, when he talked to me he was nice, and seemed gentlemanly enough. Sometimes, however, people just give you a creepy feeling, and he was that sort of person. I tried sleeping on the flight, for about half of the time I was on it, but failed miserabley. After arriving, I only got an hour of sleep on saturday, until late saturday night.... which means that in a 30 hour time period, i only got 1 hour of sleep... great, huh?

anyways, I arrived, and my boyfriend picked me up. It's always such a great feeling to see him again. everything is instantly like we've been always been together in person from the time we see eachother on... and we're both just happy to finally be together again and to know that neither of us has to go to a different country in a few weeks time.

Saturday night we went to a concert of the band he is in (he does the sound board), Sunday I went to work with him and we met some of his coworkers, and today I met another friend of his. It's been a lot of fun, and I'm really happy to be here. Europe is so much different than the states, in a really good way... the architecture, food, culture, and not to mention language are all just so different, it can be frustrating and refreshing all at the same time.

the hardest part about being here is the language. My german skills are okay... if you give me something to read in german, and a dictionary i can understand it (even w/out the dictionary I can at least make sense of most of it, and understand portions well) if a person talks slowly, and clearly, i can understand them too... however, most people here talk very fast, and to a foreigner it sounds as if they are slurring their words together. this makes it more difficult to understand people. Its not so bad actually, i am getting used to it, and doing my best to understand people, however, it gets a tad boring to be in a group of people and not be able to understand what they are saying really, and therefore not being able to participate much in the conversation.... but, i am not the least bit worried, because i know that this will improve with time, and I did come here to LEARN the language, so, I definitely have plenty to do :)

but this has gotten rather long, so i will end for now. have a great week everyone!

Four Days to GO!!!!

Hi! Welcome to my blog. I'm Mindy, the creator (obviously), and the purpose of this blog is to give my family and friends and everyone else a chance to keep up to date on the next year of my life as I study in Saarbruecken, Germany for a year. I am a U.S. university student, and have always loved the culture and language of Germany. I have also always wanted to spend a year studying in Germany, and I'm finally getting my chance! I will be leaving on July 8, 2005, and will not return to the States until August 2006.

While I am there I will be participating in intensive language courses (for the German language) from September through February, and then will be taking normal classes with other German university students from April through July of 2006. While in Germany, I will be living with my boyfriend who is a German citizen and is also living in Saarbruecken. I am going in July to vacation with him for the last portion of the summer, before his year of civil service begins, and before I start with classes in the Fall. It has been six months since I have seen him, so not only am I excited about going abroad, I am also excited about finally being with him again!

Well, that's all from me today, I simply wanted to get my blog created and post an introductory post before I leave for Germany. Eventually my pictures will be posted up here for everyone to see, and more information about myself and everything from germany will be up also.

And, also - Happy Fourth of July everyone!