Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Here at last

Well I’m here.

Let’s see, I spent two days in New York with Russell and I had such a good time. I love him so much! We ate at Lombardi’s and Café Lalo from You’ve Got Mail, where Meg Ryan gets stood up by Tom Hanks, but she doesn’t know she’s actually stood up. He just antagonizes her. And we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and I almost got arrested. I got to go see him work. I mean I’ve been to his work before, but I got to see my brother be adorable and awesome and work. But all in all, I just love being with my brother. For the first time I felt like I was ready to stop visiting NYC and start living there. I love New York….er..I heart NY

I’m here with my family now in Germany. I had a long flight to Warsaw and even though it wasn’t, it felt like an even longer lay over in Warsaw, then a flight to Frankfurt. But I did get to see an amazing sunset. The sun is lower here than in Utah, so it always has that low feeling. I can't explain it. So it gets dark really early and the sun doesn't come up till like 8:30. Oh and it's FREEZING! I'm talking in the single digits.

It was so weird to get off the plane and see German everywhere. Michael and the girls were a few minutes late so I sat in the terminal internally freaking out that something had gone wrong. But he got there with the girls and they were shy as anything. They all learned to speak English from British examples so they all have little British accents. Not the easiest thing to understand. We got here and I sat up with the parents talking for a while. They’re awesome. I thought I wouldn’t get along with the father, but he’s really cool. More extroverted like me and Carola is more introverted, and in some ways…high strung.

They let me sleep in my first day, and I slept until 2 pm. We went to get the girls from school and she said, I think there’s a mormon church across the street from the girl’s school. I was happy to hear that but then as we pulled up…I saw that steeple with that familiar gold statue on top of it. It was the temple. I was like, Oh that’s not a church, that’s a temple! But there were apartments all around and a meeting house, so I went and saw what time meetings were. One meeting was at nine thirty and one at one thirty. My two least favorite church times. J hahaha. While Carola went to help the girls in choir and told me to go walk around and explore…umm..okay. So I went and got Hot chocolate from a café. I’m going to have to remember to take a book with me everywhere, like in India. But Germany is really like you imagine it. Old houses everywhere, tiny streets, cafes, shops, etc. It’s like you think. Our village sits right up next to another one called Bad-Homburg and it has a castle. Yep, an honest to goodness castle.


My room is on the top floor of the house, kinda attic like. It has a heater, but it’s still a little cold. Now I wish I would have followed mom's advice and packed my blanket, I bundle up at night. I’ve unpacked and moved in, but It still doesn’t feel like my place yet. I’m sure it will get there.

I've discovered that Christopher Plummer is attractive no matter what language he's dubbed in, Christopher Plummer is pretty dang attractive.

Well the kids will be home from school soon and I'd better be ready for them. Anna has violin and Sophia has something with her dad, so i have cara all to myself.

7 comments:

Candace said...

Mandee,
I am sad that I didn't get to see you before you left, but I still want to tell you how proud I am of you. I am so excited for the adventures you will have and the things you will learn. I look forward to hearing your stories and seeing your pictures. Have the time of your life.

Unknown said...

Sounds like you're going to have a blast! Take what you can, give nothing back!

Elena Loo said...

That is so exciting Mandee! I'm way proud of you and so happy for you that you get this adventure! Way to GO! I hope you are having a great time and working hard and being happy. You're fantastic! Thanks for sharing pictures too! And that's so cool that you're by the temple! Yay! Have a great day, love ya!

Kandyce said...

I'm soo glad you made it there safe! I can't wait to hear about all of your adventures in Germany! All the best sweetie!! Love you!

ann said...

Thrilled for you! Love the pictures and the stories...keep 'em coming!

Unknown said...

My name is Kari and I am Jeremiah Forest's sister-in-law. I was referred to your site because I have a sister who also lives in Germany. She is near Nuerenberg (sp?). I don't know how close that is to you but I know that she would love to see someone who speaks English and is a member. If you are interested in her information let me know. You can get to my blog through this link.

Alicia Cottam said...

Hi Mandee, I am so excited that we can see whats going on in your world through your blog. Sounds like you have had some interesting experiences so far. This is such an awsome opportunity for you! We miss you, take care. Love always, Alicia and family