One Week Down. 51 to go!

Well I got through the first week.

It wasn't easy. I admit, I tried to put on this brave front making it seem that I was having a grand ol time, but the truth is I was extremely emotional and homesick for pretty much the whole week. So thank you for all your prayers and thoughts and emails of encouragement to help me get through this first week without my momma and puppy.

Well this week had some neat things. One moment that really helped me start to overcome my sadness of not being home was when I had to walk over to this stand that this little farmer has and buy some apples. So I asked him for a kilo in apples (in german) and he started getting the apples, but he started talking to me really fast and i just sat there and stared at him. He looked at me waiting for me to respond and I said, in german, "I'm sorry. I am from America and I don't speak German very well, so please speak slow." He said, "ah" as if he understood and slowed his speech to 85 mph rather than 90 mph through his gums. I just smiled, thrust two euro into his gnarled hand and escaped out into the cold. This is usually how our exchanges go.
But walking through the little village the farmer lives in, it was really neat. It was one of the first moments I stopped feeling homesick.

I've been able to walk through the village of oberursel and it was amazing. The town was first mentioned in histories in about the 1000 century, but it really became prosperous between 1400 and 1600. The houses are really old and the church sits on a hill in the middle of the village. Still to this day. The roads are really small and there are little staircases going in between the houses up the hill. It's amazing. (Russell and Kristi, you know exactly what I'm talking about, these little old European cities.) Anyway, I got a library card, yay!

My days start out about 7 am and I go down, get the girls breakfast. I pack them snacks, always apples, and then struggle to get them to eat. They just want to talk, not eat. So then I drive them to school (in the mercedes), occasionally stop at the bakery on my way home to buy bread (German bread...oh my gosh...yum). I have the whole day to myself while they're at school. Then I pick them up and well..that's where it changes each day with piano lessons and activities.
The last day Carola helped me take the girls to school, I got pulled over. I started to FREAK OUT. So I pulled over and Carola got out. They thought we had one of the kids not in a carseat, but we just showed them we did and they let us go. We got back in the car and sat there. then we looked at each other and both started to laugh. She said, my heart was pounding, and I said, not mine, it completely stopped.

Anna (9 yr old) brought home the class pet this week...a rabbit named......Coco Chanel. yep. Just like my puppy. I laughed when they told me its name. anyway, so the rabbit is the big hit at the house this weekend. But man, Sophia's friend, Emma spent the night on Friday, so when I picked them up from school, i not only had to fit in an extra child, but a rabbit, and all the rabbit gear. It took a while, but I finally did it. And poor Cara was smashed in the back of the car.

Yesterday, Michael (the father) and I took the kids to the swimming pool. Now, in Germany, each city has its own swimming pool, but they're so expensive, a lot of towns don't upkeep theirs. But Bad-Homburg has it's own swimming pool, and it's nice. Now let me describe nice. It has a shallow kids pool, a deeper lap pool, a huge like hot tub whirl pool, a kids hot tub whirl pool, a ice cold walking pool with these pebbles you walk on, apparently good for your legs, and then like a HUGE indoor fun pool center AND a huge outdoor fun center and a big waterslide. Yeah. Seriously. Oh not to mention HUGE dressing rooms and then a spa. A full functioning dayspa. It's pretty intense. But I guess it makes sense for this city to have this since Bad-Homburg used to be a spa-city for king wilhelm. Hence the castle here.



Anyway, we went into the pool and we had the three girls, Emma (a friend) and Aysha (another friend) and me and Michael. So 5 girls. He was like, this is a lot of kids. This is too much. Are you going to be okay? I just looked at him and said, Michael...it's going to be fine. And of course it was. But when we left he was like, wow. I'm exhausted, how are you? i just looked at him. I'm fine. I'm used to this. This is normal for me. Sooo...yeah. I'm fine. He laughed. They keep asking me, How did your mother do this with ten kids? I'm like...I don't know, she just did. And it worked. So funny they are afraid that their three girls are too much for me.

Today I got to go to church. I went to the international ward, which is about a 45 minute train ride, and then a 10 minute walk after that. it was raining pretty hard today, so when I got to church I was pretty cold and wet, but It felt so good to be in church. The missionaries introduced themselves and so did the bishop and the primary president. It was just so fantastic, and gospel doctrine was great, but it was in Relief Society that I met some great people. The Mission President and his family are in our ward, and his wife is just awesome.

I also met a family who lives in Oberursel. They are from Utah, but he works for Conoco, so they move all over the world. They moved in here in August from Abu Dhabi. They have a daughter 21, Jen, so it's nice to meet someone about my age who lives so close. They invited me to go to Denmark with them next weekend, but unfortunately I have to be home next Saturday night. I talked to another girl who told me about institute, and how to get involved.
The family took me home and said I was NOT going to take the train to church (which I'm really glad about, because round trip it would be 14 euro. which is about 56 euro a month for church and I'd do it, but I'm glad I don't have to.)

Anyway, There's my week. It feels good to be sunday, to sit in my room, work on my blog. I'm watching Gone with the Wind and just relaxing. I lvoe the emails I've been getting, so thank you for that. I love you all so much! Thanks for your prayers, keep them coming.

The girls made up a dance of course. And we had to sit and watch it. doesn't matter what language they speak, kids are all the same.