Happy Easter!

Well it’s been awhile since I blogged. Life is starting to pick up and get busy. Where do I begin? I had an MRI last Monday for my ankle. I found out that I don’t have any structural damage; I just need to do physiotherapy 2-3 times a week. As much as it has sucked that I got injured, it has been a huge blessing in disguise. I have gotten to spend a lot of time with the coaches and Karin. Karin brought me to my appointment and then brought me out to lunch after, which then turned into coming over to my director’s house for the entire day and before we went to practice. It was neat that she got to spend time with the family and we got to share about our ministry. She is like my mother away from home and we talked about baking Christmas cookies together (I know it’s only April), but we had lots of talk time from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm. After practice we were in the clubhouse and all the coaches came in and had a drink so we got to chat, well actually they did since it was in German. I threw out random German numbers once in a while, only come to find out I have said vier (4) wrong the whole time. I have gotten to get to know them mostly because I am injured.

So last week I started physiotherapy for my ankle, which is twice a week for 45 minutes, but when you add the always needed 45 minutes for public transportation each way, it makes for quite an event each time. Not to mention my physiotherapist doesn’t speak English, and I don’t speak German, therefore it’s a lot of guessing what Ingolf is saying. He brings his German to English translation dictionary with him to each session. Last time, he was trying to tell me something about my tibia and fibula and I thought he was telling me i had osteoporosis. No worries though, I don’t. 



Kelsey, Sarah and I at Easter sunrise service.



Last week, I met my host family that I am moving in with on May 1^st. I really like them; they are a family that goes to church with Kevin. I will have a 16 year old “sister” named Anna, funny I know. Also, there is a 21 year old boy, but I haven’t met him yet. The room is really nice that I will be staying in and I will have a couch, which turns into a double bed. Big bed, boom baby! They made us dinner, which was the typical German dinner of bread and meat/cheese. Germans eat a big lunch and then a smaller dinner. Good for the metabolism I guess. I will be signing up to learn German quickly because they don’t know a ton of English. Anna knows French, which is no help, but still cool. They were laughing at me at dinner because of my lack of loogie noises that I can make in my throat when I try and say German words. I attempt though. They are really great, and I am super excited to move in. It will be a new experience, but I still need to figure out how to say the mom’s name.

Another new update is I start German class next Monday. From 9:00-12:15, Monday through Friday. I am not sure how I am going to sit in a class for that long every day, but it will be interesting. I will learn a lot being in a host family, because even now I can understand a lot of German when people are speaking. I just have no clue how to form sentences. I figure between der, die and das, I have a 33.3% chance of guessing the right one.

Ryan and Mike (the American Football players)

Last Thursday, I got the opportunity to go to Prague, because long story short my director told me I could go somewhere for Easter because they were gone at this youth retreat and so Leah could have time to herself for her last weekend in Berlin. They have this AMAZING website where you can carpool with other students to different places for really cheap. So I did that. It is safe too, I didn’t tell my mom until after, because I figured that sounds like every mom’s worst nightmare. On the way there, I rode with a movie maker, a photographer, and an actor. And boy did I feel out of place. They were like, “So you like sports? Don’t you do music or something?” Also they were making fun of America and how we should switch to the metric system, which I kind of agree with. Then they invited me to continue on their trip to Vienna with them to make a movie about soccer. Tempting, but no thanks.

I decided to go to Prague because Kelsey just accepted a job as a college assistant basketball coach in Missouri and is leaving tomorrow, which means I won’t see her again for a LONG time. My other friend Sarah, who has been playing professional basketball in France since August, met me in Prague as well. Also, a couple football players from America that I know play professionally in Prague, so I went to their game on Sunday. It was like a big Easter celebration. We did a lot of sightseeing and we went up to the castle, which was an incredible view. We got turned away from the Easter candle vigil in the castle because Kelsey was wearing shorts. The guy looks at her and goes, “You aren’t dressed for Easter.” And then said it again. We even got a picture with a castle guard that refused to smile. We went to sunrise service outside at 6:15am that overlooked Prague, which was amazing. The weather was awesome the whole weekend and it was great to be with other Christians over Easter weekend and have good conversations and just hang out. I hope you all enjoyed your Easter as well; there will be more to come soon!