Tapas for Thanksgiving

I was in Madrid, Spain last week for a teacher's conference. It was great. The conference sessions were really informative, and I had a chance to go to the Prado and the Reina Sofia museum. I love Spanish art, so I think the Prado has been my favorite art museum so far. Plus I got to see Guernica at the other one. It was way bigger than I expected.

Speaking Spanish was wonderful too. It was such a relief to know the language, to communicate, and to understand!

One of the best things was going out to a tapas bar for dinner on Thanksgiving. We had great food, although my paella had what looked like a whole baby chicken in it. Plus, it's a fun memory to eat tapas for Thanksgiving dinner in Madrid.

In Honor of the Iron Bowl

Several colleagues went to Moscow for a conference. One brought this back to me. Doesn't it seem weird that a Matryoshka doll maker in Moscow looked up players on the Alabama football team?

The smaller ones are Gilberry and Castille.

Seiffen

On Saturday, a group of us drove to Seiffen. Seiffen is a village in the Erzgebirge Mountains south of Dresden. Seiffen is where all those famous German Christmas decorations are made. We have seen some snow in Dresden, but nothing has stuck yet in the city because the temps are still above freezing most of the time. Since Seiffen is in the mountains, it has colder temps and LOTS of snow. I'm still really unsure when walking in the snow. It's scary!

I did some shopping for Christmas. It was really nice to get away for the day. A student from school was sweet enough to come by and check on Zoe twice. I'm getting in the Christmas spirit!

Fabulous News!

Zoe took her first steps since surgery today at physical therapy. It was on the underwater treadmill. The water helps her to support her weight. At first, she was just dragging her back legs, but then she started to move them too!! I was so happy and thankful that all those prayers have been answered. The physical therapist even started to cry a little. How sweet is that?

More Paris pics

Here are a few more pictures from my trip to Paris. I haven't had a chance to post them in all the Zoe hullabaloo.

at the Louvre

the gardens at Versailles

an unflattering picture of me in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.
Montmartre

a view of the gargoyles at Notre Dame.

Zoe Update

Zoe has now been home almost two weeks. We have been going to physical therapy three days a week. The progress is very slow, but there does seem to be progress. Although she can't walk yet, her reflexes and sensation seem to be returning. It's still hard though. I come home during the day to check on her, and the physical therapists is not easy to get to. I take two buses and then walk about three blocks or take three buses. Not fun at all. She got out her stitches on Monday and the wound seems to be healing fairly well.

The physical therapy is interesting. First, the therapist is Bulgarian and speaks German and Bulgarian, so I take my German dictionary, and he draws pictures. I can understand about 60% of what he says. He does things that teach Zoe how to walk again. He does exercises that practice the motion of walking. He also uses magnetic, laser, and electro-therapy. When Zoe gets a little better, he has a underwater treadmill that she can walk on that will support her weight. It's often painful for her, but that's actually very good. Here are some pictures that I took of her when I got her home.

She was sitting on a puppy pad because she has had a little problem with incontinence. That seems to be getting better, thank goodness!

Update 2

Zoe came home on Friday afternoon, and I spent the whole weekend taking care of her. I really felt overwhelmed at times, but I prayed a lot. She stays in her crate all the time. Because she can't move her back legs, I carry her to the bathroom where she does her business in the tub. I actually have to squeeze her abdomen to make her go.

I tried to work out a schedule for school. I left her on a table in the kitchen this morning on her crate so that she could see out the window. I came back at about 10:45, and she had fallen off the table, out of her crate, and scooted her way into the living room. Then, when I picked her up, she peed on me. I was beside myself.

Then, this afternoon, I came home around 3:00 to take her back to the vet to meet the physical therapist. Thank goodness, Zoe was in her crate! Then, even better, the physical therapist was optimistic about her prognosis!! Hallelujah!! I think the Lord knew that I really needed to hear some good news.

Thanks for your prayers!

Update

Zoe came through the surgery pretty well. I just got word about an hour ago that she has gone to the bathroom. I still don't know if she actually has control over those functions, but she is making some progress.

Here are some things to pray for

That she regains the use of her legs. She is paralyzed in her back legs right now and could be for several weeks or even forever.

That she has control over her bathroon functions.

And, that I can deal with having to care for a seriously ill dachshund by myself. I might have to take her to school or leave school often to check on her. My emotions were not so out of control today, but it's just hard to not have her here when I got home.

I will call the vet tomorrow to see if I can take her home. Thanks for your prayers. It means a lot to know that I have such caring friends.

Struggles

These past two weeks have been really difficult for me, and I would appreciate your prayers. While the trip to Paris was nice, there were some not so nice parts too.

Then I got home and Zoe was not well, her back again. She had a crisis last night and lost all ability to move her back legs. I really thought that she might not make it through the night. She is having emergency surgery today on a herniated disk in her spinal column. This surgery will be upwards of 1200 Euros, not counting the extra days at the vet's and the physical therapy. She might not even regain the use of her legs.

Combine this with cold, rainy/snowy weather. Plus, I have to make a very tough decision soon about whether to stay a third year or not. I know that God is with me and that He will guide me, but it's sometimes hard to control my emotions.

Paris Pics Part I

The Eiffel Tower at Night
Me at the Louvre

Arc de Triomphe

Sacre Couer

The Seine

The Eiffel Tower

Paris

After much tribulation due to the Metro strike in Paris, I have arrived back in Dresden. I found Paris to be really great. I don't know how it got such a bad reputation, but I thought that the people in Paris were so nice and friendly. The crepes were delicious. My favorite was banana-nutella -- oh so yummy. The museums were great. I got to see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre and lots of Impressionists at the Musee d'Orsay. One of the best things was just walking through Paris and going into all the fun shops. The churches were great too. I was at Notre Dame for a Vespers service. I would definitely love to go back to Paris. I would rank it with Florence and Venice as my favorite European cities. I will post pictures very soon (tomorrow, I hope).

P.S. Please be praying for Zoe. She is in pain. The dog boarder said that she had been sick all week. I'm not sure if it is her back or her tummy.

Fall break

One of the things I like best about the schedule at my school is the way breaks are spread out. We have a week in Octobers, two weeks at Christmas, one in February, and one at Easter. It's really nice because I have been needing a break from school. Last year for fall break, I went to Tuscany for seven days that was the best vacation ever. We stayed in a farmhouse near Volterra and went to Florence, San Gimignano, Siena, and Pisa. I ate gelatto at least once a day. We ate at really superb restaurants. Plus, the lady who owned the farmhouse gave us homemade fig preserves, tomato sauce, and fresh fruits and veggies. It was heaven. Here are some pics.

These are views from the farmhouse.

Finally this is San Gimignano. I loved this city. Plus, it has the World Champion gelatto place there. Yummy.

I hope this year's trip will be just a fun. I'm headed to Paris. I've never been, so there's much to see: Sacre Coeur, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Montmartre, Musee d'Orsay. I'm also looking forward to the food. I'll be sure to post lots of pictures when I get back.

Funny school story and other thoughts

The students in my advisory group are 7th graders. Advisory is similar to homeroom; we meet for about 10 minutes, and I announce things about school and check on the students' work, etc. This week, one of the boys asked if I was sick. I replied, "No, why?"
"You look really tired," was his reply.
I can't remember what I said next, but then he said, "You need a good time in bed."
Now I know that he meant I needed some rest, but still... I thought it was pretty funny.

Next, I have good and bad news about the 'fridge. I now have one, but it's temporary. My "kaput" fridge is built into the cabinetry in the kitchen. It is older and the dimensions on new ones are different. Therefore, I have to wait for one to be ordered. If one can't be found that fits the kitchen, I might get a whole new kitchen. How crazy is that?

Finally, one last thought. Have you ever seen someone and afterwards you wished that you would have gone up to him/her and said something? That happened to me on Saturday. I saw a super cute guy on the tram. Black hair, blue eyes, tall, with just the right amount of stubble, AND straight white teeth (often something hard to come by in Europe) He was reading a book about learning English, and he was sitting close to me. I thought about saying something, but I chickened out. Then I mentally kicked myself as I got off the tram. Oh well.

Tagged

I was tagged by my friend Amanda to do this so here it goes...

H- I would maybe say H is for history. I really love reading about and studying history. My favorite time periods are Renaissance, Reformation, and the social aspects of World War II. Actually, as long as it's not Ancient Greece or Rome (boring!), I'm interested.

O-Other countries. I have lived in two other countries and I really like it a lot. I think you get a much deeper understanding and appreciation for a culture when you stay for more than a few weeks. I also love to travel and have now been to about 14 different countries. That's not really all that much so I want to travel more.

L-Languages. While I don't really like learning another language, I do enjoy the process of understanding and speaking a new language. I knew my Spanish was getting much better when I could understand sermons at church. This week at school, I understood most of the German during a parent meeting. I'm not at the production stage in German yet, but I hope that will come soon.

L-The other L is difficult. Maybe learning as I'm a teacher? Or libraries because I love reading? Or Lost, my favorite TV show?

Y- Yummy because I love to eat. My new favorite food is Brie-so, so yummy.

All my friends with blogs have already been tagged so I guess I won't tag anybody else.

Pray for me!

So my refrigerator broke last Monday. I kept calm and cleaned it out, taking some stuff to school and cooking and eating far more salmon that I usually do to keep it from going bad. I was pretty sure the fridge was owned by the landlords so I called and asked for a repair guy to come by. He did last Thursday, and I totally understood in German that the refrigerator is "kaput." It would cost 400 euros to repair. He said the landlords may want to buy another one and that they would contact me. So I went the whole weekend without a fridge. Not fun.

Monday, I asked a secretary to call again to check about it, and they told me that they would be in contact about either repairing or replacing it. So I waited... Then I asked her to call again today thinking that I would just give them a little encouragement to have it fixed by the weekend. Turns out that the apartment manager could probably have it fixed by NOT next week, but the NEXT. They have to get approval from the actual owner, then get bids, then buy one or wait for a a repair guy to come.

But hey, the manager said at least the weather was cool so I really didn't need a refrigerator. It's in the 50s and 60s!!!! I can't put food outside!!! What an idiot!

What really burns me up is that I pay extra on my rent for a furnished kitchen. (Most apartments in Germany do not come with a kitchen just an empty room). When asked for a discount on the rent, the manager said, "Well, sure if it takes 6-8 weeks."

I thought about putting a whole bunch of stuff on my window sill with a sign that says, "My refrigerator is broken. The landlord won't fix it, but he said it was cool enough to keep the food outside. Enjoy the sight of my milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, meat, and eggs, as you enter the building!!"

Leipzig

So last night Zoe and I were at a Biergarten with friends enjoying possibly one of the last outdoor, Biergarten opportunities. I so love eating outside and the roast chicken with pommes(fries) at Schillergarten. Some of them were talking about going to Leipzig today, and I decided to join them. Our main point in going was to tour the Stasi (East German secret police) museum that is in the former Stasi headquarters. It blows my mind just how much they spied on the East German citizens. They opened letters, examined scents (what does that tell you?), taped phone conversations, and even took pictures of people who attended church.

We also went to St. Thomaskirche where Bach was the cantor. We had a treat because a choral ensemble was practicing for a concert tonight. They sung beautifully, and I got to hear them for free. The acoustics in the church made it seem as if the music was filling up your body. Then we went to the Nicolaikirche, which is a really cool church that has columns built to resemble palm trees. Someone was getting married there today. It was a really nice day overall.

Thoughts on fall and something funny at school

There are some seasons that make me wish I were at home. Fall is my favorite season in Alabama. From football to the first cool days and the leaves changing colors, I love it. I even like fall because all the TV shows have their season premieres.

Fall is here in a big way. We're in a cooler pattern of weather with highs in the 50s. The sky-when it's not raining- is the deep blue fall color. It's still pretty dark when I get up in the mornings, so I know the really dark days are coming. I've been taking Zoe on long walks when the weather is nice and dry. I want to make sure to go to a Biergarten a few more times. I think fall here in Dresden is just something to get through until winter arrives. I'm really looking forward to the Christmas season here, but fall just seems to be so-so.

Something funny happened at school today. Right outside the back door (which is the main entry/exit for students) a dog had left a very big deposit. (At least, I assume it was a dog!) I saw it as I went out for lunch. When leaving school, I saw three boys outside wanting to come in, but not wanting to touch the door knob. I opened it from the inside. As he entered, a German sixth grader proceeded to tell me in a very serious way, "There's dog shit on the door."

That cracked me up. I then went to the reception area to tell the secretary. I said," Do you know that at the back door, there is..."

"Dog shit? Yes, I know."

That made me laugh even more. It was said withought any shame or lowering her voice. I guess that's not such a bad word here? I'm just trying to imagine the reaction at Oak Mtn if the secretary said that in the front office.

It's a good thing that my German is bad.

I really do like living in Germany a lot. I love my job, and I really like Dresden. One thing that I do not like is the tendency for some Germans to scold complete strangers. This has happened to me twice in the past few days.

Two nights ago, I was taking Zoe for her last walk of the night. She only ever does #1 then, so I didn't have a bag to pick up after her. As we were walking back, a man from a nearby building came home. Even though I have never talked to him before, he proceeded to say in a very ugly way that I should pick up after my dog. Today, my next door neighbor yelled at me about Lord knows what. She's about 70 and a little crazy. One teacher at school said that a complete stranger tried to put socks on her baby because the stranger thought he was cold.

Sometimes it is just so frustrating to not speak German!! I did ask another teacher how to reply to the guy who yelled at me about Zoe. So I now know how to say, "Kiss my a**." in German. I really hope that I will not have to use that phrase.

School's barely started,

and I'm already thinking about my first vacation. I just booked a flight to Paris during my fall break for 100 Euros.

Should I mention?

That tomorrow's high is supposed to be 62 here?

That's like 40 degrees cooler than back home. Sorry to rub it in. You can return the favor when it is 60 there and -25 here.

I went to my last German class today. I do understand more, but it is still a challenge to speak. School starts for the teachers Monday. I'm so glad to NOT be the new teacher.

Feed the birds... or else

I just got these pictures from my friend who met me in Venice. In San Marcos Square, tourists can feed the birds. You can buy birdseed from vendors for a euro. The birds are used to this and are very bold. You can see from these pics that it started out well, but then the pigeons attacked.

Eagle's Nest

I forgot to post pics of my tour of the Eagle's Nest. It was cool to be in a place where so much history had taken place.

So not really fluent yet...

One week of German class is done. It's tiring, but I enjoy it. My teacher is good. Being a language teacher too, it's funny to be the student. She only speaks German to us in class. Of course, she speaks slowly and clearly and uses a lot of hand gestures. It's similar to how one would speak to a person who is mentally incapacitated. She speaks English very well so it is tempting to speak English to her during the breaks, but I try to only speak German. I really do sound mentally incapacitated though because "Mein name ist Holly" and "Ich komme aus den USA" will only take me so far when I want to say something about a movie I saw last night. Although in a pinch I can count to 100 or recite the alphabet. Obviously, fluency is only a few classes away. Really though, I do feel a little more confident about speaking and understanding.

Another funny thing is the other students. There are five other students from Russia, the Dominican Republic, Japan, Bulgaria, and Brazil. Naturally we all have accents from our mother tongues. Sometimes, I can't tell if a couple of them are even speaking German. I'm sure they think the same thing about me. Also, we have learned a lot of questions this week and the ways to answer those questions. One student keeps on just repeating the question back to the teacher instead of answering. I would have lost patience a long time ago. It also makes me empathize with my students when I make them work in pairs because I only want to be paired with the better students.

Ich spreche Deutsch...

Well, not so much yet, but I start a German course on Monday that is four weeks long. I will go to class four days a week from 9:00-1:00. I am going to what is the equivalent of community college although they offer really cool stuff. I could take Japanese or even belly-dancing classes if I wanted. Friends from school and church have taken courses like these and say that they are really good. I don't want much. I just want to be able to say hello and carry on simple conversations with my neighbors. Now, if I see one approaching, I practically run inside my apartment to avoid having to talk. It's just so frustrating!!

Now for the Sound of Music Answers:

#1: obviously, the gazebo for the songs "I am 16" with Rolf and Liesel and "Something Good" with the Captain and Maria

#2: The back of the house where the kids fell in the lake after going around in their "play clothes."

#3: From the end of "Do Re Mi." The kids hop up the stairs and Maria walks up and hits the high note at the very end of the song.

#4: Fountain in "I Have Confidence" when Maria leaves the abbey. Unfortunately, I think I took this from the wrong angle.

#5 and #6: These are probably the hardest. They are from "Do Re Mi." The kids walk around the fountain (but that is shot from above the fountain) and then have a pretend race while singing down the walkway.

Hot!

We have had a heat wave for the past few days. Yesterday was 97! The day before was in the 90s too. Today is cooler but still in the high 80s. I don't have AC so I was really worried that I would be dying. Thankfully, last week was cool and my building is still pretty cool. I keep the shades and curtains drawn during the day and try not to go out. Tomorrow is supposed to be around 73 and I'm glad. It's just no fun to have Alabama heat without Alabama air conditioning. In fact, I don't know of a single place other than the dairy section of the grocery store that is cool. If it gets hot and stays hot for more than three or four days at a time, I will seriously think about going to Norway or Sweden.

Sound of Music!

One of the best experiences of the trip was the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg.

Obviously, this tour means businesss! This bus cracked me up! Now, on to the quiz. I've put the pictures in order of what I think is increasing difficulty. Do you remember the scene, characters, or song involved?

This next one might be hard because it was POURING, but I have confidence (that's not a clue) that you can figure it out.

Good luck!

Stefano?

On the way from Rome to Venice, two Italian women were having a discussion and the name Stefano came up several times. Of course, I didn't understand any of it, but I wanted to say, "I know, can you believe what he's doing to Marlena right now?"

Obviously, I've been too influenced by Days, but doesn't it seem weird that someone is actually named Stefano?

Back!

I'm back from traveling!! I had a pretty good time, but it was a little lonely traveling alone. I'll give you a quick rundown of each city.

Munich: The best thing was the second-hand English bookstore there. I was in heaven.

Milan: Not too impressive, but it has a pretty cathedral.

Florence: Awesome again. The art was fantastic. I snuck this picture.

Rome: The Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica were gorgeous, an experience of a lifetime. The Pieta is breathtaking.

Venice: beautiful city, great shopping. Maybe my favorite city in Italy.

Innsbruck: by far the best hotel of the trip. Salzburg: Sound of Music. Yay! Those pics will come later. Maybe I'll do a quiz.

Cool stuff

I'm having a good time so far. It can be a bit lonely though, but I had nice conversations today in Florence as I waited 9 hours total to see David at the Accademia and the Boticelli's at the Uffizi. Totally worth it though. Pics will be coming later

Come on ride that train...

I hope you now have the Quad City DJs stuck in your head! I am leaving Thursday for almost two weeks to go to Italy and Austria. I will be traveling by train the entire time. I am looking forward to it, but I'm a little nervous too because I am going by myself. Here's my itinerary so you can think about me on these days.

Thursday, June 28: Munich
Sunday, July 1: Milan
Monday, July 2: Florence (Since I'm only going to be there a day, please be praying that I can get into the two museums that I missed when I was there in October)
Tuesday, July 3: Rome
Friday, July 6: Venice
Sunday, July 8: Innsbruck, Austria
Monday July 9: Salzburg... I've booked the Sound of Music tour. I'm giddy with excitement.
The next day I'm going on the Eagle's Nest tour to where Hitler had a vacation retreat.
Wednesday, July 11: Back to Munich then home to Dresden

Please be praying for my safety as I will be alone, for clean, safe hostels, and for some traveling companions. I will try to post while I'm gone.

Summer?

Is it really summer if the high temperature is 65 degrees?

(Since I don't have AC, I'm not complaining!)

Last day of school

Today was the last day of school. It seems like the school year has flown by. Yesterday was the students' last day, and we had the end of school assembly for almost three hours. I was truly dreading the assembly because I have never been to an year end assembly that was not excruciatingly painful with an entire day of band and choir songs.

Yesterday was not like that all. There were awards given out to most improved students and to students who exemplify the IB Learner Profile. There was a video produced by the students in drama class about what we as teachers would have been like in high school. It was hilarious. One of the most touching things was that all the departing teachers and students were recognized. I had a hard time not crying at some of the speeches. It was really nice.

The last week of school has been so lovely. There was a teacher appreciation barbecue organized by the Grade 10 students. Only here would the students serve the teachers champagne, beer, and wine. Then, one of the board members had everyone on staff over to his house for dinner. The food was excellent, and the house was even nicer with a spa room that had a steam room and a massage table. I wouldn't mind house-sitting for them. Finally last night, a very large group of teachers went to a Biergarten to celebrate.

One difficult thing is that this is the second year in a row that I'm saying goodbye, but instead of leaving, I'm the one staying behind. It's hard to see all these wonderful teachers, who are also my good friends, leave. I wonder how the next school year will go. This year has been great-by far, my best year teaching- so I wonder if next year will be as nice.

On my walk home from school, I just reflected on how much the Lord has blessed me. I have a job that I love in a country that I am coming to love. I've made wonderful, caring friends here and still have beautiful friends and family back home. I've recently found a new church that is open and grace-filled. I get to travel and see the cool, diverse world that God has made. I'm just so thankful for His love and grace.

Neustadt Fest

The Neustadt area of Dresden is a really interesting place. A lot of people live there who definitely have alternative lifestyles. For example, there's a Goth second hand store. I don't know of many places that have Goth stores at all, much less a second hand Goth store. The Neustadt also has restaurants and bars. I like several restaurants in the area, but I don't really like going on the weekends. It's disconcerting to see my students out on the streets drinking (Sixteen is the legal drinking age).

The Neustadt had a big festival this weekend. I had heard about it for several months. Pretty much anything goes. People can pull their couches from their apartments into the streets and even sell things if they wish. I heard about some people who had set up a beer funnel from the second story apartment with a chute rigged to send money up to them. I bet they made a killing.

For a while, I had also heard that there would be violence. There's been some protesting in the Neustadt during the year, and the G8 conference was held in Germany a few weeks ago. I think people expected the protesters to come to the Neustadt festival. Anyway, I decided to go with some German friends. It was really crowded. I saw more dyed hair and piercings than I've ever seen, but it was pretty tame. Plus, there was a ton of police including some dresseed in what looked like riot gear. Some of them were pretty cute. It was really fun, and a fabulous place to people watch. I look forward to going next year. I'm going to break out my hippie clothes so I can fit in!

ZOE UPDATE: She is doing much better. Almost 100%. The lady who took care of her during my trips even took her swimming in the Elbe so I've bought a retractable leash for the summer. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!!

On to Vienna

So I'm still playing catch-up. We arrived back in Dresden after our trip to Krakow at 7:15 pm. Guess when I left for Vienna? 5:15 the next morning! Yes, I am crazy.

After a LONG 8 hour bus ride (and being in 4 different countries in less than 24 hours), we made to our less than clean hostel. Five chaperones and 30 10th graders; let the fun begin!! Actually, our group was really well-behaved. They were on time and polite, especially compared with other school groups we saw.

We went to several art museums, including the gallery at the Belvedere Palace. Gustav Klimt's The Kiss is there. It is one of my favorites. The gold in the painting is luminous. I snuck a picture when a guard wasn't in the room. Another highlight of the trip was a visit to see the morning workout of the famous Spanish riding school in Vienna. We were able to see one of the horses work on jumping back. It was really cool. Several of our students ride and show horses so they were able to explain a lot about the different techniques. Here's a picture of their stables.

The absolute best part of our trip was going to the Schoenbrunn Palace to hear a concert by the Vienna Philharmonic. This was not part of our plans, but we saw advertisements decided that it would be fun. This was a really famous outdoor, free concert. There were over 80,000 people attending. Plus, Bill Clinton was there accepting a check for his AIDS charity. You can say what you will, but I like him a lot so I was super excited. Plus two older ladies got into a shoving match. So we had multiple forms of entertainment!

I ended up not going on the Model United Nations trip the next week because I wasn't feeling well on Sunday. I was a little disappointed, but I was able to get Zoe a week early and get some work done at school.

Catch up

Sorry that it's taken me a while to catch up with my blog. I ended up not going on the third trip to Oldenburg due to sickness so I've been at school. The end of school is quickly approaching. Our last day is June 22. I'm a little envious of everyone who's already out. I have a lot to tell you about Krakow and Vienna so I'm going to break it up into at least two or three posts.

I went to Krakow with 7 other teachers from school. It's an 11 hour train ride so we left at about 8 am and arrived after 7 pm. That is a lot of train riding! We passed the time with a special game that Florian and I made up. We name a letter and take turns saying countries of the world that start with that letter. Once there is only one left, the first person who names that country wins a point. We have played the game before and were both looking forward to it. So to make things official, we printed off a list of independent countries as recognized by the United Nations. I printed off study guides and then an official list for our "moderator." What makes things even better is that he is just a competitive as I am. We probably played the game for 4 or 5 hours on the way there and back. Joe joined our game, but was at a disadvantage as he did not have a study guide. Yes, we are NERDS, but it is a super fun game. Btw, we tied, but I never lost a point. (You lose a point by not being able to think of a country when there are still countries left.)

On to more interesting things, Krakow is truly lovely. Here's a picture of the main square. The basilica is on the left and the town market is on the right. There are a lot of carriage rides for tourists which is why you see all the horses.

I have more pics of Krakow on my flickr account. We stayed at a hostel in the center of town and went exploring the first night. We decided to get up and go to Auschwitz on Friday.

Auschwitz and Birkenau are only about a 90 minute bus ride away from Krakow. We needed to be on the 9:00 bus in order to go on the English speaking tour at 11:00. We arrived late and thought that we would miss the bus because all the seats were taken. However, in Poland, you can stand in the aisle of what basically amounted to a church bus. It was not fun. I tried not to complain though because of where we were going. 1.5 million people were killed there; I can stand up for less than two hours.

There were a lot of tourists there so we started at Birkenau which is usually the second part of the tour. Our guide was really good. I think he was probably a grad student because he knew a lot. One man had a female relative at Auschwtiz and our guide was able to figure out where she stayed and worked even though her account seemed to contradict what the maps and signs said. We were asked not to take pictures, but this is not enforced at all. I only took one of the train tracks into Birkenau.

They told us about the select prisoners who worked in the gas chambers. They were usually selected because they spoke the same language as the victims who would soon be arriving. After the people were killed, these men had to remove any fillings from their teeth and shave the women's hair, which was used in the German textile industry. They even had hair that had not been shipped to factories when the camp was liberated by the Red Army. After a few months, our guide said that these prisoners were "liquidated."

Overall, it was fascinating and very somber, but it wasn't emotional for me like I thought that it would be. I am very glad that we went.

Vienna Philharmonic

Okay, another quick post to tell about a really cool thing that we did. We heard that the Vienna Philharmonic was giving a free open air concert in Schoenbrunn Palace so we decided to go. There were a ton of people there (think Alabama/Auburn game). And the best part? Bill Clinton was introduced at the beginning because he was accepting a check for an AIDS charity. It was freaking awesome!! Plus, we saw some old ladies have a shoving match because one stepped in front of the other. Toss in some Tchaikovsky, and that my friends is a great night.

Quick update

I'm now in Vienna in the middle of my travel marathon. Krakow was really nice. We went to Auschwitz, which I'll blog about later. Krakow is must see. Vienna is really nice too, but after so much traveling and walking around, my feet and legs are killing me. I did see Gustav Klimt's The Kiss at the Belvedere today. Wow, so cool!! I'll try to write more and add pictures this weekend.

Travel (Again!) and a Zoe update

Thanks so much for your prayers for Zoe. Today on our third trip in one week, the vet finally took x-rays, and noticed two areas of concern on her mid and lower back. She is stocked up on pain and other meds (including B Vitamins). It's wait and see now because Wednesday I leave and will only be back home for a day or two until June 2. I'm taking her to her usual boarder with strict instructions for no climbing stairs, jumping, running, or playing with other dogs. Pobrecita! How boring!

Now for the travel details. I leave for Krakow on Thursday with friends from school. Since Auschwitz is close, we are going there too. It should be a great trip, and I'm going with the funniest people I've met so far here. (Although they don't compare to Trey and Co., the Lunch Crew, or the Glencoe girls for peeing in the pants laughter) We get back Sunday just in time for me to turn around and leave Monday for Vienna with the Grade 10 on their European Destination field trip. We're there til Friday. There's a possible trip to Berlin for Saturday and Sunday to watch English movies, and then Monday, I leave to chaperone a Model United Nation group in Oldenburg, Germany. We get back Saturday. My poor Zoe won't recognize me!!

As I type, a good old fashioned Southern thunderstorm is going on outside complete with hail. A part of me wants there to be a "weather event," but it's just not the same without James in the weather center. He wouldn't have even taken off his coat for this one much less rolled up his sleeves. Oh what the Germans are missing with their sedate weather!

Prayer Request

Zoe has hurt her back. I'm not sure when it happened exactly, but she has been in pain since the night that I got back home to Dresden. I took her to the vet first thing on Tuesday morning. He gave her several shots and some pain medicine. I am supposed to bring her back on Friday for more tests. She doesn't want to walk and even drags her back legs behind her. I'm really scared that she is seriously injured and will need surgery. I think most of you understand how much this upsets me. I've cried more in the past few days than at The Notebook and Steele Magnolias put together! Please be praying for her and for me.

Wedding!!

I just got back from Haley's wedding. It was gorgeous. Here are some pictures



From the rehearsal dinner

My new brother-in-law!!

These are from the day of the wedding. My dad looks very handsome and my mom looks beautiful...

The flowers were some of the prettiest that I've ever seen.

Haley even had each girl's initials on her bouquet.

Haley and Keith are big Alabama fans so when they left the reception, everyone had shakers instead of throwing birdseed or blowing bubbles.

I love her dress.

Here are some other pictures from the reception.