Oh, The Places I'm going...

"And when things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.
...
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!"
Dr. Seuss

Although I'm sure Dr. Seuss intended a metaphorical mountain, I am lucky enough to have actual mountains to climb and to conquer, aside, of course, from the many metaphorical mountains and obstacles I face here, in Germany.

The picture above is one from our Wanderung (hiking trip) in the Black Forest this weekend. What an amazing trip! We hiked up and down... and around for 11km, which actually isn't that much...but by the end, my legs were more than ready to relax. What a beautiful area! About a half an hour into our hiking trip, small streams started to pop up everywhere. There were waterfalls and little streams left and right. The sounds and the scenes were enough to overwhelm my senses and remind me just how lucky I am to be here.

Unfortunately, our classes also started on Monday. It's just language training, and it's not very exciting. Today we spent an hour and a half in a Museum that was about three rooms. I'd love to say that I feel lucky at every moment I'm here, but school is school, except that I'm missing the people that make school what it is to me. I really shouldn't complain too much, since we are done at 115 each day, and I get the rest of the day to do as I please.

Tomorrow's adventure will hopefully include trying to ride my bike into town. People here ride bikes faster than the cars...and sometimes they have special lanes...and sometimes they ride with traffic in the street. Wish me luck, because I'm just afraid some angry biker or car driver will hit me out of annoyance due to the gruelingly slow speeds at which I first plan to ride.

Despite my Angst about bike riding, and although unexpressed in this entry, about getting to know my German roommates, I am truly excited about the other people in my program.
We are goofy and crazy and inappropriate at times... but we can laugh and speak German together...and slowly, but surely, we will all get through it together.

I am already a bit homesick, but I'll get over it. It's just so much to take in from everything from public transportation, sorting garbage, grocery shopping, cooking and navigating to and from class... it's so different from anything I've ever known. As scary and frustrating as the simplest tasks can be, the struggle will teach me how to get by and communicate clearly and effectively.

If discovery and growth were easy, they wouldn't be so important.

I'm on my way but it's going to take time.

I miss you all.

Nacht, Leute.