Another week ist vorbei...

The time flies here, in general. I have to admit, though, that sometimes I still find myself wallowing in boredom rather than doing something about it.
This week I only worked on Monday. I know, my life is rough. I've been enjoying the opportunities presented by the Russian cultural exchange taking place with my Gymnasium (that's a school, not a gym) right now. It's been fantastic. I spent Monday and Tuesday in Stuttgart, Wednesday in Ulm (Thursday in my bed) and Friday wandering Eislingen. I also had the opportunity to experience a German doctor--this explains the Thursday in bed. How thrilling! Thanks to my private insurance (paid for by our gov't--thanks Fulbright), I was in and out in about 30 min. I damaged some muscles in my foot due to flat feet and crappy footwear--whoops. I struggled to walk on several occasions, and actually had to leave Ulm early because my right foot no longer wanted to function. Anyway, I'm spending a small fortune for some special inserts so I can continue to hike and wander cities in Germany in my ample time off.
So!

Some highlights... Stuttgart was fantastic. It was nice to be in a real city for once. The shopping opportunities are wonderful; though I have so far refrained from any major purchases, I see boots and lovely things in my future. I have decided to go somewhere outside of Eislingen every Friday (since I have given myself Fridays off), and Stuttgart, being so close, is near the top of the list. We were in the museum for Baden-Wuerttemberg History on Monday, and I was really impressed. Since I went with the Russian exchange program, I heard the tour in German and Russian, and found the connections between German-Russian history in this area fascinating. A great museum, overall, that I would gladly return to! The rest of the day I had lunch with the exchange teachers and then Konstanz, another English teacher, showed me all the best places to shop--for shoes, clothes, books :), and even glasses. We ran into my landlord, Leni, who also knows all the Russian exchange teachers, and she invited us all over for a fantastic dinner that night.

Dinner with Leni (in the red) and the Russians!

The next day we returned to Stuttgart to see the Zoo, among other things. The good: landscaping/nature/botanical sections were exceptionally beautiful. No one does nature like the Germans. The bad (if were doing black/white comparisons): the housing of the animals. It became very obvious to me in this situation how much less room there is in Europe. You notice it a bit with the size of houses, cars, streets, etc...but when you see an elephant, a giraffe, a gorilla, etc. in a cage the size of my living room, it makes you a bid sad. To see such exquisite creatures confined to such small spaces broke my heart just a little, and gave me much more appreciation for the space we have in America. I've never been a PITA girl, but part of me wanted to free the animals, if you understand what I'm getting at.

me, Peter, Svetlana, Gortschka

I just thought he looked cool...yeah??

Wednesday: Ulm. Ulm is a great city. I didn't explore as much as I'd have liked to due to my foot pain, but it's given me the excitement I need to push me to want to explore and be just a bit more bold and independent in my free time. The Muenster church was lovely--tallest church tower in the world (which, again, I was unable to climb, but I plan to! in the next couple of weeks). Afterwards we travelled to a swimming/wellness center where the students swam, dived, enjoyed the sauna, etc. I drank coffee with the other teachers and enjoyed some Kaffee and (you guessed it!) Kuchen. I headed back after a while to go home and rest my foot. Yes, poor, poor Sara. Someone was nice enough to pick me up from the train station and drive me home. Though I miss the friendly American attitude and open social life, Germans are nice people, too, and have so far been there for anything I have needed someone for.

entrance to the Muenster

Thursday I spent feeling sorry for myself and being bored out of my mind. I did some reading, watched a little German television, slept, cooked a little. Every once and a while I miss the ease of being in a country where my native tongue is spoken, and saying "hey" at the end of a sentence (thus transforming it into a question--that's a shout out to WI-speak), and smiling at people you pass on the street/in hallways/in restaurants, and going out and meeting young people, and just having friends (not aquantances and almost friends, real i-know-your business-friends)...but then I get up and do something and remind myself that I want this. I remind myself that everything worth doing isn't easy, that struggle brings a better triumph, and that time will help my adjust. Eventually it won't be so hard. Eventually I might have a real friend. Eventually I will feel as if I belong. And then eventually I will have to leave, and, if I know myself like I think I do, I will be devastated.

The happiest-- and therefore my favorite-- flower in abundance in the lovely Schwebian Albs...

Today, I went to a Bauernmuseum--an outdoor museum comprised of actual houses and bakeries and stables and shops from hundreds of years ago transplanted and turned into a museum-village.
It was incredible. And we had the amazing luck of coming on a day (a Sunday of all days!) that had a gathering of small sellers and farmers and individual bakers/champagne producers from the area... (wow my English vocabulary is failing me right now) It was great! I had leberkaese (don't ask me what it is, but it was made of liver), pear-champagne, snail, onion-spread (which was so tasty that I bought a jar for myself), and delicious cheese varieties. I love German food/drinks. Then, Konstanz had us over for a real schwebian meal: Kaese Spaetzle (which, let me tell you, is not all that different from a beloved product in America...mac 'n cheese...and not Kraft). It was cooking lesson number one in schwaebische specialties! It was actually not hard, and I plan on trying it by myself soon... I had a fantastic night, and enjoyed great discussions in German/English/Russian.
Yeah, I'm working on learning some Russian, by the way. I can't believe that I'm actually trying to learn Russian in Germany, but why not, right? Olga promised to meet me twice a week for an exchange in English/Russian. I'll teach her some English, and in return we are cooking and learning some Russian.
Anyway, I've gone on far too long. With so much going on, I should just post smaller bits more often, but I get so wrapped up in things that I just don't feel like posting all the time.

And I really got to make some of it, too! Me rescuing the spaetzle!

Finished product, topped with onions...mmm, lecker!

And a beautifully set table...

 I miss home, though. I do. I have just about hit the one month mark, and I'm already looking toward the holidays and realizing that it's going to be difficult being away from home for so much. I can't wait to share Thanksgiving and other American traditions with the people who are sharing so much with me, but it's never the same as being with family and friends. I am loving most moments here, though, and wouldn't trade my ups and downs for comfort just yet.
Cheers--Na zdarove--Pros(ch)t

It's hard to miss home and be sad when there is such an abundance of beauty in life...

with love (and a little light),
Sara