update

Hello dear friends! So I have officially been here for over a week, how crazy is that! I already feel pretty comfortable here (with the exception of not being able to understand a good 80% of anything people say - Germans talk very fast) and our group has fallen into a good pattern. We do stuff in big groups or we don't, and we all talk with each other, nobody is being drama queens (yet. Let's keep it that way folks!)

Speaking of doing things together, on Saturday 14 of us went to this place that one of the RMs used to go to that had Meter Pizzas. We ordered two, and while I ate a salad because I was feeling like I needed veggies (thank you Kelli, you have put it into my mind that I'm going to get scurvy from not eating fresh things!) those pizzas looked/smelled soo good. They were huge, I mean a meter in diameter, thats roughly 2,512 square inches of pizza (if my math is correct, which I believe it is but then again I haven't taken a math class since calculus junior year - ps how many times do you think I can use parentheses in this one post?). As for my salad, best salad I've ever had and it was only 3 euro, my dinner was cheaper than the pizza dinner.



I think that my favorite thing to eat here is the pretzels. They are super good, but then again pretty much all the bread is super good and there are Backereis everywhere.

Oh, and here is my weird German culture thing of the day: they wear all their clothes many times before washing them. Like I am totally OK with pants being worn many times, but for the most part, I think it's weird to wear shirts or socks more than once. However, I do come from a place where it gets rather warmish so sweating is an issue whereas here you have to try to sweat. Anyway, the point of this is that my Hausmutter does our laundry (most of the Hausmutters do - I think its a big deal to have a laundry machine here, she doesn't even have a dryer) and it makes me feel like an American pig if I have a lot of laundry to be done. Kelsey lived in Germany for like 3 years and so she lives like a German anyway and she isn't an American Pig.

Oh, and I made a friend, for those of you that didn't see on facebook. One of the members of the Bishopric invited us over for some snacks on Sunday night and about 12 of us went. They are from England but have lived in Germany for 12 years and he talked to us about everything and really tried to make us feel comfortable here. Their youngest is 12 and she and I became friends. It all started when I commented on her fun nail polish and told her about the fun things my friends and I did with our nails. Then she found out I was from LA and asked if I saw any movie stars and I told her that we see a few (which is entirely true and this made me so cool in her book) then when we left she commented on my bow and brought me my jacket. We're besties now. (sorry that was a long story, but she is just so cute!)

Since my last post we have seen the Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, part of the German Historical Museum, the Bode Museum, watched Iron Man 2 (in German even though we could have seen it in English. btw, they sell beer at movie theaters and the seats are reserved). And if you want to learn more about any of those things, look it up yourself because I already had to write reports on it all for my class and I don't want to write it again.

Everything New

I know that I just blogged on Sunday, but if I waited any longer, this post would be way too long, there is just so much to say!

Let's start at the very beginning (a very good place to start). Class: On Monday, we had to take a three part test. The first part was multiple choice, then there was a short writing section, and an interview/oral test. Then they graded everything and put us in a class. I am not in the most beginner class, but not far from it which is good. The weird thing is that the class has to be entirely in German because not everyone speaks English. We have three Muslim girls and a Chinese girl in our class. Our teacher is amazing, she puts up with all of our terrible speaking skills so well.

PS - a special "thanks" to my lovely sister, Ashely, who taught me how to figure out a subway while we were in England, and to my parents who bought me a bus pass for Provo which taught me about buses. Between these two things and common sense, we have been making it around pretty easily with only a few minor bumps. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but if I hadn't been there, Kelsey would have gotten lost so fast and she agrees with me. She kept trying to get on the first train that would show up, whether it was the right train or going the right direction or not. And now back to our regular programming...

So on Monday night we went to FHe at the stake center, which is also where we go to church. It was really fun, we played this awesome game where you stand in lines of teams and everyone puts Vaseline on their noses and you have to get the cotton balls from the beginning of the line to the end. Awkward, but those are the best kinds of games (but I must say, it was probably a good idea that the FHE parents didn’t participate, that would have been a little too much – a 45 year old married man with 19 year old girls…yeah, no)

Here is the thing though, Berlin is a safe city, but that doesn’t mean that I want to be out late. Kelsey and I were walking/u-bahning home from FHE around 9 and it was dark. I was so glad that I have a roommate, some of the girls don’t. I would even go so far as to say that I wished we had a boy with us (which is not something I usually admit). Some creepy guys at the u-bahn station were trying to get our attention and it was weird and wouldn’t have happened if we had had a guy with us.

Oh, on Monday we also went grocery shopping which was an experience. They don’t exactly have supermarkets, but they do have markets and a bunch of fruit/veggie places and bakeries. Luckily there are a bunch of shops one street over, so Kelsey and I could go and wander around for a while. Now, I try to pay attention to what I eat, but it was hard to look at a label in a different language. However, after being here for a few days, I have realized that it doesn’t really matter. They are a generally healthier people than us Americans. They eat very organic and natural which just feels better than all the processed crap in the good old USA. I have only seen two gyms (a far cry from Provo where there were three gyms within a short distance from my dorm) and very few runners and yet there are very few fat people. That being said, there are very few deathly skinny people or super toned people. They are just normal and I love it!

Then the next day, we were on the U-bahn, and some kids got on and they were like in the middle of a fight. It was just verbal with a mom and another guy trying to break it up as it turned into a full out fist fight. It was two against one, and the one kid was super creepy. He reminded me of Jackson Rathbone as Jasper. He just had this look on his face, it was so weird.

Then today. Today was so beautiful! It was sun-shiny and warmish so we decided to go to the zoo. It was much fun, but not because of the animals, they were just a side attraction to the playground. We probably weren’t supposed to be playing on it, but we just couldn’t say no. And let me tell you, that if you thought little kids speaking British was cute, you need to see/hear some little kids speaking German. It is just about the most adorable thing I have ever seen.

PICTURES!!!!
A wooden cow, complete with udder, of course we had to climb on it and take pictures.


Hiding from the storm.

Facing the storm head on!

Kelsey got attacked by a goat when feeding the animals.

Guess which Disneyland ride this made me think of...

Overcoming Jet Lag by Writing a Post

First of all, whenever traveling for long distances, I suggest British Airways. They give you socks, and eye masks, and a little toothbrush with little toothpaste and they have a huge selection of movies. I also suggest that you make that flight as few times as possible because it is very long. I was reminded multiple times of my last trip to Europe. Kelli and I were sitting there and they had given us drinks and fed us and we had napped and had second drinks and read our books. We decided to check the map to see where we were…WE WERE OVER MONTANA! We totally thought that we would have been somewhere over the Atlantic, more than halfway done, and boy were we thinking wrong. I was reminded again of that trip when I was killing time in Heathrow and came across some of our favorite candies (don’t worry Kelli or Syd, I will bring you back some).

Anyway, so I finally made it to Berlin and took a taxi to my house. It was so weird interacting with Germans because I knew I should be doing it in German, and yet my first reaction was to respond in English. That is going to take some getting over. I arrived at a beautiful apartment building with a park across the way and buzzed the door because Kelsey said that she would be here. Nobody answered; I waited and tried again, to no avail. So I went down the street a bit and sat. Honestly, I am very proud of myself for not breaking down right there. It was a little scary, being in another country, where I don’t speak the language very well, and hitting a bump in the road like that.

Then out of nowhere, over the peaceful noise of the kids in the playground there comes this loud man’s voice. He was seriously angry at this poor woman. I really think he was drunk, because he was all over the place, and she was just standing there taking it. I felt so bad for her. Being only short distance away from the quarrel, I decided it was time to try the door again, so I did and Kelsey answered, thank goodness.

This set up is really nice. We each have our own rooms on the first floor and we share a bathroom. We each have a shelf in the kitchen and a big drawer in the kitchen for our food (which I think is more room than I had at BYU). Nora, our house-mother, has offered to do our laundry because it wastes less that way and is just a little easier for everyone. She is so nice, doesn’t speak much English, but is so kind about my inability to speak German.

Here is a picture of my room (yes, the bed is a couch, but I'm assured it is very comfortable)


Kelsey and I went for a little walk today, too. We ended up at this old cemetery. It was so pretty. All the graves were overgrown, but in a good way.
I think this was my favorite statue there. I don't know why, perhaps its the Marinist Catholic in me coming out (oh, Chaminade). Also, they had a lot of statues of Christ that look a lot like the ones in the visitors' center at the Temples.


ps Jet lag is the worst!

I make a terrible college student

This is a random blog post resulting from me having a bit of time on my hands.

So I wake up at 7:30am of my own accord. Perhaps it has something to do with how the rest of the household gets up so early, but I don't think so. Even when I was at school, I would get up usually between 8-9. My roommates didn't get up until like 11. I would stay up relatively late on weekends, but not as late as most students and that is still when I woke up.

Then there is that whole "anti-social" thing. I don't party. I mean, it is BYU, so nobody parties per se, but there are always things going on. I just don't. I sit in and enjoy it. I love to read. I love chilling with my friends and roommates watching the office or playing cards or being completly insane. I don't need to be insane at at a church dance where I also would have to deal with stupid people.

And lastly, I don't eat enormous amounts of junk food. I kept fruits and veggies in stock at all times in my appartment. I made really good dinners and didn't ever just eat out or make a frozen pizza. I think I had mac n cheese once in year away.

Yup, not your average college student.

On the Campaign Trail

So, as many of you know, my dad is running for US Congress. It is super exciting but also very stressful. There is so much to be done and so many places to be. My first night back from Provo, I hadn't even opened a suitcase, I get told the calandar. There is something going on every day!

This morning I went over to Fort Benning, the headquarters, with my dad. He was fiddling with wires and trying to fix ATT. I got to hand address 100 invitations to an event, stuff the envelopes and stamp them twice (once for postage, and once with the return address label). Why we couldn't just print out the envelopes, I have no idea. I guess it is just more personal that way. So that took me about an hour, but dad was still fiddling and I ended up sitting there for quite some time. Lesson: ALWAYS bring a book. I used to be so good at that, but I've gotten used to not while I've been away.

We saw the first of the billboards that we bought today. It was one of the smaller "poster" sized ones. So weird to see my dad's face on a billboard!

Less to do with the campaign:
So each of the three Benning girls have left home at some point, accumulated a lot of stuff, then brought it all home. When Ashley left the last time, she ended up with a full appartments worth of stuff (not just a dorm) and so she took over one of the bedrooms. That was all fine because Kimberly was moved out and had vowed never to live here again. Well, she came back, and when I moved away to college, she took over my room, leaving me absolutly roomless. I don't mind that as much as I mind not having a place to put my stuff. Ashley has been so kind to move around some stuff and let me use the couch bed in her office. She even brought in a card table for me to put a suitcase on. I still have to put my bed away every morning or else there is no room in here. It doesn't really matter anyway because in less than two weeks I am leaving again...for Germany!!!!

First Year of College...check!

So the shuttle company that I take to the airport has a policy that if you don’t make your flight, they will refund you. Apparently that means that they pick up their customers at a ridiculous time and get them to the airport a full 3 hours in advance! I might understand a little bit better the three hours if this was LAX and traffic had to be accounted for and the ridiculously long security lines. But this is SLC, I have never had to wait more than 20 minutes for security and I have flown in and out of here quite a few times. Anyway, I thought I would write a short blog about my first year of college while I sit here and wait.

Being at BYU this past year has felt kind of like an extended EFY or something. I went to devotionals and church and the temple and had religion classes from teachers that had taught EFY many times before. It didn’t start feeling like I lived there until the very end and then I got to pack it all up and leave. I guess college is a bit like EFY though, only without counselors and a “strict” bedtime. I got up and went to classes, came home and did some work. Then, on weekends mostly, I stayed out till the wee hours of the morning playing. It was a sweet deal.

It’s a bit surreal to have all my stuff packed up and to be going home for an extended period of time. I mean, I leave for Germany in two weeks, but that feels more like a trip than moving somewhere. Cory helped me move all my junk to some random storage room at the place where I’m living next year. And in that random storage room it will stay till the end of August.

I am a bit surprised at the amount of stuff that I have. I am bringing home three suitcases! Granted, I had to pack for LA weather, and Berlin weather, which are vastly different. Then I had to pack for normal stuff, and for nice events for my Dad’s campaign. At least I didn’t have to pack all my winter jackets. Then all the stuff that is staying here, it’s quite a bit. The sad thing is that I use it all.

I have been blessed to have made some really great friends. I am really going to miss them this summer and all our fun times. But it’s only a few short months before its back to school. By the way, I’m taking four English classes next semester! Welcome to the wonderful world of the English major. Also next year Sydney joins me at BYU along with some other wonderful girls from home. That is going to be a super lot of fun!

One thing I will not miss at all is Provo. We thought the valley was bad with nothing to do late at night, try Provo with the BYU honor code. It was so stupid, you have to have members of the opposite sex out of the apartment by midnight. I know that sounds late to some of you, but it’s not and it was a pain. Think of it this way, you had to be starting a movie by 10, most people don't even start planning the evening till 9 or 9:30 and most students were up till 2am on regular school nights. The honor code is a good thing overall, I know that, but sometimes it really got in the way.

Los Angeles here I come!!!!

A Weekend With Ashley

This past weekend my lovely sister came for a visit. We just had way too much fun. She arrived on Friday and we went over to the bookstore where we bought some fun and (at least on my part) much needed clothes. Then we went to dinner where the waiter was, I believe, flirting with one or both of us. Then we went to the Orem Hale Center Theater and got to see "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels". It was soooo good!!! A good amount of the actors had a great deal of talent and everything was just amazing. I love the theatre.

Saturday morning we left bright and early, 8am, to go see Conference in SLC. It was pretty cool to be in the conference center, though I think it has magical powers to make you fall asleep. I was paying such good attention, then all of a sudden I was down, trying to keep my eyelids open. Afterwards we went to the new Deseret Book store that was supposed to be amazing, but it really wasn't all that amazing. The best part was the yummie candy we bought that lasted throughout the weekend. Then we went to Kings English, the best bookstore ever, and bought some books and chatted with the fun workers. We got some lunch then headed to our favorite place, the Down East Clearence center. That place is amazing. I got a $45 jacket for $10. I love it! That evening we stayed in and watched "The Invention of Lying" which was suprisingly good. We were expecting a superficial movie and got one, but with meaningful undertones and religious commentery.

Sunday was conference and Easter. We made a very yummy breakfast of eggs, bacon, fruit, and muffins from the store. Pretty much the day consisted of watching conference, with a break where we went for a walk down the Provo river. For dinner we had some awsome leek and potato soup which I am so buying again sometime.

Monday was MUSE!!!!! I went to class and the gym, then we met up and grabbed some subway and headed back to SLC. That was an amazing concert! Ashley has pictures otherwise I would put them up. I really just don't have words to describe the awsomeness.

Then Ashley went home.

The End.