A few thoughts.....

I hope to be blogging a lot more frequently in the months of September and October. This is for two reasons. The first is because I promised a dear friend that I would give her something to read while she is home on maternity leave. The second is because I am realizing more and more recently how much I am going to enjoy looking back over these entries years from now reliving my time in Europe. Instead of focusing on big trips and events during our time here I thought I might start posting about what I will miss most when we return to the States. This will include the grocery shopping experience (this will be a long post), people in Germany (the fashion, the culture, the drinking beer outside at 8am, ect....), the food, the beautiful architecture and adorable cafes on every corner. I hope to be able to describe the tastes, smells and sites of our little part of Europe through writting and lots of pictures.

I also feel inclined to do this now because I am finally feeling comfortable with living here. I have thoroughly enjoyed the last seven months but it has only been in the last month that I have truly felt at home in Germany. Before coming to Germany I was picturing an incredible life in Europe similar to what I had seen in movies and read in books. I was sure that the language would not be that big of a hurdle since everyone speaks at least a little English, right? Once we arrived I was thrown into the reality of spending the first month in a very small hotel room and shocked by the lack of English, anywhere. I would often get scoffed at when I asked if someone spoke any English (in Deutsch of course). I should also mention that we arrived in February during one of the coldest and longest winters that they had experienced in the past ten years. I was frustrated, lonely and ready for a trip back home. It took a lot of time, prayer, a wonderfully supportive husband and 4 months of language classes to get me to the point where I felt comfortable in my surroundings. I now can not wait for the Christmas season to begin, love riding my bike all over my wonderful town and feel sad at the thought that we will have to leave someday.

I share this because living in a small town in Germany is incredible. The architecture is gorgeous, the travel opportunities are unbelievable and we are blessed to be experiencing each and everyday over here. At the same time I want to be honest with the fact that it has been hard at times and it has been a time of intense growth for both me and Phil. I also wouldn't want anyone else, who might be in a similar situation, to read this blog and not know that it is hard at the beginning but that it does get better with time. I am so grateful for this time over here and I am excited that we still have another year and a half ahead of us.