Another one bites the dust

HI. So not much has been happening. We saw a movie on base last night, that was different. I was kind of bitchy to everyone yesterday... I am going o blame it on homesickness and working with the little kiddos all day. I apologized. 

But, Today I started at a different center. It is located on the same base as me, so it is within walking distance for sure. It is a lot smaller, but I kind of like that. There are only 3 classrooms. It is kind of a bummer because I am the only intern there, but it is really nice because I love how small it is and I know I am going to be working in between the toddlers and the preschool consistantly. I really like it there, so I am glad none of the other interns wanted it, and I got "stuck" with it. 

Other than that, we get our visas tomorrow morning, then head back to work for the second half of the day. By tomorrow, we also hope to book our trip to Paris. We decided to head there on our four day weekend. We are planning to leave Thursday the 12th and head back Sunday the 15th or Monday the 16th. In Paris, on Valentines's Day, how romantic... and expensive. I am pretty excited though. That is it for now I think. I'm pooped. xoxoxo

Also, I finally got my mailing address;

Camp Adventure

Katelyn J McAndrew

USAG Weisbaden

CMR 467 Box # GD/7000

APO AE 09096

Send love letters. :)

Pictures I Promised

Wiesbaden

Joshua tree

Today was a slow start. We were planning on heading to Heidelberg for the day, but since we slept in, we decided to just hang out here. Alex and I cleaned our apartment during the morning. Then, we headed into Wiesbaden for a few hours to explore and take some pictures. We walked down the hill and to the downtown center/square. Everyone was starving (I wasn't because I made pancakes :) ) so we stopped at Rhein-Mainz "something" restaurant. Mike and I split a pizza, it was ok. In the end, it was a pizza. The other kids ordered schnitzel and a sausage thing (like kielbasa but German) and some beer. They looked pretty good and the prices weren't bad at all. Did you know that I have only heard radio stations with American songs playing? I wonder if they understand what the songs really mean? After we ate, we walked around, took a lot of pictures, and ran into a gelato shop. They sell this ice cream that is called "Ice Spaghetti" It was actually pretty cute. It was a mound of ice cream in the shape/texture of a bowl of spaghetti, with ice cream toppings on it. So cute. and delicious. I had some coffee. anddd a few bites of ice-spaghetti. We wandered around and explored until it got darker, then we decided to walk back to the apartments. I love just wandering around a city and finding photo opportunities. Although, I have been mildly out of it today, being outside and being able to walk around in a new atmosphere was refreshing. 

Welp.... I tried adding photos... but it responded with "Bad request."I am going to go to bed for now, but I will add them tomorrow. I promise. See you then! xoxoxo.

Oh! Darling

Hello, all. Sorry it has been a few days since my last post. 

Thursday, we didn't really do much. Finished most of our training... just a lot of repetitive information that I learned during Kinder care training. So, I was pretty bored, and falling asleep with my eyes open. We came home from work and to sum the night up, I fell asleep by 9:05. The boys did a little exploring at the train station, which seems like a busy place. They have some damn good crepes there! Sooo delicious. Although, I did buy some minutes through Skype to call back home. I only got a hold of Erin. It was nice to talk to her. I miss her. 

Friday, we went to work, as usual, although today we did more observations. Apparently, or supposedly, I may get to choose what class I want to work with. I still am not sure. I like them all! I believe we completely finished our training so YAY! No more learning about things that I already know about!! After work we came home and got ready; we decided to go out and explore the night life. I must say that I looked cute, but it was ruined by rain... LAME. We headed off to the train station to check out the train times for Heidleberg, get some crepes, and Gulwine (a red wine that the crepe lady put into the microwave for 50 seconds and served it in a coffee cup to go), and some beers. So good! We figured out the Wiesbaden bus, with the help of a friendly German girl. Although, we didn't find where the bars and discos were. (By the way, when I say "we," I mean me and the 4 other interns.) We found a few here and there, downtown seems big and beautiful, but I would like to see it in the day, and take a large amount of pictures. Trent wanted to find the Casino, which we ran across, and Mike has been talking non-stop about a Gummi Bear store, which we ran across too. So both boys can calm down. Hahaha. I really can't wait to explore the city in the day But we haven't so far...

Today, we ended up having to work today. Ick! They are called "super Saturdays," I told Granny they aren't so super for those of us that have to work, but I suppose it is super for the parents... Since we worked today though, we get an extra day off in February, so we get to save that for later.... apparently. It is hard to plan on what to do and where to go until we know when we have to work and everything. We will see though, I mean we haven't even had a visit from our Project Coordinator, who is our Supervisor.  We have kind of just been on our own, going with the flow. 

Tomorrow, we are planning to go to Heidleberg, we have all heard it is pretty amazing. A day trip is in order. Our first day off and no relaxing, but it will be exciting to see a new part of Germany, even though I haven't seen this part of Germany in the day yet. 

I'm not starving yet, just rationing. Hah. There is a supermarket on base that is extremely cheap, but unfortunately we are not allowed there unless we go with someone who is actually a part of the community. There are people that are willing to take us, so thats amazinggggg. We just have to coordinate something. 

If I think of anything else I need to tell you all, I will post it. If not, I will post tomorrow with my adventures of Heidleberg. Love you all. Miss you terribly.

xoxoxox

PS. Mom- It is weird when you call me Katie! I love you!

Second day; The wheels on the bus...

(Me and the kids waiting for the bus.)

So our second day.... We took the bus to the big base where all of the military work and where we will work. It was a 45 minute bus ride because they told Mike to hurry and get the bus that was coming, but, turns out we made a really big circle the opposite way, so we had about 30 minutes that we didn't need to be on the bus. We got to our Child Development Center (our CDC) and they decided that we should come back for some training. So we went to the food court and got some pizza. I couldn't help but feel we were being stared at. 

So we got back to the CDC and trained on "food preparation and handling," then we did some observations. I did their version of "infants/toddlers" which are mostly all 1 year olds. I just played with them for a while. Only for a few hours. It is a lot like kinder care but parents are in military uniform and the teachers don't wear gloves when they change diapers.

After we got back to our apartment, I really didn't do anything when I got back. Read some mags, made some quesadillas and helped the boys clean the apartment, thats about it. Nothing crazy tonight. But this weekend, hopefully we will do something adventurous. We will see though. I love you all. I miss you all. 

First day; sky, blue sky

(This is the group, eating kebabs, from the left; Trent, Mike, Megan, Alexsandra, Me)

(This is my closet, I'm pretty sure it is from IKEA)

So I'm here! safe and sound! Long day. On the plane there were some Camp Adventure kids. The flight was awful; the guy behind me left his light for about 6 out of the 8 hours, it was impossible to sleep. We finally arrived in Frankfurt around 11, German customs was the easiest customs I've ever been through!!!! They didn't even ask me any questions at all. Weird kind of. 

So, there are only 5 of us here. One of them, Mike, has done this a few times, so he is our leader, he's 25. The rest of us are 23/22 years old. Everyone is really nice and we all seem to be getting along so far. I really don't think any of us will have problems with each other. We are all completely different, different personalities, but we are all getting along great. The apartments are 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, full kitchen, small dining room, and living room. The 2 boys share an apartment across the hall from me and the 3 girls. We each have our own room. I actually lucked out and got the "master bedroom" so I have my own bathroom. 

The base is kind of random, it is split into different bases. We live on the base that has elementary/middle/high schools, apartments, a child care center, the big grocery store, movie theater, and a lot of construction. Most of the military men and women are on a base that is about 10 minutes away. This is where we got our military ids, where most of us will be working, they have a few child care centers on that base, there is also the gym, some fast food, the bank. We will most likely be working there. None of us are really sure what we are doing tomorrow. 

I am already unpacked. The rest of the day we went on a brief tour of the bases, we went grocery shopping and went back to our apartments to finish unpacking and to relax. The 5 of us had a short meeting then we headed to Wiesbaden at about 8:30. It is about a 15 minute walk downtown. We stopped and had some amazing kebabs, I haven't had those since Australia :) We walked around a little bit and headed back. I can't wait to see the city in the daylight. I would really like to practice speaking the German language, the people at the kebab place was pretty cool about it, except one guy who was frustrated. 

Tomorrow, we will see what is in store for us. Our leader Mike, doesn't know what we are going to be up to either. I will write tomorrow. I love you all. 

Charlotte, NC

Hi everyone back home. I hope you have found this easily. Right now, I am in Charlotte, NC, waiting for my flight, sitting on the floor, sharing an outlet with a man watching a movie on his laptop.... I wonder where he is going to end up? I'm reading a blog mom showed me about a girl who did the same thing I am going to be doing, starting tomorrow, at the same base. I'm just trying to get a sense of what to expect, It's not really helping, sorry Court (who I do not know). To me, it really sounds a lot like kinder care. So that really doesn't worry me. Ugh, I need to finish writing thank you cards. The lighting in here is awful. I only have about 3 more hours until my flight (Eeek!) I think I heard some pilots speaking German. I'm so scared I'm not going to be able to understand anything, especially at customs. That is my biggest fear right now. That and because I don't think I have a visa yet, at least not that I know of. Need to mail cards and get some cash. Still nervous... a lot. I love you all. 

xoxo

At this very moment, it is way past my bed time, but I have become obsessed with making this perfect. For now atleast. This online journal will be my communication with everyone back home as I attempt to explore this new experience.