Bruder Bruder

(these pictures are from mainz on saturday) when i have enough patience, i will upload the rest, along with those from Paris. I PROMISE.

lochness family? or dinosaur family??

me with some german buildings

"the dom"

downtown mainz

me and maman in the middle of it all, taking a break from gluwien

the man in charge of it all

So Bruder has sent a comment saying he is waiting for more, so here it is....

Friday I worked approximately a 16 hour shift, so needless to say, I came home and went to sleep. I believe a shower and glass of wine accompanied me and maman. Saturday we head down to Mainz for the "big" fasching parade. Well, we thought it might have started at 11... we took the train and arrived at 11:30... followed some dressed up people to their car, thinking they were heading to the parade... FALSE. so we walked and eventually ended up following some kids up to no good, and then we found a hilton! and got a map! and asked where fasching was! All she said was that it was near the dom... thanks lady. So we followed the sound of drums and eventually made it there. We walked around for a good 3 hours. And then saw a bunch of people standing around the street, so we decided to wait... 1:45 passed, 2:00 passed 2:30 passed, and around 2:45 the "parade" began. The parade was basically a bunch of little kids dressed up as genie's and witches. Some man gave me a handful of candy, probably because I am so cute. We ended up leaving the parade, and getting some coffee and then eventually heading back to Wiesbaden. 

We hung out until about 11 or so and went out dancing...

Sunday, we drove and drove and drove. WE MADE IT TO HEIDELBERG. the weather was pretty bad though. We walked around, bought a mug from starbucks, rode a thing like the incline (where a lady hated us), took some pictures at the castle and heading back home. It was a cold and wet day, but i finally got to see heidelberg. it was pretty. an old town, young at heart due to the university. On the way home we drove through some little german towns here and there. At one town we saw a sign for "Frog Crossing," like the deer, but for frogs.... so so weird. Mama wants to go back to get a picture of the sign.

I took off Monday so we had all day to explore. We ended up driving to one of the oldest towns in Germany; Trier. I was hoping it would be as pretty as everyone has told me, but honestly, it was pretty much just filled with drunk German people wearing ridiculous costumes. Apparently Mainz has one of the biggest "Rose Monday" parades in Germany, but we decided to skip out on it and go driving (since I wont be able to after mom leaves me). We then drove from Trier to Idar Oberstein, where we found out, Bruce Willis was born. What a weird day though. We saw horses fighting, a ski slope / winter park in the middle of a mountain with sidewalks everywhere, a pig with Ernie on his back, etc... I hated the kids in Idar, they were all little kids up to no good, it was weird. But, We didn't spend too much time in either places, just did a little tiny bit of sight seeing then heading back. We stopped in Mainz on the way home to celebrate a little, but we had no idea where we were in the city, so we got a beer and headed back to the car. Hah. 

The rest of the week for me has been consumed with eating mom's delish food and working. This week has felt so long. Anyways I booked my travel arrangements for Barcelona, I leave on the 12th. That is the next big trip. Jack gets in tomorrow and we are heading to Austria right after I'm done working.

For now though, here are some pictures from my latest adventures....

 

Let the Fasching begin

I am having a hard time uploading pictures from paris onto the page, when i have enough patience, I will make another attempt. But for now....

Mom is here! She got in Thursday morning. Thursday night we headed to downtown Wiesbaden to enjoy some Fasching Celebrations. Fasching is also called Karneval;

Fastnacht/Karneval

Mardi Gras in Germany

A introduction to the "fifth season"

Germans call the pre-Lenten Carnival season die närrische Saison ("the foolish season") ordie fünfte Jahreszeit ("the fifth season"). Except for Munich's Oktoberfest, it is the one time of year when many normally staid Germans (and Austrians and Swiss) loosen up and go a little crazy. Fastnacht or Karneval is a "movable feast" (ein beweglicher Festtag) that depends on the date of Easter (Ostern). In 2008 Fastnacht falls on February 5 (Faschingsdienstag). The official start of the Fasching season is either January 7 (the day after Ephiphany, Dreikönige) or the 11th day of the 11th month (Elfter im Elften, Nov. 11), depending on the region. That gives the Carnival guilds (Zünfte) three to four months to organize each year's events (Carnival balls, parades, royalty, etc.) leading up to the big bash in the week before Ash Wednesday (Aschermittwoch), when the Lenten season (die Fastenzeit) begins.

Thursday was "frau tag" which means "women's day," On the Thursday before Fasching, women go out and roam the streets and are able to cut the ties off men. Of course, we didn't see any of this, but we did see children and adults in costume. 

Today we plan on heading Mainz or downtown for the parade!

The most romantic day in the most romantic city... ickkkkk

In the most romantic city on the most romantic day... 

PUKE. 

love was everywhere and it was nauseating.

i believe salma hyeck (or how ever the heck you spell her name) got married in paris on v-day while we were there.

Otherwise....

Paris was pretty epic. It was really nice to be able to go back and experience it again. We did most of the traditional tourist things. But it was pretty great to be able to show everyone everything.

We arrived Friday morning-ish. We immediately went to our hostel "The young and Happy hostel." It honestly wasn't bad at all. The location was GREAT, the service was nice, our room was ok. BUT we did get free breakfast in the morning, which was nice. I mean it was only hot drinks, a baguette, a criossant and cereal, but it was better than nothing. We dropped our things off and headed for the eiffel tower. The weather was pretty poopy, but we knew that to go on it any other day, we were going to wait about 3 hours. So, despite the fog and mild rain, we headed there. It was pretty cool seeing it foggy, but we couldn't go all the way to the top, and we could barely see anything from 2 lower levels. Oh well. After that we ate and headed back to the hostel after walking around a bit, because we couldn't check in until 4 pm. We took the Metro everywhere, which was pretty nice. I can def tell you how to get places using the Metro, for sure. Anyways, we got into our hostel and met our suitemate, an Irish kid named Paul. But anyways, we decided to go on an adventure, but while we were walking out of the hostel, we saw a sign that said the Louvre was free for students ages 18-26 after 6 pm, so we had decided to do that instead of just wandering and because the other kids wanted to go there before we left. The fact that it was free though was really nice. So we went there and ended up going back to the Eiffel Tower, where at night at the top of every hour, the tower explodes with lights and basically just sparkles. By that time, the weather was clear and we were able to see the top. 

Saturday... Valentine's Day, the weather was nice so I told the kids we should go to Montmartre. They were hesitant at first, but by the time we got there, it was perfect. They loved it. I fell in love with it again. We wandered around there for a few hours, bought a ton of art. We all bought something. On Montmartre, it is known as the art district. It is where the basquilla Sacre Coure, Moulin Rouge, and Artists' Square is. It is the bohemian part of Paris. So after wandering around there, we decided to head to the Arc de Trioumphe, that was something I've never seen and something that everyone else wanted to. I didnt realize how big it actually was! Then we headed to Musee d'Orsay, which was a museum I wanted to visit. It was very beautiful, I saw a lot of works from familiar artists I have never seen before and to be able to see some of my favorite paintings was amazing. But no one really felt the same way about it as I did, so we didn't spend too much time there. We did decide to head to the Eiffel Tower... once again to meet up with some girls Trent knew. It was busy! and it was Valentine's day! There was a weeding in the middle of the street right in front of the Eiffel Tower, I don't think it was Salma though... WE retreated back to the hostel and Trent, Mike and I signed up for a Pub Crawl.... it was a waste of money. I ended up just buying a bottle of wine for myself and enjoying it in my own little world.  We weren't out too long, just enough for me to be hit on by a 54 year old man from Conneticut with a stache... no thank you.

Sunday we went to church, well Megan did. Me and the boys went to the top of Notre Dame while Megan and Alex were in church. We had a good time up there. The boys agreed that it was probably a better view than at the Eiffel Tower. Notre Dame has about 400-some steps, and we took all of them. Mike and I were joking around saying that the only thing we did in Paris was ride the Metro, see the Eiffel tower, eat crepes and climb steps the whole time. But these crepes were AMAZING. the best crepes I have ever had in my life. It was a restaurant right next to our hostel and while I had atleast one a day, the boys sometimes had 2 or 3 day. They were really good though. I would go back to Paris just for those. So we walked around the church, hung out and tried to head towards the St Chapelle church. You had to pay to see that church, I thought it was a waste, even though it is the prettiest church I have ever seen in a book, I would have just rather spent that money on a crepe than to walk in a church for a few minutes. After that failed, we headed to our hostel for a crepe and then headed to the Catacombs. At first I was totally creeped out / grossed out. But it was really cool, just to see that huge part of French history. I would like to know how many bodies re actually down there though. It was pretty wild, and it had 200 some step... Surprised... We then headed to St Michel square. The boys and I went here the night before for the lame pub crawl, and I wanted Megan to see it, plus it was within walking distance to our hostel. So we went and took a few pictures... Megan and I bought a few scarves and we headed back to the hostel. We ended our trip by hanging out with the Paris nightlife, but not for too long... we had to be at the train station at 5. icky. We made it. 

That is it for now. I am exhausted and Mama comes in tomorrow!!!! YAY!!!!

I will post pictures later. <3>

I love you all. 

ps... people in paris are not rude. that would be a misconception. they were all very nice and willing to help. but maybe its because im cute.

Valentine's all mines

(phil)

(erin)

(jordan)

(maddie)

(daddio)

(granny)

(maman)

Here are just some Valentine's I made :)

Pedro

I leave in approximately 6 hours to head to Paris for the weekend. I am not going to take my computer with me, so you will have to wait until Monday to hear about my trip. But before I go I want to share some pictures with you and some Valentine's I made. :) Enjoy. 

PS; Happy Valentine's Day. (I hate the holiday, but I love you all)

(2 of my favorite toddlers; Pedro on the left and Alejandro on the right. I have a cute picture of the both of them, but I don't feel comfortable putting them online, so you'll just have to wait and see them when I get home :))

(Sunrise from the boys' dining room window)

(Sunrise over Weisbaden on my way to work. Just ignore the lamp posts and the buses.)

Alej

Ugh, I have some songs on my computer that would play at American Eagle when I worked there. But for the 5 hours I would work, I would hear them about 20 times. I'm bringing this up because a song came on and it is annyoing.

Anyways, this week has been already crayzy. WE FINALLY got our visas today! I can stay until MAY! it only took 7 or 8 attempts.... ONLY... I walked back inside of my center and i was welcomed with claps and cheers and hugs, because I finally got my visa. haha. They love me there... I think... 

Monday was a pretty good day. Tuesday was pretty rough. I dont know what it was, but none of the kids would listen, they were all on their own planet or something. The toddler room is CRAZY, there is such a difference in maturity level between all of the kids. 

I will say though that I love the toddler room because we have to eat with them and they never really eat everything that is given to the class, so myself and the other teachers get about 2 meals a day with the kids, so I never really have to worry about breakfast or lunch.

But today was a good day, other than waiting in line with 20 annoyed Germans, waiting for the visa. We had cheeseburgers, baked beans and peaches for lunch. And I didn't have to change any poopy diapers. 

I got to take control for the circle time with the toddlers. We read Chika Chika Boom Boom and sang a few songs, one about sharing, the other about popcorn on a train. It makes no sense, but those kids go crazy over it; that song and a song about an alligator farm. Haha. I have no idea. Even though I love the Toddlers, I still miss hanging out with the Pre-Schoolers. Every once and a while I will pop my head in, and this boy Antonio will say hi to me about 6 times. It's cute. All of the kids are starting to call me Miss Katie :)  

Tomorrow is going to be more like a Friday for me, because I am heading off to PARIS on Friday. So yay! Somewhere other than here! I also made a list of cities I would like to visit in Germany; I'm thinking Garmisch, Frankfurt, Munich, Trier, Berlin, Heidelberg (still!), there were some more but I cannot think at the top of my head right now. I'm tired of hanging around here all weekend.  But yay for vacations and 4 day weekends.

I miss you all terribly.xoxox.

Sunrise

Sorry it has been a while. The days are mostly all the same. Just waking up, going to work, trying to get my visa, walking to the train station, walking home, eating and finally sleeping. Mike and I have been going to the train station after work lately to check on reservations and to run errands. It is a nice little exercise and break from the apartment. We are also trying to plan our next big trip; Barcelona.

I am feeling more and more comfortable at my center which is nice. I know at this rate, I will not want to leave these kids in May. 

We have tried twice this week to extend our visas, both times unsuccessful. Apparently everything was supposed to be done before we got here and all we would've had to do was get our pictures taken. Leonard was saying that no other group has had any trouble at all. I guess there is a first time for everything. So, supposedly we are going to try again tomorrow, this time our PC will be going with us. Although, I doubt it will do much. 

We had to work until 11 pm on Friday for "Parents night out". Ugghh. Those are pretty awful, but at the same time, they aren't bad because the kids fall asleep after 2 hours. It starts at 6:30 and doesn't end until about midnight. It calls for a long day. But I get a vaca day out of it so I'll take it. Plus I helped out in the kitchen and basically just cooked, ate and cleaned dishes, not bad at all. 

Saturday, We also attempted to go to Heidleberg, but that was also unsuccessful. We tried to go yesterday, but it was 40 euros more expensive than we thought and it was raining and it takes about 2 hours to get there apparently. So we bailed on that plan. I am starting to get a little stir crazy. I WANT TO SEE MORE OF GERMANY! I WANT TO SEE SOMETHING OTHER THAN WIESBADEN! We ended up going out though, which was nice, something different. I also tried hooka (?) for the first time. The bar was actually pretty neat. It was dim, like you were in a tent, with lanterns and authentic rugs and circular intimate tables, and the best part... sand on the floor. there was about 3 or 4 inches of sand on the ground, instead of a floor. It was pretty cool.

This week will be pretty short; 4 days then head off to Paris on Friday morning. YAY. THEN maman comes! I'm so excited. 

I am going to go for now. I am about to fall asleep right here. I will right more later. 

Miss you all. Love you all.

I love all of the comments too :)

I am so glad it's Sunday. Yesterday felt like Sunday, but I am glad I can just relax all day today and worry about work tomorrow. We have yet to go to Heidelberg. I really want to go, but it's just the commitment of all of us to head there. Maybe next weekend I will feel inspired and more willing to get out of my warm bed. It is snowing right now :) Love it. 

Thursday and Friday were pretty crazy and busy with a few rude people here and there. We still have yet to get our visas. We were supposed to do it about 2 weeks ago, but we don't have a car and our Project Coordinator (PC) isn't around. So a very kind man named Leonard has been helping us out tremendously. So on thursday our PC came to help us with the visas, we get to the building, which was only open Mon, Wed, and Fridays, so we were out of luck then. After a disappointing effort, we returned back to work. After work we booked our reservation for PARIS. we are heading there Friday the 13th and heading back Monday the 16th. YAY YAY YAY. Alex's friend lives there and she studied there for a year or so, so it will be nice to have someone take us around.

Friday, we tried to get the visas again. This time our PC was not with us, but Leonard came to pick us up at the Center where everyone is except me (my old center where we trained.) So we worked for about an hour or so, then Leonard took us around. I forgot my passport so we had to stop back at the apts. We finally get to the place where we get the visas, but it was the wrong building, so we go to the right building, which is right next door. A nice American man told us what we needed to do (he was trying to get a visa too). We needed our pictures taken, but the machine at the building wasn't working, so we had to go to the train station, the machine was being silly, but we finally got our pictures. So we head back to the visa building enter one of the rooms (the rooms are split up by last names), we went into the A's room, where a man exited swearing in German, I think. He was not very happy. So we walked in and asked the sitting at the desk if he spoke english, he said no. We got Leonard, who was waiting for us in the car to translate for us. (Leonard is from Cleveland, but he has been living in Germany for the past 17 years. We always joke to each other about the Cleveland/Pittsburgh rivalry, but I always win because the Steelers are better.) Mike asks Leonard to explain to him that we are here for a semester, so we need an extension, hence the visa. Leonard says to us "he understands you," we all look at each other, one of us says.... "he told us he doesn't speak english..." Silence.... Leonard asks the man if he speaks english.... the man says "yes..." I think all of us in that room rolled our eyes, even the english speaking german visa man, but he doesn't look up, he kept staring at his computer as we all stared at each other. The guy leaves to go talk to someone else for a minute, then comes back and hands us papers that we need to fill out and bring back, which are all in german. As we leave Leonard tells the man thank you and to have a nice weekend, the man says nothing and doesn't even look at him...

As we were leaving Leonard says; if you guys weren't here I would have given him a piece of my mind. Then continues saying that although most of the younger germans speak english because of schooling, they don't want to and become rude about it because all they hear about americans is on the news, but the older germans are very nice and accomadating to americans because of how much we helped them in the war. Very interesting I think, just to experience the generational differences. 

After our experience at the visa office, we head back to work. Although, I head back to my tiny center on the other base. I ended up being in the infant room for the rest of the day. There was only 3 babies but IT WAS HARD WORK. I was telling them that I am not having kids after that experience. Alex, Megan and Trent ended up having to work till midnight that night, so mike and I decided to go explore the night life a little bit. That was totally unsuccessful as we got lost in downtown Wiesbaden and randomly ending up at familiar places, which was pleasantly surprising, but I would not have been able to tell you where or how in the world we got there. It was fun none the less. Saturday was relaxing and uneventful. We headed to the train station and mall to see if we could get minutes on our phone. I gave up. My legs hurt from walking around so much. I am bummed that we didn't go to Heidelberg yet, but I have about 3 and a half months to head there so I am not really worried I am going to run out of time. 

Monday, mike and I have to work because we didn't work friday night, but alex trent and megan get monday off because they did. I think that is pretty fair. 

I will write later with more stories.

I miss home, and mashed potatoes. Love you all.