Oktoberfest in Munich

It’s hard to believe I’m already in my third week here in Germany. This past weekend we went to Munich for the day since all the hotels were either super expensive or booked because of Oktoberfest. We got there around 11am and headed straight to Oktoberfest even though it was pouring. It was quite a fun and eventful day! Email me if you want the long version. I don’t have time to write it all now sine I’m on my lunch break. But it was crazy and I am so glad we went! We took a train home around 2 am which was AWFUL since it took 9 hours (the way there it only took 4) and we had 5 transfers. We arrived back to base around 11:30 am Sunday morning, very haggard and very tired. I slept all day, woke up ate dinner then went back to sleep.

Work has been good. I am in a single ratio room so I am usually by self with the kids which has it’s ups and down. Sometimes it would be nice to have another teacher to talk to or help. My kids are pretty well behaved though. Tomorrow we are going on a field trip to the pumpkin patch!

This coming weekend we are going to… PARIS. I couldn’t be more excited. The forecast says it is supposed to rain but I am really hoping that it doesn’t because that would be terrible! I am excited to stay in our first hostel too, we are staying at the Aloha Hostel. We are only able to go for 2 days so hopefully we can fit everything in that time. I’ll take lots and lots of pictures.

Today was a fairy tale

We survived our first week of work! I found out that I will be working in one of the pre-school rooms. I met the kids on Friday, but the lead teacher was out sick so I didn’t get to meet him. There are only 9 kids so it doesn’t seem like it going to be too crazy! This week we also made it to the gym which is really nice, it’s about a mile and a half away though. The first day we walked and the second we decided to ride bikes. After work on Friday we went with one of the girls Ashley to her friends house for a birthday party. It ended up being really fun and it was cool to see what German houses look like. On our way back we got stopped for a random check at the base gate where we show our ID’s. They made us all get out of the car and they searched our whole car including the hood and also let a drug dog smell around the whole car. Ashley who was driving had to show one of the guys all our documents and Liz and stood on the curb freezing talking to one of the soldiers who was from Georgia. After we decided to see what the bars on base look like but they looked like they were closed. It was really weird since it was only around midnight.

For our first trip in Germany Liz and I headed to Heidelberg yesterday. We had no clue how the train system but we ended up not having any problems. We bought tickets from the automated machine and we were on our way. Once we arrived in Heidelberg we took a bus to Old Town Heidelberg and walked around all the shops and restaurants. It was so cute and pretty! All the streets were cobblestone and they were so many cool things to look out. We saw about 5 brides too, I guess here after they get married they hang out in the city square to drink champagne and celebrate. Kind of weird. After exploring for a little bit Liz and I decided we had to get Doner Kebabs for lunch. They were so good and filling! After we walked up the 350 stairs (we opted out of paying for a tram)to the castle in Heidelberg. It was really pretty, nothing like I had ever seen before. We walked around, took lots of pictures and then headed back down into town. We went to a cute little bar later that had a tree inside and had a few beers. It was about 7 and we had been in Heidelberg for around 8 hours so we decided to head home. On the train back we met a really cute and nice local boy and he even gave us his number and invited us to his hometown in Germany and said he would show us around and what not. I am sure I am leaving lots out but I don’t want this to turn into an essay. All of the roommates are going to a huge wine festival today which should be fun!

And here are pictures from yesterday

Hello from Germany!

After all the waiting and excitement, I am FINALLY in Germany. It basically took FOREVER to get here. But definitely worth it. Liz and I got to SFO around 2ish on Saturday, no problems. We met 2 of the other camp a girls at the airport Ashley and Katie. Liz and actually ended up being randomly seated by Ashley which was cool since we could talk especially since the movie system wasn’t working on the plane for the first like 5 hours! The plane ride was long, we had dinner, some Spanish wine, finally got to watch a few movies and then we had breakfast even though is was about 2am CA time and none of us could sleep at all.

Then we had our 6 hour layover in London which is a huge airport with tons of stores like Gucci, Prada, and Tiffany. It was really weird. We pretty much just laid on the chairs and tried to sleep while we were there.

Then we had a short 1 and a half hour flight to Frankfurt which was fine. After our flight we couldn’t find one of the other camp a girls and we didn’t up leaving the airport till like 9:30pm even though our flight got in at 7:20. Once we got outside it was pouring and dark. Then we had to pick up our PC’s rental car and get gas. It seemed like we were never going to get to base. We finally got to base around 11:30 we met our Point of Contact who showed us our apartments and told us she would meet us at 9am the next day. Our apartment is pretty nice we have tons of things and appliances and a washer and dryer. Liz and are sharing a room, our bed sheets are pretty gross though so we’re thinking we will have to go buy some new ones. Here are some pictures from the trip and at the airport.

Today we got our base id’s and then went to the German grocery store which was quite the adventure. It was really hard to figure out what certain things were and how many calories and fat were in things. Hopefully grocery shopping will get easier as we go along. I’m really hoping though someone at work will offer to take us to the commissary on base which is way cheaper and it is mostly American food. We start training tomorrow so hopefully that goes well! Miss everyone and can’t wait for the adventures to come.

16 days..

I'm back to counting down days that I have already counted down. Ughhhh. Now the only highlight of my day is ripping a link off.

Still in the United States

Unfortunately I have not yet left for Germany. Due to some unexplained reasons, something to do with military contracts I am not leaving now till Sept 11. Yes. I have the bad fortune on flying on Sept 11 (or good if you think of all the heightened security.) I was very bitter about my delayed flight especially since I found out FIVE days before I was originally supposed to leave. I was all packed, and all ready. Oh well. So now I have 18 more days in Napa without a job... I've scheduled to get my wisdom teeth out this Saturday but besides that and working out like crazy, I have no plans.

An upside though was since I didn't leave on Sunday, Liz and I were able to join my sister and some friends for a camping trip in Yosemite. We had so much fun! I use to go to the park a lot when I was young and it was so exciting to go back. It definitely needs to become an annual trip! While there I hiked Upper Yosemite falls a.k.a the death march! It was so hard but worth it in the end. We played some beer pong, ate smores, star gazed and even saw a bear every day of the trip. It was a great trip that won't soon be forgotten! My favorite memory was being woken up at 2am to a lady running after a bear screaming "get outta here bear!!" We all laughed about it the entire trip!

Here are some pictures from the trip

Yosemite falls (barely any water left) where we hiked all 4,700 feet up

Liz and I with half dome in the background

Camp A fashion

This, ladies and gentleman is the hideous uniform I will have to wear 40 hours a week for 4 and a half long months. And don't worry, it looks much worse in person. Don't let my smile fool you, I do not enjoy wearing this get up one bit. My not so favorite part is that the pants come well above my belly button. Hey, Camp Adventure, FYI no one under the age of 40 wears pants that come above their belly button. Especially me! The only good part is that everyone will be stuck wearing this. I also have a few other none polo and long sleeved shirts that are even uglier in my opinion.

At least I am exactly ONE MONTH away until departure, YAY!!!

RAMSTEIN!

I have finally received my final placement for my internship! I will be at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. Ramstein is close to Frankfurt in the southern region of Germany. Apparently Ramstein is HUGE and about 50,000 Americans live there. OMG this is almost the size of Napa, that is crazy! My friend Liz received the same placement so we are really excited about that! 34 more days! I have yet to receive my uniform, flight information or exact departure date but hopefully soon. I feel like I need to start packing already, but how do you pack for 4 and a half months in 2 suitcase? And I have no cold weather clothes since it has never gotten colder than 50 anywhere I have ever lived. I may need to do a little shopping.