Wow. Today I was in three countries. Doesn't that sounds strange and exciting?
Well, my Danish adventure has almost come to a close. Tomorrow I will be leaving for the airport to fly back to Chicago. It is hard for me to believe I have been in Europe for 9 weeks. At the same time, though, I have a TON of memories (and pictures) that I will not forget. :-) But let me update you on Munich.
So in my last post I thought I would just bum around and not do anything. Well, that didn't really happen. I met three great guys from the States: David (MechE), Michael (Civil) and Justin (Comp Sci with languages). As you can tell we hit things off well just because of our majors. I ended up going to three bars/beer serving places with them that night. I did NOT drink at all three but did have some tasty beer. And it was fun! We got back a bit late but made plans to hit some of the major beer gartens/halls on Tuesday. I hung out with them all day on Tuesday and had a blast. We had Paulaner beer at the Paulaner brewery beer garten and also went to the English beer garten. At both places we had interactions with Martin Monk. Look him up on Youtube. In two months (that is what he claimed) we will all be on youtube in his "Beer Garten" episode. Oh man, this guy was a character! I can't really describe him here because words just won't do him proper justice. It was fun and very awkward. :-) After the English garten we wanted to go to the Hirsch beer garten, which is the largest in the world at an 8000 person capacity (they serve like 186 American sized beers AN HOUR or something ridiculous like that). We got lost and ended up eating (and drinking) at Augustiner (the place has great beer and delicious and cheap food). My stomach was acting up again so while I had ordered an incredibly delicious blue cheese lasagna-like dish I could only eat about 15 bites of it. Thankfully the guys were hungry. :-)
We made it to the Hirsch garten but ended up chatting with some locals for like half an hour before almost running to the beer garten so the guys could get one more maass (it's not supposed to have two a's but Idk how to make the symbol correctly). They drank and we headed back to Wombats where we chilled at the bar till it closed at like 1:30. I went to bed and we had plans for them to come get me before they left for Neuschwanstein (the inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle).
Wednesday saw me wake up in a room with 5 guys. Yes, it's possible and it did happen. I knew one of them but things were still a bit awkward. I have engineering to thank for prepping me (kind of) for such a situation. But anyway, I had to wait for all of them to use the bathroom and once they were done I got to shower. David showed up twice, the second time to tell me they wanted to catch a train 15 minutes later. So I grabbed my bag and off we went. We ended up running to the train which meant we were sweaty forever because the train had no AC and it was over 80 and sunny the whole day. But the view of the castle was fantastic! It may be under restoration but it is still beautiful. We booked it back down the mountain and got on our train just in time. After an hour we parted ways (sadly) as they were off to the Black Forest and I was going back to Munich. They really did make those two days incredibly fun for me and seeing the castle with them was way more fun than it would have been alone.
I called home, my grandparents and my great aunt after all of that and then went to bed. Yesterday I went on the free walking tour and it was AMAZING! Ozzie is THE BEST tour guide EVER! So, if you go to Munich, stay at Wombats Munich and take the free walking tour with Ozzie. He is the only black tour guide in the city and he literally talks the whole 4.5 hours you are with him. Yes, 4.5, you read that right. Didn't feel like it at all and you see a ton. Our tour ended at the English garten but a bunch of us bought beer/food and sat with him for a few hours. I didn't get back to the hostel till 6:30. It was a great day. My shins were in pain, though, as I am pretty sure I got minor shin splints from booking it down the mountain on Wed and then didn't help them with the walking tour. So that's a pray request: healing for my little shins.
I went to bed relatively early and was awake sometime after 3 this morning by my new roommates (again, all 5 were guys). Beer just does funny things to foreigners I guess. :-) Got up this morning and was basically all packed. Got ready, did Internet then bought my train pass and more chocolate than I should have, packed the chocolate and headed to the airport. I got there WAY early but am glad because I finished reading Acts and started reading Romans. It is amazing how much I have learned in just the past few days while I have been in Munich. Not just historically and culturally but spiritually too. I didn't grow much last summer while at Abbott and was afraid the same thing would happen this summer. I shouldn't have feared that happening because, well, it didn't.
The flights went well though I was tired for both of them. Got back to CPH around 7:10, got my bag, discovered all of my beer bottles were intact, and headed home. Got to Hellerup around 9:30 and caught the 21 to Emdrup Soepark. It took me like 15 minutes to walk from the stop to the house because my bag was so heavy but when I arrived Yujie was excited to see me and then I learned that Lise is gone for the weekend. I shouldn't have rejoiced as much as I did but it means less stress for me. I also get to sleep in a bed tonight and not worry too much about showering or packing. In fact, I thought I would pack tonight but I will probably only sleep till 8 or 9 and then have plenty of time to repack a bit. I need to be at the airport around noon tomorrow so I can do tax free stuff before check-in. Check-in will NOT open more than two hours before take off (which is 3:30pm tomorrow) so I do not want to be there too long. Noon should be fine.
So there is the update. I am glad to be back in CPH again, even if just for one night. This place is familiar (though parts of Munich were familiar by today)and I know how to get around and where I want to go. Last week you may remember I did not want to leave. I still would like to stay but after being on "vacation" for a week I am ready to be home. Guess that just goes to show that God will provide and prepare you for whatever is ahead, even if you don't realize it.
I do, however, have prayer requests. Please be praying for my shins as I travel tomorrow. Pray for peace of mind and comfort as I travel (God has been so good to me every time I've travelled!) and for the weather and crew. Also, this is ridiculous, please pray that my beer bottles won't break! They are important to me for more reasons than just the fact they are German beer and I really want to get them home. They survived today and I am tempted to leave them just as they are (don't worry, I will add more padding and more plastic bags) for tomorrow's trip. Also, please pray for my family as they drive down to Chicago to get me. They have had lives the past two months and I am coming back "all of a sudden." Pray for my attitude as well. I have been gone and want to see everyone and will have the urge to be the "center of the world." I by no means want to be like that as I cannot wait to hear what everyone else has been up to, who they have met and what they have learned. But attitude is huge. Thank you for praying; I really appreciate it!
Have a great day/night/afternoon and I will probably post one last time once I am back in the States just so that I can talk about my trip home.
Bekah
Friday, August 21, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Munich Update 1
Hallo! I am currently in Munich and am finishing up my second full day here.
Let's see, where to begin. I got up at 6:30 on Saturday, got ready, finished packing and cleaned up the room. If I do say so myself it looked pretty good. Hopefully Lise felt the same way when she got home. Yujie was up to let me move my suitcase and computer into her room. She is so good to me. Lise wanted me to keep my stuff in the garden shed till I got back. Thank the Lord for Yujie! Then it was off to the airport. I was running a bit late and caught the bus shortly before 8. Once at Hellerup I discovered the machine wasn't accepting credit cards and I couldn't find my klip card. I eventually bought a full ride ticket and waited on the platform for the next train. Who should I meet while waiting there but Burcin and Brandon! She was flying out to DC that day so we rode the train to the airport together. I was freaking out a little bit about getting to the plane on time and she calmed my fears. The Lord is good.
Once at the airport I went straight through to security because I already had my boarding pass. No problems and then it was off to the gate. Boarding was actually announced this time (Swiss:1 Norwegian:0) and on my way to my seat I chatted with one of the flight attendants about getting to my connection on time. That flight was good as I slept a good portion of it but there was an obnoxious 10-12 year old boy kitty-corner behind me who decided to wham his foot on the floor the last ten minutes of the flight. He also thought it was fun to yell just about everything he said. With his mom sitting right there you would think that wouldn't happen but whatever.
Landed in Zurich and walked the length of the A terminal (gate 86 to 05), waited ten minutes and boarded the flight to Munich. That was short and sweet and the rather large man next to me slept the whole flight. I highly recommend Swiss airlines. They are nice, punctual and you get chocolate after any snack or at the end of the flight. Delicious. I bought a ticket for the Sbahn and took my 45 minute train ride to Hauptbahnhof (the central station). Then I wandered a wee little bit before finding my hostel. Walked in and Tom checked me in. Tom is basically my hostel hero. He has seriously answered EVERYTHING for me. Headed up to the room (4th floor) and made my bed and put stuff away and chilled on the bed. A few minutes later a guy walks in, introduces himself as Paul and then says he is finishing his Internet time and would be back. Turns out Paul's a Brit and would be there for two nights. He invited me out to eat with two other guys (Ryan a Kiwi and Aaron an American) and out we went. All of us were basically starving. I had a delicious bavarian meal of meat meat and more meat as well as some beer at the Augstiner. Or something like that. Then to a biergarten where the guys had another stein, back to the restaurant and then to the hostel. Due to lack of sleep and huge lack of proper food I was sick on the way back to the hostel. Yay, three big cities, three lost meals. But I am really glad I met Paul, Ryan, Aaron and Martin (Aussie who joined us later).
That brings us to yesterday. I did absolutely nothing. I woke up to find myself in a room with 4 guys. That was not supposed to happen and, so, I felt a little weird at first. All of them had been travelling for some time, though, so they felt pretty at ease. Raj was above me and was leaving for Frankfurt and then back to India so he'd only slept there. Andy is from Leeds and will be here till at least tomorrow. Bernard is from Brazil and is here till Thursday I think. Then there's me and Paul. One of them snored like nobody's business so none of us slept well. I showered and ate breakfast with Paul then did Internet, rested because my stomach was acting up, and then found a call shop so I could call home. Then I took a two hour nap (lovely!) and headed down to the bar in the hostel with Bernard. I met Pedro (another Brazilian), Luca from Italy and two people from France. I also met Alex and John from Orange County and had a nice chat with them. I ended up ordering a small sandwich thing because my stomach just did not want to eat and then headed up to bed around 10. I had a nice quiet time and then journaled and was asleep probably around 11.
This morning I woke up at 9:15. Ah, that was wonderful! The snoring guy hadn't been as bad and all of us slept better. Our room gets really hot so I suggested leaving the window open all night and that definitely helped. So, I showered (again), did Internet, grabbed a roll and muffin at a cafe I discovered and then headed to the train station. I bought a full day pass and took a 40 minute train ride to Herrsching. From there I took a ten minute bus ride up to Kloster Andechs. It is a brewery based out of a monastery. I spent a REALLY long time there. Unfortunately my German is next to none and everything there was in German. I wandered around the church (absolutely beautiful) and then headed down to the brewery only to be directed back up the hill to food and beer. I finally got food and a beer and sat down. Now you must know that it was ridiculously hot and in that weather I do not actually want to drink a lot of beer. So it took me a good two hours to finish mine. The dopplebock dunzel was very good, though. Once done I headed to the gift shop and bought a few things then bought some dopplebocks to bring home. I was going to catch the bus back to Herrsching but realized I was in no rush. So I plopped down on a bench in a grassy area and journalled for 45 minutes or so. When I finished that and took a couple more pictures I headed to the bus. While waiting for that I met a group of five Americans who work for United. That was pretty cool and they were very funny. They head back to the States tomorrow. I headed to the train and took my 40 minute ride back to Hauptbahnhof.
On my way to the Hostel I bought a juice, the first fruit I have had since Friday. Ah, it was soooo delicious! In fact, I will probably go there every morning now after the cafe to top off my breakfast. And now I am back at the Hostel. I've put my stuff away and now Internet. I don't really want to go out for dinner or anything so I will probably head across the street for pizza or a kebab and then hang out in the bar or the wintergarten before calling it a night. Yup, I am THAT boring in Munich. :-) But as Paul so wisely said to me: this is my trip, do as I want.
I ask that you pray for my stomach because it is still not 100%. I have no idea why and would really like to look at food and WANT to eat it instead of having to tell myself it is a necessity. Other than that, I have seen Andechs, which was the one thing I wanted to see, so pray I would be able to enjoy the rest of my time here at my own pace.
Have a wonderful day/night/afternoon and I figure I will post once more before heading back to Copenhagen,
Bekah
Let's see, where to begin. I got up at 6:30 on Saturday, got ready, finished packing and cleaned up the room. If I do say so myself it looked pretty good. Hopefully Lise felt the same way when she got home. Yujie was up to let me move my suitcase and computer into her room. She is so good to me. Lise wanted me to keep my stuff in the garden shed till I got back. Thank the Lord for Yujie! Then it was off to the airport. I was running a bit late and caught the bus shortly before 8. Once at Hellerup I discovered the machine wasn't accepting credit cards and I couldn't find my klip card. I eventually bought a full ride ticket and waited on the platform for the next train. Who should I meet while waiting there but Burcin and Brandon! She was flying out to DC that day so we rode the train to the airport together. I was freaking out a little bit about getting to the plane on time and she calmed my fears. The Lord is good.
Once at the airport I went straight through to security because I already had my boarding pass. No problems and then it was off to the gate. Boarding was actually announced this time (Swiss:1 Norwegian:0) and on my way to my seat I chatted with one of the flight attendants about getting to my connection on time. That flight was good as I slept a good portion of it but there was an obnoxious 10-12 year old boy kitty-corner behind me who decided to wham his foot on the floor the last ten minutes of the flight. He also thought it was fun to yell just about everything he said. With his mom sitting right there you would think that wouldn't happen but whatever.
Landed in Zurich and walked the length of the A terminal (gate 86 to 05), waited ten minutes and boarded the flight to Munich. That was short and sweet and the rather large man next to me slept the whole flight. I highly recommend Swiss airlines. They are nice, punctual and you get chocolate after any snack or at the end of the flight. Delicious. I bought a ticket for the Sbahn and took my 45 minute train ride to Hauptbahnhof (the central station). Then I wandered a wee little bit before finding my hostel. Walked in and Tom checked me in. Tom is basically my hostel hero. He has seriously answered EVERYTHING for me. Headed up to the room (4th floor) and made my bed and put stuff away and chilled on the bed. A few minutes later a guy walks in, introduces himself as Paul and then says he is finishing his Internet time and would be back. Turns out Paul's a Brit and would be there for two nights. He invited me out to eat with two other guys (Ryan a Kiwi and Aaron an American) and out we went. All of us were basically starving. I had a delicious bavarian meal of meat meat and more meat as well as some beer at the Augstiner. Or something like that. Then to a biergarten where the guys had another stein, back to the restaurant and then to the hostel. Due to lack of sleep and huge lack of proper food I was sick on the way back to the hostel. Yay, three big cities, three lost meals. But I am really glad I met Paul, Ryan, Aaron and Martin (Aussie who joined us later).
That brings us to yesterday. I did absolutely nothing. I woke up to find myself in a room with 4 guys. That was not supposed to happen and, so, I felt a little weird at first. All of them had been travelling for some time, though, so they felt pretty at ease. Raj was above me and was leaving for Frankfurt and then back to India so he'd only slept there. Andy is from Leeds and will be here till at least tomorrow. Bernard is from Brazil and is here till Thursday I think. Then there's me and Paul. One of them snored like nobody's business so none of us slept well. I showered and ate breakfast with Paul then did Internet, rested because my stomach was acting up, and then found a call shop so I could call home. Then I took a two hour nap (lovely!) and headed down to the bar in the hostel with Bernard. I met Pedro (another Brazilian), Luca from Italy and two people from France. I also met Alex and John from Orange County and had a nice chat with them. I ended up ordering a small sandwich thing because my stomach just did not want to eat and then headed up to bed around 10. I had a nice quiet time and then journaled and was asleep probably around 11.
This morning I woke up at 9:15. Ah, that was wonderful! The snoring guy hadn't been as bad and all of us slept better. Our room gets really hot so I suggested leaving the window open all night and that definitely helped. So, I showered (again), did Internet, grabbed a roll and muffin at a cafe I discovered and then headed to the train station. I bought a full day pass and took a 40 minute train ride to Herrsching. From there I took a ten minute bus ride up to Kloster Andechs. It is a brewery based out of a monastery. I spent a REALLY long time there. Unfortunately my German is next to none and everything there was in German. I wandered around the church (absolutely beautiful) and then headed down to the brewery only to be directed back up the hill to food and beer. I finally got food and a beer and sat down. Now you must know that it was ridiculously hot and in that weather I do not actually want to drink a lot of beer. So it took me a good two hours to finish mine. The dopplebock dunzel was very good, though. Once done I headed to the gift shop and bought a few things then bought some dopplebocks to bring home. I was going to catch the bus back to Herrsching but realized I was in no rush. So I plopped down on a bench in a grassy area and journalled for 45 minutes or so. When I finished that and took a couple more pictures I headed to the bus. While waiting for that I met a group of five Americans who work for United. That was pretty cool and they were very funny. They head back to the States tomorrow. I headed to the train and took my 40 minute ride back to Hauptbahnhof.
On my way to the Hostel I bought a juice, the first fruit I have had since Friday. Ah, it was soooo delicious! In fact, I will probably go there every morning now after the cafe to top off my breakfast. And now I am back at the Hostel. I've put my stuff away and now Internet. I don't really want to go out for dinner or anything so I will probably head across the street for pizza or a kebab and then hang out in the bar or the wintergarten before calling it a night. Yup, I am THAT boring in Munich. :-) But as Paul so wisely said to me: this is my trip, do as I want.
I ask that you pray for my stomach because it is still not 100%. I have no idea why and would really like to look at food and WANT to eat it instead of having to tell myself it is a necessity. Other than that, I have seen Andechs, which was the one thing I wanted to see, so pray I would be able to enjoy the rest of my time here at my own pace.
Have a wonderful day/night/afternoon and I figure I will post once more before heading back to Copenhagen,
Bekah
Friday, August 14, 2009
I am not in school...
...so why is sleep such a hot commodity all of a sudden?
Seriously though, all I want to do is sleep for like two days straight. Good thing I'm getting up in about 7 and a half hours to get ready to leave for Munich, right? Haha, yay vacation! Yes, I know, I have a good way of complaining about even the most exciting things. Please forgive me, I am rather tired.
Today was my last day at Topsoe. I had everything done by about 11 (cleaning, sending/uploading files, compiling e-mail lists) so I was very ready for lunch at noon. I ate with Brandon, Burcin, Arkady and Klas and met two new people (one whose name I don't know and the other was Pablo or Paolo). Lunch was fun and very nice, though everyone kept bringing up that it was my last day. :-(
Spent the afternoon reading PhD Comics. Yes, I know, lame but they are actually pretty funny. My paper is done and I also got a recommendation letter from Esben, which is fantastic! Around 3 I headed into lab to say good bye to everyone. That was hard/awkward because, yeah, good byes are just awkward and difficult. Both Simon and Bodil told me that if I did go through with applying at Topsoe to let them all know so that they could push my application. Brandon and Burcin said the same thing. How blessed am I? Very. Beyond measure, actually.
Anyway, I went to the "pub" at 3:30 and ate beer and irish coffee flavored ice creams (I liked the Irish coffee one better). Said good bye to Lars and then Esben (he's finally getting to go on vacation and leaves for Malta tomorrow afternoon) and then Brandon and Burcin drove me and Klas to Hellerup. The four of us rode into the center of the city and met Arkady at an Indian restaurant. The food was delicious, the company wonderful. They all overpaid and I spent a grand total of like 50 kroner on the night. Then we went and had a beer at an outdoor cafe and just chatted for a while. That was nice. The beer? Langfarts beer. Yeah, two of us got it just for the name. :-) I had decided that since I hadn't paid for dinner I would try to pay for drinks. I managed to GET the check and HAND it back to the waiter with plenty of money to pay for it but Burcin made a fuss (as did the rest of them) and she proceeded to retrieve said bill and money, hand the money back to me and they all chipped in to pay. It's what you do when someone leaves, I know, I would have done the same but to be so doted upon, well, it makes me feel special. And that was a terrible sentence as far as grammar goes. Anyway, then it was slowly saying good bye. First Arkady then Klas then Brandon and Burcin. It's done. There is no going back.
I got home at 9 which was an hour earlier than I had set as a deadline so I was able to call my mom and chat for a few minutes and then I set about packing and cleaning. Since it's late I cannot really clean. Vacuuming will have to wait till right before I leave. Ah, I am nervous. My duffel and backpack will not be too stuffed, thankfully, but I am so afraid of forgetting something vital or bringing something too precious (moreso the former than the latter). Then I realized I will probably be sleeping on the couch next Friday and won't want to throw my stuff everywhere to repack. So I repacked my big suitcase as best I could. Please, this is very selfish, pray that I can ship beer from Andechs back home so that I will not have to repack the big suitcase next week. Any other breakable thing I buy can go in my backpack but beer must be checked and right now I have the porcelain and glass I'm bringing back packed well and my bag shuts.
Okay, I need to go to sleep. I do not know if I will be able to blog while in Munich. If I can the updates will have to be short (yes, rejoice, go ahead) simply because even though I type very quickly I do not want to spend tons of euros in order to update this. I'd rather spend those euros on another memory card for my camera (which will probably be necessary).
Please please PLEASE pray for Yujie while I am gone and for Lise. Pray that they will have understanding and patience with one another and that the cultural differences will not form too large a barrier. Please pray for my travels tomorrow and my time in Munich. Pray for courage, humility, and to have an overwhelming sense of God's presence too. Pray for safe travels for Esben and Burcin as he goes on vacation and she heads to DC for an ACS conference. Pray for my coworkers and all I have met while here. Thank you for praying and I hope your summer, as it comes to a close, ends well.
Have a great night/day/afternoon,
Bekah
Seriously though, all I want to do is sleep for like two days straight. Good thing I'm getting up in about 7 and a half hours to get ready to leave for Munich, right? Haha, yay vacation! Yes, I know, I have a good way of complaining about even the most exciting things. Please forgive me, I am rather tired.
Today was my last day at Topsoe. I had everything done by about 11 (cleaning, sending/uploading files, compiling e-mail lists) so I was very ready for lunch at noon. I ate with Brandon, Burcin, Arkady and Klas and met two new people (one whose name I don't know and the other was Pablo or Paolo). Lunch was fun and very nice, though everyone kept bringing up that it was my last day. :-(
Spent the afternoon reading PhD Comics. Yes, I know, lame but they are actually pretty funny. My paper is done and I also got a recommendation letter from Esben, which is fantastic! Around 3 I headed into lab to say good bye to everyone. That was hard/awkward because, yeah, good byes are just awkward and difficult. Both Simon and Bodil told me that if I did go through with applying at Topsoe to let them all know so that they could push my application. Brandon and Burcin said the same thing. How blessed am I? Very. Beyond measure, actually.
Anyway, I went to the "pub" at 3:30 and ate beer and irish coffee flavored ice creams (I liked the Irish coffee one better). Said good bye to Lars and then Esben (he's finally getting to go on vacation and leaves for Malta tomorrow afternoon) and then Brandon and Burcin drove me and Klas to Hellerup. The four of us rode into the center of the city and met Arkady at an Indian restaurant. The food was delicious, the company wonderful. They all overpaid and I spent a grand total of like 50 kroner on the night. Then we went and had a beer at an outdoor cafe and just chatted for a while. That was nice. The beer? Langfarts beer. Yeah, two of us got it just for the name. :-) I had decided that since I hadn't paid for dinner I would try to pay for drinks. I managed to GET the check and HAND it back to the waiter with plenty of money to pay for it but Burcin made a fuss (as did the rest of them) and she proceeded to retrieve said bill and money, hand the money back to me and they all chipped in to pay. It's what you do when someone leaves, I know, I would have done the same but to be so doted upon, well, it makes me feel special. And that was a terrible sentence as far as grammar goes. Anyway, then it was slowly saying good bye. First Arkady then Klas then Brandon and Burcin. It's done. There is no going back.
I got home at 9 which was an hour earlier than I had set as a deadline so I was able to call my mom and chat for a few minutes and then I set about packing and cleaning. Since it's late I cannot really clean. Vacuuming will have to wait till right before I leave. Ah, I am nervous. My duffel and backpack will not be too stuffed, thankfully, but I am so afraid of forgetting something vital or bringing something too precious (moreso the former than the latter). Then I realized I will probably be sleeping on the couch next Friday and won't want to throw my stuff everywhere to repack. So I repacked my big suitcase as best I could. Please, this is very selfish, pray that I can ship beer from Andechs back home so that I will not have to repack the big suitcase next week. Any other breakable thing I buy can go in my backpack but beer must be checked and right now I have the porcelain and glass I'm bringing back packed well and my bag shuts.
Okay, I need to go to sleep. I do not know if I will be able to blog while in Munich. If I can the updates will have to be short (yes, rejoice, go ahead) simply because even though I type very quickly I do not want to spend tons of euros in order to update this. I'd rather spend those euros on another memory card for my camera (which will probably be necessary).
Please please PLEASE pray for Yujie while I am gone and for Lise. Pray that they will have understanding and patience with one another and that the cultural differences will not form too large a barrier. Please pray for my travels tomorrow and my time in Munich. Pray for courage, humility, and to have an overwhelming sense of God's presence too. Pray for safe travels for Esben and Burcin as he goes on vacation and she heads to DC for an ACS conference. Pray for my coworkers and all I have met while here. Thank you for praying and I hope your summer, as it comes to a close, ends well.
Have a great night/day/afternoon,
Bekah
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Surprise
So tonight I met with Maria, the woman who helped me in the CPH airport when I first arrived two months ago. The plan was that we would go to a tea house, take a walk around the "lakes" and then maybe go to Tivoli for an ice cream (she had a free entrance pass I could use). Well, I met up with her and she not only had a free entrance pass but a free multi-ride ticket. That meant I could get in and she had her season pass which got her in AND a 50% discount on her own multi-ride ticket so, basically, I got to see Tivoli for 75 kroner with is ridiculously cheap! (Especially considering I paid like 85 kroner just to get IN last time). We did 4 or 5 rides and I giggled like a school girl. Then we had ice cream and I think it disagreed with me because my stomach has been upset since then (though that could have something to do with the fact that I didn't really eat dinner...). It was so nice to hang out with her again. Really, we are very similar and she is very easy to talk with and listen to.
Work: my second to last full day went very well. I gave Esben the second draft of my paper and he returned it with very few comments. Just a couple of things needed to be tweaked or added and then it will be professor worthy. I also analyzed my last experiment today and started cleaning up my lab space. Had lunch with Klas and Arkady and both brought up the fact that tomorrow is my last day. I can't believe it. Just yesterday (and this morning) I was thinking of how I've lived here for two months. While I still experience many MANY things that tell me I'm a foreigner they have become "normal" and I have a routine, which I like. Maria very much wants me to get a job here and several people have asked over the past few days if I will try to get one. Of course my answer is yes. :-) I have been so blessed while I have been here and I have learned and grown quite a bit. I told Maria I am afraid of losing some of this when I get home and she asked me to explain. The only things I could think of were my international group here and my independence. Yes, as a college student I am already somewhat independent but here it is different. I can call home, yes (even crying sometimes) but while I may be able to pass the decision on to someone else back in the States I am the only one who can really decide things here. Not the best way to word that but I hope you understand.
Ah, and right now I very much need to sleep. I ask that you pray for me as my stomach is still feeling a bit upset. I also ask that you pray for me tomorrow. I do not want to leave and would rather deny that I am leaving than embrace it. Really I have just started to get to the point where people are more comfortable with me; as Maria said "[I am] no longer the new girl." Please pray for all the people I have met while I am here. They each have something they struggle with and each have blessed me while I have been here. I also ask that you pray for my travels this next week as I go to and explore Munich. Please pray for peace and contentment as well because I am beginning to worry about my travels to Munich as well as my travels home. The Lord is God and He knows what will happen the next week and I want to rest fully in Him because no other place will give me peace and comfort and contentment like He will.
Thank you for praying and really, I must be off to bed.
Have a great day/night/day,
Bekah
Work: my second to last full day went very well. I gave Esben the second draft of my paper and he returned it with very few comments. Just a couple of things needed to be tweaked or added and then it will be professor worthy. I also analyzed my last experiment today and started cleaning up my lab space. Had lunch with Klas and Arkady and both brought up the fact that tomorrow is my last day. I can't believe it. Just yesterday (and this morning) I was thinking of how I've lived here for two months. While I still experience many MANY things that tell me I'm a foreigner they have become "normal" and I have a routine, which I like. Maria very much wants me to get a job here and several people have asked over the past few days if I will try to get one. Of course my answer is yes. :-) I have been so blessed while I have been here and I have learned and grown quite a bit. I told Maria I am afraid of losing some of this when I get home and she asked me to explain. The only things I could think of were my international group here and my independence. Yes, as a college student I am already somewhat independent but here it is different. I can call home, yes (even crying sometimes) but while I may be able to pass the decision on to someone else back in the States I am the only one who can really decide things here. Not the best way to word that but I hope you understand.
Ah, and right now I very much need to sleep. I ask that you pray for me as my stomach is still feeling a bit upset. I also ask that you pray for me tomorrow. I do not want to leave and would rather deny that I am leaving than embrace it. Really I have just started to get to the point where people are more comfortable with me; as Maria said "[I am] no longer the new girl." Please pray for all the people I have met while I am here. They each have something they struggle with and each have blessed me while I have been here. I also ask that you pray for my travels this next week as I go to and explore Munich. Please pray for peace and contentment as well because I am beginning to worry about my travels to Munich as well as my travels home. The Lord is God and He knows what will happen the next week and I want to rest fully in Him because no other place will give me peace and comfort and contentment like He will.
Thank you for praying and really, I must be off to bed.
Have a great day/night/day,
Bekah
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
I need to go to sleep!
K, so today was pretty good. I did manage to spill twice: once in lab (not cool, more clean up for me to do) and then once at dinner (white wine and it didn't get on anyone). Um, sorry, I'm trying to think fast because I really want to go to bed. I have one big section of my paper/report to do and then the second draft is done. Ideally I want to give it to Esben tomorrow early afternoon and I HOPE there's not too much wrong with it. I'm having a tough time writing the introduction, though. I rode with Mai-Britt, Anders and Anders' friend Jon up to Tikoeb in northern Denmark. We went to Simon's (our manager) home for dinner. It was actually quite nice. Mai-Britt, Bodil, Simon, Peter, Anders, Xiaobo, Esben, Jon and myself. Plus Simon's family but they didn't eat with us. Meat (lamb, cow, & sausage) and salad (tomato and mozzarella for one and then a lettuce and tomato for the other) and potato salad and bread and it was all delicious. The lamb was soooo tasty. It did not rain for the first two hours we were there which meant we ate outside. Then it started to rain and proceeded to pour. We hurried inside and eventually had coffee and tea with the lemon bars. They all seemed to like them and most people had two or more. Then the hardest part of the night. With 7 Danes all together I knew there'd obviously be some Danish conversation. What I wasn't prepared for was to spend basically an hour or more sitting at a table listening to them all talk in Danish and not have any clue whatsoever about what was being talked about. I was okay for the first half hour at least but then I got kind of tired and just wanted to come back to the house to sleep. And speaking of sleep, I was dropped off and am all ready for bed and just need to journal and head to bed.
Please pray that I am awake tomrorow at work and that all the information I need will flow into the introduction for my paper. Also, praise the Lord we had hot water this morning. And praise Him for the absolutely beautiful countryside we drove through as well as the stars I got to see. I am incredibly blessed and I know He is watching over me.
Have a great day/night/afternoon,
Bekah
Please pray that I am awake tomrorow at work and that all the information I need will flow into the introduction for my paper. Also, praise the Lord we had hot water this morning. And praise Him for the absolutely beautiful countryside we drove through as well as the stars I got to see. I am incredibly blessed and I know He is watching over me.
Have a great day/night/afternoon,
Bekah
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Things You Discover...
...when you pack!
Yeah, I have just finished doing some haphazard packing. Basically I planned out what I'm going to wear for the next 10 days and then proceeded to put just about everything else into the one big suitcase I brought. Let me just say that the amount of breakable items and the kinds of chocolate I'm bringing home are equal. Since this is just for "storage" while I'm in Munich I'm not using every niche and cranny in the suitcase. Still, I have hardly any clothes and limited toiletries in there and, well, it's a good thing I have a duffel bag and my backpack too. :-) Plus, as I was packing, I discovered a variety of medicines and random toiletries I'd forgotten I had brought with me. Yay!
Haha, besides that I found the "Things to do before leaving" list I made at work last week. Of the 11 things I've done 9--pretty impressive since I lost the list like a day after making it. Oh, post-it notes, why are you so easily misplaced? And I can actually do the two things left on the list before I leave Saturday...if I remember. :-)
Alrighty, so my day. Well, we didn't have hot water last night for some reason and all of us hoped it would be turned on this morning. I went to bed preparing myself to not be able to wash my hair. Well, we had no hot water this morning. I did not feel like braving the cold water for a hair washing so I didn't wash it. That's a healthy thing to do, right? Haha, yeah, whatever, Lise, our landlady, made a call and apparently everyone in our housing area is without hot water. The water company turned it off to do some pipe work and then just didn't turn the water back on. Sweet.
I left later than I wanted but had both batches of lemon bars in tow. Made it to work and had everything on it's way to being done when Esben arrived from DTU sometime around 10:30. And then lunch came and I stood Arkady up. I know, I'm a horrible person but hear me out. So yesterday I wasn't around when the lab group went to lunch and today I was. The first time I was asked I graciously declined but the second time I was asked (about 5 minutes later) I couldn't resist. It was actually a good lunch; 5 Danes, me and a Chinese guy. Esben wasn't with us but I am pretty okay with that now (have been for a while, actually). I learned that the boss/manager of the group was a punk musician when he was younger and did some crazy gigs. I also learned that we are going to his house tomorrow for a bbq. His house is on the same latitude as Helsingor, which is at least a 35 minute drive from work. You can imagine I will be home late tomorrow. :-)
Once lunch was over I started an experiment and then handed out lemon bars. Klas was first followed shortly by Arkady (who did forgive me for standing him up, but only after two lemon bars :-)). Burcin had one then Brandon "ran" from Fuel Cell to devour two. Xiabo (shoot, I spelled that wrong but I can't remember the correct spelling right now), Mai-Britt, Bodil and Simon all had one too before I left. And there's still basically a whole batch left! So I left them in the fridge at work and will take them to the bbq tomorrow. Yay for being able to contribute. :-) Wow, lots of smileys. Guess my words aren't enough to convey my feelings tonight.
Esben read my report/paper and had quite a few changes. He must've thought I was upset/stressed by all the comments and said that he was being really detailed. I thanked him. Part of me was yelling and screaming inside with disappointment but there was another part of me that said this was good, he was teaching me the best way he thought to write a paper. Now, there were a couple of things I did that were good but, because I didn't really know what he wanted, I had left out quite a bit. So there's plenty of writing for me to do the next two days (three if I have to work on it Friday). I spent the next hour with writer's block, lack of motivation and a desire to get up and take a run around the building just so I wouldn't have to sit there.
Anywho, left around 5:15 and on the way home thought about having a quiet time in the park by the house. I did to a certain degree but I didn't read in the Word like I thought I would. It really was perfect, though. My Ipod was on shuffle and the songs fit the sunny day and many were praise/worship songs. The sun was shining, everything green and the blue sky had lots of white fluffy clouds. I had my camera and ended up taking a bunch of random pictures because I could. Part of me lingered there because I didn't really want to come back to the house. I prayed on my way back and, upon entering, realized Lise wasn't home. I thanked the Lord because He apparently knew I needed some quiet time to myself. I then discovered a note on the table saying Lise had gone to visit a friend and wouldn't be back tonight. As unloving as it is I was excited. I e-mailed Yujie so that she would maybe consider coming home at a normal time since we had the place to ourselves. I made dinner, ate and watched the sermon from Elmbrook this past week and then did some Facebook stalking.
Somehow two hours passed and Yujie came home. She too was excited and we enjoyed just chatting for like half an hour or so. My heart aches for her a little because I know that when I leave she will be alone here for three weeks. We are both very much hoping her brother gets his visa soon so that he is back here. We made s'mores too; I made her marshmallows and she made mine--we're very good at it, let me tell you. :-) And then I finally started the packing I described above. I did that around 9:30 and, since it's going on 11, I should get to bed.
Please, this is selfish, but please pray we have hot water in the morning. We heated water on the stove so that Yujie could wash her hair (and I hope she sleeps well tonight because she doesn't sleep well without a bath) and I'd rather not have to do that at 6:30 tomorrow morning. Also pray for me to be gracious, loving, humble and content each day. Leaving can be difficult and, let's face it, awkward too. I want to leave a good impression when I leave. Who doesn't. Yeah, I just don't want to be all fake and what not before I leave. So please keep that in mind. Also pray for my coworkers. I realized today that one of them in particular is searching. My coworker claims life becomes boring very quickly and is running out of ways to make things more interesting. That's a cry for something more and I finally realized the only thing that will give that excitement is Christ. That is a very intense statement but I think it's true. Why I am realizing this right now and why it didn't occur to me earlier I have no idea. But please, be praying for my coworkers!
That is it for now. It is definitely time to sleep.
Have a great night/day/afternoon,
Bekah
Yeah, I have just finished doing some haphazard packing. Basically I planned out what I'm going to wear for the next 10 days and then proceeded to put just about everything else into the one big suitcase I brought. Let me just say that the amount of breakable items and the kinds of chocolate I'm bringing home are equal. Since this is just for "storage" while I'm in Munich I'm not using every niche and cranny in the suitcase. Still, I have hardly any clothes and limited toiletries in there and, well, it's a good thing I have a duffel bag and my backpack too. :-) Plus, as I was packing, I discovered a variety of medicines and random toiletries I'd forgotten I had brought with me. Yay!
Haha, besides that I found the "Things to do before leaving" list I made at work last week. Of the 11 things I've done 9--pretty impressive since I lost the list like a day after making it. Oh, post-it notes, why are you so easily misplaced? And I can actually do the two things left on the list before I leave Saturday...if I remember. :-)
Alrighty, so my day. Well, we didn't have hot water last night for some reason and all of us hoped it would be turned on this morning. I went to bed preparing myself to not be able to wash my hair. Well, we had no hot water this morning. I did not feel like braving the cold water for a hair washing so I didn't wash it. That's a healthy thing to do, right? Haha, yeah, whatever, Lise, our landlady, made a call and apparently everyone in our housing area is without hot water. The water company turned it off to do some pipe work and then just didn't turn the water back on. Sweet.
I left later than I wanted but had both batches of lemon bars in tow. Made it to work and had everything on it's way to being done when Esben arrived from DTU sometime around 10:30. And then lunch came and I stood Arkady up. I know, I'm a horrible person but hear me out. So yesterday I wasn't around when the lab group went to lunch and today I was. The first time I was asked I graciously declined but the second time I was asked (about 5 minutes later) I couldn't resist. It was actually a good lunch; 5 Danes, me and a Chinese guy. Esben wasn't with us but I am pretty okay with that now (have been for a while, actually). I learned that the boss/manager of the group was a punk musician when he was younger and did some crazy gigs. I also learned that we are going to his house tomorrow for a bbq. His house is on the same latitude as Helsingor, which is at least a 35 minute drive from work. You can imagine I will be home late tomorrow. :-)
Once lunch was over I started an experiment and then handed out lemon bars. Klas was first followed shortly by Arkady (who did forgive me for standing him up, but only after two lemon bars :-)). Burcin had one then Brandon "ran" from Fuel Cell to devour two. Xiabo (shoot, I spelled that wrong but I can't remember the correct spelling right now), Mai-Britt, Bodil and Simon all had one too before I left. And there's still basically a whole batch left! So I left them in the fridge at work and will take them to the bbq tomorrow. Yay for being able to contribute. :-) Wow, lots of smileys. Guess my words aren't enough to convey my feelings tonight.
Esben read my report/paper and had quite a few changes. He must've thought I was upset/stressed by all the comments and said that he was being really detailed. I thanked him. Part of me was yelling and screaming inside with disappointment but there was another part of me that said this was good, he was teaching me the best way he thought to write a paper. Now, there were a couple of things I did that were good but, because I didn't really know what he wanted, I had left out quite a bit. So there's plenty of writing for me to do the next two days (three if I have to work on it Friday). I spent the next hour with writer's block, lack of motivation and a desire to get up and take a run around the building just so I wouldn't have to sit there.
Anywho, left around 5:15 and on the way home thought about having a quiet time in the park by the house. I did to a certain degree but I didn't read in the Word like I thought I would. It really was perfect, though. My Ipod was on shuffle and the songs fit the sunny day and many were praise/worship songs. The sun was shining, everything green and the blue sky had lots of white fluffy clouds. I had my camera and ended up taking a bunch of random pictures because I could. Part of me lingered there because I didn't really want to come back to the house. I prayed on my way back and, upon entering, realized Lise wasn't home. I thanked the Lord because He apparently knew I needed some quiet time to myself. I then discovered a note on the table saying Lise had gone to visit a friend and wouldn't be back tonight. As unloving as it is I was excited. I e-mailed Yujie so that she would maybe consider coming home at a normal time since we had the place to ourselves. I made dinner, ate and watched the sermon from Elmbrook this past week and then did some Facebook stalking.
Somehow two hours passed and Yujie came home. She too was excited and we enjoyed just chatting for like half an hour or so. My heart aches for her a little because I know that when I leave she will be alone here for three weeks. We are both very much hoping her brother gets his visa soon so that he is back here. We made s'mores too; I made her marshmallows and she made mine--we're very good at it, let me tell you. :-) And then I finally started the packing I described above. I did that around 9:30 and, since it's going on 11, I should get to bed.
Please, this is selfish, but please pray we have hot water in the morning. We heated water on the stove so that Yujie could wash her hair (and I hope she sleeps well tonight because she doesn't sleep well without a bath) and I'd rather not have to do that at 6:30 tomorrow morning. Also pray for me to be gracious, loving, humble and content each day. Leaving can be difficult and, let's face it, awkward too. I want to leave a good impression when I leave. Who doesn't. Yeah, I just don't want to be all fake and what not before I leave. So please keep that in mind. Also pray for my coworkers. I realized today that one of them in particular is searching. My coworker claims life becomes boring very quickly and is running out of ways to make things more interesting. That's a cry for something more and I finally realized the only thing that will give that excitement is Christ. That is a very intense statement but I think it's true. Why I am realizing this right now and why it didn't occur to me earlier I have no idea. But please, be praying for my coworkers!
That is it for now. It is definitely time to sleep.
Have a great night/day/afternoon,
Bekah
Monday, August 10, 2009
Back in the Kitchen
So I like Denmark. I woke up this morning to the sound of rain and was actually happy. It sounded nice and I wasn't sweating, which was also nice. I got ready and, since Lise is home and it kind of feels like my every move is watched, I was ready to go about 7:45. Headed out for the bus at the same time Yujie left. Usually we leave a different times but since Lise been back we leave a bit earlier and get back later. It's not the same but I think we're doing pretty well with her back.
I got to work and did all my lab work by 10:30. Yes, in two hours I no longer had a reason to be in lab. Instead I was then stuck writing the paper/report at my desk the rest of the day. Oh man, that stinks. I get bored really quickly and I don't like staring at my screen. Anyway, lunch time rolled around and, to make a long story short, no one came to get me and I couldn't find anyone. So around 12:15 I headed down, got food and sat with my lab group. 4 of them were done and left shortly after I sat down and 2 others stayed about 5 minutes before leaving. So I ate my lunch semi-alone. That was not fun but it's over and been handled and I apparently have survived.
Like the morning, I spent the afternoon sitting in front of the computer. I did successfully write, edit, and send my first draft to Esben. It took everything in me not to say "I don't think this is very good" when I sent it to him. I didn't really get any guidelines for writing so I wrote it more like a 324 report than anything else. And technically I wrote it twice: once in lab report format and another in more of a this is what I did and this is what it means kind of way. I sent Esben the former and will find out tomorrow or Wed what needs to be changed.
I left around 5:15 and got home around 6ish. I immediately started making dinner because I was really hungry. Lise commented on how I was having the same thing as last night. Oh well, whatcha gonna do? I then remembered I still have some shrimp--guess that's tomorrow's dinner. But after that I don't know that I'll be eating anything but breakfast here. Wednesday there is going to be a bbq with the lab group after work, Thursday I will probably meet Maria and Friday, well, Friday is Friday so the chances of me being home for dinner are low.
Anywho, I had the lovely opportunity to Facebook chat with a friend out in California for the first time in like 2-3 months. Huge blessing for me. After that I made two batches of lemon bars. It took me about an hour and 40 minutes to make and clean up everything. How cool is that? Very. :-) I think List was impressed with all the work I put into it and Yujie was, of course, very excited. :-) This is my last baking till I'm back in the States. Hopefully they turn out well!
I meant to pack and plan more tonight for Munich but all I did was make a list of clothes I think I'll take and that's it. Baking took most of my energy I guess. And now it's time to head to bed. :-)
My prayer requests remain the same as before with an emphasis on our living situation. I'd also ask for patience and grace for myself as I pack and prep for Munich and then going back home. I have been so blessed while I've been here.
Thank you for praying!
Have a great night/day/afternoon,
Bekah
I got to work and did all my lab work by 10:30. Yes, in two hours I no longer had a reason to be in lab. Instead I was then stuck writing the paper/report at my desk the rest of the day. Oh man, that stinks. I get bored really quickly and I don't like staring at my screen. Anyway, lunch time rolled around and, to make a long story short, no one came to get me and I couldn't find anyone. So around 12:15 I headed down, got food and sat with my lab group. 4 of them were done and left shortly after I sat down and 2 others stayed about 5 minutes before leaving. So I ate my lunch semi-alone. That was not fun but it's over and been handled and I apparently have survived.
Like the morning, I spent the afternoon sitting in front of the computer. I did successfully write, edit, and send my first draft to Esben. It took everything in me not to say "I don't think this is very good" when I sent it to him. I didn't really get any guidelines for writing so I wrote it more like a 324 report than anything else. And technically I wrote it twice: once in lab report format and another in more of a this is what I did and this is what it means kind of way. I sent Esben the former and will find out tomorrow or Wed what needs to be changed.
I left around 5:15 and got home around 6ish. I immediately started making dinner because I was really hungry. Lise commented on how I was having the same thing as last night. Oh well, whatcha gonna do? I then remembered I still have some shrimp--guess that's tomorrow's dinner. But after that I don't know that I'll be eating anything but breakfast here. Wednesday there is going to be a bbq with the lab group after work, Thursday I will probably meet Maria and Friday, well, Friday is Friday so the chances of me being home for dinner are low.
Anywho, I had the lovely opportunity to Facebook chat with a friend out in California for the first time in like 2-3 months. Huge blessing for me. After that I made two batches of lemon bars. It took me about an hour and 40 minutes to make and clean up everything. How cool is that? Very. :-) I think List was impressed with all the work I put into it and Yujie was, of course, very excited. :-) This is my last baking till I'm back in the States. Hopefully they turn out well!
I meant to pack and plan more tonight for Munich but all I did was make a list of clothes I think I'll take and that's it. Baking took most of my energy I guess. And now it's time to head to bed. :-)
My prayer requests remain the same as before with an emphasis on our living situation. I'd also ask for patience and grace for myself as I pack and prep for Munich and then going back home. I have been so blessed while I've been here.
Thank you for praying!
Have a great night/day/afternoon,
Bekah
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