Changing Plans

This week has been pretty rough, emotionally. On Friday night, we had our graduation ceremony for the Junior Year in Munich program. When I got home, I couldn't find my keys or my wallet. I did find them the next day, I had just left them at the restaurant, but it was a nerve-wracking time of not knowing where there were in the meantime. Sunday morning, I took my friend Katie to the airport to see her off. On Monday and Tuesday, I had to make a pretty tough decision. With the help of RCE and BFA staff, and the guidance of my parents, I decided that I needed to buy a plane ticket home. I do not have the financial support to serve at BFA yet. That said, I will continue to raise support until I can serve at BFA, whether it takes another month, or even another year. I will not give it up, but I do need more time. My flight leaves for the U.S on Sunday, July 26th.

Stay tuned for another update once I'm back in the States!

Thoughts on Graduating

Well, this is it. I’ve completed every requirement of my Bachelor’s degree. Wheaton has an August graduation date, so that will be when I get the official diploma. I hope to participate in the May 2016 graduation ceremony with my class. This evening, we have the Junior Year in Munich graduation ceremony, which includes some awards, yearbooks, and dinner. After that, I have three more weeks in Munich before my train to Kandern.

It’s definitely strange, graduating college from afar. I don’t recommend it. You don’t really have closure. I probably should have spent my semester abroad last year, but then I wouldn’t have gotten to know these awesome people. I do regret not having a Senior year, but what does that really matter in the grand scheme of things? I don’t have to pay for another year of college, and I get to live in Germany longer! I’m so excited for what’s coming next.

God is so good. I had two and a half wonderful years at Wheaton, forming lifelong friendships with the people I met and lived with there. I had 4 amazing months with the students from Junior Year, and now I get to meet a whole new group of people at Black Forest Academy. I am so thankful for everyone in my life for getting me to this point. I still have three weeks here, but I have several loose ends to tie up, and of course I’ll have to wave goodbye as everyone leaves over the next two weeks.

One loose end is a library fine. It came in the mail Wednesday. I still had the book (two weeks overdue) for the paper that was due yesterday. So I went to return it. They told me again when I returned it that I owed the money. But, I couldn’t pay it there. So I asked where to pay it. She gave me directions, and I followed them. But the only office I could find had about thirty people waiting with numbers for their turn. As I had a class in 15 mins, I decided not to wait. If they want my money, why are they going to make me wait that long? I’m not even sure that’s the right place to pay the fine. Regardless, I’ll figure it out another day. Also, I can’t check out any more books until I pay the fine. How will I read for the next few weeks?

Another loose end: what to do with my bike. I love this bike. I got it at a flea market at the beginning of the semester for 35€. I’ve ridden it to class, for fun around the city, and mainly around the English Gardens. It probably won’t be hard to find a new bike in Kandern, but I’m still looking at shipping it there. Otherwise, I might try and sell it here in Munich before I leave so I have at least the start of money for a new bike. I would love to get a bike with a bell and a basket, though those are upgrades that can also be purchased separately.

The final loose end: packing. I know I’ve only been here a semester, but I still accumulated quite a bit of stuff! I can’t take it all on the train with me to Kandern, so I’m figuring out how to ship it ahead of me to Kandern. Then I still have to fit the rest of my stuff back into two suitcases. I have a lot of clothes, dishes, sheets, a few books, and so much more. I’m also gathering free stuff from some of the other students, since most of them aren’t taking their dishes back to the States. Hopefully I’ll have enough to furnish a new apartment. (Just kidding. I know I have enough stuff.)

Summer vacation in Europe. Living the dream. Of course, I have limited funds, so I won’t be going very far. I hope to travel to Belgium for a bit, but I have to make my funds last until I get to Kandern. Budgeting skills, let’s go!

Speaking of money, I’m still raising funds for my time at BFA. If you would like to be on my prayer email list, please send an email to amanda.carini@my.wheaton.edu. With the time I have over the next few weeks, I’ll be making phone calls to churches and looking for more supporters. Let me know if your church (or a church you know of) might be willing to support me on a monthly basis. And, as always, please keep me in your prayers.

Patriotism and Picnics

My sister Anna graduated from High School on June 28. My Gramma Wind was able to come to town to see her graduation ceremony. Joel and Anna also drove up from Philly to celebrate. Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

Meanwhile, I've been thoroughly enjoying the warm and sunny weather here in Munich. It got up to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit this past weekend. But, I'm keeping cool by swimming in the river!

Some of the students organized a big Independence Day celebration on the Fourth, so that we could obnoxiously celebrate our freedom. We paid in advance, and could eat as much food as we wanted. The picnic lasted from 2pm until whenever (I left around 11pm during the bonfire, but I heard some people stayed until 2am). I did leave in the evening before the bonfire, so that I could send some emails and get some stuff done in my room. The homework never ends.

It was fun day of grilling, games, and goofy people.  It was definitely warm, but we all jumped in the river to cool off for a bit. They also had hundreds of freezie pops for us to eat! All in all, it was a well-planned picnic, kudos!

This final picture is from a coffee/breakfast date with Caroline. I love getting meals or coffee/tea with friends one-on-one to really get to know these people. Sometimes the visits to coffee shops are just to chat, sometimes to study, but mostly a mix of the two. But they've all been great times of deepening friendships that will last long after this program ends!