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!

More Mountains

As of today, I have one month left of college! I know it seems weird to have class throughout the summer, but it hasn't been too bad, honestly. Summer hasn't even officially started yet! Yesterday I had a presentation in front of a class of entirely German students. It was very intimidating, but they were very nice about all my mistakes. This may sound weird, but the next things I have to do aren't due until July 14th, just under a month away. I have completed everything except for the papers and exams of finals week. Now I have to work up the motivation to study this far in advance.

Don't worry. I'm not just hitting the books. This past weekend, a group of us climbed yet another mountain!

Beautiful, isn't it? It was a chilly, cloudy day, but the sun came out just as we got to the peak. Then, when we reached the bottom again, we went swimming in the lake. The water was cold and refreshing. I love living so near the Alps. It makes for some amazing scenery.

BFA Update: I was looking at train/bus tickets to Kandern today. It's coming up really soon! I'm planning on arriving there sometime between August 5-8. Please keep me in your prayers as I continue to prepare and raise support for the next chapter in my life!

What do you fear?

As I was journaling last night, I asked myself that question. I don't mean What are you scared of, like spiders or heights. What is the deepest fear you have, perhaps so deep you can't even admit it, because saying it out loud might somehow give it that power over you? Of course such a fear may be too personal to share, especially to post on the internet. But think about it. Once you know what you truly fear above all else, you can look at why. Why does that scare you so much? For me, looking at the reason shows me what I truly value and love in this life.
Here is an example: I fear losing control. Though it's not my deepest, most painful fear, it still has a great hold over me. I fear losing control over my mind, faculties, and actions. Even losing control over small situations is very frustrating. Perhaps that's why I'm competitive. Obviously this shows that I value my control highly. And yet, part of my faith in God means giving up control over my own life, my decisions. Because when I told God, "Here I am, send me!" I meant it. My life is not my own.
That being said, I have to find a balance between giving up control in the big picture, while still remaining in control of the smaller things. After all, self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit.

One thing I haven't minded (much) losing control of this semester was my schedule. In fact, the days when I didn't care about time have been the most relaxing and rewarding of my entire life. Sometimes this just means leaving my phone and any other timepiece at home, hopping on my bike and riding around. When I get tired of that, I'll pull out some homework or a book. When I get hungry, I'll eat. Try this sometime when you have a whole day free. You'll feel so very free.
Or when we traveled to Rome. It was difficult, but when I put my phone down, (I was using my phone as a map) we got to see so much more of the city. We didn't plan out every moment of every hour of the day. We found out the general direction of something, and we walked there. This often meant ending up somewhere else. The point of it was to enjoy the journey.

We came, we saw, we conquered!

Today I want to highlight the trips of the past two weekends: a Sunday adventure to Salzburg, and a weekend excursion to Rome. Salzburg was a last minute trip planned with Sarah and Katie. We didn't really know what to expect, or what there was to do in Salzburg, so we simply explored. That is, in my expert opinion, the best way to get to know a European city.

 This is a picture of Salzburg from above. We climbed one of the many hills surrounding the city, and saw the abbey where the real Maria von Trapp had lived, which was also used to film some parts in the film The Sound of Music. Also on the hill was a fortress, but we didn't go into it due to the outrageous cost and our outrageous thriftyness.

This unicorn statue is in the garden where several shots from the "Do-Re-Mi" song were filmed. The stairs to the left are the stairs at the very end of the song. Even if you aren't familiar with the movie, it's a beautiful garden to see. 

My favorite part about this garden was the Wisteria! 

Also, the sun came out at this point, so we relaxed there in the sunshine for a while.

For the final adventure of the day, we started climbing a random hill we found. We saw a beautiful yellow building at the top and were curious to see what it was. It was a church and abbey, with a great view of the city. But there was another path that kept going upwards, so we followed it excitedly. At one point on this mysterious trek, we had a perfect look at the city. The hill in the middle is the hill we climbed earlier, with the white fortress on top.

When we made it to the top of this trail, there was an overpriced restaurant. We were perhaps a little disappointed, but the trail we took on the way back was definitely worth it. We followed an old defense wall all the way down, and spent a good amount of time sitting on it in the sunshine as well. We did get a little lost on the way back to the train station to catch the train back home in our attempt to buy some Gelato, but we remedied that by buying a container of Gelato at the grocery store and eating it on the train ride back! I am sure all the people around us were super jealous.

After this adventure, I had two days of classes, and then a super long weekend! (We only had Thursday off for a holiday, but I never have class Wednesday or Friday anyways.) Thursday night, Katie and I got on a plane for Rome! Here's a sneak preview of the Rome trip:

These are a few of my Favorite Things!

Now that I'm settling into the swing of things, it's time for an update. I will be working at Black Forest Academy this coming August, so I have been furiously filling out paperwork, and writing emails, etc. But I also have a somewhat laid-back semester, and I'm learning to enjoy Munich. Here are my favorite things so far:

Favorite place to eat: I really liked the Biergarten we visited on Tegernsee, since I had some of the best classic Bavarian food, but my favorite everyday food is Döner. This is a Turkish-German specialty, similar to a gyro. There is a Döner shop just around the corner from the program office, so it's very easy to grab an unhealthy meal on the go!

Favorite place in Munich: Englischer Garten, hands down. There's just no contest. Now that everything is green and smells like spring, you can't keep me inside! Today, I had two hours between classes, so I sat in the Garten, listened to music, ate a Döner, and made a daisy crown. Life doesn't get much better than that.

Favorite class: Unfortunately, I don't really have one. They're all interesting and challenging for me in different ways, but I don't really get excited about any of them, just nervous. The LMU courses are just such a different format than I'm used to.

Favorite method of travel: Definitely by bike. It has been cooler and rainy for the past week and a half, but both the ride through the Englischer Garten and along the busy roads are simply beautiful and relaxing. When you ride underground on a train, you don't get to know the city at all, just place names. Even taking the bus is preferable to the U Bahn (subway).

Favorite evening activity: Usually we hang out and have game night, which usually involves a card game and then a full group word game, like Psychiatrist. Last night I hosted a crepe party in my room, since I had fresh strawberries and bananas, and that turned into a game night too. I love to host people, even though my room isn't very large or very comfortable. Everyone seemed to enjoy the crepes, though!

Favorite thing about Germany that doesn't exist in America: I really like Döners, like I already mentioned, and I just love the way Munich feels compared to an American city, but is there anything from Germany that I miss like crazy when I'm home? The mustard and the chocolate here is really good, but that's just different, not new. Last time I came home from Germany, I didn't want to drink American milk anymore, so I guess that's the closest I can come for now. I'll let you know if I think of anything else.

For those wondering: yes, I came up with those categories myself. Hope you enjoyed reading me talk to myself. Next time, maybe we'll have my least favorite things. Or you can ask me questions and I'll answer them. Doesn't really matter.

If you would like a more in-depth update on BFA news, send me an email!

With Great Change, Great Opportunity

It's been less than a week since my last post, but so much has happened. I began classes on Monday, and finished today with a full day. It's not as bad as it sounds, though. I am taking a German language class through JYM (Junior Year in Munich, my study abroad program), which meets twice a week, Monday and Thursday mornings. All my other classes only meet once a week. I'm taking linguistics, an overview of Media Systems of Germany and Europe, as well as a Seminar that goes with that, and my personal favorite: Renaissance Drama. That's five classes for a total of 15 credit hours. My lightest semester load since starting college. I figured I'd take it easy since half my classes are in German, and well, I only needed 6 credits to graduate. So technically, I'm overachieving.
Yes, I did say graduating. For all who were not aware, after this semester I will be a B.A! A Bachelor of Arts, that is, in German with a double major in Communications: Media Studies. Crazy how time flies, right? And the question for all impending graduates: what happens next? How will you pay back all of those student loans? What's your five year plan? And for Wheaton graduates: when are you getting married?
Slow down. I'm just getting started. The truth is, I don't know. (I do have a job, but we'll get to that later.) My whole journey through Wheaton has been a lesson in trust. Learning to trust God despite not knowing, or not liking what I see ahead. Yes, I'm scared, but I know that it doesn't matter. God is in control. I don't know how I will pay back my student debt, I don't know where in the world I'll be in five years, and I have no intentions of getting married anytime soon. (Unless there are some desperate Senior guys? Just kidding.) But, I do know what happens next. I take a running leap across the chasm in front of me and trust that He's got me.
That being said, I do know where I will be physically for at least the next year or two. I have officially offered a position in the Front Office on the high school campus of Black Forest Academy beginning this coming August! It's terribly exciting, but also terrifying. I love living in Germany, and I get to stay, but I won't see my family for ever so long, I'm missing my cousin's and my roommate's weddings, and I really don't know what to expect. That's why it feeling like I'm heading towards a chasm. But I will run all the way there.


Here are a few more pictures from the trip so far:

At the peak of the Kranzberg in Southern Germany

Watching an FC-Bayern game with friends!

On the trail on the way up the mountain

A chilly day in Munich

Real German food at the Augustiner Restaurant

A Mountain to Climb

Tomorrow begins the last semester of my undergraduate degree. It still doesn't seem real, especially since I don't have all my classes figured out. But I am close! However, this past week has been full of preparation for the impending semester, as well as fun activities in our free time. We toured the campus of LMU, and got to see where some of the classes there will be. The main building of LMU is on Geschwister-Scholl Platz. The Scholl siblings (Hans und Sophie) were a part of the resistance group, The White Rose, during the 30s and 40s. They, along with their friend Christoph Probst (the building I live in is on Christoph-Probst Strasse), were executed by the Nazis for distributing their anti-Nazi writings. I love how actively the University seeks to honor and commemorate their actions and beliefs. The main building houses a memorial exhibit to them as well.

On Thursday we toured the Paulaner Brewery in Munich. It was very interesting to learn how beer is made, and how they get different flavors and colors, etc. We were given a complementary meal at the end of the tour as well. My favorite part of the process was seeing the room in which they bottle the beer. Germans are very efficient, and this room was no exception. At the beginning was a giant dishwasher, bigger than my room, in which they thoroughly wash all the bottles. (When Germans return their beer bottles, the bottles get sent back to the company they came from, so they can be reused.) Then the bottles go on conveyor belts around the room to the different stations where they are dried, filled, capped, and labeled. Finally, they are loaded into cases and shipped out all over the world. After the tour, we had the afternoon off. A few of us headed to a market near Marienplatz where we bought the best fried dough/ doughnut thing I've ever had! Then Katie and I went to the top of St. Peter's Church (which has the best view of Munich) and took lots of pictures!

Friday was my favorite day so far. We took a train down to Mittenwald, a town in the Alps near the Austrian Border. We spent the day hiking up the Kranzberg. It was the most beautiful day possible. It was 70 degrees, even up in the mountains, and so sunny it hurt our eyes. There was still snow everywhere, so my childish wish to have snow in summer was fulfilled!

So I climbed a mountain. It wasn't the highest mountain around, as you can see by the higher peaks in the pictures, but it was an exhausting and rewarding climb. When we got to the top, the view was unparalleled. No picture can do it justice. There was also a restaurant at the top, where we filled our hungry bellies with Germknödel and Käsespätzle. As cheesy as this is, I´m going to look at that mountain as a metaphor. Because tomorrow I have to start climbing another mountain. Some parts of it will be level and easy to navigate, but other parts will be steep, and I might run out of water in my water bottle. But I will make it to the top, and it will all be worth it. And then maybe I'll have to climb down the mountain, or maybe there will be a cool chair lift to carry me down. Either way, I know that God is in control, and has my back!