Wunderbar!

Alright.  Michelle has been pushing me to write a post for a while and I, as usual, have been slacking.  It's not that I don't want to write on here.  I really enjoy getting my thoughts out of my head and on to the computer.  The trouble is I currently feel overloaded with thoughts.  I have no idea how to convey what it is I'm thinking when everyday I'm faced with many new experiences and challenges.  I have never been so excited and so uncomfortable at the same time. I hate awkwardness, yet every situation with a person at a store, in a restaurant, or on the street has the potential to be the most awkward thing ever.  Frankly, it's been exhausting.  But I am going to try and slow my thoughts down for a few moments to tell some of my insights to our first (almost) 3 weeks here.

First, I am sick of living in a hotel.  Over 1 month of hotel living has left me ready to have a home.  Which, the good news is, I think we found.  We'll include pictures whenever it officially becomes ours, but we are very excited at what God has seemingly blessed us with.  It's a townhome-esque flat in the heart of Wiesbaden, a few blocks from the train station and a few blocks from the market/pedestrian zone. We are hopefully moving in on Oct 15!

Michelle and I started german classes last week and are looking forward to increasing our ability to communicate with the locals, or at least to show them we are trying.  It's amazing how many Americans have been here for years without attempting to learn the language, aside from street signs.  We refuse to let the fact that a lot of Germans know some english to be a crutch. Every time I tell one of them "Ich spreche kein deutsch" I am reminded of how annoyed I would get whenever a person at a fast food restaurant didn't speak english, or when I call a 1800 number and am told to press 1 for english.  However, incidents like the old lady apparently asking me to watch her dog while she was shopping as she handed me his leash are hilarious stories, I want to at least be able to know how long she is going to be (which she may or may not have mentioned...)

With that said, we are starting to get outside of Wiesbaden to explore a bit.  Last weekend we visited Heidelburg for a night and then went on to Strasbourg, France.  Both towns were awesome examples of why Europe is so special.  It's crazy walking down streets that are hundreds of years old, if not more, and thinking about what kind of stuff had happened there.  See the huge churches in the city centers (stadtmitte) and thinking about how they were built.  The church in Strasbourg was perhaps the most imposing structure I have seen.  It's not the biggest church by far, but the way it towers over the narrow streets around it was breathtaking. At the same time I find it sad that such old cities that were built around churches and cathedrals are so devoid of God.

This is getting kind of long, so I'll wrap it up.  I am still not used to "casually" driving 80-85 on the autobahn and getting passed like I'm walking.  I love listening to german radio b/c I hear songs I haven't heard in so long and am instantly swept away to my high school days or, in some cases, elementary school. It's also funny to hear how much american culture rules the airwaves and almost any other type of media.  I like German rap music and I WILL learn some of the songs  because, honestly, rapping back Jay-Z, Kanye, and Eminem is getting old.  Check out the link for my new favorite german rapper Kool Savas. I am sorry if you speak German and something he says is offensive.  Finally, I am jamming on a drum box with our new friend Peter this saturday at a charity run in Mainz.  Hopefully, Michelle will be able to take some video!

Anyways...to whoever is reading this, Michelle and I probably miss you dearly! Thank you for your love and support through prayers, phone calls or emails!  We appreciate it all!