Nine Months in Germany: Time, Slow Down!

Heidelberg in the mist

They say as you get older, life goes faster. Well, can't it slow down?

Autumn has been good to us here in Germany. We've had two sets of visitors from home and are welcoming more tomorrow. Derek and I have had the opportunity to travel, meet with friends and just relax. Yesterday was the last day of my "internship" in Heppenheim. On and off since March, I have been able to "help out" around the study abroad office and aid in editing, blog writing, project coordination, etc. I plan to write a separate post detailing my time at DFSR, but I can at least say that it's been a great experience, and something I had never expected but certainly hoped for during my time here in Germany.

The farewell party at DFSR tonight for 75 Americans. Yes, those are Bavarian felt hats.

Derek's Grandpa and sister come tomorrow for ten days and then I'll have about a month before Derek's brother comes in December. I started regretting my decision to leave my internship as I walked home yesterday, but I will take that month to apply for jobs and apartment search, while also taking some day trips by myself. I don't want to spend so much time planning for our return while still living and exploring Germany, but it will make our lives easier in January.

Derek and I went with friends on a wine walk in early October.

I've joined a dance school for Zumba classes with my close friend Nadine. They offer the classes every day except Sundays, and we have dedicated Monday and Thursday evenings to attempt the salsa and butt-shaking dances. The thing I love about zumba is that you can dance like no one's watching, and it's a good workout! I've also started knitting. Yep, that's right. Any requests? Send them my way. I have a "Knitting for Dummies" book on the iPad and so far, I've only been able to "cast on" to the needle. I'm struggling with the actual stitch. Perhaps next time I'll have a better update!

Last weekend, Derek and I visited Mannheim for a date night of the new James Bond film, Skyfall, and a pizza at Pizza Hut. Talk about something I would never do in America. On Sunday, we visited DFSR for a welcome dinner for 75 Americans visiting Heppenheim, and then had a nice dinner at Eva and Philip's. Oh, and we also picked up two movies and a season of Prison Break. Derek and I sometimes struggle with German-only TV.

On Monday I visited Heidelberg with Nadine and the 75 Americans. It was a wonderful afternoon. Nadine and I gave everyone the meeting time, dropped many off at the walkway to the castle, then the train up to the castle, and then the bank. We had a nice lunch, shopped a bit, and then tried a brew at a local brewery. We managed to get everyone back on the buses and then headed back to Heppenheim! I realized my German is still nicht so gut when I tried asking the bus driver to turn up the heat. I'm getting good at charades I guess.

Create your own caption.

Simba is doing well. He gets very moody when he's begging for food, which is very often. He tried cauliflower this past week and decided that he likes vegetables. This morning he tried some oatmeal. He really wanted to help me bake cookies this afternoon but got booted from the kitchen.

"Why do they do this to me?"

Give me more cauliflower! 

"What? They're just flowers!" (beautiful bouquet for my last day at DFSR)

So, what's up next?

Well, we will be spending the weekend in Oberstenfeld with our German family and taking a tour of Stuttgart on Sunday. I am planning a Thanksgiving dinner for the end of November and then the Christmas markets start! While Adam (Derek's brother) is visiting, we're road-tripping up north to the port city of Hamburg and then over to Berlin. We'll spend Christmas in Oberstenfeld and plan to visit Spain in January. If we had more time, I would love to visit Croatia, Scandinavia, and Greece. We'll save those for next time, I suppose!