Ich kann es nicht aus den Augen lassen!

March 25/Friday was Good Friday, or a holiday for everyone. HP and the kids all stayed home. I slept in, worked on applications, and ate dinner with the family. I also booked my train ticket to go to Budapest in May. I am already beyond excited about that trip!! HD's mom got here that afternoon, and will be here the remainder of Easter weekend. This was my first time meeting her. She doesn't talk too much, but I like her well enough. I opted to stay home that night, as I had to work the next morning.

Saturday morning I had to work. I typically wake up about 20 minutes before I'm supposed to start working. In this time I put on some clothes and wash my face. One had different ideas for me that morning. He came into my room around 9:15am and said, "Hey, Farrah. It's time for breakfast. Get dressed." He stood there until I told him he could leave. The six of us had breakfast together. I played with the kids in One's room for a little bit, but then we all got dressed and left. I took the kids to a playground in the neighborhood. I rode there on the bike, with the kids in the wagon behind me. When we got back, I helped One ride his bike. He'd been having problems starting. I showed him a little technique and, boom! Off he went. He did it a few more times, and then we called to HD, who was doing yard work, to come see what One could do. Soon after the six of us again ate lunch together. I was on cleanup duty while HP put the kids down for naps. I then went upstairs and worked on application stuff. Once finished with that, I went for a run. It was a gorgeous day, near 50F and sunny. By the time I got home, the kids were awake. I was eating a snack in the kitchen when HP and the kids all went outside to ride bikes. I overheard One tell HM that he needed to show her what I had taught him. I couldn't help but smile. I showered and skyped with my mom. For dinner, we cooked some sausages over the fire in the yard. I left to go hang out with Meg later that evening. I had planned on hanging out with her for a bit while she worked, and then we would go do something. However, nothing was really going on and neither of us wanted to spend much money. I'm at her work often enough that I know a lot of the regulars there, as well as her boss. I typically stand/sit at or behind the bar, so some people even think I work there. I've been approached several times with an order or to answer a question about the bar. A couple people came in that we knew around the time Meg got off work, so we decided to stay and have a drink with them. I caught the train home at 2:08am, which was actually 3:08am because of the time change. I spent a good 20 minutes trying to figure out the fate of my train. Since at 2am the time changed to 3am, I was wondering if there was even going to be a 2:08am train or if it just wouldn't exist. I consulted both of my train apps and neither offered any hint as to what would happen. Finally, via a third app and with the help of a German, I figured it out. I made it home at 3:30am (with the new time).

Sunday was Easter! It was a fairly boring day for me. I had Easter lunch with the family, skyped with my family, worked more on applications, and went for a run.

Italy and Slovenia in Photos

Somewhere in Austria : my train ride down

Venice, Italy : the train station is on the right

Venice, Italy

Venice, Italy

Venice, Italy : Elena, me

Venice, Italy : Saint Mark's Basilica 

Venice, Italy

Venice, Italy : Elena, me

Slovenia : Park Škocjanske jame 

Slovenia : Park Škocjanske jame : me, Elena, Stefan 

Ljubjlana, Slovenia

Ljubjlana, Slovenia

Lake Barcis : Barcis, Italy

Ich halte es nicht aus!

March 22/Tuesday was a fairly calm day. I woke up in the morning to work, but HM told me to go back to sleep. She still wasn't back at work after her operation and was going to get the kids up and ready by herself. HD had left early that morning for a work trip. I gladly did as she said. I slept another few hours, woke up, and went for a run. It felt fantastic to get back out there, though it wasn't as smooth as I'd hoped it be. I took care of some odds and ends once back at home. I eventually showered and ate lunch. I had to go pick up the boys from school in the late afternoon. They were both excited to see me. It was the first time I'd seen them since I left Thursday morning for my long weekend trip. One ran over to see me and hugged me. Two smiled and held up his arms for me to pick him up. When I have to go pick up the boys, it's harder for me to do stuff during the day. I have to leave the house at approximately 3:40pm to get them before 4:15pm. If I were to go for a run and then go into the city and then go pick them up, I'd never have enough time. That's why I typically don't go into town on days that I have to get them. It's a little boring, yes, but I'd rather be relaxed than stress and feel like I didn't have any time to myself during the day. I brought the boys home. The evening was as usual. The four of us ate dinner together. HM and I got the kids ready for bed and I put One to sleep while she dealt with Two. When HM is around, One isn't as easy to handle. I'm not sure what it is. If it's just HD and I and I'm trying to get One to sleep, it's no problem. If HM is around, One suddenly can't sleep until HM is there. HM usually puts Two to sleep and then comes in while One is still awake and relieves me of my duties. This night One insisted that he "couldn't bear it" that I was there and she wasn't. She assured him that she'd be back as soon as Two was asleep. One was asleep before she came back. I spent the rest of my evening looking up jobs for when I finish this year. I started my search with Adidas, which has a huge facility in Herzogenaurach, a town northeast of Nürnberg. I found a few things I like, and I've begun the application process.

Wednesday morning I worked an hour, slept a little longer, then got up and went for a run. I came home and did a number of chores, then showered and got ready. HM and I left the house at 3:30pm. We drove to her office and I dropped her off. She had to leave that evening from work for a business trip. I left her and went to pick up the kids at school. I brought them home and was then alone with them all evening. We played, ate dinner, got ready for bed, and then I put them to sleep. HD got home from his business trip about an hour after the kids went down. When he got home, I talked to him a little about my job search. He gave me some advice and said him and HM would be glad to help me and give me more advice throughout the process. I spent the rest of the evening working on applications and updating my resume.

Thursday was a long day. I worked an hour in the morning and then went back to sleep for an hour. One I was up, the race began. I showered, ate, and headed into town. I first went to buy a blazer. I then went to a photography studio to get a professional headshot taken. For most job applications in Germany, they require you to include a headshot wearing business attire. Obviously I've never had one of these taken, as we don't include pictures in applications in the US. The whole process took maybe 20 minutes. I went home, stopping at Ebl on the way. I did some chores around the house and continued to work on job application stuff. I eventually left to pick up the kids from school. I brought them home and we hung out until HD got home. The four of us ate dinner together and then we got the kids ready for bed. Once I was done working, I headed back into town. I went to Molly Malone's to see Meg while she was working. I stayed there for a few hours. I came home around midnight, and promptly tucked myself into bed.

Überall und nirgendwo

March 17/Thursday was my day of travel. I left in the morning for my visit with Elena and Stefan in Italy. I took my train to the Hauptbahnhof, then caught an ICE train to Munich. In Munich, I transferred trains and caught a regional train down to Venice. This train separated at some point and the other half went to Budapest. I was paranoid that I would end up on the wrong half, though I can't say I would have minded a detour in Budapest. I got an entire cabin to myself for most of the six and a half hour trip. For about two hours I shared the cabin with a young man from Austria. Austrians also speak German, but with an incredibly different accent. He made a few phone calls, during which I took the liberty to try and understand what he was saying. I think I only understood about 50% of what he said, mostly due to his accent. Anyways, Elena and Stefan live in San Quirino, which is about an hour north of Venice. In Venice I transferred trains again and got on a local train, which I rode an hour to Sacile, the train stop closest to Elena and Stefan. I arrived there just after 7pm, approximately 10 hours after my train left Nürnberg. My trip was overall quite uneventful. None of my trains were delayed and I even took a nap. The ride was also incredibly beautiful. The train went through the mountains in Austria and Italy. We went through the very mountains where we went skiing in January, to be exact. I was blown away by the views and kept my eyes glued to the window for much of the trip. Elena and Stefan met me at the train station in Sacile. We went straight to dinner. After dinner, we met up with a few of their friends at a bar. The six of us celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a few drinks. We made it back to their apartment just before midnight. 

Friday was eventful. We woke up late, ate breakfast and showered, and then headed to the base to get me a weekend pass. Stefan is in the Air Force and works on base. Stefan had to work that day, so he didn't join us for the day. Elena and I then went to the train station, where we caught a train into Venice. The first order of business there was lunch, as it was 3pm and we hadn't eaten lunch yet. We wandered around until we found a cute, little, reasonably-priced restaurant. After lunch we walked to San Marco Square to see St Mark's Basilica. The basilica was absolutely incredible. The ceiling was an amazingly detailed mosaic. We then walked down along the coastline. We kind of meandered around until it was time to go back. I, of course, had to go pee. We probably spent 30 minutes trying to find the public restrooms. As we were searching, we walked past a couple of men on their gondolas, looking for clients. One of them saw Elena and I and shouted, "Hey, free! Free!" His coworker tried to stop him, but he insisted. Elena and I laughed, but kept walking. The public restroom cost 1,50€. The machine gave no change, which I did not discover until after I put in a 2€ coin. Highway robbery, if you ask me. Venice wasn't quite what I was expecting. It was beautiful and charming, yes, but somehow less glamorous than I expected. The charm of the city was less romantic and more rustic. Don't get my wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed the day there, it just wasn't quite what I had pictured. I don't mean that in a bad way, it's merely an observation. We caught the train home, which was packed with teenagers. Upon hearing our English, an Italian girl sitting across from us asked us where we were from. We stopped at base on the ride home to pick up some groceries and to bring Stefan some food at work. We arrived home around 8:30pm. 

Saturday was perhaps my favorite day of the trip. We drove east into Slovenia to Park Škocjanske jame, where the Škocjan Caves Park is located. We took a guided tour of the caves, lasting two hours. The caves themselves were astonishing. This was the second cave system I've been in, and it was even more incredible than I thought it would be. The tour was only two miles of walking, yet that included about 500 steps. We finished the tour and drove further east to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Slovenia is a small country of only two million people. The capital definitely reflected this. The feel of the city was much more relaxed than any other capital city I've been to. We walked around a little before we went to Pop's, a gourmet burger place Stefan and Elena had been wanting to try. The food was exceptional. We walked around even more after dinner, popping in and out of some shops. We stumbled upon a march for refugees. They were chanting, "Say it loud and say it clear, refugees are welcome here!" We headed home around 6:30pm and got home just before 9pm. 

Sunday was much more relaxed than the previous two days. We all slept in. We eventually drove out to Barcis, a beautiful town/lake about 30 minutes away from San Quirino. It was almost shocking how bright blue the color of the lake was. We walked around the perimeter of the lake for a little while, and then walked back to the car through the town. On the way home we stopped at the grocery store. We hung out at home for a few hours before we went out for dinner at one of their favorite restaurants. We went home after dinner and hung out until bedtime. 

Monday was the day I headed back to Germany. I got up, showered, ate, and finished packing up. Elena dropped me off at the train station in Sacile. I took the train to Venice, where I changed trains. I got on a regional train from Venice to Munich. I again sat in a cabin instead of with the general public. This time I had several cabin mates throughout my journey, though I didn't make friends with any of them. I changed trains again in Munich, and then once more in Ingolstadt. I made it back to the Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof at 11:30pm and had to wait for my local train back home. I finally walked through the door at 12:15am. I was happy to be home. 

Pictures to come!

Es dauert eine ganze Ewigkeit!

March 14/Monday was entirely too busy. HP left the kids in my care at 6am, as HD had to drop HM off at the hospital. HM was having a small operation that morning. They left the baby monitor with me. HD came back around 7am, and so the day truly began. I helped HD and the kids get up and out the door. I then jumped in the shower myself and left for my German class. My train to Erlangen was delayed 20 minutes. I have no idea what happened, it was something to do with broken train signals. We sat on the tracks five minutes away from Erlangen for 20 minutes. I got to my German class 15 minutes after it had began, though I could tell that I hadn't missed anything important. Class itself was about the same as usual - a little informative, but mostly boring. I made my way back to Nürnberg when class was over. I stopped at a few stores on my way home. As I was waiting at the bus stop, M pulled up beside me and told me to get in the car with her. I went home with her and had lunch with her and L. I hadn't seen her in probably a good month, and it was nice to catch up. I'll definitely have to start seeing her again on a regular basis. After lunch, I went home, did some chores, and spent a little time relaxing. HD got home with the boys at the normal time. We spent an hour outside as One continued to learn how to ride a bike. He can't start on his own yet, but once he gets going, he's fine. HD mostly ran up and down the street with One while I followed Two around on his scooter. HD left with One for swim class once we finished outside. Two and I spent the evening hanging out and waiting for HD and One to get home. Once they got home, HD relieved me of my duties for the evening. I left shortly thereafter to meet up with Meg at Molly's. Ina, Johnny, and Fiona were supposed to go too, but only Ina ended up showing up. I stayed with Meg until she got off work, and then we went over to Ina's where Fiona and Johnny were hanging out with her. I stayed until the wee hours of the morning.

Tuesday was a bit of a wash of a day. I came home from Ina's around 6:30am, worked an hour, and then went back to sleep until 2pm. I got up, showered, ate, and then left to pick up the boys from school. I was only home with them for an hour until HD came and took them to go see HM at the hospital. I did some chores while I waited for them to get back. Once they got back, it was business as usual. We all ate dinner together and then we took the boys upstairs to get ready for bed. As usual, I helped HD get them ready and then I was done working. I left for Finnegan's where Johnny was working and Meg was hanging out. Meg was sitting with a couple of other Irish people she knows, who had brought along a couple of Germans. Ina also showed up for a bit. It was a fairly random collection of people, yet somehow it worked. I didn't stay long, only about two hours, before I went home. 

Wednesday was incredibly busy. I helped HD get the kids up and off to school in the morning. Since I knew how long my day would be, I opted to skip my German class. I slept another two hours. I forced myself out of bed, showered, ate, and then jumped on my bike. I rode to the bank, DM, and Ebl. It was a gorgeous day outside, in the mid 40s and not a cloud in the sky.  When I pulled up to the bank, my bike was acting funny and it felt like my chain had fallen off. I proceeded to flip my bike upside down to take a better look. A man happened to be coming out of the bank as I did this. HD kindly came over to help me. We spent a couple minutes looking at the bike only to realize that nothing was wrong with it. I grew up riding a bike with only one speed, so riding a bike which requires changing speeds still throws me for a loop. Anyways, I went and picked the boys up from school for the second day in a row. One was so happy to see me that he ran over grabbed onto my leg. Two always appears happy to see me when I pick him up; he always walks over to me with his arms out and a smile on his face. It really is true, they really seem to like me now. One asked if we could go to the bakery (HM often takes them for a sweet on their way home). I typically say no when he asks for several reasons (1) the bakery near their school is in a weird place and parking is difficult, 2) the boys typically aren't on their best behavior and I get embarrassed, and 3) I don't want to pump them full of sugar), but this time I didn't protest. I told him we would go home and walk to the bakery in our neighborhood since it was such a nice day outside. We drove home, grabbed a stroller, and walked to the bakery. We ate a sweet there and then walked back home. I made the boys walk home to burn off some energy. Two made it about half way home before he was too tired. One made it about two-thirds of the way before he laid down on the ground and said he simply couldn't walk anymore. There's a little standing section on the back of the stroller so one kid can sit and one can stand. Once home, we played until HD came home. The four of us ate dinner together and then got the kids ready for bed. I finished work when they were ready for bed. Meg had invited me out for a drink with her, but I unfortunately had to stay home. I had to finish my laundry, take care of a few odds and ends, skype with my mom, and pack for my trip to Italy. 

As I write this now I'm sitting on a train on the wait to Italy. One of my good friends from university, Elena, lives in Aviano with her husband. I'm going down to spend a long weekend with them. Pictures to come! 

Du bist immer wieder weg!

March 11/Friday morning I got home just after 5am. I slept a couple of hours until I had to work. I worked my usual morning hour and everyone was out the door on time. I immediately went back to sleep and snoozed until 2:30pm. I got up, got dressed, and rode my bike over to the post office. I'd been meaning to mail some post cards for almost two weeks. I knew that if I didn't get it done on Friday, it wouldn't happen until Monday at the earliest. Once back from the post office, I had to do my normal Friday chores (vacuum the downstairs and do the kids laundry). By the time I was finished, I only had about an hour until HM and the kids got home. HM dropped the kids off with me and then left to go grocery shopping. She was only gone for about an hour and arrived home just before HD. We all had dinner together before HM left again for her dance class. I helped HD get the kids ready for bed and then had the evening off. I considered going out with friends that night, but I opted to stay in since I was supposed to work the next morning at 10am. I was tucked into bed and asleep at an early and reasonable hour.

Saturday morning I was awake and ready to work at 10am. When I went downstairs, HM gave me an awkward smile and told me that they didn't actually need me to work anymore, as they were all going shoe shopping for the boys. About five minutes later, HM realized she had forgotten about her 10am haircut appointment that morning. She quickly rushed out the door and left the kids in my care. HD was out picking up some fresh soft pretzel sandwiches (soft pretzels are a regional specialty) for breakfast and I was to watch the kids until he got back. The four of us ate breakfast together. I ended up working until the three of them left to go shoe shopping, helping HD get the kids ready and out the door. I did a couple of chores once they had left since I had the time and the energy. I relaxed around the house for a bit before I took a shower, ate lunch, and left the house for town. In town I met up with Adam, Simon, and Cynthia, a friend of Adam's. The four of us went to a little street food market in one of the big city parks. Afterwards we walked around town, stopped for a cup of coffee, and then went to Molly Malone's. We hung out there for a couple of hours until the three of them left. I stayed to hang out with Meg, who was working. I stayed at Molly's with Meg for the rest of the night. We had planned on going out to meet up with other people, but nothing came to fruition. I couldn't catch a train home, so I went back to Meg's with her and slept for a few hours until the trains were running.

Sunday morning I came home around 10am. I immediately jumped into bed and slept another hour or so. I eventually had to get up and get ready, as Adam was making his way into the city to hang out with me. We met at the Hauptbahnhof and then started walking around the city. We both commented on how there were an usually large number of people out and about for a Sunday. Most shops are closed on Sunday, with the exception of restaurants. Since most places are closed, there's not really much reason for people to be walking around the city center. Once we were on the streets, we noticed that all of the shops were indeed open. I did a little asking around and discovered that about twice a year, Germany allows the shops to open on Sunday. This was one of those days. There was also a little market in the Hauptmarkt. Adam and I spent the better part of four hours walking around the city, popping into a couple shops, walking through the market, and exploring. I was still exhausted, but I enjoyed myself. We parted ways around 6pm. I came home, ate dinner with the family, and then went to bed. I was asleep by 10:30pm. 

Farrah ist die andere Mama!

March 7/Monday was a bit of a wash of a day. I needed the time to be lazy and catch up on some sleep since I had been so busy Wednesday through Sunday. I worked an hour in the morning. I originally intended on going to my German class that morning, but I decided I needed to sleep instead. I went back to sleep once everyone was gone and slept another three hours. Once I was finally awake, I considered going to the grocery store to get something I needed. In the end, I was too lazy to leave the house. I spent the afternoon on the couch waiting to start working. HM got home with the kids and I worked from 5-8pm. She left with One for his swim class, so Two and I hung out and had dinner while we waited for them to get back. Once finished with work, I spent the evening relaxing and doing a few odds and ends around the house.

Tuesday was more active. I worked an hour in the morning, slept another two hours, and then got up and started my day. I went to Rewe and DM to pick up some things we needed, then headed downtown to meet up with Simon. Him and I grabbed lunch at a Chinese restaurant and then walked around downtown, popping in and out of a few shops. I headed home in the late afternoon, stopping at Ebl for some bread on the way. I worked from 5pm until nearly 10pm. HM went to her dance class in the evening and left me to put the kids to bed. I hadn't put both kids to bed on my own in a few weeks, and I had lost my touch with it. I kept having to go through my mental check list of the pre-bedtime activities. They both fell asleep easier than anticipated. I spent the rest of my evening cooking and doing homework.

Wednesday was exhausting yet good. I worked an hour in the morning and then went to my German class in Erlangen. Class itself was as usual, which tends to be a little on the boring side. It's two straight hours and I typically have trouble sitting through the whole thing without needing to use the restroom or get up and walk around to stay awake. I went back to Nürnberg immediately after class. I spent an hour walking around town and picking up a few things I needed. I also stopped at Ebl on the way home. After I was finally home and had eaten lunch, I did my chores for the day. I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing before HM and the kids got home. HM dropped One off with me and then left immediately for swim class with Two. One and I hung out together until HM and Two got back. While I was playing with the kids, Two decided to bite me. This wasn't the first time he's bitten me, though it was certainly the hardest. He nearly broke skin and left quite a nice bruise. I helped HM get the kids ready for bed and then put One to sleep while she was with Two. When I was finished working, I caught a train into the city. I met Meg at Molly Malone's and we then went to see Johnny at Finnegan's. Meg and I only stayed long enough to say hello. We left and went to a couple of bars while we waited for Johnny to get off work. He met us at The Bar With No Name and we had a drink before we went to another bar called Downtown. Around 3:30am we all went back to Meg and Johnny's.

Thursday was a day of rest. I made my way home from Meg and Johnny's for work in the morning. I worked an hour and got everyone out the door. I immediately went to bed, as I hadn't yet been to sleep that night. I woke up around 3:30pm, leaving just enough time to eat something and do a couple of chores before everyone got home. HM and the boys got home a little later than normal, and HD got home a little earlier than normal. HD had been out of town on business Monday through Wednesday, and Thursday night was the first time I'd seen him since Monday morning. The five of us ate dinner together before HM left for her dance class. During dinner, One was sitting on HM's lap. He started talking about how I am "the other Mama." I wasn't sure what to make of this, but I'll take it as a good sign. I felt a little awkward while he was talking about it. He was sitting in HM's lap while the conversation took place and I didn't want her feelings to get hurt. I helped HD get the kids ready for bed, and then I was off for the evening. I went into the city and met Meg at Molly Malone's. We had a drink there before we left to meet Ina, Fiona, and Johnny at Finnegan's. We waited for Johnny to get off work and then the five of us went to the Dubliner. We hung out at the Dubliner for an hour or so until we all parted ways. Meg and I went to Nano, where one of our friends was djing. We didn't stay too long, as we left to meet up with Johnny at Mitte. Again, we didn't stay here too long either. We went back to the Dubliner again, though our visit that time was even shorter. There wasn't much exciting happening at any of the places we went, hence all the moving around. I caught the first train back home in the morning, getting home just after 5am.

Jetzt haben wir den Salat!

March 4/Friday was incredibly busy. As stated in my last post, I was still out with friends as of 5am. In fact, I didn't make my way home until 6:30am, arriving home just before 7am. I worked form 7-8am to get everyone up and out the door. When they were all gone, I headed back into town as my friends were still together at Ina's. I stayed at Ina's until the early afternoon. I made my way home again at 2pm so I could do my chores and sleep. I had to work again for a couple of hours that evening. HM wanted to go to the grocery store and left the kids at home with me. When I was finished working, I took a shower, ate, and then went back into town. I met up with Meg and Ina at Molly Malone's. We hung out there for a few hours before we headed to Rakete, one of the biggest clubs, if not the biggest club, in Nürnberg. I had never been before, but I had heard good things about it. We decided to walk there from Molly Malone's. The walk ended up taking about an hour, as we walked a very indirect route. The club is in the south of the city in an industrial area, which is how they are permitted to play the music so loud. Anyways, while we were walking, the same car passed us a few times. The first time, it just drove past. The second time, the driver tried to talk to us, but we ignored him. The last time, he pulled his car up onto the sidewalk to block our path. At that point, Ina flipped him off and he got rude with us. We walked even faster. I'm not sure what pleasantries he was expecting from us after blocking our way, but he finally left us alone. Rakete was an experience in itself. It was a multi-level club complete with a huge patio out back. The music was deafeningly loud and sometimes between the lights and the fog, you couldn't see anyone or anything around you. The DJ was good and we spent a couple of hours dancing. We headed back to Ina's when it closed, though this time we opted to take a taxi.

Saturday morning I was still at Ina's with Meg. I ended up falling asleep and didn't wake up again until around 1pm. At that point, I headed home. I spend the rest of the afternoon and early evening in my bed relaxing and catching up on my favorite tv shows. I eventually showered and went to Molly Malone's when Meg got off work. We hung out there for a bit until we headed over to Ina's. One of Ina's friends, Björn, showed up and the four of us hung out for a few hours. Meg and I eventually left and went to the Shamrock to meet up with Johnny to watch the big UFC fight. The fight was supposed to start around 5am but didn't actually come on until nearly 7am. The bar was full of mainly Irish people, with a few randoms sprinkled in. I hadn't intended on staying out so late since I was exhausted (I was averaging about 4 hours of sleep per night over the weekend, if that much), but there was no real rush to get home.

Sunday I didn't get home until about 8:15am. I quickly changed into my pajamas and got in bed as soon as I could. I slept until 1:30pm, got up, showered, and made my way out to Ansbach. I met up with Eddie, Adam, and Eve at a restaurant and sat there until they finished eating. We went back to The 11 and hung out for a little bit. Adam and I then left and went on base. I had been wanting to grab a few things from the Commissary. We also intended on going bowling, but the bowling alley was closed for an unknown reason. I decided to head home early. I got home just after 8pm. I spent half an hour skying with my parents. I then did some homework and went to bed. I was asleep before 10:30pm, possibly a new record for me.

Kommen die Dinosaurier wieder?

February 29/Monday I worked an hour in the morning, got ready, and left for my German class. HM left that day for a work trip, so she parked her car on the street in Erlangen for me. I had to walk to the car after class and drive it home so that I could go pick the kids up from school later. The walk was a good 20 minutes across town and it was absolutely freezing. On the way home, I stopped at the grocery store. HP didn't have time to do the shopping over the weekend. The duty fell to me. I then ran some other errands, such as going to the bank and to Ebl for some fresh bread. In the late afternoon, I went to pick the kids up from school. HD got home around 6pm and left immediately with One for swim class. Two and I hung out the rest of the evening until HD and One got home. Around 8pm I was finally off work. I took the train into town and went to Molly Malone's to hang out with Meg while she was working. Once she was off, the two of us went to another bar in town for a drink. I finally went home just before 2am.

Tuesday I also worked an hour in the morning and then went back to sleep for a few hours. In the afternoon I went to Ebl for some bread. I cooked my meal for the week, did some chores, and relaxed. I again had to pick up the kids from school. We spent the evening playing. When HD got home, we all had dinner together. I was off work around 8pm again, though I opted to stay at home for the evening and relax.

Wednesday was more or less the same as Monday. I worked an hour in the morning, got ready, and headed to my German class. I came home, had lunch, and relaxed until I had to go get the kids. I picked the kids up from school, brought them home, and worked until about 8pm. I then got ready and headed into the city. I met up with Meg, Johnny, and another John (I've met about five John's so far, this one was English) and we went to Cobra, the bar where Ina works. We spent a few hours hanging out there. I didn't want to be out too late, so I made my way home just after midnight. The train situation here isn't ideal for me. Since I live on the edge of town, it's not possible for me to walk home whenever I want. A taxi home costs 20€, which is entirely too expensive. So, I'm dependent on the trains. The trains don't run between 1:30-4:30am. I have to either go home early, or stay out really late. On weekdays, I prefer the former.

Thursday was essentially the beginning of my weekend. I worked an hour in the morning, which ended up being pretty entertaining. For whatever reason, One started talking about death and what happens when we die. HM told him that when we die, we go up and sit on the clouds with our previously deceased loved ones and watch our loved ones still on earth. One did not like this at all, and started crying. He said that he didn't want to die, he wanted to stay here. He kind of went quiet for a minute and then he asked, "Are the dinosaurs coming back too?" I couldn't help it anymore and I started laughing. The mind of a child works in mysterious ways. I went back to sleep once everyone was gone. In the afternoon I headed to the Ordnungsamt to pick up my German drivers license. A few weeks ago I turned in the paperwork to get one, and I just had to wait for the actual card to be finished. I waited an hour in the office. Once my number was called, I was finished in about three minutes. I was frustrated with the process but glad to finally have my drivers license. On the way home I stopped at Ebl for some fresh bread. I worked a few hours in the evening. When finished, I got ready and headed into town. I went to Molly Malone's where Meg was working and where Ina was waiting for me. We hung out until Meg was off work. The three of us then went to Finnegan's, where Johnny works, to meet up with him. Finnegan's was packed, so Johnny told us to go along and he'd catch up later. However, a friend of his was supposed to come out with us and had been waiting for Johnny to finish working. Since Johnny didn't know how long it'd be, he told his friend to come with us. His friend was another guy named John from Ireland. The four of us went to Mitte, a "sound bar" who had an awesome DJ playing. Eventually Johnny showed up. We all danced the night away. When the bar closed at 5am, the five of us went back to Ina's to hang out.

6 Months? Could it be?!

On March 1, I reached the halfway mark of my time in Nürnberg as an au pair. Wow! Unbelievable. In some ways it feels like I've already been here a whole year. I've established a life for myself here, and it's not been an easy task. These past six months went by so fast, but so much has happened. One of my intentions when I decided to be an au pair was to take this time to figure out my next step. I have never had a burning desire to do any one thing with my life once I graduated college... And I'm still contemplating my options. I've already spent so much time thinking about what I want to do, and suddenly six months went by! I'm not any closer to knowing, either. What's the saying? Life happens when you're busy making plans.

Anyways, life here definitely has a lot of pros and cons. There are certainly more that those listed below, but these are the more important ones.

Pros:
- I have a lot of free time - typically I only work 30 hours per week.
- All my bills are paid for, I just have to pay for activities outside of the house.
- I have a built in support system (aka my host parents) for questions and problems, especially navigating the German bureaucracy system.
- My German gets better every single day. I can now confidently say that it's fantastic!
- I really do love the lifestyle here. Everyone is so active and the food is generally much healthier. There's so much history at every turn in the city and there's always somewhere beautiful to appreciate.
- I like living in a "big" city. Though Nürnberg is only Germany's 14th largest city with a population of approximately 500,000, it's still the biggest city I've lived in. I love using the public transportation or riding my bike places instead of having to drive everywhere.
- Speaking of driving, I am now excellent at driving a stick shift and feel incredibly comfortable doing so.

Cons:
- My free time hours are opposite of a lot of my friends, which often means I can still only see them on weekends or random evening during the week when I have off.
- My paycheck is very small. If I want to eat out, or go out drinking with friends, or buy a new shirt, I have to pay. This stuff can add up quick, especially when I travel.
- My home life and work life are the same. If I had a bad day at work, if the kids were being especially difficult or if my host parents irritated me, I can't just go home and escape it. I can escape to my room, sure, but often the kids or HP will knock on the door for something or another. Essentially, I always have to be on my best behavior when I'm inside these four walls, and that in itself is exhausting.
- For the previously mentioned reason, it's hard to meet people and make friends. If all I did in one day was work and hang out at home, there would be no reason for me to leave the house. This is not conducive to meeting people.

At any rate, I've started to miss home. It's taken six whole months for me to be able to say that I actually miss the US. When I first got here, I was so happy to be back in Germany. All the things that I'd missed about it, I had access to again. Their novelty was fresh again. In the beginning, I missed people, sure. Soon I made friends and established the connection to my host family, and I started missing people less and less. But now I've been here long enough that the novelty of these people has also worn off, and I've started to miss my friends and family again. I've been missing a lot of big events - birthdays, weddings, vacations, etc - and that has made me miss home even more. I feel like I'm missing out on the lives of the people who matter most to me. I suppose that's the price I pay for living so far away from them. Most recently, I've been missing the food. I really miss my parents home cooking. If you've ever eaten at my house, you know that Dotty and Bob both know their way around the kitchen. I also miss American restaurants. Not in a general sense, but specific establishments with specific food. Sometimes I miss Moe's, or the bbq place with the amazing pie whose name I can't remember, or basically any Mexican restaurants just for their cheese dip. At any rate, I miss home. I wonder if this is going to be a lasting feeling or if this will be fleeting too.

I'm very excited to see what these next six months have in store. Soon I'll start looking for a job once this year is up. I definitely want to stay in Germany, and I'm fairly certain that I want to stay in Nürnberg. I also am going to look into getting my masters at the university here. As you can see, I have a lot of research to do.

Here's to the next six months!