Starbucks trip & Shopping trip

I was a witness to someone's first Starbucks experience. Yes, it's true. Until two weeks ago, Eunji had never consumed a hot, overpriced but delicious beverage from the coffee chain we all love to hate. So in order to remedy this, we took a trip to the nearest Starbucks, just 25 minutes away in Basel, Switzerland.


Eunji, me and Krystal.


Although the visit ended with a stomache ache induced by her first starbucks beverage...the trip was an overall success.

Shopping

Grocery shopping is a bit different here in Germany. It's not common at all to have a one-stop-shop Super Wal-Mart, so we typically go to three, sometimes four, stores in one day to get everything we need for the dorm. I am lucky because my dorm is located in Kandern where the three major grocery stores are, whereas other dorms have to drive up to 20 minutes to the nearest store! On Monday's the dorm parents go shopping to stock up on food to last until thursday. And then on thursday the RA's buy everything we need to last through the weekend until Monday. So this past thursday I took a few pictures of our weekly shopping trip.

We stop at Lidl first and we easily fill two grocery carts. All the dorms have a running milk order with Lidl, meaning that we tell them how much milk we're going to buy from them each week and they will stock their store for that amount in addition to what they order per week for the rest of the town (Kandern). If we didn't do this, then all the dorms would buy all of their milk and Lidl (and Kandern)would not be happy with us! My dorm orders 20-30 liters of milk per week, but the guys' dorms order at least 50-60 liters!!! That's a lot of milk!

This is our van, stacked full of empty crates. By then end of the morning, these crates will all be full and overflowing into the back seats of the van.

This is Hieber's. Hieber's is a bit more expensive and nicer than the other grocery stores. They carry specialty items like Oreo's and Ritz crackers! The other day I saw a box of "American style" cereal that was priced at 5 euros...that's like $8! So we only buy a few things here every week.


Penny Markt is probably the cheapest grocery store in town and it is our final stop.

Sometimes it's hard to control the grocery carts!

Once we get back to the dorm, its takes a while to unload everything and organize it inside. We have one large walk-in refridgerator, as well as a walk-in freezer and large pantry. This picture is of me in the refridgerator.

It always amazes me that in just a few days, all of this food "magically" disappears!

Everybody's workin' for the weekend...

Usually the weekend is a time to catch up on sleep and spend time with friends. Well, weekends for an RA run a bit differently than the average person. On a normal weekday, our time off is in the afternoon when the girls are at school. But on the weekend, they are at home and so the down time is minimal. Some weekends are filled with constant activity, and others may not be; but regardless of this, in the past year weekends for me have shifted from being a time of rest to the most tiring time of the week.

We always have a brunch on Saturday morning, and after this I supervise the girls as they do their various chores around the dorm and clean their room for our weekly room inspections. The rest of the day is usually free time for them, so sometimes we take the girls shopping in a nearby town, or we just hang around the dorm.

This weekend started off a little bit crazy because on Friday afternoon I got a call from the school saying that I needed to come pick up Hannah from volleyball practice and take her to the hospital! Everything turned out alright and she only ended up with a temporary cast on her hand. She was in a lot of pain as we were driving there and she was explaining her fear of hospials and needles. I knew that she would need some sort of motivation to make it and right then we passed the golden arhces of...McDonald's!!! So I said, "How about we stop at McDonald's on the way home?" That was just the ticket--her face brightened and anytime she was in pain or scared after that we just chanted "McDonalds, McDonalds, McDonalds, McDonalds."

I've found that I am doing much less "entertaining" on the weekends this year because of the guys dorm being upstairs. Now they just all entertain themselves and it's easy for them because in our backyard we have a sand volleyball court! This past weekend we had a mini volleyball tournament--it was a lot of fun!

We had about 20 guys and girls come out and play (all from Palmgarten & Maugenhard).

This is me with my team--I think our team name was Nacho Cheese...I still don't really know why.

This is a picture of me hitting the ball right into the net--I was kind of the weakest link.

This is Andrew, Hadad, and Kjersti taking a break between games.

Me and Krista took charge of the music for a while: we changed it from annoying rap music to "Jesus, Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood...we weren't allowed to be the DJ's anymore after that.

We didn't have an official winner of the tournament, but it was fun to all play and laugh together. One other thing happened this weekend and although it was a small instance, it is just so typical of the many random situations that I find myself in:

On Saturday, Julia came and asked for some super glue to fix the sole of her shoe. A little while later I was in my room and there was a frantic knock on my door and I heard someone say "Lizzzzzzy!!!!!!" I opened my door and this is what I saw:

This is Julia...

She glued her fingers together.

With some hot water and a little bit of time she was just fine; but I must confess that when I opened my door and saw her, I just turned around and laughed! ...And then I took her picture!! Oh, the joys of dorm life!

the beginning of year #2

These first few weeks have been an interesting mixture of rest time, fun time, and work time. I arrived back in Germany on July 31, had a day of rest and then new staff orientation started, which I am a part of because returning RA's help train the new RA's. Incorporated into these 2 weeks of orientation are countless meetings with all the the Residence Life staff to discuss topics like dorm issues and the upcoming year in general. Then this past week has been a time of preparation for our dorm, and we have had a lot of work to do!

As most of you know, there has been major construction going on for the past year with the end goal being: add a 4th floor to our [previously] 3 floor building so that one of the guys dorms can move in. Well, the construction was completed yesterday (yes, yesterday) and now my dorm (Palmgarten) occupies the basement floor and the first floor, while Maugenhard guys dorm will occupy the third and fourth floors. Here are a couple of pictures:





There was a lot of clean up work to do in our part of the building, as well as shuffling a lot of furniture between the floors. But the most exciting (and time consuming) project that we had was a new TV room for the girls! Last year, our TV room was on the third floor and had a beautiful view of the rolling hills outside; there was a foozball table and a ping pong table, as well as extra space to just lounge around.
Weeeell, that is now Maugenhard's TV room, and our new alloted space for a TV room was an old, dark and dingy storage room on the basement level of the building. eeek. The carpet was all stained, there's no daylight that comes in and it was a serious step down from what we all enjoyed last year.
So, myself, Bonnie (fellow RA) and Luke and Stephanie (new dorm parents) tackledthe project that would have made Ty Penington with Extreme Home Makeover proud! Here are a couple of pictures:





This was a project that we considered to be a priority because there is a lot of change going on this year in our dorm: moving floors, new dorm parents, and guys living upstairs! We wanted to create a comfortable, fun room that the girls could enjoy, and I think we did it!

• The new students arrive on Sunday; we will have 2 new girls: Eunji, a freshman and Krystal, a sophomore.



• We will have 19 total girls in the dorm this year; this is 7 fewer than last year, which I am excited about because the group dynamics are a little bit more manageable.



• On Monday the returning students arrive and classes start on Tuesday!



• I can't wait to see all the girls--I have high expectations for this year and can't wait to see all the girls I missed so much this summer!

Here are some specific things you can be praying about:

1. changes in the dorm--needless to say, having a guys dorm move into our building will completely change the pace of life that we're so used to here at Palmgarten. Each dorm will run separately, but I know that there will be issues to address along the way concerning students and staff. Please pray that we, as dorm staff, will have the wisdom to deal with each new challenge and be a positive example for the students.



2. new dorm parents--Palmgarten has new dorm parents this year, Luke & Stephanie Welbourn. They are a fantastic couple who bring a lot of energy and fresh perspective and I am thrilled to be working with them this year. It was sad for us all to say goodbye to Les & Elva Porter who were the dorm parents for the past 4 years, so please pray for a smooth transition. Here is our picture: (me, Luke, Stephanie, Bonnie)
   


3. staff shortage--overall, there are some gaps in the staff of BFA this year, particularly in the Residence Life department. Typically each dorm (7 all together) has up to 4 RA's; but this year only one dorm has 3 RA's, the rest only have two...We are trusting that God will provide us with the strength and wisdom we need to run the boarding program with so few people, and also that He would provide new faces to help fill in the gaps. (staffing opportunities can be found at http://www.bfacademy.com/ :))

Thank you all so much for keeping up with all that is happening here. It was wonderful to see so many of you while I was home this summer and I hope to be able to keep in touch throughout this school year!

Well, we all hit the ground running after spring break and it seems like none of us will get a break until school is out! As I type this, the varsity soccer teams and the track teams are away at their national tournaments. The girls soccer team has a great chance to win, they were ranked as #1 going into the tournament! Tomorrow is the final day of play and so we all have our fingers crossed! :)

Sadly, I was not able to make it to a track meet this season, but here are some pictures of Kjersti and Katelyn, 2 of our track stars!

Track

This is Kjersti running the anchor for one of the relay races. Kjersti is only a sophomore, but is one of the best runners on the team.

This is Katelyn--she is a senior this year and has been granted a track/field scholarship to a college in North Dakota. We compared her long jump scores to the high school scores in the state of Minnesota (where she is originally from) and her score places her in the top ten in the state!

Soccer

This is Jessica C.--she just headed the ball, but I couldn't snap the picture in time! This is her first year playing soccer at BFA--she has really proven herself as a player and has loved being a part of the team.

Joy (in the blue) is a junior in our dorm and this is her second year playing junior varsity. Their last game was this past weekend and they scrimmaged some of the staff and alumni.

If you look closely at this picture, you'll see a girl with red hair to the left of the goal post--that's Jessica K. and she just scored a goal! She scored 3 goals in the game this past weekend!

Oh Krista...this is Krista--this is her first year at BFA and she was one of the junior varsity captains. Unfortunately, she severly sprained her ankle a few weeks ago and had to sit out the remainder of the season. But as you can tell, she is pretty stubborn and just couldn't sit on the bench anymore! :)

BFA's Got Talent

In April we had the first ever talent show at BFA, appropriately named "BFA's Got Talent." There were about 20 performances showcasing a variety of different talents: singing, dancing, acting and even karate and nun chucks skills!

This is Charity, a senior from my dorm, and her boyfriend Brandon performing a fun song from the movie High School Musical.

This is a group of girls from my dorm dancing to a song--they practiced A LOT and for many nights after this I woke up in the middle of the night with this song in my head! (...but of course I can't remember now what it was! :))

All the RA's (all 22 of us) pulled together a last minute performance of "the evolution of dance." This "routine" was made popular on youtube by a comedian and so we tweaked some of the songs and made it our own. It was so fun! Basically, it's a montage of songs beginning with Elvis all the way to present day and so we got to do tons of fun dance moves like the twist, MC Hammer moves, the macarena, etc. There's a video on my facebook page of the performance if you want to watch it.

Here we are doing Michael Jackson's "Thriller." Im the one in the front row, second from the right.

"We're All in this Together" from High School Musical.

Junior/Senior Banquet

Every year the Junior class organizes a nice dinner for the senior class as a sort of farewell. The dinner was held at a nice restaurant/banquet hall in a town nearby and everyone came all gussied up.

This is Ellie, me and Bonnie--Palmgarten RA's.


Anna and me.


This is Lizzy H., Ellie and me...a Lizzy sandwich...


These are the Juniors from this year, only 2 weeks away from being seniors! They're very excited.


This is a group shot of our juniors and seniors--we had a great time!

All the girls are beginning to pack up their rooms and the seniors are preparing to leave BFA for the final time. Most of them have been here for at least 2 years, and so you can imagine how difficult it can be to say good bye to friends you've lived with and gotten to know on such a personal level; not knowing if you will ever see them again, but knowing that things will never be the same again. Please pray that the students will have healthy closure to their time here.

But, the good news is that I will be coming home soon! I leave here on June 19th and will arrive in Georgia on June 20th. It has been almost a year since I've been home, so I am beginning to get antsy! I look forward to hearing English spoken as the dominant language, seeing all of you, and eating Chick-fil-A!

Soccer Mom

Spring is officially here, as evidenced by the blooming apple trees and the green fields and hill sides! School started back this week after a 2 week holiday. There's always a lot of squealing and giggling when the girls come back to the dorm and see each other again after a long break. I just partake in the giggling part...not the squealing.

Dorm Cookout

On Sunday night we had a cookout at a fire pit that's just behind our dorm in the back yard. We roasted hot dogs and then made s'mores.


Me, Kjersti, Naomi and Emily enjoying our hot dogs.



Unfortunately, it started to rain and we barely had time to make our s'mores. But, Hannah just wouldn't give up! She couldn't leave until she made her s'more!



Laundry

I don't often talk about the specific jobs I do in the dorm, so here goes:

At the beginning of the school year we let the girls decide whether or not they want to do their own laundry or if they want us (RA's) to do it for them. So, once a week we have "dorm laundry" and those girls who choose not to do their own laundry leave their clothes in the laundry room and by the time they come home from school it is all magically clean, folded and placed neatly on a shelf which bears their name. There are 13 girls who have chosen dorm laundry and as you can see from the above picture, its a lot of clothes! We usually have between 15-20 loads to wash.

We have 4 washers and 4 dryers. It's a very sad day when one of the washers is broken. Luckily, all 4 were working for me this week!


This is the completed project...almost. There were still a couple of loads in the dryer and as you can see by the table on the left, I got tired of folding. I guess "neatly folded" is a subjective term for me... :)




Soccer!

Soccer season is underway at BFA and this past weekend we had our first home game! Soccer is definitely the sport of choice for our school and every year we are one of the top ranked teams in our division, which is comprised of high schools from U.S. army bases located all over Germany. BFA has four soccer teams, Varsity and Junior Varsity girls, and Varsity and Junior Varsity guys.

Because its early in the season and the grass on the field in Kandern isn't quite "ready" yet, the games were played up "the hill", as we call it, in the town of Marzell where there is a turf field. There are 2 BFA dorms in Marzell, Sonne (guys dorm) and Blauen (girls dorm). It is absolutely beautiful up there, but unfortunately they deal with some weird weather because the altitude is significantly higher. It was sunny and warm down in Kandern, but 20 minutes up the hill it was raining and cold! But regardless of the weather, we all packed into our vans and drove up to support the teams!

Jessica C. throws in the ball--you can see it up in the air. There are 4 girls from my dorm who play on the Varsity girls team: Jessica K., Jessica C., Anna and Rachel.


The traditional shaking of the opposing coach's hand after the game. We won!


Me and Jessica K. after her game.


Our guys varsity team warming up before their game.


This is Vangie (left, an RA at Blauen) and Ellie (another Palmgarten RA) trying to stay warm while cheering on the guys. Ellie is holding a sign for one of the senior players, Serge. She has school spirit.


This is Dahee (far left), Jessica C. (middle) and Anna (right) enjoying some yummy snacks. Ellie is in the background wishing she was enjoying the yummy snacks.


While the JV girls were warming up for their game, it started hailing! But by the half, it cleared up to sunny skies again.


This is Krista--she scored her first goal!

There are only 6 weeks left in the semester and they are packed with soccer games, track meets, music recitals, and Junior/Senior Banquet. I just can't believe how fast this year has gone by! Since the end of spring break, it feels as if the BFA community has taken a figurative deep breath in order to brace itself for saying good-bye to the graduating seniors and others who will not be back next year. Because of our close-knit community here, the end of the year is a very emotional time. I for one am glad that I will be back next year and do not have to say good bye to all the girls just yet. I am also glad that I will be coming home for a few weeks this summer and can't wait to catch up with as many of you as I can!