Anyway back to signs of spring... yesterday while on my run, I saw little tulip blossoms. It was so sweet. On top of that I was only running in a just a sweatshirt! No gloves, no hat, no extra long sleeves, or heavy socks! It was so refreshing to see this promise of warmer weather coming. This is the time of year I anxiously wait. I love the sun and to be without it has been killing me. In college I realized this more than ever. My freshmen year of college, my dorm room faced the sun. I have never been a desk person for work... so I always laid in my bed. I found myself taking short cat naps as the sun would beam into my room and the rays would be so warm upon my skin.
I'm longing for those warm, sunny days. Especially when my location on my Instagram pops up as PA, USA. But I won't be rushing past the warmer days in Berlin where I can walk around without a coat and have dinner outside with my friends. I can't wait for the cafes to have their tables placed outside again.
The last few weeks here in Berlin have been hard. I'm coming up upon a year that I've lived in Berlin and about eight months since I've been home. This has now officially been the longest I've been away from home. Before it was just five months since I traveled back to the USA. I've been feeling quite homesick and longing for just familiar faces and cultural familiarities. I think one of the hardest things when you are away from home and alone is there is no one to hold you. I think of laying on the couch with my sisters. Somehow our legs are intertwined and our bodies are bent in all sorts of directions with elbows in our sides but we don't mind as long as we all fit on the couch - together. I think of my grandma letting me rest upon her shoulder during church and she wrapped her arm around my side. Honestly, I'm not a touchy person but there are moments when I dread to come home and think, "I just wish there was someone to sit on the couch with me."
On a brighter note, I am making more friends. So now that the SU ladies have departed I have been really focused on my running, work, and making it to indoor hockey just to be around ladies my age. Lucky for me those SU ladies introduced me to Umi. Umi and I try to get together at least once a week. We usually are shopping - we are both so indecisive that it takes us a couple weeks to find the perfect "whatever" and then we buy it. We usually finish our weekend dates with a meal out.
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| My new haircut. |
My next new friend, I met while getting my haircut.By the way, it has also been eight months since I got my haircut! Actually, a bit over because I got it cut the first day I was in the States. So to say it was overdue is an understatement. Anyway, a girl from hockey suggested that I go to her place because she knew that a lady who worked there could speak perfect English. I met Carlie when I went. I mentioned that it can be hard to make friends. She could sympathises with me because she lived in London for a bit. She gave me her number and we met up the next weekend. It was wonderful. She has such an interesting life and I'm excited to get to know her better.
The last but not least.. you have seen her picture in my last post. Yes, I got to know my coworker better and simply she is amazing! She is very sweet, reliable, and a great support both at work and outside of work. I'm lucky to continue to get to know her. We have been bouncing the idea of me joining her in Greece over spring break. After talking with my dad, he would be OK with picking me up at JFK so I can use the extra money to buy a flight to Greece!
I'm so excited that I will be able to visit a new country before coming home. I really do need to get out of Berlin a bit and have a little adventure. Let's say the adventure is not going to end just with a girls week away. Our other coworker, Ben has never been to Greece either and he jumped on the opportunity last night at dinner. We brought it up and he booked the flight while we were ordering dinner. I'm excited to have a week in Greece to relax- hopefully in the sun and then a week in Berlin to get ready for school.
I kept forgetting and running out of time to tell you about my trip with the Lemmermann's. I had a nice relaxing weekend. We had a bit of sports with a morning walk and I went running on my own once. (Not a great weekend for working out.) Most of the weekend was spent getting ready for Jörg's birthday. It was a lot of fun! I got to work along side Oma and help cut vegetables and put together appetizers. The party was really great for the family. For me, it was hard because I don't speak enough German to get by. So I chilled with the girls. We watched some German TV and then tried to get some sleep. Hannah can really sleep through anything!
In the last weeks, let me see if there was anything new or exciting... I have tried the wonderful little Swiss restaurant in my neighborhood. It was seriously amazing and I've been thinking of it ever since. I even tried beef tar-tar. It was delicious but I still can't get over the idea. I only had two bites. Other than my food adventures, I really think everything else is the same. Oh and we had a Fasching's Party at school. I dressed up as Minnie Mouse complete with yellow shoes. And Valentine's Day has come and gone. I've been so blessed- I felt so loved with all the cards I received and the package I got! Someone came over and thought I had a birthday... that's how many cards were on my table!
Well, I should be going. I have spent all morning in bed... doing things but still in bed. I need to get ready for my run and start some other school work.
Sending lots of hugs and counting the days until I'm driving through the country side.
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