Eugene Pictures

I realized I hadn't put any pictures up for a while and I had some fun when I first came back getting some pictures, although there were a couple I wish I would have gotten.



This is what I have spent quite a bit of time doing. Hanging out with the Middle School Students at First Baptist.



This is one of the many ducks that I pass when riding the path behind my apartment.



This is the smallest of the ponds that the mansion owners have, which I get to enjoy because they live right behind me.



This is a fun picture of some of the woods by my house.



One of the many extravegant fountains near my apartment.



The beautiful Coburg Hills. I love the colors. They are the best part of Oregon.



Hanging out with Mid-Schoolers on the Fall Frenzy at OMSI.

Fun things that Kids do

I subbed in a first grade class the other day and quite a few interesting things happened. The first was that the students were trying to interpret the picture book I was reading into American Sign Language because there is a Deaf student in their class and they are used to seeing an interpreter (so they were practicing, although they weren't making any sense). The second thing was during independent reading, some of the girls were practicing reading their books the way a teacher does to a whole class. The third was the funniest, which is that instead of calling me Miss Aubrey he called me " Miss Arby" (like the fast food restaurant). The last was one of the coolest examples of the lack of inhibitions when we are young.

The practicum student was doing a lesson on things we were thankful for because Thanksgiving is coming up and she was having the students brainstorm a list of things they could write on their turkey's. Some of the kids suggested food and houses and family and then she called on one boy and he said God and the practicum student was totally stunned as to how to respond and I just smiled and said that we could be thankful for God. The next student the Practicum student called on was one of the girls I know from camp and her response was that we could be thankful for the fact that "God sent his only son Jesus" and I tried not to chuckle because the practicum student was now at a complete loss for what to say and I knew it was such a good answer. So the practicum student just moved on and I quietly went over to the girl and told her to give me a high five for a great answer.

It's just great the things you get to see and hear students do and say and I would have such a boring time in life if I didn't get to experience them. I hope these things brought a little smile to your face because they did mine.

So, Subbing has it's ups and downs...

but kids are always funny and cute. So far I have taught anything from High School business to being an assistant principal in an elementary school. I have some assignments that i love because the kids are cool and others I like because the staff make me feel invited and competent. Today I had a good day because of the kids and the staff. The kids were good (I got to see the Erdmann clan and go on walks with a cutie boy) and the staff were just so enthusiastic about me (I'm not quite sure why), but it was so encouraging to know that some teachers thought I was an asset to the educational community.

A couple funny things one of my students said to me the other day was that I had too many earrings (refering not only to my ears, but also to my nose piercing) and he also asked if I was tired because i had black circles under my eyes. This was all from the same first grader.

So, that's what I have for now...

Eugene Update

Okay. So I realized it's been a while since I have said anything substantial on this blog. I think it's due to the fact that I feel like I should be doing something productive rather than telling stories on the internet. I also feel like it's important to update everyone since my plans have changed so drastically. I have now been in Eugene for two weeks and it seems so much shorter and longer in so many ways. I now have an apartment with two girls from the Navs (my bible study group). Their names are Angie (who works at Starbucks and Hosanna Dance Studio) and Jen (who works at Willamette something to do with mixing chemo for patients) I'll get on top of those names later. They are both super awesome girls and I think we will have an interesting and fun year.

On the job front: it's more hopeful. I didn't get the academic advising job at the U of O, but I have finally been issued my Oregon Teaching License, which will make things so much easier. I am now on the sub list for both Eugene and Springfield and was pretty busy over the last couple weeks, but the work has slowed down considerably. So, if you could pray that I would continue to get steady work, I would appreciate it.

The cool thing about today, though, is that I went to withdraw money early from the paycheck coming on the 15th and it was exactly the amount of my rent, which is due the 5th (this is just one of many times that this exact situation has happened). God is freakin awesome! He always meets my needs. I also discovered a new bike path today, which only other bike commuters will truly appreciate the joy there is infinding a new route that is not filled with cars.

Other cool things that have happened since I got beack are that I have run into several friends, including Sarah Bridges (randomly) and it has been good to see all of them. It's been an interesting adjustment back, which I'm still not sure I've made completely and potentially never will, but it's true that I can function much more smoothly here because I know things so well. This last fact will leave me much more time to develop the plans for my foundation and school in Africa. I wasn't thinking I would seriously look into going back to England for another couple years, but stay in the US and teach for a while instead. Alas, I have been gradually regaining a strong desire to go back, partly because I just miss it and partly because I really want to be involved in the All Souls church there. I have been listening to their sermons online and have been hit with so much truth, with such depth and clarity that my thinking about God and christianity and my relationship with God have been changing drastically. I really like what they are about and doing and I want to be a part of it.

This does not mean that I will not also seriously look into other places, such as DC and New York, etc. I also assure you (as I have already my grandmother) that I will not move somewhere unless I have a job. I hope God blesses me by opening up the door to London, but I am willing to go wherever I am called, even if it is only as far away as P-town:{

That's all for now. i hope you all have a great day!
-Aubrey

Really Big Job Opportunity

Be Praying for a job I will be applying to. It's for an Academic Adviser at the University of Oregon. It would be full time and salary and I think I would really enjoy it. So, be praying that it might work out and that if it doesn't something else will work out.

Going Home

For those of you who don't know, I am going home Friday 22 September. I have run out of money and there have been no strong leads on profitable jobs, so instead of being indebted to family and friends forever (momentarily speaking, because I will always be otherwise), I have decided to come home and seek my fortunes on this front. I am really at piece with this decision and know that things are working the way they are supposed to be. I will be sad to leave London and the life I hadn't quite started, but am looking forward to being home and enjoying the life I already had without the stress of school and whatnot. I will be continuing my blogs anyways, even though it's not as exciting as being in Europe and especially because there are still a few from the time here that I haven't been able to post. Thank you all for your love and encouragement. I hope to regale you with great stories from Eugene, Oregon in the not too distant future.
-Aubrey

You Know it's been a good day when...

Yesterday, I switched hostels and then spent a while hanging out. But, the best part was the walk I took from Swiss Cottage to Hampstead Heath. I got to find a small cinema and some cool cafe's I will have to try when I get some more money. Another cool thing on this walk was that someone had written in blue chalk on the sidewalk "you matter", which totally made me smile. iIalso had a good chat with God on the walk, which was also really good. I also talked to Mary yesterday, which i hadn't done for a while and found out that she is doing her pediatric rotation and is loving it. She taught a little girl how to play twinkle, twinkle little start on one of the rainbow kid keyboards, as well as checking her out.

Today was a good day becuase I got up and went to Borders to see if I could see David Hasselhoof, but the line was really long and he was running late because of traffic (go figure) and I didn't actually want to meet him, so the joke kinda wore off. So, I left (after buying an economist) and headed off to do some errands. I then went home and met a girl from portland (Oregon) who is also here with BUNAC and another girl from Toronto, Ontario who is here to live and work for who knows, and another girl from Germany who is studying law and doing an exchange with King's College. There are also a couple girls here from the US who i have just seen in the common room and they both drive me nuts, especially the girl from Texas who seems to know nothing outside of her world. I had to explain how to say the name of Les Miserables (I hope I spelled that correctly) and why the newspaper references 7/7 when they talk about 9/11. For those of you who don't know 7/7, it is when the terrorists attacked london by bombing the underground and a bus.

Anyways, back to my great day. I also saw this old guy on Finchley road riding his hoverround wheelchair on the street with cars, buses, motorcycles, and bicycles, and telling them off for their bad driving and whatnot. He looked quite mad, actually. It's amazing what you can see in London.

Right now I am in the ccommon room watching tv. I just got done with Dcotor who, which the American girls thought was the worst show ever made and the New Zealand/Australian boys were trying to convonce the girls that this was a huge cult classic. Later tonight we will be watching a special about the event leading up to 9/11 and I am watching a thing about autistic savants, which is always interesting for the teacher in me.

So, in all the last couple days have been good and I'm looking forward to my job tomorrow night. But be praying because I missed a call today and I think it was from the supply agency and they haven't called back, so i hope they call tomorrow. I hope you are all doing well. Talk to you later.


As close as I got to the Hoff

Possible Supply Job and some other bits

So, last night I registered online with seven different supply agencies in London and one of them emailed me back today and I gave them a call and they should be calling back to set up an interview within the next few days. I am really excited about this potential opportunity and I hope you all will be sending prayers my way because this is a great way to get some experience in a new educational system, but also a great source of finance, which I need not only to live and function here in London, but to also, hopefully, get a place to live, here in London.

Another cool thing...I was able to get three or four errands done today in only four hours, including travel time into town and back home. This is quite the accomplishment for only a beginner and it included two seperate things I had to shop for. When I say travel into town, I mean, traveling into central London. And I am saying this as I am only staying halfway out in zone two (which takes roughly an hour) and the zones not only go out to six but continue on with the beginning of the alphabet to at least g I think.

A totally random thing as I was walking down oxford road trying to find a nice black t-shirt for work tomorrow...I saw in the Borders window (relatively small) that David Hasselhoff will be there on monday doing a book signing, and unless something else comes up, I am going to try to go, because when do you get to see David Hasselhoff in person. I will do my best to get a picture without actually going up to him, partly because I don't want to buy a book and I can't lie about loving his music (which isn't horrible, but not the best I've ever heard) and baywatch was way too long ago to mention (and I'm sure he'd like to move on from that). And man, do i need to keep an eye on the events that Borders is putting on for the next five months!

My first shift with Off to Work is tomorrow at the tower of London and I will report back on how that goes. Thanks for reading.
-Aubrey

Today

Today I recuperated from the trip this weekend and did only a couple errands. I still don't have the pin for my atm card that I received a week ago. I can't wait to be able to get money out whenever I want. The really big thing I did was applying to seven different supply agencies online tonight. I hope I hear back from at least a couple of them soon because I need the cash flow and want the experience. Please be praying for this because I only have about a week or so supply of money. Well, that's pretty much all for now.

English Countryside

I speak to you having just returned from a two day excursion to the English countryside with the Ritchey family (Dad: Tom, Brother: Jay, Sister: Sarah, and Annie). We spent a day bumming around the most central part of London. I finally saw Buckingham palace! Then we headed to a cute bed and breakfast in a small village near stonehenge. On Monday we headed to stonehenge, which is cool, but slightly anti-climactic. Although I am intrigued as to how the rocks actually go to the south from the north and what people thought as they say these gargantuan stone being rolled across the country. We then headed to Salisbury (pronounced like the salsbury steaks) and saw the great Salisbury cathedral, which was nice. Then we headed to Stourhead and saw the house and gardens there. The first proposal scene between Darcy and Elizabeth in the new pride and prejudice was filmed there. Then we headed to Bath for the night and spent today sightseeing in Bath. The biggest thing we saw was the Roman Baths that still have water coming into it from the natural spring. The water is actually warm when it comes from the earth and it was fascinating to see the intricacies of the systems for the different services of the baths (i.e. sauna and massage) and the level of building that the Romans were able to accomplish way back when. I then took the train back to London, which was only about an hour and forty-five minutes and i got to see more of the countryside as I went. Random Note: Jay was driving the rental car and did a fabulous job of staying on the left side of the road. It was fun to travel that way, even in London!
-Aubrey

P.S. I now have five jobs in five different places over the next week and a half. They are the Trinity House, Tower of London, National Maritime Museum, Kensington Palace, and the Somerset House.

I have a J.O.B.

Hi all-
Today I had an interview (which was more of a formality) for a hospitality company called "off to work" and then I had a four hour training session with them. Right now I am actually perusing the website to see which jobs I want to sign up for in the next couple weeks. Anyway, I am very excited to have a job and hopefully start bringing in money! I'll let you all know how it goes.
-Aubrey

Possible Job!

Hi All-
Today was a good day because I got a call from one of the hospitality agancies I registered with online and I have an interview set up for 10:30 am my time and if they like me I will have a training session from 2 to 6pm my time. Pray that they like me! Especially because this is the only lead on a job that I have at the moment and I would love to start making money. Thank you so much for all of your support. I will do my best not to let anyone down. I'll let you all know how it went tomorrow.
-Aubrey

Notting Hill Carnival Pictures

One of the beautiful and detailed costumes.


This guy is actually trying not to fall over from the wind blowing against him.


The cutest little girl! She totally knew how to give a pose.


One of my better pictures. I'm so glad I got this!


One of the better masks/costumes.


One of the more scandelous and fancier dressed dancers.


Some of the dancers at the carnival, which is a huge parade that goes on for hours.

Krakow pictures

This is in the town center in the evening. I would spend all my tim ein this town center if I could.


This is the castle in Krakow. I loved the garden!


We came upon this as we walked around a corner and I wanted one of the paintings so badly.


This is Lisa, Beth, and I at the vegetarian place in Krakow.

London, so far...

Hi all-
I know it's been a while, so I will try to update you without boring your brain out of your head. Today I decided to go to the Notting Hill Carnival. It's amazing how I didn't go to things like this by myself when I was home because I wanted people to go with, but when you're pretty much the only one you know in the whole country, it's easy to go to things alone. Because otherwise, I would never see anything. That aside, I decided to walk there (Notting Hill) from where I am staying in the Highgate Hill/Archway area, which is a fair distance. It took me about an hour and a half to walk there. I took the underground and bus back home. It was fun to hear all the music and see all the cool costumes and dancing. It's the first time I've been back to Notting Hill in six years and it still looks amazing, even though most of the stores were boarded up (for the Carnival). The stores that weren't boarded, up had music blasting and food being served on the street. There were also a ton of people in this tiny little area of a few blocks. It was also interesting to see all the cops around. One sad thing that I saw at the carnival was a woman who was getting CPR by the medical team and cops. From what I could tell, they couldn't get her heart to start again, but they shooed everyone away pretty quickly. It was also really sad to see her daughter or granddaughter standing there crying. I said a prayer for them and maybe I will find out more on the news. Something else interesting was that when I came out of King's Cross station, there was impromptu security screening set up that wasn't there a few days ago and it was only screening people coming from one direction, so maybe I will see more about that on the news too.

On the way to Notting Hill I walked through Regent's park, which I have never been to and is amazing. I think I will be spending a lot of time there. On this trip i have realized that I am both a city and country girl. I love the fast pace, excitement, and variety of things to do that a city offers, but I absolutely love colorful, beautiful, big, open spaces that I can run and jump and sleep in. There's almost a sense of being lost or losing yourself I love. I also love dressing up, but am never more happy than when I can let loose an get dirty. Another one of those things that makes my personality a paradox;)

I think I got a sunburn today! Which is saying a bit, because we are way more north than Oregon and it's always windy and rainy.

Yesterday I was walking by the church down the road and there was a wedding about to start and it was great to see all the women done up and wearing typical british, fancy hats. I felt like I had walked back in time a bit;)

Another funny thing is that at the bottom of the hill (because Highgate Hill is really on a hill) there is a McDonald's that I've eaten at a couple times for simplicity sake and it's on MacDonald road (funny enough).

The rest of my time has been spent running around trying to find a place to live and job. The home is on the back burner at the moment because I need to start getting an income. I don't have any solid leads yet, but I have been to 19 theatre houses and I have about 34 more to go to tomorrow. I also registered with one school district for supply teaching, and two different catering companies, but haven't heard from any of them. Although, it's a bank holiday, so everyone had today (monday) off. I'm trying to hold off on signing up with a supply agency because they take a portion of your pay, but I think that might be the best way to get any significant amount of money. There are two new shows opening up soon, so be praying that I might get a job at one of those theatre's, which I will be visiting tomorrow.

That' pretty much it for now. Miss you all!
-Aubrey

Krakow wins best place to visit award (after London that is)

Beth and I absolutely love Krakow, Poland! The town is so quaint and has such a great quality or energy about it. We are also at the best hostel ever and have met some of the coolest people. Right now there are two girls in our room named Lisa and Donna. Lisa is from New Jersey and is a teacher who has been on many travels, is so animated and always has a story to tell. Donna is a from Northern England and currently teaches English in a small town in Japan and has been all over the world (east of the US that is). We have also met this guy, named Sonny Daze, from California who has been traveling all over the world (literally everywhere) for the last year. We will have a party at the hostel tomorrow to celebrate this feat. We have had the most interesting conversations and hung out over the last twenty-four hours. Last night we went to a local pub and were talking until 4:30 in the morning and then we all went to lunch at a vegetarian place for lunch at about 2pm. Beth also went to see a competition where they played Chopin with both Donna and Lisa. The veggie place was the best food I’ve had since we left Germany. It was all fresh and light and had such great flavor! I also have to say that the best part about Krakow is the main market. It is so big and so beautiful. There are great buildings, statues, and kiosks to enjoy and explore. I will totally come back and visit this place!

Praise the Lord

I have successfully and safely immigrated to the United Kingdom. Now it's off to the dirty work of finding a job and living quarters. I will put more up later about Krakow and such.

PICTURES!

Our first laundry day since Germany and there were no clothes lines. There was more than what is in the picture and we did it all by hand!


This is one of the coolest memorial sculptures yet. It is for all those who were affected by the destruction of communism.


See if you can find Beth!


For Renee: This is an ice cream vending machine we came acroos in the airport in Stuttgart, Germany.

Budapest and some rants

After Bratislava, we headed off to Budapest, Hungary. This is a cool town, but a bit touristy as well. The worst part about Budapest was the hostel we stayed in. It was so dirty and disgusting that I was constantly thinking about trying to touch as little as possible. There was also a lot of noise very late at night after we had been asleep for a couple of hours. The people also smoked a ton and I was hacking out a lung most of the time.

This would be a good time to mention that I pretty much hate all smokers (except my few smoker friends who have always been polite and been away from me and outside while smoking), but besides that… Oh, and Europeans stink (literally). I have never had such smells invade my space as I have in Europe. I can never (almost) get away from cigarette smoke, especially when eating, and this sucks because I come from lovely Oregon where people have to go outside or sit in a tiny room away from the rest of society to have their nicotine fix. Also, there is way too much cologne and perfume use and on top of which, those who use it, use way too much of it! I hate walking by someone and then getting an entire breath of chemicals instead of air.

Ok, back to the good parts of Budapest. One of the coolest parts was walking up the hill on the Buda side to see The Citadel because it was like being back in Eugene and going on a little nature hike. Seeing Parliament (Pest side) was also cool because it was like a palace and has really only been a true parliament since 1956 (I think). It was also cool to see the castle (Pest)(it was cute) and the other thing was to see Heroes Square (Pest), which is massive and honors 14 or so heroes. It has a statue for each and a depiction of what they did (from what I could infer). There was also a castle in Buda that was built into the hillside and looked like a sandcastle. The food in Budapest wasn’t the greatest, but was doable and we enjoyed ourselves for the most part. The only thing we didn’t realize was that the Buda side of Budapest is all hills (at least where all the sights are) and we wanted to do them all in one day, which meant climbing the hill three or four times! We also found out about the terror plot disruption while we were in Budapest, which was really weird because we were the only Americans or Brits we were in contact with. But that’s a different blog;)

Bratislava

I was still sick, but on the mend while we were in Bratislava. So far, this is the quaintest, favorite city outside of Germany that we've been to. We stayed right next to the old town and it was so easy to get around. The town had such great character and all the sites worth seeing were right next to each other. Although, this town ranks the absolute lowest for transportation systems. It took us over an hour to problem solve how to buy our bus ticket because the only kiosk to buy them from is electronic and only takes coins, but when you change your money, they only give you bills. So, we had to buy lunch (disgusting and the worst to date) in order to have enough coins to buy the tickets. Then there are two places where the buses stop. The left side is supposedly where they take a break because the bus driver wouldn't let us on and told us we needed o go to the right side and then not even two minutes later he cam driving to the right side to pick us up. The supermarket (yes they have one) is also insane. The top part is more like a Fred Meyer, except that you have to buy things from the specific department before you go on to the next. The downstairs is where all the food is and it is worse than a southern wal*mart! We were constantly running into people and even the little kids get shopping carts, which is the stupidest idea to date. There are about 18 different check out stands and the store is shaped like a "u" around the stands, so you end up walking around the store a million times and running into a million people. And don't forget to weigh your produce in the produce department because you can't buy it at the checkout stand without the sticker. I will totally go back to this town, just not during tourist season, Especially because I love all the little statues they have hidden around the town. I'll put some pictures up later. I hope this catches you up a bit and I will do my best to catch up more, even though it might be out of sequence. Cheers!

catching up: Vienna

Once we left Prague, I got pretty sick. My whole time in Vienna was a little lackluster due to this. The best thing we did in Vienna was go to the music film festival held at the city hall (which looks like a palace) and plays films of the viennese people's opera (which is fabulous and I don't particularly fancy opera). This was also open air and you could just go and find a seat. It was such a cool experience. I wish that things like this happened in Eugene. I loved it! We also got to see where the royals used to hang out and visited a modern art museum (to get out of the rain). The entire time we were in Vienna, it was raining and felt like we were in Oregon in the fall. The people there were very nice for the most part and we shared a room with two french and two italian girls. The french girls ended up watching "center stage" with us one night. This was also the first time we hand washed our laundry and a random girl would always walk through and tell us what strong, good women we were. There were also several families at this hostel, which was a new sight. I learned the hard way that in europe you must weigh your produce before you get to the check out counter because they can't weigh it there. This lesson was also reiterated in Bratislava, which is a whole story in itself that I will share later! Overall, Vienna is nice and I would go again.

A LOT

Hallo-
So, a couple days ago, after Beth and I went IKEA for the first time, we got to go to the cute town of Tubingen (not to be confused with Boblingen or any other german town ending in –ingen). Here we (Beth, Konstanze, Christiane, and I) walked to a Biergarten by the Neckar River and had sausage salad, baked potato with a sort of ranch sauce, and huge bread pretzel (which is a huge thing here). We then met up with Konstanze’s parents to go on a sort of gondola (but for 20 people) ride in the Neckar River. It was great, especially because it was dusk and we got to see the river in the light and at night. The guy who pushed us along also sang us a song at one point (in German of course).

Yesterday, Beth and I went to school with Rosi who is an Elementary art and English teacher. We got to play “heads up, 7 up” with the kids (which they loved) and then we answered their questions about American schools and children. We also got to meet many of the teachers (most of whom spoke English). One of the teachers has an Australian accent when speaking English and one of the others knew where Eugene, Oregon was. She had actually had her car break down there!

Later that day, 8pm, we met a guy at the main train station in Stuttgart who was going to give us a ride to Dresden. Konstanze found this ride by looking at advertisements on the internet, which is supposedly very common and safe here. Although, this guy had just purchased his car a couple days ago for 300 Euros on Ebay and was the classic punk, German youth. He was wearing an inside-out button up shirt and had a shaved head except for about five dreadlocks coming from the middle/back. He also listened to the loudest, noisiest, non-music music the entire five and a half hour trip. It was so loud that when he turned it off on our one bathroom break, my ears couldn’t hear at any lower of a decibel. This guy also went an average of 150km/hr on the autobahn. Trust me, It’s fast and nothing like I-5.

Today, we went to Konstanze’s college and looked at the architecture final projects while she met with an advisor. They were very interesting even though they were in German. We then went to see the VW plant in Dresden that has a modern building and supposedly creates the most expensive cars. Then, we went to the old part of town with the old churches and castles and building that was built specifically for the King’s daughter’s wedding. I would love to be married there. It has the most amazing courtyard and fountains everywhere! Later that evening we had a potluck picnic with a few of Konstanze’s college friends on the Elbe River bank. It was gorgeous! Beth and I also got to practice recognizing our German for at least three or four hours. All of the people were really nice and seem like they would be totally fun to hang out with (if we lived there).

We finally arrived back at Konstanze’s parent’s house after nine hours of train rides and had a fabulous bbq dinner and a cream cake dessert that Christiane made. We then played a game and realized we needed to start packing for the flight the next day. We both went to bed at about one thirty or two and were up at eight to get ready to leave. We had the most amazing breakfast and headed out the door. I wish we could have stayed longer with the family, but alas, time moves forward. If I were to be an exchange student, this would be a fabulous family of which to be apart.

The next stop is Prague (Praha). This European city is one of those that I most recognized and that many people have said is fabulous and yet I find it somewhat lacking. It’s nice enough and the hostel we are staying at is great. The tourist attrctions are nice and very beautiful like every other European city I’ve been to, but there is a sense of down-troddenness and defeat/neglect about it. There are very few areas of this city that I have truly enjoyed (partly because of all the tourists). I know that last part sounds funny because I’m one of them, but it’s true. In germany it was kind of stressful because everywhere we went we were two of very few tourists and there was no English (but at least I knew it was authentic). Here there are millions (it seems) of non-native people and everyone speaks English.

Sorry for the rant…the places you should go to in Prague are the Prague Castle and Charles Bridge. You should NOT go to Astronomical clock. The big park is your choice, but it’s incredibly dirty (especially the grass…we sat on a bench instead). There is some interesting art (sculptures) as you walk around and some of the buildings are nice. We have also had our first good rain of the trip (yesterday) and we were the only crazy ones walking around in it (Oregonian Traning)! We have also noticed that you can tell we are Americans because we laugh a lot and most of the people here look pretty worn.

The people in the Hostel are interesting, but mostly immature and way too much into getting drunk. We had a very interesting conversation with a mechanical engineer from Lubbock, Texas and a guy from Sweden about Politics (the UN and EU and The US’ participation in those and Iraq). The guy from Sweden rocked and the guy from Texas was a typical conservative republican who wanted to complain about everything, but not actually take any positive steps to change anything.

Just to let you all know, I am cooking up list topics, such as Places I would live and places you couldn’t even kidnap and make me live in and I would marry guys from these countries.

Ahoj (ahoy)

P.S. This is an atypical Czech word because it uses too many vowels and doesn’t four to five consonants in a row.

A Quick Note

Just a quick note to saz that Beth and I made it to Prague and our hostel without any hitches. We are both looking forward to seeing the sites today...And if there are any misspelling -especially y and z- please forgive me because I am working with a czeck kezboard that I think also encompasses a couple other languages.

I ROCK

In case you were wondering...I Rock. I have now put up the last seven posts with a german menu and there have been no crashes. So, basically...I Rock.

Some fun pictures

The sky has done some amazing things since we've been here, but this was the best. We were headed south to Lorrach.



The girls were cooking Zuchini bread with chocolate chips. We also had home made mango ice cream later that day.

Oh How I Love Thee, IKEA

Today, Konstanze took Beth and I to the local IKEA store. WOW. We spent quite a while in there and could have spent even more. If there is one in England, I will try to get some of the stuff for my room there. It was even bigger than any Wal*Mart I’ve seen in the states and has a daycare area for the kids while the parents shop. We also saw a KFC, which was startling because we assume there will be McDonald’s everywhere (there are and they are more classy), but never would have thought that there would be a KFC here, especially since they are not doing very well in the states.

Lorrach and Basel (Germany and Switzerland)

So, the last two nights have been spent in Lörrach (pronounced in the only way a person who knows German could even start to guess), which is literally on the southern border of Germany right above Switzerland.

Konstanze, Beth, and I went down there on Sunday evening with Konstanze’s friend Melanie (also pronounced in a German way). On the way down, we got to see the Black Forrest, Lake Titisee (not what you think, but we definitely thought of it), and many beautiful country towns (including one I want Beth to move to so I can visit her).



Me, Konstanze, Melanie, and Beth




Beth's Town

During the full day we had down there, we took a train into Basel (Bauzelle), Switzerland. It was such a cute city and we had a bunch of fun. We saw (actually sat and put our feet into) the Rhine River, as well as, the all red city hall and the gothic cathedral. We also went to a bunch of very European shops, saw a bar named “don’t worry, be happy bar” (in English) and got Gelato on our way out of town. In all (between the three of us) we spent only 10 Euros in Switzerland, of which we are very proud. We even got to use the toilet for free!



Of Course, the Rhine River. It's actually pretty dirty, but it felt amazing on such a hot day (30+ degrees celsius)



A Knight Slaying a Dragon on the Gothic Cathedral. The spear actually goes all the way through the dragon!



The Bar.

I forgot to tell you guys that a few days ago at the main train station in Stuttgart we had to pay 50 Euro cents to use the toilets and there was even a turnstile to keep people who didn’t pay out.

I am now comfortable saying danke (thank you) and am slowly working on my German pronunciation. I can now recognize some numbers and next stop when I hear them, but I can read more words than I ever thought I would be possible. Although, I am far from being able to get by and hopefully Beth and I will be able to pool resources when we get to Austria.

July 22, 2006 Entry

This is at the art school in Stuttgart. It is a cube fountain with rectangular prism benches.



This is one of the squares in downtown Stuttgart. You can see the new palace straight past the fountain. This was our view while we had our picnic lunch.

On this day we went into Stuttgart and saw a toy store that has all the toys Beth used to play with as a kid. They are gorgeous and I will be buying them when I have kids. They are so well made and have amazing detail. We also got to see the shopping district, Saturday market, and indoor market. We also went to a sort of home furnishings store like Pier 1, except larger and better quality. We walked by the huge fish market that comes down from Hamburg once a year for a week and ate lunch near the modern art museum. This is also in the square with the old and new castle (which is still pretty old). We walked to the opera house and saw the trumpet-shaped music school, as well as, the neon painted art museum. We then went to see the Graff-Zeppelin Hotel, which is so grand that we whispered while we were standing in the lobby. We also went to the main train station and had to pay fifty Euro cents to go to the bathroom. We then headed to this little area in the hills that was designed in the early nineteen hundreds by the famous architects of the time to how people how modern housing could look. On the way there were happened upon an art school’s final exhibition. This was amazing! It was so neat to see all of the creativity and intricate detail. We then headed home to Altdorf. We made guacamole for dinner and watched Chacolat with Konstanze, Christiane, and Rosi. Beth and I learned a bit of German throughout the day and were so thankful to have Konstanze for a guide and translator. Beth and I will sorely miss her when we are in Austria.

Okay, this is the entry for July 21, 2006

This is a picture of a typical German Cemetary. Although, you have to give up the plot after 30yrs. to save space.



This is the renovated old town center of Altdorf. Isn't it beautiful?!

Beth and I slept in a bit (trying to catch up). We had a great breakfast and moseyed our way out the door. Konstanze then showed us around Altdorf. We went to see the city center which has been restored to look the way it did way back when and it’s gorgeous. We then happened upon a cemetery, which looked more like a garden park. It was so peaceful and such a place of life with all the plants and butterflies. I think our cemeteries should look like this. It’s such a beautiful way of honoring those who have passed on. We then visited the local mill, which has been in operation for the last five hundred years. All the locals go there to get their grains, beans, and pastas. Beth and I had a ton of fun trying to decipher the German names of everything. We got some flour for the onion bread we had for dinner that night. The onion bread was delicious and is a common dish in the southern part of Germany. We also showed off our German days of the week and numbers to Konstanze’s family at dinner that night. Her mother’s name in Rosi and she teaches English and Art at the local elementary school. Her father’s name if Hartmut (pronounced Hot-moot) and he works for IBM. Thankfully for Beth and I, they are amazing at speaking English. Konstanze’s sister’s name is Christiane and not only speaks English like a native-speaker, but is also fluent in Spanish. She is studying to be a lawyer.

Finally...a new post

Hi everyone-
1) Sorry I haven’t updated the blog since I left the country. It’s been a busy and crazy few days. I am going to backtrack a bit in this blog and will be a few days behind, but I hope I will catch up somewhere.
2) So, leaving the country. Beth and I were dropped off at the airport by her mother and brother, which was an adventure in itself. We got checked in and to our gate pretty much hitchless. We practiced our German days of the week and numbers while we waited for our plane to board. Once we were all boarded and almost ready to take off the captain came on the intercom and said that maintenance had found a discrepancy in their system check and needed to check it out, which would only take about fifteen minutes. So, we waited, then he came on again to tell us that there was something wrong with the backup (electronic) flap system that would need to be fixed before we took off and that should only be another twenty minutes or so. More than twenty minutes later he said it would be forty-five minutes to an hour or so. During this time Beth and I watched Girl with a Pearl Earring. Needless to say it was FOUR HOURS before we took off and we were stuck on the plane for this whole time. I was able to watch almost two movies before we took off. The flight was eight hours of restless sleep with some annoying passengers (two of which almost got in a fight) and some hilarious and kind flight attendants (the guys were a crack up!).

Landing in London not at eleven am, but at almost four pm. We rushed as fast as possible through customs, picking up our bags, and catching the Gatwick express to town. Forty-five minutes later we were in Victoria station with all my luggage for the six months plus our stuff for the month of traveling. Surprised that there wasn’t a lift (elevator) in this station, I had to quickly stow my luggage at the station for $22 until we could come back with less stuff and a sure place to store it for the month we are gone. It took at least another forty-five minutes for us to find the hostel, which did not have us on record for staying there and there seemed to be people living on top of each other. It was eight-thirty pm when we were finally settled enough to head back to get the bags. We found out that the sister hostel to the one we were staying in would store my bags for free, especially since we were coming back to the hostel in August. We weren’t back to the hostel until about midnight and it took us another hour and a half to figure out how to get to the train station the next morning in order to catch our flight to Stuttgart, which is when we realized that we needed to leave the hostel at about four in the morning.

We knew we couldn’t trust ourselves after not having slept for almost thirty-six hours to only sleep for three hours and get up in time to make our flight. So, we watched a bit of West Wing and then took turns sleeping for a half an hour each (which was all we got). We got to the train station and airport with relative ease (the bus system in London in ridiculously chaotic). If at all possible, avoid flying into or out of the Stansted airport (it’s a nightmare). We got on the flight to Stuttgart at eight am and were in Stuttgart at ten thirty am (they’re an hour ahead of London). Customs was easier here than London because we were visiting Konstanze and had her address. Konstanze met us at the airport to take us to her house in the town of Altdorf (which means old town in German). It was just about eleven am by this time and I went immediately to bed because it had been about forty-five hours of no sleep! I still can’t believe that all happened. It seems more like a distant nightmare than near reality. We made it and we are safe and having fun, which I will try to tell you about soon.

Southern Adventures

Since my last post, I have been introduced to the Tennessee cities of Hixson, Chattanooga, and Knoxville.

In Hixson I was able to run errands with Beth and her mother (Lou), including getting Traveler's Cheques for our month excursion. Later that night, Beth and I have an unwelcomed, creepy, crawly, flying visitor (aka Southern Cockroach) that we tried our best to demolish but were outsmarted or outsleuthed (I'm not sure which), but was found in the morning in the kitchen by her parents. Their house is full of boxes to the point that there is just enough room for people to walk around, but not much more. You could become completely invisible if you are behind the right pile of boxes and a room or two are not even accessible at all.

In Chattanooga, Beth and I got to visit the aquarium and see all sorts of sea animals. Random Fact: The aquarium in Chattanooga has the largest fresh water exhibit in the world. I got tons of great pictures and had a blast (I haven't been to an aquarium since I was in middle school)! One of the coolest things about the excursion is that we both got to pet sturgeon and sting rays. My favorite exhibits were the turtles and butterflies (I know, not a water animal). Some of the crysali looked like pure gold gems. We also got to go to this cute little shop across the Tennessee River (which is humongous by the way) and it was exactly like we were back in Eugene shopping. We got some cool beads that we are going to make into necklaces and whatnot while we have down time on our trip ;)


This is a chocolate chip starfish. Doesn't it look tasty? i get hungry every time I look at it!


This is a long neck turtle. It actually has to wrap it's neck sideways to curl up and go to sleep. We were both stunned when we first saw it.


One of the many brilliantly colored and designed butterflies that were incredibly difficult to photograph.

Beth and I then visited her grandparents, Daisy and Marcos (who are a very interesting Cuban couple). Daisy has more energy than any person I have ever known, including my grandmother (and those of you who know her are probably impressed). I am also impressed by the fact that I am a whole head taller than Daisy. I don't regularly feel like a giant! This was all a ton of fun, but we got a well-deserved rest on Sunday by just hanging around the house.


Here is Beth with her grandparents. Isn't Daisy adorable (and short).

Last night Beth's dad (Jim), Beth's brother (Alex), Beth, and I watched "Super Size Me." It was disgusting, but so good and educational and I think I might become a veggie now. I'll at least aspire to it in the next few months or years.

Today, Beth and I ran a bunch of errands around town and still need to do some of then even though it is almost 10:30 at night. It is undecided what we will be doing tomorrow until our flight leaves (10 pm). It could be touring Atlanta or visiting the aquarium in Atlanta (which is the largest in the world). So, until next time, Thanks for reading!

-Aubrey

P.S. I got to do the first cut of Beth's hair that she is donating to locks of love. So, now we have matching backpacks, shirts, and hair. I'm sure there's more, but I can't quick recall them all. Scary, Huh?

Houston Airport

I thought this was so funny to walk by in the middle of an insanely busy and crowded airport. By the way, It is George Bush Sr. (which the airport is named after).

I made it to Tennessee

Hello Again-
I am on my second day here in the south and it has been very, very busy so far. Beth picked me up at the Huntsville airport (which is incredibly small) and we went to lunch at the Cracker Barrel. I felt very out of place in my Yoga pants, Oregon Football teeshirt, and Teva Flip Flops. I changed though because my clothes felt like airplane recycled air. The food was amazing! You never have to worry about whether or not you will leave an eating establishment full when you are down here. We then hit the road again for an hour trip to Florence, Alabama. i helped Beth and her family finish moving from their house there. We finally got on the road to Chattanooga, Tennessee at about ten or eleven pm. We arrived in Chattanooga at about three thirty after a short stint of the uhaul not starting and a jumper cable run to Wal*Mart. I have been sleeping since then and we are about to head out to unload the truck and hopefully we will be done and I can rest off the rest of my jetlag. We'll see!!!!!

On the Road (Sky Highway that is)

Hi all-
I am now at the Portland Airport. I have successfully made it through check-in and security (but I forgot to take off my shoes). I didn't go through the drug, poofy thing though (my roommates will know what I'm talking about). I am now waiting for the plane to arrive, to board it, and to fly to Houston for my four hour layover. I think I will now do a devotional for a while to hopefully get the adrenaline down. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts. I can't wait to get to the European Continent.
-Aubrey

Take a Deap Breath!

Hi all-
I thought you might enjoy a little anecdote of stress just before my trip. Yesterday (Friday), I realized that I had absolutely no clue where my passport, visa/work permit, and social security card (which were all together) were. I frantically called Beth (because she has one of my bags in Tennessee), but was not able to get ahold of her. Then I called Renee who is still living in our house and had her check some places, and no such luck. I also called some other people looking for phone numbers for Beth and rechecked all of my belongings here in Roseburg. I was at a loss. My Gramma ended up having most of Roseburg and part of Eugene on a prayer alert for this situation. I was becoming very annoyed by the end of last night because I couldn't remember anything about where I might have last left all these extremely important documents. I went to sleep (not very soundly) and then made some more frantic calls and text messages at about 6 am today. Finally, Beth got back to me to let me know she would look and not a half an hour later, she had found it!!!!!! Praise the Lord. What a weight to be lifted. The most important documents for the next seven months of my life were in limbo, but are now safely tucked away with Beth's important documents. I almost didn't get to go on this excursion, but by the grace of God I will be headed out early Wednesday morning. God always has to keep things spiced up a bit, it can't all be smooth sailing;) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little last minute stress. -Aubrey

Europe Trip Itinerary

So, here is a brief Itinerary of where Beth (my roommate) and I will be throughout the last part of the summer. I will keep you all posted as to what sort of excitement (because with the two of us there's bound to be) we have on the trip.

July 12 (12:30am)-Leave from PDX to Huntsville, Alabama (with a 4 hour layover in Houston) to spend a week with Beth's family.
July 18 (9:45pm)-Leave from Atlanta to London, England arriving at 11 am on July 19.
July 19-London
July 20-Fly to Stuttgart, Germany to visit our friend Konstanze and her family.
July 21 to 29-Stuttgart (and various adventures)
July 30-Fly to Prague, Czech Republic
July 31 to Aug 2-Prague
Aug 3-Train to Vienna, Austria
Aug 4 to 5-Vienna
Aug 6-Train to Bratislava, Slovakia
Aug 7-Bratislava
Aug 8-Train to Budapest, Hungary
Aug 9 to 10 Budapest
Aug 11-Train to Krakow, Poland
Aug 12-13 Krakow (hopefully with a trip to Auschwietz Concentration Camp)
Aug 14-Flight to London
Aug 15 to 24-London
Aug 24-Beth flies back to the USA and I continue on in London until around Valentines day.

I'm Done

Well, It's two days after graduation. I have finished with my Master's degree and I don't have to go back to school for a long, long time. Who knows, I will probably be back in a couple years;) It's a lifelong learner thing! But, I am incredibly excited to go out and experience life for a while and learn from the world, especially since I have been doing school for eighteen years. So, on to new projects and adventures.

Welcome

Hi all-
I was just asked if I was going to keep a blog because I am leaving in exactly one month to travel Europe and then live in London, England for six months. So, here goes...I will do my best to keep on top of this and to make sure I hit all the big things, not only in my travel adventures, but also in my adventures of life, love, God, and anything else that might come along the way. I hope you relish the ride and learn with me. God Bless and have a fabulous day!
-Aubrey