Tuesday, September 28, 2010

And the language barrier is evident....

First off, I would like to say that my family gave me one of the most encouraging sendoffs ever! I love you ALL! (Yes; Mom, Dad, Staci, and Michal)

Now, for some exciting stuff....

Right before I boarded my flight to London, I got into a conversation with a lady who was going to visit family. She asked me where I was going...."Germany." Another lady who was eavesdropping asked the infamous question for this whole trip, "Do you know German?" And you all should know my answer by now..."Nope." The flight to London showcased just a snipet of what I was going to encounter, as far as the language barrier goes. My flight to Dresden should have been called A WARNING FOR KARI; YOU ARE GOING TO REALIZE YOUR STUPIDITY IN GERMANY. Oh dear.Never knew how badly I would have wanted a short version of Rosettastone, despite the outrageous price, after the first three hours in Germany. Trust me, I already have one thing I would change. I would have studied enough to tell people I don't speak German, because when I say,"No, I can only speak English," they continue to have or at least try to have a conversation with me about where they grew up and their wonderful, new umbrella. Kids, listen to your family. Stay in school.

**I may have also sat by the craziest old man in Germany because when I was riding the train and he was talking to me, a younger boy started cracking up laughing. I looked at the kid, "Do you speak English?" He nodded. He continued to laugh and manage to tell me that the crazy man was talking to me but wasn't making any sense even in GERMAN! Great. I picked a winner to sit by. Too bad I thought the old man and crazy lady were a couple and then later found out that she thought he was crazy too! Yep, I thought they were just a sterotypical old couple that fought about stupid stuff. Oh no, she just happened to sit by the crazy man too. She later confirmed that she didn't know him once he got off at a stop at the train. She looked at me and rolled her eyes with a sigh of relief that he was finally gone. I think she was really grateful that she was able to express to me that she wasn't as crazy as I thought she was.**

So anyways, I represented an American, folks. Yes sir. Yes ma'am. I did. I done a not good jerb at it. Sorry. If you find yourself in a foreign country and people look at you like you're an idiot, I apologize. That was my fault.

After finding people (one nice gentleman) help me understand the transferring system for the trains, I was guided to a train that took me straight to my destination where Dick and Ruchama Aalbert were able to come pick me up despite the delay from previous plans. *At this point I think I should note that the language barrier has been with the locals only and not with the YWAM staff, for now:)

Once we got to the base, I had a tour of the Herrnhut Castle. Yep, fo'sho! It's pretty sweet! I'm gonna have to take pictures of it soon before the troops come in tomorrow. Yep, fo'sho on that one too, looks like I'm one of the very few to be here tonight because the other YWAM students and staff headed out to Switzerland to celebrate the 50th with the Cunninghams. Kinda sad I wasn't able to go to the celebration, but then again, the castle is nearly empty and there are a lot of rooms that need to have their pictures taken.


Only one bum deal of this whole thing....my check bag decided to not come with. Hopefully it will build up the confidence and come to Herrnhut soon or else we may have a problem. No clothes, no sleeping bag/mat...No big deal, I just ask that you all join me in prayer that it come eventually...soon, tomorrow.

Take care! I love you all and I'm so grateful for all your prayers! I'll try to keep you all updated as often as I can...

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Here we GO!!!

Thanks for checking out my blog! First off, you guys are the smart ones and are going to get the good stuff. Not sure what that fully entails, but know this: my blog updates are most likely going to be WAY better than facebook. Well, at least that's what I say now and hope to live up to. I'll try my best to keep you updated on what I'm learning and how God is working. I love you all and I'm stoked that I have your prayers and support. When I'm finally in Germany, I'll write to you!


Until then...a dozen more days...for real...12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, there.