I Think...

Its about time for a new laptop... (mine's having serious issues)

The agony of defeat...

So we lost the Euro 2008 championship last night. Disappointing to say the least, but not all that surprising. Spain played the better game yesterday, and with as many opportunities on goal as they had its a minor blessing the score was only 1:0. The feeling around the office this morning is one of disappointment, but hope... World Cup 2010 is only two years away, and the team is on the upswing from its poor start of the century. We've gone from being eliminated in the group stages of the Euro-Cup to, once again, being runners up, and a solid football (soccer) team.

Otherwise, life is good. I played some soccer yesterday evening with people from BFA. I'm a bit sore from that, but I ended up doing a pretty alright job for an American... I made a few quality saves, from shots that should have gone in. On the other hand... the altitude here is definitely higher than at home... (and I'm out of shape, but my official excuse is the altitude). Truth be told, it was a ton of fun to play. Soccer, I still think, is one of the funnest games to play pick-up with a group of friends.

The Real Breakfast of Champions

Wheaties stink. Really, honestly, they kind of taste like nothing and if you're anything like me you end up getting caught loading them up with sugar when you do eat them so that you don't feel like you're re-hydrating dried out wheat pulp in your mouth.

NOW, Germany has great breakfast food, something you can really build your day on! A pretty typical, traditional German breakfast involves bread, butter, and some lunch meat. YES, thats right, cold-cuts for breakfast. For the first couple weeks I'll be within easy walking distance of a local bakery (which is good) so my breakfast ritual literally involves me making my daily walk to the bakery, deciding on which hard rolls to buy, and then making a couple open faced sandwiches for myself out of my prize.

To the average American... this may sound slightly revolting and less healthy than just grabbing a box of Cheerios from the cabinet and sloshing them around in a bowl of milk. But really when you think of it, its really not that bad for you. The roll is a pretty decent source of complex carbs & fiber (especially if you get a true Vollkorn, or whole-grain roll, delicious... and good for you). So long as you have the European norm of a piece or two of lunch meat on your sandwich you're not doing too badly on fat, and getting some decent protein to boot. Throw in a glass of juice or milk and you're set.

As for taste. Any kind of objection you'd have to it is honestly mental block. There is nothing so good as a Broetchen in the morning. And honestly, my breakfast ritual leaves me feeling full, really after not eating that much (one Broetchen and a few cold cuts... and maybe a piece of cheese)... and it lasts me through when I eat lunch.

And for the record. German cereal is pretty good too, if you just can't bring yourself to eat lunch meat for breakfast. Check out Musli if you can find it, or something like it in the states. (Its kind of like the Kashi cereals).

Alright. I'm out. I need to get some other work done today. I think I get to tally up sport equipment today!

GOALLL

Round trip tickets to Europe $1500
Bratwurst & Broetchen $ 2.50
Drink $ 2.50
Watching Philip Lahm put in a last minute goal to advance Germany to the Euro 2008 Finals in a church auditorium packed with screaming German fans? PRICELESS. (There are some things in life that money can buy, for everything else... there are short term missions trips... yeah. thats a shameless plug)

Safe Arrival

bottom: 0in;"> This is a post from Tuesday June 24^th, even though it is going to show that I am posting later than that. I arrived in Kandern today, a little bit behind schedule due to a couple of flight postponements, in pretty good condition for just having made the transatlantic flight. The town hasn't changed that much in the past two years since I've been here last, a few changes to the layout of local supermarkets, a little bit of construction has gone on, but the black forest still feels like the black forest.

I found out where exactly I'll be working the first couple of weeks that I'll be here. I'll be based out of the Janz Team offices here in town. I'll be working out of the “guest office” which is a converted closet, the back wall of which is covered in different books of German theology, and the other space pretty much dedicated to a desk and computer. Its small, but just big enough to be cozy and not claustrophobic. There's a skylight in the sloping ceiling that lets natural light in, so the room seems to breathe a little bit, rather than be a dungeon like converted walk in closet.

I start working, proper, tomorrow morning. I need to show up between 9 and 10 in the morning and will, hopefully, after the morning have a much better idea of how my time will be split up over the next three weeks or so. I'm assuming that the closer to camp we get, the more frantic the workload will be... but I'm up for the challenge, and actually relishing the opportunity to do work with eternal significance.

Otherwise, my evening was pretty free. I had a chance to the very first round of grocery shopping for myself. I picked up a couple of Broetchen (little hard rolls) and some lunch meat from the store, along with some iced tea to drink. So I have enough to eat, at least until I get a chance to do a little bit more shopping. And I felt like I ate like a king, even though my dinner was a hard roll and meat – its one of those things that I've been craving since I found out I'd be coming again. And it lived up to expectations. Otherwise, I walked through town for a while, and got most of the way reacquainted with where things are in relation to each other.

I also had a chance to take a walk on some of the roads right outside of town that go up the side of the hills/mountains. I always forget how beautiful it is in the Black Forest until I come back. Flying in, looking at the hilly landscape flying by underneath the plane, on the way from Paris to Basel I was struck by how gorgeous it was. My walk didn't disappoint either. I took some pictures of Kandern from the top of a nearby hill looking down, and they turned out gorgeously.

Otherwise, life is good. I've got no complaints. I'm still humbled and honored to be able to help out here for the next couple of months. I know there will be many of challenges coming my way over the next few weeks, and then an explosion of frantic activity as camps start and kids arrive. But hopefully, Lord willing, I'll be able to meet those challenges head on and overcome them.

Alright. I'm off. I need to get to bed, so that I have good energy to work tomorrow, and so that I can start beating the jet-lag. I have no idea how much time I'll have to post tomorrow evening. As plans stand right now I'm probably going to go watch the Germany-Turkey Euro Cup semi-final tomorrow evening at a church in the area. Here's hoping that all goes well!

Its time

This will be my last post States-side. Tomorrow I fly off to Europe. I won't be back for about two months. I'm a bit nervous. I have a feeling I won't sleep too well tonight. Even though I know almost everything has been taken care of at this point, I still feel like I'm missing something, or haven't gone over something, or forgot to pack something, or I'll run out of time tomorrow to get one last check through my baggage in.

I won't have a chance to post tomorrow - I fly out of Cleveland at about three in the afternoon. I'll land, first, in Newark, have about a two hour layover, and then make the long night flight to Paris. From Paris I hop a one hour flight to Basel where I'll be picked up.

Its not the flights that are stressful. Its the finality of it. If there is a big point of no return, tomorrow is it. Once I get on that plane and fly off, I'm on my own until I get to Basel. There's no turning back home to pick up something I forgot, no changing plans, and no coming back for two months.

On one hand, I realize that the plans I have are pretty solid, and not too much can go wrong. Even if I forget something, if its necessary I should be able to pick it up in Germany... But I think that anytime you step into the unknown its a bit unsettling until you've begun to adapt.

SO. I'm off in the morning. I hope all is as well as I think it is. I hope I make all my connections. I hope my flights go smoothly. And I hope that I'm in decent enough shape when I land.

See you in Europe.

Euro 2008 Update

Germany beat Portugal 3:2 today... which means Germany is going on to the semi-finals. Which means.... I get to watch them somewhere in town when I get there Wednesday. Now thats worth beating Jet-Lag for.

Another Milestone

Today was my last day of work before leaving. It feels kind of weird to know that I won't be back for another two months. There's an air of finality and immediacy thats beginning to set in as I'm getting ready. The deadline is no longer a couple of weeks away, or even a week away. Five days from now I'm flying out of Cleveland, headed for the Black forest. Its both nerve wracking to try and get everything together and exhilarating.

Tickets Came

The receipt for the tickets came in the mail today. I'm itching to start on my way. On the downside though, I found out that the local pool instituted a speedo only rule for guys... which means I guess I'm going shopping. I wonder if this is what Paul was talking about when he said that he had become all men to all people....

T-Minus One Week and Counting

Alright... I broke my streak of daily updating, which is my goal in Germany (probably unattainable, but its better to shoot high and fail, than not try at all, right?)

Today my finances were wired over to TEAM. My flight leaves a week from today, and I won't be back until mid August. I'm really looking forward to getting over to Germany and starting to work. But I also know I've got a few minor hurdles to jump over yet before taking off: finishing off work, packing, and most importantly making sure that I have everything that I need before its too late to go out shopping (I guess Super WalMart near parmatown is 24hrs... But do I really want to make a shopping trip at 3 am. on Sunday... Not really).

Its either really dumb of me, or a really good thing that what I'm most worried about is a short layover in Paris. I'm just having memories of trying to get through Charles De Gaul international airport as quickly as possible... and remembering how incredibly fun it was (sarcasm intended). I've got one hour to get from my incoming flight to my outgoing flight... and it takes forever to get across the airport... and I don't speak French...

Otherwise life is really good. I can't complain. Germany is playing in a must win Euro Cup game this afternoon against Austria... a team which we should beat. America beat up on Barbados in their first World Cup Qualifier (for the 1010 cup). I should have a chance to hang out with some friends before I leave, and say goodbye to people for the next couple of months, which is always nice to do Psychologically speaking. So, I'm a little nervous, about the last little details, but I'm definitely looking forward to getting over there and getting my hands dirty!

One Step Closer

I didn't really get a chance to update yesterday, so I'm writing a quick post before I go to work today. I actually had a chance to go to a German IV reunion, with the people from my German IV class from High School. We get together about every six months, and its really been a nice way to keep in contact with some people. Bizzarely enough the group dynamics haven't really changed in the past five years since we graduated. Its kind of scary really :-). But it really was nice to see everyone again.

Otherwise, plans are still moving forward to go to Germany. My day of departure is Monday June 23rd, and I'll be returning August 20th... So I'll be out of the country almost two full months!

One more day down

Another day closer to getting to Germany. The closer I get, the more I'm looking forward to going. Its been two years since I've been to Germany, and my German has gotten more than a little bit rusty. At least I've had a chance to speak quite a bit the past few weeks, so I've had a chance to get back in the swing of thinking in German again.

Relief and Stress

The good news is... a lot of the details to actually head off to Germany are more firmly in place. The bad news is that I need to have all of my support in a week before I take off. The good news is that I leave a week from Monday. The bad news is that all of the support has to be in, in a little under a week. Overall... good news wins out. I'm going to Germany, and my plans are looking a lot firmer. So today was a good day.

Tomorrow...

Tomorrow should be a big day. I've got the day off of work, and my goal is to try and nail down some of the last details before I go to Germany. Hopefully after tomorrow I'll know whats going on with my plane ticket, and have a better idea whats going on with my support, and hopefully... hopefully have a day of departure set pretty much in stone, instead of a more vague... I'm leaving in about **** weeks type of statement. SO, hopefully things get nailed down tomorrow. Otherwise, life is good. Right, now I'm just hopping that things work out and I get a much better picture of whats going on in the morning.

Joga Bonito... Play Beautiful

If you want to go somewhere and converse with the people, you could learn their language. OR, you could just pick up football (soccer as we know it). Seriously, just about anywhere you go in the world outside of the US you can usually find a couple of makeshift goals, a ball, and a mass of kids with shins of steel trying to show off their moves on the pitch (soccer field).

Seriously though, international soccer is great. If its on, I tend to watch it... way too much of it.There's so much national pride behind the teams its hard for it not to be infectious. The rivalries are some of the best in all of sports (check Brazil v. Argentina... or Germany vs. the Netherlands... or the USA vs. Mexico). For most of the world the World Cup rivals, if not overtakes, the Olympics in regards to national sporting events. You look forward to it for years... especially if your team qualifies. Its like having the top all star teams in the world compete against each other for a month. Today Germany beat Poland 2:0 in round 1 of EuroCup2008, and the USA held the number 1 rated Argentina to a 0:0 tie in an international "friendly." Today was a good day; my two teams did well (America, much better than was expected) so I'm happy.

I've embedded a video that was part of a soccer ad-campaign Nike put on a couple of years ago... so you can get just a little taste of the flavor of international soccer. The slogan was Joga Bonito, Portuguese for "Play Beautiful" (Andrew can correct me if I've translated incorrectly). Most of the commercials were pretty good... and some were even pretty funny. I think you still should be able to find most of them on YouTube if you look.

I've seen it all...

I just turned the T.V. on to see Orel Hershiser competing in a Poker tournament. Wow. I'm really not sure what else I can say.

I'm still going back and forth trying to get things in line to head off to Germany, and I'm really starting to feel the "last minuteness" of the trip. On one hand, I'm sure I'll be fine actually traveling off to Germany. Its the communications and getting everything set up with the different people and organizations involved that has me a bit worried. I'm sure everything will be fine in the end.

Otherwise, today was a good day. I had the day off of work. I got some paperwork done, and a few envelopes addressed. I also got to spend some time with my grandparents and my Great Aunt and Uncle who are in from Germany. It was a lot of fun running through the mall in the evening looking for the right kind of shoes that some of my relatives in Germany wanted them to bring back ... even if it was a bit aggravating when none of the stores had them.

Alright. I'm going to sign off for the night, and try to get some sleep before going to work in the A.M.

Another Day, Another Post

It was actually a strange day today. I guess its one of the major milestones getting closer to going to Germany. I have only one week of work left before heading out, and a whole lot of other tings left to do. So it was both a good, and stressful realization. I've got a few more paper-work things to send off to TEAM before I go, I've got a lot of support left to come in, and not to mention I have to book my flights.... SO a lot has to happen in the next week or so. I'm still hoping to head out in about a week and a half.

Otherwise, life is good. Just about everything has been taken over by trying to get ready for Germany. A lot of my free time has been switched over into either looking into different things that need to be done or getting ready to go physically and spiritually.

A Quick Update and Some Satire

Alright... This post is going to have almost absolutely nothing to do with going to Germany. Right now I'm watching Modern Marvels on the History Channel, and they just featured a TA that I stopped at more than a few times on the way to school or back. It was just a bizarre feeling to see somewhere I've been a bunch of times on the TV. I guess it just goes to show the way we compartmentalize the difference between "TV" and "real life" and how at times it can all bleed together (and it only becomes strange when we actually realize that its bleeding together). I'm not sure that that'll even make sense to anybody, but it was just a weird observation that I made.

Otherwise. I wanted to use this post to try embedding a video into the body of a post. So I tracked down a video on Youtube of a "mock presidential debate" that was preformed one Friday during a chapel service while I was at Cedarville. My friends Drew and John were two of the masterminds behind it. SO, not only do I get to tinker around with Blogger's ability to put video into posts, but I get to give us all a four year flashback!

A Post to Get In the Habit

Alright, I'll be honest. This is going to be a post more so to get in the habit of posting than anything else. The way I'm looking at it is that the more often I make time to update things while I'm still in the states, the easier it will be for me to carve out the time to do it while I'm in Germany. In other words, I'm trying to make this more of a habit so that its not something that I'll forget too easily when all the excitement starts - rather it becomes part of the excitement as it happens.

Otherwise, not too much in regards to going to Germany today. I'm still waiting for a lot of information to come through, as well as trying to get financial things squared away, which are things I have a feeling will be ongoing for the next... while, at least. SO if anybody is reading this at the early stages, please keep that in prayer.

I'm trying to stay patient, realizing that God will work things out the way He wants to in His time. I'm just not necessarily all that good at it, call it human nature.

So. This is my first entry. How should I start? I guess the first thing that I really want to do here is to thank you all ahead of time for keeping up as well as you can, and for your support. This blog is planned in order to keep a record of what goes on while I'm in Germany this summer. My hope is that I'll be able to keep people posted as I go through the whole process- building support, getting to Europe, preparing for camp, and then going through the camp process as it happens. Hopefully I'll have a chance to share some stories, concerns, pictures, and maybe even a few videos through this site.

As I get things underway on this site, I guess there's a few things that I'd like to say.

First: there should be some changes as I actually move over to Europe. For example of the peripherals, like the picture slideshows will be updated with more recent pictures as they become available, and the look and feel will change somewhat as things progress.

Second: The updates to this site will probably come in many different shapes and sizes. Sometimes there will just be short entries: a couple sentences with a short story, or fact, or thought that I had. Other times there will probably be longer more meditative thoughts and ponderings about what is going on. And other times there might be more ***GHASP*** literary posts where I try to express the feel something has to it. (Sorry I'm a recovering English major... please humor me). So hopefully, if everything goes right, this site will be a pretty good way to get different kinds of updates out that wouldn't be possible with just update emails.

I guess thats more than enough for now. I've got to be getting some other stuff done in preperation. Expect more later!

Steve