The short version of what you’re about to read: I lived, I learned, I choir-ed, I theater-ed. I am older and stronger and all around better. I’m #blessed with the #best.
21 October: I woke up and went with my host mom to the government place (which I honestly don’t know the name of in English) to get my au pair visa. This only lasted about 30 minutes so afterwards I rode my bike to the city center and went shopping and I actually bought some clothes at my current favorite European store (C&A). I also got breakfast at a nice bakery called “Der Beck”. Then I rode my bike back home to pick the boys up from kindergarten. We went home and ate lunch together and afterwards I played and read with the older boy and I honestly just spent the entire evening playing with the boys which was really nice! After dinner I rode my bike back to the city center for my theater class and it was a lot of fun! I have already made a friend or two and afterwards some of us went out to a café and got drinks together, so that was good! I felt really nice about having friends, especially ones with similar interests as me.
22 October: I woke up at around 11 am and I just wanted to have a relaxing day, so I showered and I watched Netflix (how I met your mother specifically). Then at 2 pm I went upstairs and Oma Inga was there so I spent time with her and the older boy. We read stories and played for a little while. Then they went outside to do some yard work and I played with the baby. She is such a sweet baby, but she is a fat baby so sometimes I hate carrying her around because it hurts my muscles! When the younger boy woke up from his nap, he was very temperamental. I don’t really remember the events that caused this, but first the baby started crying and Oma Inga tried to comfort her. She kept crying and it kept getting louder and louder, then I wasn’t putting on the younger boys sock correctly so he started screaming and crying, then the older boy could not fit two legos together correctly and HE started crying!! It was not a fun moment for Oma Inga and I. Needless to say, when their mom came back into the room, everything became fine. First, she took the baby and the baby was calm. Then, she put the younger boy’s sock on just the way he wanted it and the younger boy was calm. Then, she helped the older boy with his toy and he was calm. Moms really are quite powerful women. Dads too honestly. After this, I had about an hour of child-less time, so I tidied up the kitchen and living room. For dinner we ate delicious pizza! After dinner, I rode my bike to Bamberg to my friend Megan’s house and I met Vera and Megan there. We went to another big party in Bamberg and we all spent the night at Megan’s apartment. I had such a great time with my friends!
23 October: Vera and I woke up at 7:30 because we both needed to get to class. I rode my bike to the building where my Wednesday morning language class is and I stopped and had breakfast (a banana, a buttered croissant, and some chocolate milk). My language class made me really happy because I kept answering correctly and my teacher is so nice and it feels really good to actually feel like I’m good at speaking German. We spent the day talking about the weather and “small talk” and how different cultures use small talk, so it was really fun and interesting. After my language class, I rode my bike to my lecture that’s entirely in German that I still don’t know what it’s about. For me, it’s a lost cause to understand, so I will attend class, but I won’t have any clue what’s going on. After my lecture, I rode my bike to a third building for my language class. I had some extra time, so I got some hot chocolate at a different student cafeteria. My Wednesday afternoon class is about the culture of Bamberg with the same teacher as earlier. We talked about what we like about Bamberg, what some of the cultural aspects are, and we talked about Bavaria as a whole and some of the important cities in Bavaria. It was a very nice class. I also made friends with a guy from Ireland, who I share a mutual friend with and also a girl from Italy, so that made me pretty happy! After this class, I rode my bike to the city center and I parked it and I got french fries for lunch (my favorite of course) and I looked at some of the stores, but didn’t buy anything. Then, this is starting to get old, but I got a piece of cheesecake and I walked around for a while with the cheesecake. After this, I ended up getting ice cream because I saw amazing flavors: lebkuchen (gingerbread) and caramel. It was very very delicious ice cream! And I was really happy because the lady actually gave me American-sized scoops (a big portion)! Then I rode my bike back to where I had my 8:30 AM class and I took a walk in the park right next to the building complex. Then, I met my friend Awije for coffee at this very cute coffee place. And guess what!!! They had pumpkin spice lattes 🤩 I was so happy! It was also really nice talking to/spending time with Awije. This was also the night of my first choir rehearsal and it went really well! It was a little difficult for me because the director speaks entirely in German, so I can’t always understand what he’s saying or which part of the music we are singing, but it honestly wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. We are singing Goethe Faust and it’s 178 pages of music! I’m honestly so happy I was accepted into the choir because it feels good to be a part of music making again. I had a really nice day on this fine Wednesday!
24 October: I felt like I didn’t have time to breathe this! I did a lot. I started my day by waking up at 6:45 and showering and getting ready for my day. Then on my way to school,I stopped at the bakery and I got a poppyseed cinnamon bun and some chocolate milk for breakfast. Then I arrived to my class and sat next to my friends from Ireland (their names are Daniel and Courtney, but I don’t think they know my name. I don’t really mind because we have good conversation!). We talked for a while and then the class began. I don’t really like my Thursday German class as much as my Wednesday German class because it is a different teacher and she is significantly harder to understand and much more boring than my Wednesday teacher. I wish I had a cool teacher for my grammar class because that’s probably the most important class for me, and yet I can’t stay awake! My German class gets done at 9:45 and I have a class that begins at 9:55 that is 10 minutes away by bike. Needless to say, I have not arrived to the second class on time either day. My second class is about American Cultural Studies and I like it, but I don’t really care for that teacher either, but the people are nice enough and the class is entirely in English so that’s good. That class gets done at 12:10 and then I had to babysit at 12:30 and it’s a 20 minute bike ride from my class back home, so again, I was very rushed. I babysat the older boy while the younger boy napped and watched an episode of “Dragon Tales” (well he watched, I’m going to be honest and tell you I fell asleep!) and then we read a children’s book about different types of transportation which was fun. Then, I babysat the baby girl and it was kind of hard because she did not, under any circumstances, want to lose sight of her mom. If she couldn’t see her mom anymore, she started to cry. So, I had to hold the baby while her mom raked leaves outside. She needed to fall asleep so my host mom wanted me to take her on a walk, but every time I tried to put the baby in the stroller, she cried and cried. We ended up having to trick her, so her mom pushed her in the stroller in circles until she fell asleep and then the moment the baby shut her eyes, I took control of the stroller and went on a walk. However, when the baby woke up she was very very displeased that I wasn’t her mom. Once we got back home, she was completely fine. We all ate dinner together as a family and the older boy and I had fun eating bread because we would eat a slice and still be hungry and we’d go toast two more slices, I really enjoyed that. I had to babysit this night, so I brought the boys to bed and they wanted me to sing them so many songs, which was honestly nice. I was surprised by how well behaved they were for me when going to bed. All went well. I really enjoy the busy days like this, but I look forward to the less busy days like tomorrow as well.
25 October: This was a more relaxing day. I was able to sleep in which I really needed. I rode my bike about 12 minutes away to the shopping mall by my house and I got cheesecake and looked at h and m. Then I went to a cosmetic type of store and I bought face masks for my ladies night with Vera that would be happening in the evening. I also went to the grocery store to pick up some groceries for ladies night and to bake some muffins for the family breakfast we are having Sunday. I was really excited because I found a type of limited edition type of ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s that is about accepting people from other cultures and it’s called “melting pott” and so I ate the entire pint for lunch 😅. After that I watched “how I met your mother” and I took a short nap. Then at 3:30 I went upstairs and I played with the younger boy for a while and then I went on a beautiful walk with the baby at the lake by our house as the sun set and it was so nice! We walked for an hour which was really relaxing. Then, when I came back home, I played with the two boys and we ate dinner together. I brought them to bed and they were being a little misbehaved which really frustrated me at the time, but it honestly wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. I really like how much they want me to sing to them and even if they ask me to sing a million songs, that’s not really so bad. After I put the kids to bed, I rode my bike to my friend Vera’s apartment for ladies night and it was so much fun!! We ate pizza and did face masks and watched movies and it was just such a good time and made me happy.
26 October: A fun day! I woke up and Vera and I just talked and hung out until I had to leave at 10:30. I rode my bike to the Bamberg Cathedral and I met up with the members of my culture class and my teacher. He told us all about the cathedral and the surrounding areas and their significance in Bamberg’s history and culture. Something interesting that I learned is that Bamberg actually once was the capital of Germany. Of course this was a very very long time ago, but still very interesting. We also got to hear an organ concert in the cathedral which was boring but I can appreciate the artisticness. Afterwards, I rode my bike back to the city center and got lunch and I met back up with my friend Vera and we went shopping together. I actually spent some more money on myself which was what I like to call, self care! (And feeding the shopping addiction) Afterwards I went home and I made the muffins for Sunday mornings breakfast and I did my laundry and I actually got to FaceTime Chloe for an entire hour which was really great and made me so happy to see and talk to my best friend. I babysat the boys from 6 pm-8 pm and then they went to bed, so nothing really excited or dramatic happened during that time, thankfully. From 8 pm-9 pm, I helped my host parents set up for the breakfast we are hosting Sunday morning for my host dad’s colleague and her family. I went to bed early and all-in-all I would say it was a pretty good day!
27 October: We had the breakfast this morning and it went really well. Everybody liked my muffins (of course)! The colleague of my host dad also has an au pair from Montana and she is really nice so I got to spend a lot of time talking to and getting to know her. She is really sweet so I think she will be a good friend. We went on a walk together with our host babies and we joked about being teen moms. It was really cute. I’m exhausted now, but I’m so happy with this week. I’m so active and I feel great about all of my activities and the social life I am building for myself. I’m glad things are coming together so nicely. I feel so happy here in Germany and I can’t believe I arrived in Europe 2 months ago!
Avery's European Adventure 