I Hardly Had Enough Time to Write This Post, But Here It Is!

This past week has been busy, busy, busy, but nonetheless, I great week! I spent a huge amount of quality time with great friends and my host family this week and that combined with perfect spring-like weather, really made these past few days awesome!

I started off my week on Monday by ironing. I spent about two and a half hours ironing my host family’s clothes, but the time went by very quickly and I feel like I am becoming a very talented ironer. Practice makes perfect! After ironing, I met my friend Jolene, who is also an au pair, for coffee. We had great conversation and yummy coffee as per usual. Later in the afternoon I went to the movies (by myself, but it wasn’t as sad as it may seem) and saw a movie called “JoJo Rabbit” it’s a WW2 dramedy that I would definitely recommend to anyone. I really enjoyed the movie and I was happy to have watched it in German, so I could improve my skills. After the movie, I went to my English speaking drama group and we had one of our final rehearsals. I was satisfied with how well it was finally starting to come together. Afterwards, we all went out for hot chocolate together (as per usual) and I’d say it was a great evening.

I started Tuesday off with babysitting in the morning, I went for a walk with the babygirl while she napped, which I thoroughly enjoyed of course. She is so sweet and we get along really well together. Then, Oma Inga and Opa Günther came over and they talked to me for a little while and then picked the boys up from kindergarten. We all ate “Milchreis” and apple sauce for lunch and it was delicious. I played with the boys for a little while with Oma Inga and Opa Günther. That evening I spent a lot of time playing with the boys and it went really well. After I was off work, I rode my bike back to the city center to the movie theater. There I met some friends from my theater group and we watched the “sneak preview” movie of the month. I was so excited because the movie we got to see was “Bombshell” which is about the sexual harassment allegations against Fox News employees. My friends and I really enjoyed the movie and its feminist agenda.

Wednesday was an interesting day for me. I wanted to take the train to Nuremberg and spend the day there, but as I was riding my bike to the train station, my tire went flat for the second time in 2 weeks! I was so upset. I remained calm though and walked my bike to the repair shop and thankfully, the guy told me he could get it fixed that day. So, I spent most of the day walking around Bamberg, waiting for my bike to be repaired. I went to McDonald’s for a while and used their free WiFi while sipping on a coffee. After picking up my bike, I went for an exploration bike ride and ended up in a quaint little place I’d never been before. I also got a wonderful shot of a rainbow (see below). In the evening, I went to my choir rehearsal and afterwards I went to the bar that has a Nintendo 64 with my friend from choir. We talked in German the entire time and we played Mario Kart. It was seriously so much fun!

On Thursday, I was able to sleep in a little because I didn’t have to go to my grammar class and I was happy about that. I had to go to my American studies class and review for the exam which I won’t be taking and I have to say, reviewing for a test you never have to take, is a very stress-free learning opportunity. I really didn’t need to go to class at day, but I have friends in the class who I enjoy spending time with, so I wanted to see them. After class, I rode my bike home and ate lunch with my host family. I spent time reading with the older boy and we also watched an episode of Little Einstein’s together. Then, when the younger boy was done napping, my host mom, the boys, the baby and I all went to the playground and it was so much fun! The weather was beautiful and the air felt like spring, so I was so happy to have the opportunity to play outside for a few hours. For dinner, we all ate gnocchi and my host parents and I shared some great conversation. After dinner, I rode my bike back to the city for another rehearsal with my drama group. This was our first dress rehearsal and I still felt satisfied about how it ran. Afterwards, a group of us went to a Mexican restaurant called “Calimeros” for karaoke night. I wore my bike helmet and safety vest all evening as a joke and it made me happy how much people laughed. Not at me, but with me. If you haven’t already, you can see a clip of me singing “Material Girl” on my Facebook page.

On Friday, I woke up early and rode my bike to the city to help the people in my theater group move these huge pin boards from our rehearsal space to our performance space. It was quite a long walk for us to be lifting such heavy pin boards, but we are theater kids so our muscles are huge and we can persevere. The pinboard moving lasted about an hour and afterwards I got coffee and breakfast and spent some time walking around the city. The weather was perfect again this day and I was also able to get some more good shots of Bamberg. I went grocery shopping and then went home and relaxed for about an hour before babysitting. I spent about 45 minutes hanging out with the younger boy. We read three books together and then we outside and played on the trampoline for about an hour. About halfway through, the older boy joined us and it was so much fun just jumping on the trampoline and playing around with them. We all ate dinner together and I brought the boys to bed. The little one screamed for a little while because I unfolded his diaper instead of him doing it himself, but in the end, it all worked out.

Saturday was a theater day! I spent all day at the theater with my friends and we had a BLAST! We ordered Dominos pizza, listened to music, rehearsed our show (of course), and just enjoyed each other’s company. The anticipation for our opening night was high and our performance went great! We had a full house with a very interactive audience and my heart was full. Jolene and her host as well as a group of my other friends came to watch my show and they brought my flowers as well as a card and I thought that was so sweet! This was a great day, to say the least and I’m excited for the next two performances of my play.