Good Times... Great Oldies!

Sorry it has been a while since my last post. I have been super busy lately exploring the Xmas markets all over Germany and driving around in my new car!! As you all know the volleyball has just kind of been okay. I am starting to at least get an idea of what is being said at practice, and since we do a lot of the same things I can guess what is happening even if I don't really know.

My car came this week! YAY! It is a VW FOX!!
Last weekend we had a 9 hour road trip to play against Rachael VanMeter from Illinois! We lost in 4 sets, but it was a good match. We went to a team dinner after and then had a really fun party with both teams. Sheila was named player of the game from our team and Rachael won for her team, so the Big Ten represented well! We stayed at the sports hotel where the other team lived so we went up to their floor and danced in the halls and then we had a little Jam session on the guitar and sang Brown Eyed Girls and such!
This weekend we didn't have a match so Sheila, Erica, and I went to some Xmas markets in a couple of towns down the road. (I drove us there in my car!!) It was really fun and we ate a TON of food. Today we hosted a little kids Xmas volleyball tournament and we all were assigned a team. It was tough at first because I don't speak very much German and the kids didn't know any English, so we made up our own little language and cheers for the games. It was fun to play.

Ohhh how could I forget!! Last night we went to a disco-tech which is what they call the dance clubs here. It was a super nice place and the music was awesome. The DJ had all sorts of mixes including one mix of Micheal Jackson's "Billy Jean" and Justin Timberlake's "Bringing Sexy Back". Of course my favorite was the mix with Earth Wind and Fire's "September"!!
Let's see, what else has been going on... Oh I had to do a guitar performance at our team sponsor's Xmas dinner. I was a bit nervous because I don't play in front of people but at least I had Sheila and Erica up there with me, and I had a few glasses of courage first! hehe Well, I really need to get some sleep! I have early Kraft Training (weights) and then I have to get everything ready for my friend Mollie and Jenna to get into town! We pick them up in Frankfurt on Tuesday morning and I can't freaking wait!

Hope all is well, and as usual I will load a link to the recent pictures on the blog!

Gone Baby Gone

So I know that this has nothing to do with me being in Germany, minus the fact that I just finished watching the Movie Gone Baby Gone while in Germany.... but

I don't want to ruin the movie for those who haven't seen it, but minus the harsh language at parts it is a fantastic film. To be able to express the full range of human existence in 1.5 hours is fantastic work by the cast of this film. It is amazing to me how the dualistic nature of human thought and emotion can play out in our lives. That some of the most generous warm hearted people can be capable of cruel and unjust actions only because in their own moral standard the ends somehow justify the means. I love how romanticized personal ethics and religious morale standards combat with the more jaded "real life" circumstances. There were so many moments throughout this film that I really challenged myself to wonder... If I were in this situation would I really do the "right" thing? Whats more....what truely is the "right" thing as this film cleverly pulls the viewer into different mindsets based on each character's perspective....

Well, I could ramble on about this forever. I guess this is why I majored in sociology! Anyway... Germany is going well. The Christmas markets are now open and the shopping season has begun!!! I spent some time down there the other day with Sheila but I am waiting to go back once my friends from the state get into town! (2 weeks!!)

Sheila and I both got the stomach flu before our last match and haven't been feeling too well since, which is why I have been watching so many movies lately. Other than that life has been the same ol same ol... practice, kraft training (weights), German lessons, grocery shopping (since we are always out of milk.. and chocolate), and chilling down at the city center.

I took some pictures of us around town, in the locker room, and at a team dinner so check those out.

Love Ya'll