I bid you adieu!

Life is like a camera; Just focus on what’s important and capture the good times, develop from the negatives and if things don’t work out .... just take another shot.
- Unknown 

It is time for me to end my Journey here in Cologne, Germany as an au pair. I've been here for eight in a half months and have gone through a lot of ups and downs. In life  things happen to each individual person for a reason. Some are good things and some are bad. When bad things happen to us we often ask ourselves why me ? and at the moment you ask yourself that question you may not find the answer, you may not find the answer for years or maybe you will find it sooner than you think. Although my time as an au pair wasn't all that I hoped it to be I got to experience so much over these past eight months. I've met some amazing people who I hope will stay in my life for a long time. I got an opportunity to help out at an International School where I worked with a wonderful bunch of kids who showed me to never give up on anything and know matter how bad a day your having just give someone a hug! 
Thank you to all my friends and family who have followed my blog over the past eight months. It truly meant a lot to me as I enjoyed sharing my stories. 

So Cologne I bid you adieu! 
XO 

    Class 3/4 A 

The last Three weeks!

On Sunday my mom left and I even though it's only been two days without her I miss her already. We spent three wonderful weeks together. We travelled to Zurich and got too see a bit of the Switzerland countryside which was really pretty although it was a bit foggy .The old part of Zurich was really nice with a lot of expensive shops. While we were in Zurich we learned very fast that it was very very expensive. I think we spent 100 euro in three days on starbucks coffee. During the week we saw a lot of Cologne and when I say we saw a lot of Cologne I mean we saw a lot of the shops. My mom and I have a serious shopping addiction and I don't see anything wrong with that.
 I made sure to give my mom the full German experience which means you're aloud to drink beer everywhere so of course we got some beers and drank them on the streets ... we felt so rebellious since back home it's illegal and of course she enjoyed a German sausage. 
During my moms second weekend here I surprised her with a trip to Paris for her birthday which was an experience. It was my second time in Paris and I could never get sick of the city it is so lovely. The first day in Paris we walked and found our hotel which took about 5 hours because we both can't read a map ... kidding, kind of. The next day we woke early and walked for almost 7 hours and saw a lot of the city.  The highlight of the whole trip was getting a ride home with some real winners. My moms a talker and for a five hour car ride home that was the longest she has gone without talking in all my life. We did mitfahren which is the carpooling i've done a couple times before ... it's always an interesting experience to say the least. 
During the last week we just hung out and walked a lot. We got to see a lot of the German countryside which is so beautiful. If you plan to come to Germany i'd suggest coming in the fall it's so colourful. She got to meet some of the friends i've made and she got to meet the teachers I work with at the school. We had a really fun three weeks and I'll never forget the fun times we've had.  

Mom, 
Thank you for being all that you are. I couldn't have gotten through these last three weeks without you. 
I love you SO much! 

We will always have Zurich and Paris! 

XO 

Nothing to crazy has been happening here. The boys have been off school for two weeks for fall break which really doesn't make any sense to me seeing as they just had 6 weeks off for summer. During these two weeks they got two little black kitties named Findles and Amora. I am definitely more of a dog person because well dogs are awesome but I do like cats especially when they're little. These two little black fur balls have such personalities, i love it. They are way more entertaining then the boys and I have only known them for a week and already they're showing me love and affection. That's why I love animals no matter how bad a day you've had they always cheer you up ... except for happy she has issues. 
Tomorrow is the boys last day of vacation and so after that nothing will really be going on ... KIDDING!!!! After 7 months of missing my mom I FINALLY get to see her on Saturday and I am so excited. For three weeks I get her all to myself and I can't even express how excited I am. In 20 years 7 months is the longest I have ever gone with out seeing my mom and it's not easy. I have always been really close with my mom and that is something I am so thankful for,even being half way across the world she is always there for me know matter what time it is. The truth is no matter how old I get or how far apart we're from each other I will definitely never stop loving my mom but I will never ever ever lose closeness with her. 

Mom,

See you in TWO DAYS!!! 

I love love love love you. 

xo 

Oktoberfest!

Friday night my friend Jess who is also an aupair and I  packed our back packs and set out for our Oktoberfest adventure. 
On our way to Munich we did a thing called mitfahren which is a carpooling service that is used all across europe. If you have some extra seats in your car you can go on the website and give a time, date and price you want. It is a lot cheaper than trains and our ride was a lot more fun than a train ride. We lucked out and had a guy who had a DVD player and a really great singing voice. We watched the movie " Catch me if you can" and after that our driver and one of the other passengers sang to carnival songs which are songs that are really popular Cologne songs that play during carnival season. It was hilarious and gave me a good laugh. We arrived to Munich at 11:30 pm where our next mission was to find the place we were couchsurfing at. Couchsurfing is free. It allows you to meet locals and well sleep on their couch except Jess and I lucked out again. We got a guy who was a male nurse and lived in a dorm and the dorm next to him was vacant and for some reason he had the key so we got our own little private room. After meeting Benni, our host for the weekend we go to sleep. We tried to be up at 5:30 am so we can get a spot in the tent we wanted but for me that's impossible we made it to the grounds at 9 am which I was happy with. The one thing I wanted to see most was the tapping of the keg that is done by the Mayor however since it was opening day and didn't have a table we ended up only being able to hear the count down to the tapping of the keg which hey is good enough for me. After the tapping of the keg the beer drinking began and it was so much fun. Even though the weather was really bad it didn't stop anyone from having a good time. We got a table outside of the tent that was covered a bit so we sat down with an older Canadian couple and four Germans who showed us how to order in Bavarian and drink like Bavarians by the end of the day I was full beer and ready for bed. 

Oktoberfest, 
Thanks for the beer!

xo 

Brusselicious!!!!!

The one thing I love most about Europe is that you can drive two hours and be in a completely different country where they speak a completely different language. I find it so very cool. Saturday a friend and I decided to go Brussels which takes about two hours and twenty minutes. We spent the day walking around the lovely city. It is true that waffles taste better in Belgium but another type of food that Belgium is known for are their french fries and let me tell you the french fries were so brusselicious. Seeing as french fries are my favourite food I was in heaven. Brussels has much more to offer then it's food, it is a very cute city that was very busy. in the city centre it was so alive and the scenery was beautiful. There is so much to do that I found one day wasn't enough so I do hope to go back and since its so close it shouldn't be a problem!

A new week starts tomorrow which means it's another week helping out at the school. I have been helping at the school for about a month now and so far it's been going really well. I am always helping these two little boys who are both very funny. I told them one day that I wished I had a younger brother  and they both told me they will be my brothers hahah it made me laugh. So if I come home with two little kids at the airport don't be surprised. 

Have a great week!!!!

xo 

Kids these days

Today was my second day back at the International School. I will be there until my time in Germany is over. I am helping in a grades 3/4 class. I went into this class because the english teacher is very good and was recommended to me. So far I am really enjoying it. The class is a lot of fun because I helped some of them when I first volunteered back in March and then Yannic is in the class along with most of his friends all of which I know pretty well. When I first met the class they made me count up to ten in German I of course did it with out any problems. One of the things I am excited out by being here in this class is that I will hopefully become better at German because I will be speaking with kids all day and I find they use vocabulary that is easier for me to understand. 
Not a lot of drama has happened with the kids seen as it is only their second day of being back. The only thing really to happen was today a boy in grade 4 locked himself in the boys bathroom and wouldn't come out. Finally he let some of his good friends come in who talked to him and convinced him to come out. His reasoning was because he had a bad music class and didn't get along with the teacher. I find it to be that boys at that age are a lot more emotional then girls and cause a lot more drama. Every time there is some sort of arguing or crying it always seems to be involving boys. Maybe it's just they need to get it out of their system so by the time they reach being a teenager they never cry and then its girl who take on having the issues. 

Since summer is over everything is slowly getting back to normal in the house. I had to watch the boys on Wednesday evening . Every time I am left alone with them one of them always wants to test me, this time it was Yannic. Over the summer Yannic got an Ipod that he is obsessed with. He is always playing it and once he starts playing he won't stop. When he came home from school I let him play thinking it wasn't going to be that hard to get him to stop but i was wrong. I have been here for six months almost and not once has Yannic ever cried to me until that night. I took away his Ipod and he started crying and yelling at me because he was being chased by cops and now he is dead and has to start all over. I was thinking to myself why can't you just be like a girl and go play with barbies. It's funny to me the things boys cry over compared to girls. Us girls always have a good logic and reason to why we cry .... right ? 
After that night Yannic got his Ipod taken away because he wasn't listening to me and then he hit Dominic in the face with a towel which caused Dominic to be upset and since we're best friends he asked me to lye with him in his bunk bed which made a good ending to the hectic night that it was. As for Yannic and I we're currently friends off. 

xo 

Adventure is out there!

It's been a while since I last wrote and since then a lot has happened. This summer has been a summer I will remember for ever. 

The first stop on mine and Lucas's travels was the lovely city Barcelona. We loved Barcelona because it was hot and the city was really fun. One of my favourite things about Barcelona was the Gothic Quarter. It had small side streets with tons of little shops. On our second last day we decided to rent bikes because we thought it would be fun to bike in the Gothic Quarter and make it easier to get to all the things we wanted to see. We had the bikes for 24 hours. We took the bikes out at night which we enjoyed a lot because it was nice and quiet. We biked all the way to the magic fountain that was supposed to be covered in lights but when we got there it was dark and very anti climatic. We ended up climbing up these stairs where we got to see a really nice view of the whole city. The one thing we wish we did more of was go to the beach. We went and sat by the beach a couple times but not as much as we wished. I find it hard to do everything you want when you have so much to see in a city but aren't there for long but we saw and did as much as we could so in the end our Barcelona adventure was a success!

Next stop was Krakow. We went to Krakow specifically to see Auschwitz. The first day we arrived it was 8pm. We found our Hostel and then walked to find something to eat and since we had to get up early for the Auschwitz tour we just hung out back at the hostel. In the morning we left for the Auschwitz at 8 am where we did a five hour tour which included the hour ride there and hour ride back so in total we had a 3 hour tour of the Auschwitz. The Auschwitz was very sad however I found the way the set up the museum to be very well done. After the tour we went back to the city where we were just going to relax and hangout so we weren't to tired for our long train ride in the morning but being young that didn't happen. We went out on a pub crawl that was run by 2 girls and 2 guys. Where we went to meet them was in the city centre of Krakow and it was the coolest city centre I have seen so far I only got to see it for a few hours and so it's definitely a place i'd like to go back to.  Anyways back to the pub crawl, on the pub crawl it ended up just being Lucas and I which was a lot of fun, it was so much fun the 12 hour train ride to Budapest the next morning was very interesting to say the least. 

Next stop Budapest. We arrived really late to Budapest so we found our hostel and just went to sleep. The next day we woke up and walked around the city which was very beautiful. The buildings that surround Budapest are so detailed and old but they have kept them all in good shape. It was very cheap in Budapest. We found an all you can eat buffet for 5 euros a person. Lucas was in heaven. Everyday he always ate there because it had pretty good food and you can beat 5 euros. I found it was more expensive to go to the bathroom then it was to buy a 1L bottle of water. My favourite part of Budapest was the Citadel. We walked up these stairs for a good 45 minutes i'd say and when you reach the top you get a 360 degree view of Budapest which was so very cool. Another thing i'd recommend doing if you go to Budapest is going to the bath houses and asking for a massage .... you will have quit the experience. To end our last night in Budapest we went on a Booze cruise along the Danube. They handed each person on the boat a full bottle of champagne ... long story short the next day was awful. I am never drinking champagne again. 

Next stop Amsterdam. We flew into Eindhoven where we caught a bus that took us to Amsterdam. The bus ride was about an hour. When we arrived in Amsterdam we got a hotel because we were tired of hostels and wanted to have a nice relaxing last weekend away. We thought getting a hotel would be hard but it was really easy and not that expensive. Our first night we just relaxed . On our second day we walked threw the canal streets and did the Heineken experience. We got to see how Heineken beer was made and we got a lot of free beer. Amsterdam I found to be so unique and pretty. It was a good place to end our trip. 

After two weeks of travelling we came back to Cologne where Lucas spent his last week. He hung out with me and the boys. We took the boys to the zoo and did a gondola ride across the Rhine which is Colognes main river. The boys grew to like Lucas very fast and enjoyed having him visit. They were just as sad as me when having to say good bye. 

Two weeks after Lucas left the family gave me four days off because they were going on a trip with the boys to see some friends. I decided to end my summer by going to Rome. I had never gone anywhere alone and so this was a good test for me. Rome is very cool because it is filled with so much history. I found myself walking so much because I wanted to see as much as possible. My favourite place to be was the Trevi Fountain at night. It was so pretty and peaceful although very busy. I could sit and watch the fountain for hours. I ended up meeting a girl in my hostel. We spent most of our time together which was nice and I enjoyed her company. I was so nervous to go alone but in the end it turned out to be a really fun time which makes my future of travelling alone something to look forward to. 

Summer, 

Thanks for being so great, I will see you next year! 

xo 

To My Birthday Buddy!

Lucas and I are leaving today for our big adventure and I won't be able to write in my blog for a while so I am writing this early for someone special. 


As you know my birthday is a very important time of year for me. Not just because of the presents or the fact I turn a year older because eventually I will begin to dislike how I am no longer young and people will eventually say " your to old for presents". I like this day because I get to share my birthday with someone who is very special to me my Papa aka D dog. My favourite memories are from when I was younger and every summer we would spend almost two months in Houghton Michigan with my Nana and Papa. Every summer my Papa and I would always have the same disagreement over which cake is better chocolate or pineapple upside down cake. Now the chocolate cake is not just any ordinary chocolate cake it is covered with m&m's,kit - kat bars and reese pieces. It is by far the most amazing cake I have ever had and my mom has made it every year for the last 19 years. She made me a birthday cake before I left so I wouldn't go a year without one because it is just that good. My Papa's favourite cake is pineapple upside down cake and for a while I could never understand why he would chose that cake over my chocolate cake but eventually I did try it and my Nana makes a good cake as well. If only I get cake sent in the mail ....


Papa,
Happy 39th Birthday! I truly love the fact that I get to share this day with you. I wouldn't want it any other way. You have taught me a lot in my life and we have shared a lot of laughs together. I am sad I won't be able to sit on your lap and open presents like the good old days but hey maybe next year ? I will be thinking of you all day and remember chocolate cake is still better then pineapple upside down cake.


I love you with all my heart,
Your birthday buddy!
xo 

(Almost) Adventure Time!

In three days I will be seeing my boyfriend who I haven't seen in almost four in a half months. Let me tell you it has been a long four in a half months. When he arrives we will spend two days in Colonge and then on Monday, July 16th we will set out to start our two week adventure. I cannot wait!
Since my birthday is on July 20th and I happen to be turning 20 years old this means only one thing it's the year of my golden birthday. My goal for my 20th birthday was to be in a country I had never been to before and party. On my 20th birthday that is on July 20th I will be in Barcelona. From Barcelona we hit Poland ,Budapest and then Amsterdam. These are all places Lucas and I have wanted to go to and now we're finally getting the chance. I am looking forward to getting time away from my duties back in Cologne and focusing on the world around me.



xo

I can speak German!

After three very difficult months my German class is finally coming to end. If you're wondering what I learned well don't because I couldn't tell you. I am sure I am the only person who comes out of a three month class not even knowing what happened. Okay, I am not that stupid. I know how to say Hello which is Hallo and I also can tell you I don't speak German ... Ich spreche kein Deutsch. I say this sentence at least once a day. My favourite German word I have learned is egal which means whatever. I do see an improvement from when I first started the class to now. I can do my homework by myself and I can understand the boys more which is making things a lot more fun. With more time and effort hopefully I will keep seeing more improvements. 

I would also just like to point out to my family that we are in the month of July which means mine and Papa's BIRTHDAY is coming. For an address to send me presents please e - mail me .... I am only kidding. I just hope it is marked on your calendar if you forget it's July 20th. 

xo 

Would You Like Some Tomato Soup With Those Onions ?

Today I had to get up and help make homemade tomato soup for a party the family is throwing tomorrow. I actually found it to be very fun and really easy. It was so easy I already have it memorized and so when I go home the one thing I am making everyone is homemade tomato soup. I will have gone from only being able to make cereal to making homemade tomato soup .... I mean that is impressive. Since we have to make the soup for about 60 people there was a lot of tomato's obviously and there was a lot of onions. When it comes to onions and cutting them well I am just going to be honest ... I am horrible. I really didn't think I was that horrible until Ivetta gave me a step by step printed out sheet on how to cut onions. In my mind I was like okay so it has just be clarified that I really do suck at cutting onions and it's not just in my head. Ivetta said by the end of my year here I will be a professional onion cutter which means I am really not going to go far in life. I found the soup to be pretty tasty and so let's just hope everyone else enjoys it and most importantly they all enjoy the large quantity of onions.


XO

Three Months!

I can't believe I have been away from home three months. Time is just flying by. In these last three months I have travelled, gone out of my comfort zone more than a dozen times and I am so proud of myself. I have days that are better than others but I try and take the bad days a learn from them. So far I have learned that if I want to do something I just have to do it and not think about it. This is my time to experience everything  and grow as much as I can. The thing I am most proud of is going out of my comfort zone because I am a shy person and for me putting myself in a group of people I don't know trying to make friends really scared me but I knew that I had to suck it up and so I did. I have met some really great people that make my time here in Colonge a lot of fun. If I hadn't gone out of my comfort zone I never would have experienced what I have experienced so far.
From when I first got here to now my German has improved tremendously. I do some German everyday and I can understand a little. I have days where I find German harder than math and I just want to give up but then I realize how much I have improved and how much more I am going to improve.  I have come to realize that if everything in life was easy then I would never grow or be able to challenge myself and thats what this whole experience is about. I can't wait for what the next nine months to come especially July!!


xo


P.s I wish my sweet mother a safe flight tomorrow. Enjoy your time and most important have fun and also remember I love you a lot

Thessaloniki!!

The past five days were spent in a city in Greece called Thessaloniki. I am not sure why I have this image in my head but ever since I saw the movie Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants I thought where we were going was going to look exactly like that and we would get taken to the house we were staying at by camels. As you can guess I got let down and it was nothing like the movie in fact I didn't even see a camel. I went with three girls one of which was from Greece so we got to meet some of her friends and family. It wasn't my favourite city I have visited but it was neat to experience a city and way of life through another person's eyes. I have never gone on a trip with people I hardly new and I was proud of myself for going and experiencing something outside my comfort zone. I have made new friends out of this experience and got to eat some really really really great food. I find each time I challenge myself to take on new experiences I always learn something new about myself just like Megan did this weekend. 

"Use incredible thoughts to manifest an incredible life. Your life will follow your thoughts. If you think it, and believe it, then you will see it"

xo

A Weekend In Paris!

This past weekend I got to join the family in Paris. They were invited to a friends 40th birthday party on the Saturday so they decided to make a whole weekend out of it. We left Friday at 3:30 and arrive in Paris at 8:30 pm. We didn't have to be at the party until later in the afternoon on Saturday so we got into the city centre for breakfast at 9:20 am and then we had the rest of the day to walk around and enjoy the beautiful city . I found Paris to be amazing. I had never been to a city that was so elegant. There wasn't one particular thing I loved most about Paris because I loved everything.  If you have never been to Paris, I suggest you save up and make a trip.

I can now scratch off #15 on my bucket list - See the Eiffel Tower!

xo

xo

Schnitzel Gone Wrong

I had to spend the entire night with the boys because Ivetta and Joachim were out and weren't returning until the next morning. My first task of the night was to make Schnitzel which looked easy except when it comes to me and cooking I make the simple things the most difficult. When I looked in the fridge I grabbed the only package in the fridge that looked like meat and started preparing it well first off it smelt like fish and was a lot bigger than what i've seen. It was a lot more difficult to prepare than Ivetta said. Typical me I just keep making it. When the boys come and sit down for dinner they tell me it looks good until they eat it and say " this is fish". They ended up not eating it and just had french fries for dinner . My first Schnitzel experience didn't go well but hey I just have to look on the bright side .... it's a mistake I will not make again!

The boys tend to get up pretty early but they didn't get up tell about 9 this morning and I was woken up by them both cleaning and vacuuming their rooms .... just like I asked them to do the night before. It is amazing how kids do things just so they can watch the television. I think it's safe to say my first entire night with the boys was a success minus the dinner part. 

xo 

Water Fight ....

This week I am having to spend more time alone with the boys which I am really looking forward to because it means I will get more bonding time . Today after my German class I had to watch Yannic, Dominic and one of Yannick's friends Leo. When Leo is over they always want me to play hide n seek
 so that is what we did and since it was nice out the boys wanted to play outside which was fun for five min but got boring really fast because they always pick a hiding spot and keep hiding in that spot for the next five games and when I keep finding them they start getting board and want to do something else. Since I am trying to get in the good books with the boys I am up for anything and today that meant getting absolutely soaked in a spontaneous water fight that I may or may not have started. After the three boys teamed up on me and got me soaked I thought that meant game over but no that was just the beginning we had a water fight for about forty-five minutes and even though it was me against three boys I think I did pretty good. The one rule was that the water had to be warm water not cold and getting warm water poured on you when you're cold is like a nice hot shower.....by the end of it Dominic was asking me to pour water on him because it felt nice. At one point I was even pouring water over my head because it made me feel like I was in hot tub. I think it's safe to say the water fight ended in a tie and for the first time since I've been here I think the boys thought I was the coolest au pair ever !!!


xo 

Because I said so

Last night I was home alone with the boys and had to put them to bed. Before Dominic went upstairs to get ready for bed he asked me if he could have something to drink and I told him he could have a glass of water. He didn't understand that I said water because he went and got apple juice. I told him to put it away and get water . Ivetta told me that she doesn't want the boys to have apple juice before they go to bed because well she said so . Dominic didn't like that I told him to get water so he began having this huge freak out. He burst into tears and started doing these tai chi moves on me, apart of me wanted to give in but I couldn't do that because it would mean a seven year old won in an argument and I couldn't have that. 
I am into my second week of German and it is still very hard. I can understand some reading but when it comes to talking I haven't gotta clue. I have found coming home and having four German speaking people in the house helps a lot and everyday I get a little bit better. 


Guten Tag! 


xo 


German word of the day : Liebe ( love) 

Working Together

For this whole week I have been practising really hard on my German. Each day I try and learn more words and phrases. Since I have homework that I need help on it takes away my hide n seek time with the boys however we came to an agreement that if they help me with my homework I will play with them so technically it works out to a win,win. Yannic and his friend helped me yesterday and we're a lot of help ... a bit bossy but in the end I understood a lot of what my homework was. At night when I put Dominic to bed he wanted me to read him a German children's book. That didn't go so well because I would ask Dominic for help and he would just yell at me to keep reading. I think I read one page and then he said he was better at reading German books so he took over and started reading another book he had. I think the boys are enjoying me learning German because they like to think they're better then me which is impossible! 


German Word of the Day : Knutschen ( Canoodle) 


Happy Friday! 


xo 

Day Three of German!

I have reached day three of my German class and it is very difficult. I wasn't expecting it to be easy but I also wasn't expecting it to be all taught in German I mean I don't know anything so how do you expect me to follow four hours of a teacher speaking German. I am in class for four hours and then I come home and practice for a couple more hours. By the end of the day my mind is tired but I hope by the end of the year I am fluent, that is my goal. I am the only English speaking student in my class. There is about six Spanish students and a couple people from other places around Europe. I am finding that English isn't so popular in Cologne. You either speak German,Spanish or French. 


The boys still help me all the time with my German but now Dominic is making fun of how I say things so we aren't on speaking terms at the moment .... life is good. 


Guten Nacht!
(Good Night)
  
xo 

Dominic

Being on vacation has made Dominic a lot less shy towards me which is a really good thing however i've never met someone who can talk so much. You think Sarah talks a lot ... she is quiet compared to Dominic. He is trying to speak more English to me and when he does he always likes to ask me questions about my family. Today he asked me if I liked my family. I told him of course I like my family don't you like yours and he said " Ya, except for this one day I hated them all". He also told me that being last in something means your actually first. That is why he is always last to get to bed. It also came to me that all those years I thought I came last in sports I actually was first... I like the way he thinks. Now that Dominic and I are becoming friends he is using me to help clean his room which was a complete disaster the other day. He is a secret hoarder .

xo

Vacation Time Has Come to an End!

We have reached the tenth day of being on the island Fuerteventura which means this vacation has come to an end. I have enjoyed my time here even though being on vacation made me miss my family more than ever. I have successfully burnt my whole body which means I have done good ... hopefully it turns into a tan. The weather was good for the most part however two of the days we're rainy and it was really windy which made it cold. We went to the beach a couple of days which was nice and relaxing but windy and the ocean was cold but not as cold as the pool at the house. I am too much of a princess to go into a pool that isn't heated. The boys loved it but did wear wetsuits hahaha. 
To end our time here we went out to dinner to the boys favourite restaurant that I believe we went to five times. When dinner was over I asked the boys if I could get a picture with them pretending that they like me so I can send it to my family back home .... they didn't want to which meant I had to bribe them. I told them that they either have to sit next to me on the plane ride home or they take a picture with me. Dominic was into this deal and agreed .... Yannic wasn't so much. 

xo 

Winning

We played this game today called Skip Bo.It is a card game that was first introduced to me by Lucas and his family. They're all very good at .... especially his mom. Every time I would play with them I would always lose and to be honest I wasn't very good at. My losing streak has finally come to an end. Playing against Dominic and Yannic I  won twice in a row. It is so much fun for me playing against little kids because I am actually winning at things. I mean the fact that they're younger then me really shouldn't matter .... 


xo 

Day Three

Day three on this beautiful island and i'm definitely living the good life. Since we have a pool at the house the boys are occupied for most of the day which gives me most of the day to lie in the sun and read. This is the toughest job I have ever had ha ha ha. 
Tonight we stayed in for dinner and I helped Ivetta prepare a spanish type dinner. It was a success and everything I touched tasted like gold ... i'm lying.  After dinner there isn't much to do. We just sit and watch T.V which in German can be entertaining  even if I don't know what's going on. 
Tomorrow looks like it is going to be a beach day. The ocean is a bit to cold to go into so it looks like I will be lying in the sun which sounds good to me!


Talk to you soon. 


xo

Off to an Island in the Sun

I have officially been in Germany for one month. What is a good way to celebrate ? I know, hop on a plane to the Canary Islands! I am really looking forward to this time with the family. The boys are very excited. Earlier today I came upstairs to find them blowing up these boats and running around the house in swim goggles ... I kind of wanted to join in. I don't think it matters what age you are when it comes to going on vacation it brings out the kid in everyone. 

xo 

A Lost Cause ....

When I was younger and made a picture to give to my mom or dad they would always say how beautiful it is.Dominic has been going crazy with drawing pictures and asking me to hang them up in his room .... up high so everyone who walks in can see them. When I look at the pictures my response is " Oh, these pictures are so great". I am actually thinking the opposite and that's when I realized all  those years of me giving drawings to my parents they weren't being honest with me . I feel if your honest and say that the pictures are ugly it will help them in the future and their drawings will improve with time. If my parent's did this maybe I wouldn't be a 19 year who is literally incapable of making a stick man. I mean Dominic isn't the best drawer but  he has time to get better with my honesty of course. Me on the other hand I am a lost cause. 


xo 

Tuesday's Aren't so Bad!

Yesterday I started working in grades 3/4 class. I am liking it so far because communicating in english is a  lot easier than the grades 1/2. I enjoy switching classes because it gives me the opportunity to meet other students. I find grades 3/4 is where the drama begins for girls. In grades 1/2 it was always girls crying because of boys. Today it was two girls crying because one girl kicked another girl in the face and left a shoe mark on her face. 


This afternoon the boys and I made crepes. Yannick made the batter and I helped him read the recipe in German which I found to be quit easy. The crepes turned out so I must have read everything correctly. The fact that Yannick may have helped me doesn't matter. Putting them to bed is always interesting. They are always coming up with some sort of song to sing about me in german so I never know if it is something nice or if they're making fun of me. My guess is they're making fun of me. The part that made me laugh was when Dominic asked me is i knew what "Ficken" meant in english well I think we can all take a wild guess!


xo


P.s  I would also like to wish my wonderful father a very Happy Birthday! I love and miss you a lot. 

Out & About

Yesterday I went to an au pair meeting to hopefully meet some English speaking friends. I was very disappointed because mostly everyone who showed up spoke German or any language but English. We spent the day at a museum, we did a tour. The women who gave the tour only spoke in German which was the most boring two hours of my life. I don't speak German and trying to understand what she was saying was impossible. The two hours went by very very very very slow. My mission for the day was to get home by myself with out getting lost and I did it. It was very confusing but I found the train and got on it. I did make one phone call to see if I was headed in the right direction which I was so I gave myself a pat on the back. 
Sunday turned out to be very fun. I met a girl from Poland. She is an au pair three minutes to where I am staying. We hung out all day and biked to the city centre. It was an hour bike ride to the city centre because we went slow and talked but if you go fast it should only take you about twenty - thirty minutes. I prefer biking because I am in control so if I get lost I can easily turn around. It is a good way to learn the streets and get comfortable with the area you're in. With the weather being so great I found it to be a perfect day!


xo

Story Time ... I'm a Big Fan!

Story time is definitely the best time ... well it is for me. I forgot how much I enjoyed little kid books until I got to Cologne. I read at the International School and then at night with the boys and I think I enjoy it more then the kids because when the teacher reads to the class I get excited and make sure I have a good seat so I can see what she is reading and the pictures ... obviously. Every night I make sure I have a good book to read not just for the boys but for myself. I would always love it when my parent's would read me stories before bed ... I mean who wouldn't ? you have books like : Oh, the Places You'll Go! ,The Smartest Giant in Town,The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom,  If You Give a Mouse a Cookie which is one of my favourites but my absolute favourite one right now is The Snail and the Whale. It totally understand why kids get hooked on the same book for weeks at a time.  The boys may ignore me all day but as soon as it's story time they think I am awesome which is alright with me even if it is only for 15 min ... I'll take it. 


xo 


P.S I wish I was kid. 

Kids, Kids , Kids ...

Today I started back at the school after being gone for three days due to Dominic's sickness. You never would have guessed I had only known them for two days because right away they came and gave me hugs. It's those little things that makes me want to be a teacher. It doesn't matter how bad a day you've had they always know how to turn that frown upside down. 
After I was done at the school I came home and played hide n seek with Dominic, Yannick and one of their friends Leo. I have played this game every Monday since I got here and they always hide in the exact same spot thinking I wont find them or are completely disappointed when I do find them. I have told them so many times to hide some where else but boys will boys. 
xo

Sick Day!

You know you have made it when a seven year old tells you your good at something. Today Dominic was home sick which meant I got to stay home with him.Since it was so nice out we went out in the backyard and played football aka soccer. We each had nets and the first one to get to twenty wins. I was doing good which Dominic pointed out but I think he was being sarcastic because he beat me 20 - 5 and I would say that I let him win but that would be a lie. 
The best part of my day with Dominic was when just the two of us went to the grocery store on our bikes to get stuff for dinner. Just as we we're unlocking are bikes to go back home Dominic says " I have to go pee pee"and starts walking back and forth holding himself. I couldn't help but smile because this reminded me so much of myself .... when I was at that age ha ha ha. So knowing that I stopped unlocking the bikes and started quickly searching for a bathroom cause when you gotta go you gotta go and I of all people know that. As I was looking for the bathroom Dominic is walking as fast as he can holding himself and when we reach the bathroom he doesn't even close the door .... doesn't this sound familiar ? 


xo

Welcome to Holland!

Today I got to go to Holland. It is only an hour drive from Cologne which is really neat because being in Calgary you don't have that. You have Red Deer which I mean is a really cool place ... not. Canmore and Banff are fun places to go but they do get uninteresting after a while where as here you have so many options. One day I could drive an hour and be in Belgium and the next day France ... the possibilities are endless. 


While I was in Holland I didn't really sight see.I am helping Ivetta find a new dinning room table so we went and looked at a lot of furniture stores and since that wasn't going well we decided to go to a really big outlet mall and shop for clothes instead of what we really need. I ate a Dutch dish which was very good mostly because it included fries that I got to dip into heinz ketchup. After we ate we went to the grocery store which I really enjoyed because it is always interesting to me to see the different types of foods one country has compared to the other. For some reason I am alway interested in the ketchup aisle. I could be completely lost but some how I always find where the ketchup is. Then after we got what we needed we headed home it was short but sweet and I will be sure to make my way back to Holland to explore. 


xo

                                                       Chicken Satay ( Kipsateh)


                                        
                                        

A New Way to Learn German!

I feel my relationship with the boys is getting better and better. Tonight we figured out a way to help me get better at speaking German. Dominic told me I cannot ask him to do something unless it is in German. He helps me out but then I have to repeat it to him and if I say it right then he will do as I ask . If I do it wrong he will still do what I ask hahaha. I am totally into it except if they start using it to their advantage like if they use it as a way to say swear words. Dominic is a big fan of the word scheisse ( shit) and lots of other bad words that a seven year old should not be using. If this is the case then it's game over and they have to do everything in English ... yah right! 


xo

Pasta,Pasta,Pasta!!!

 I find myself becoming sick of pasta because that is what I have had for dinner and lunch the last few days. At the International School they have a lunch prepared daily and for some reason they keep picking pasta .... I mean just because the noodles are different shapes it doesn't mean the taste is different . At the house we have it for dinner because it's leftovers and that seems to be the easiest thing to prepare in this busy household. I find myself to be thinking about other foods when I am eating pasta . Hopefully tomorrow my day is filled with something other than pasta. I am trading bacon for schnitzel not pasta. 


xo
P.s Today Yannick made fun of me and said I looked like the dark lord because it was dark under my eyelids from my mascara.... we are definitely making progress on becoming friends.

First Day!

Today was my first day helping out at the International School. It went very well in fact I made about six or seven new friends .... too bad they're only 6 years old and don't like to speak english. I always find it interesting meeting a class full of youngsters because you get to see so many different personalities which always makes for an interesting day. 
In the morning I got to take four of the well behaved girls out into the hallway and read a poem to them. We finished faster then the the rest of the class so they sat and talked to me. They taught be the word apple in german which is apfel. I asked them some questions. One question that made me laugh was when I asked them if they liked learning english. The response of a little girl named Elizabeth -" I don't learn english ... I know english". I found this to be a lie because she never wants to speak english to me .... maybe that's her way of telling me she doesn't want to talk to me. 


xo

Ketchup!

When I first arrived to Cologne the first thing I needed to try was ketchup.  I know what your thinking, your in Germany and the first thing that you want to try is ketchup? I love ketchup more than I love myself so this was really important. When I tried it the first time I felt it was not bad and thought hey, I could get used this. I have been having it with dinner more and more and well it's gross. I taste it and want to spit it out. Why can't every country just sell regular heinz ketchup ?! Lucas,Mom,Dad,Megan and Sarah one of you needs to send me ketchup!!! 

xo 

Just an Idea ...

Today was a really great day for me because I officially start working at the international school on Monday where I will get the experience in teaching that will help me on the road to becoming a teacher. I couldn't be more excited. 


Every night wether Ivetta is home or not I have to put the boys to bed. They really don't like me helping them get to bed except when it comes to reading bed time stories. I usually only read to Yannic but tonight Dominic asked me to read him the three little pigs. I feel like me and the little seven year old are a few steps closer to becoming friends. I figure my way to the little mans heart is reading and I found out today that he  likes gummy bears so maybe there will be a little bribing hahah! 


As for me and Happy well that's a different story. I really wish she was a dog. Out in the back yard I helped put up a bunny fence so she can go in the garden but not run away. However you have to pay extra attention to her when she is out there because these big birds come down and if your not watching will take her ... is it just me or did anyone else just come up with an idea ? 


xo

Rain,you're okay!

Today started off with the sun shining through out most of the day but just when I have to go outside on a bike to pick Dominic up from soccer , it starts torrential down pouring on me. I was going to complain  but then I remembered Calgary and the snow ... I think I prefer rain. When I arrive and see Dominic he looks completely disappointed that I am picking him up from soccer and not his mom. We are still at the stage of " I don't speak english" so he likes to ignore me .... I am going to have to start bribing him with something awesome hahaha just kidding. 
Earlier in the afternoon I had to take Yannic to get his haircut and we ran into one of his friends,Yannic stopped and said hello to him. Once we started going again I asked him if he had friends that were girls ... he looked disgusted. Apparently he is not at that stage yet but Dominic who is just a year younger likes girls because he always talks about chasing them. Boys are always up and down with girls, one minute there your friends the next minute girls are gross but in the end they always fall in liebe with us. 


xo 




P.s Happy 2 years Lucas, ich liebe dich!
    

I think we have a trouble maker!

Tonight was this first night I had to take care of the boys and put them to bed all by myself . It didn't go to bad , the 8 year old Yannic, listens to me pretty well ... I think he is afraid of me because I am a girl. He always has this scared look in his eyes when I tell him to do something but he does always listen to me and then Dominic who is 7 doesn't want to listen to me and takes me not being able to speak German to his complete advantage. I think it's just because he is nervous around me since I am new but who knows with that little one. Dominic seems to be the trouble maker but since he is so cute you would never expect it .. especially when bad words come out of his mouth like " suck my peep". Well I can only hope that in a few weeks it starts getting some what better but to be honest you never what little ones have up their sleeves!

auf wiedersehen!

xo

Happy the bunny isn't so happy!

The family I am staying with doesn't have a dog or a cat ... they have a black bunny named Happy. Now Happy's name is ironic because she seems to be so angry all the time. The last two days I have tried to giver her love and play with her but she just sticks her tongue out at me and tries to attack my arm. I tried feeding her a carrot today, which I thought was a really nice gesture on my part and she thought the carrot was attacking her so she turned away and shunned me. If I were her i'd be all over that carrot and start liking the person who gave me the carrot. So my goal with Happy is to make her like me. I have quit some time and I feel like I have a chance. I guess in the past the boys haven't always treated Happy with the respect she deserves so she believes everyone new in the house is out to get her and with easter being just around the corner I am suspecting her guard is up 24/7 and she trusts no one!


xo

Rainy days in Koln

I have finally reached Cologne or Koln as the Germans say it. So far the weather has been cloudy with rain off and on through out the day. I haven't seen much of the city as of yet but tomorrow I will. I cannot wait. I am very excited to see what this lovely city has to offer.

The first few things I have learned about the two boys I am watching is one of the boys named Yannic who is 8 loves ketchup more than me. He likes to put it on almost everything. Last night he put it on his pasta. When I saw him putting ketchup on his pasta I laughed and thought to myself I am going to have to try that sometime. I haven't learned much about Dominic who is 7. He likes to eat a lot ... well both the boys do. They both like Star Wars which is great because I have not seen any of the Star Wars movies. 

Since today is pretty rainy we have just sat inside drinking tea and eating cake. On Sunday a lot of the stores are closed except for the bakeries, they are open 7 days a week ... which is perfect for me! They have all kinds of fresh goods. We went today and I got to pick out a piece of cake and of course I picked chocolate. 

My German is still awful ... I don't know anything well I know nien which means no. Tomorrow I am going to sit down with Ivetta the mom and she will help learn some German.

Chow for now!

xo 

Hey Frankfurt,whats up ?

I cannot believe how fast twenty nine days has gone by. I finally arrived in Frankfurt where I will spend the night and then tomorrow I will head out to Cologne which will be my home for the next year. I am very excited for everything that is to come of this next year with family visits to exploring apart of the world that is unknown to me. 


So far today has been a really great day. I made my way through the Heathrow airport without getting completely confused and once i arrived to Frankfurt it was nothing but kindness. The Family has made me feel right at home. I haven't seen a lot of Frankfurt but from what I have seen it looks like a great city with giant trees and large green spaces. The family I am with find it very similar to Vancouver. So if your a fan of Vancouver i suggest you make your way down to Frankfurt! 


Talk to you soon,
xo 

Twentynine days and counting

Today marks the day where it is officially one month until I step on a plane and fly off to Germany. The longest I have ever been away from my boyfriend, family and friends is approximately two weeks. So three hundred and sixty five days will be a challenge for sure but probably one of the best experiences I am ever going to have and boy am I ready for it! 

I found becoming an au-pair  to be very simple and straight forward. I went on to google and searched - " au-pair abroad " and a ton of different websites came up. They all looked good but you have to be careful that the website is safe. The one I went to was http://www.aupair.com/. It took approximately two weeks for me to find a family and start talking with them. I was lucky because the family lives in Germany but has some of their family living in Calgary so I got to meet them and see what the family was going to be like. It was help full because it made me a lot less nervous and much more comfortable. It is a great opportunity because you get paid and you have free food and a free room. You get weekends off and they will give you time off for vacation so you can go travel around. Once your in Europe it's cheap cheap cheap! I think this would be a great opportunity for anyone. If you ever have a chance to do it ... don't even think just do!

xo 

Cologne Germany