Independence day!

Today is my independence day! I am finally free from my evil host mom. It has a been a really hard two weeks but I am finally free. I'm really going to miss the children and It broke my heart when I left because they were very upset. I wish I could pack them in my suitcase and take them with me. They have a very hard life ahead of them with a mom like that. My new host family is seriously so great. I could not be any happier at the moment. They are so welcoming and warm. I love my new room as well. It is very cute and cozy and it has a balcony which is awesome. The children are very cautious of me at the moment it's kinda cute. They just stare at me with wondrous eyes. I think things are looking up. I start my German classes next week and I am very excited about that. :) Maybe someday I can do a post in German!

Superman Paul

This last weekend was really nice, well Sunday anyway. :) I went with my good friends Paul and Michaela to a spa here for Michaela's birthday. It was a blast! This place is huge. The sign says it's the biggest spa in the world. It has 3 major areas and two of the area's are spa areas. One area is a family spa area and everyone wears bathing suits and it's really loud there. The other area is for adults only and you're actually not allowed to wear a bathing suit in this area. That's the area we were mostly. At first I was a little nervous and uncomfortable about being naked but it went away after a while. It was actually quite exhilarating and it was nice. There was a big pool in this area and a swim up bar. You could also swim from the inside pool to an outside pool. They have like 30 different sauna's with all different types of temperatures and smells. They also have different kinds of mineral baths for healing and aging. There were three different restaurants really anything you could ask for. Oh and the coolest part they have these rooms that are just for sleeping. They have waterbeds in them and they play really relaxing music. How cool is that? The third section is a water park.  It has all different types of water slides. SO MUCH FUN! You're not allowed to take pictures in the spa due to everyone being naked but I managed to sneak one anyway. It's not very good but here it is.

Paul knew that he would have his own section in my blog about how he is the most awesome person in the world. :) So we were going down one of the slides on a tube. Michaela and I were on a tube together and he was behind us on his own tube. As we were going down the slide I looked back to see that Paul had fallen off his tube. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life. The part that makes him the coolest person in the world is against all odds he managed to get BACK ON HIS TUBE! I can say I would not have been able to do that. That was definitely the highlight of the day. I seriously laughed forever after that. I sometimes see the mental picture in my head and just laugh. SO FUNNY!

I am now working my last week here in my current house. It's going to be so nice to finish with this family and go to my new family. I will miss the children so much but I will not miss the crap I have to put up with everyday.  Oh and I signed up for German classes finally I start on the 7th of May. I'm very excited about that. :) Yay for having time to do things other than clean!!!

Shit happens!

So things here have been even more difficult and I have decided to leave this family and move to a new family and remove myself from the negative things that happen in this house. I have found myself a new family and I have met with them and they are so wonderful. They are so kind and understanding and the children are so adorable. The children are younger and I really think that is also in my best interest. I love younger children and love working with them. I gave my two weeks notice yesterday and it was very difficult and didn't go very well. The next two weeks are going to be very awkward and hard but will be worth it in the end. I have learned from this situation that I have to do whats best for me and not worry about what others are going to say or think. I know that the decisions I am making in my life are for the best.

On a more upbeat note I have been making some great new friends. I went to a English speaking meet up and met some really nice people who I have been hanging out with lately. They are very fun and so nice. I am very happy that when I start working for the new family I am going to have more time to do things like that. Last Wednesday a group of friends and myself went to karaoke and it was such a blast. Germans really know how to have fun when it comes to karaoke. I love it here. :) Here are some pictures from karaoke on Wednesday...

I got to skype with Davey, Kellie, Emma, and Elana last night and it made me very happy. It was definitely the best part of my day! I got to see Elana walk and Emma sang me her ABC's it was awesome. I really miss them and many others. I miss my mama and my Sarbear. I love you all and I miss you all terribly. Although I have been having some trouble with my host family I do love it in Munich and I'm so happy I decided to come here.

Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.

For those of you who I don't talk to on a regular basis you probably do not know I have been having kinda of a hard time here in Munich. I am having a hard time with my house mother who feels that it's okay to treat people any way she likes and say things that are hurtful with no concern for human feelings. I have been struggling as to whether I try and stick it out, because I absolutely adore the children, or to move on to a new family and start all over. In the last couple of weeks I have been feeling like it might even be best for me to just call it a loss and move back home. I feel like staying here in this house with her is not an option anymore. I have tried talking to her and have tried to voice my concern hoping for some change. However, things have not gotten any better if anything it has gotten worse since our talk. I feel as if I just give up and go back home I will always regret not giving it one last shot. So today I went to an au pair agency and filled out an application to find a new family. I am going to try my best to stay positive and make the most of my time here in my current house. I want to enjoy the children while I'm still around them. I however, I can not wait til I get to leave this house and maybe work for someone who can have respect for others feelings and appreciate the hard work I do for them. I do believe that God has a plan for me and whatever is meant to be will happen will.

spring is in the air

Well nothing really interesting has been going on the last couple of weeks. I am 100 percent back to healthy after my hospital visit. That's a good thing. :) The weather is much nicer here and there are some wonderful sunny days. I can't wait until those days are more frequent and I can start ridding my bike everywhere. I am just very impatient and really wish for summer to be here now. I really want to wear summer clothes and sit outside and read a book. :) Hope things are going well for all of you back home. Miss you guys!

The good, The bad, and The Ugly

My trip to Austria started out really great. The house the family owns in fabulous. It's a two story cabin that includes four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The entire inside was a beautiful wood finish and smelled so wonderful. The snow there was amazing. I have never seen so much snow in my entire life. It was taller than me. The little village we were staying in was adorable. It's exactly what you think about when you think of a ski resort village. Just picture perfect. The weather was fantastic the entire time we were there. It was sunny and beautiful. The second day the kids and I decided to dig an igloo. We had to jump down from the second story to reach the snow to start digging. It was such a blast. Unfortunately I didn't bring any snow gear with me from home due to lack of space in my suitcases so I was in the snow with a couple pairs of leggings and my jeans. It was freezing. We didn't get to finish the igloo but it was fun attempting it.

I really wish I had proper snow gear because I really wanted to rent a snowboard and take advantage of some wonderful snow but without snow gear it's impossible. I really wish my brothers and sister were there to go snowboarding with. You guys would have loved it.

One of the days we went on a 14 kilometer sled ride down the Austrian alps. That's a little over 8 and 1/2 miles long.  When we got to the top of the Alps the sun was just setting and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I can't even put into words just how absolutely breathtaking it was on the top of that mountain. Unfortunately, again, because I didn't have proper snow gear I couldn't take my camera. My house mom took a picture but I haven't had a chance to get it from her yet. The first half I had my own sled and it was so much fun. I seriously felt like I was a figure in Mario Cart. Speeding past everyone and jumping through ditches. I was the first to arrive at the half way point. I was flying down that mountain like a champ.  I will never ever forget that experience. The second half of the Trip Elin and I had to share a sled. Lets just say we barely fit and we would crash every 50-100 feet or so. It was so funny but it was very painful. I really don't think I have laughed that hard in a very very long time. So fantastic! I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Basically my Austria trip consisted of reading (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), playing board games with the kids, and drinking nice warm tea and snuggling under a blanket. It was wonderful.

The day after the sledding trip is when things started to go bad. I woke up the next day with the worse sore throat I have ever had. So I went back to bed and slept all day. I had 104 degree fever and was absolutely miserable. Because I didn't feel any better the next day and still had a really bad fever we all packed up and went home so that I could go to the hospital. When I got to the hospital they took some blood and I waiting for what seemed like forever for the results. Unfortunately for me, my blood work came back very abnormal and I had a very high white blood cell count. Because of this they wanted to keep me in the hospital to give me antibiotics through an IV. I was a little scared because I have never stayed in the hospital before and It was not at all comfortable because I felt like shit,  hardly anybody spoke English, the bed sucked, and all the entertainment I had was German T.V. which I of course did not understand. At that point all I wanted was my mom there with me and to be in an American hospital where I could at least know what the hell was going on. I just wanted to cry. I had to stay in the hospital for two nights and three days with a needle in my arm. Not at all how I wanted to end my vacation.

I was released from the hospital yesterday and I am feeling much better now. I'm not at all 100 percent but everyday I feel better. I happy to be alive and okay. I'm happy to be home in my own bed and getting things back in order. Here are some pictures I had taken while I was there. I really wish I would have taken more but that will not be my last trip to Austria with the family. Enjoy

Baby it's cold outside!

Okay so this weather is outrageous. It is seriously the coldest I have ever felt. -15 degree's Celsius feels like someone is stabbing you all over your body. Other than the cold things are going great here. I have made some great friends and have started practicing my German. I can count from one to ten.  I have been going out with a great friend named Molly and it's been wonderful. It's great because she lives just down the street from me. We have had some great times together so far. :)  More to come I'm sure.

I had my first Starbucks since I left the U.S.A and unfortunately it was not nearly as good as I was hoping. I also got my first European hair cut and it turned out great. I am very happy with it. The lady who cut it was very sweet. The one thing I love most about Munich is the variety of people you can meet here. I have meet people from all over the world and It's amazing. I do miss many people though and most of all my mom.

My first Starbucks in the city

                                                       

Molly and me on the train home eating gummy bears

some great friends I have met so far

Molly, Jen, and me                                                              

Molly and me                                                                     

Günter and me at karaoke :) he is great