Life on Post

So... first things first, Can someone please answer me why a team would play a home game 37 minutes away from their city. That makes no sense. But alas, that was my day yesterday as I tried to find the Eintracht Bamberg soccer team. It was quite the adventure. Only after I came  home from the unsuccessful attempt at finding a soccer game, did I find out why I couldn't find the home game. Funny huh?  My roommates and I have now decided that we are going to go find a soccer team elsewhere and hopefully see a German Bundesliga game soon. We are pretty pumped for it. 

Anyways, work has just gotten ridiculous the past week. But, I feel like I might have some more time because of football being done. It was an interesting season, but I am very thankful for it. I saw a lot of talented kids who just didn't care about whether or not they won or lost. It was more about, that they got to wear the jersey.  Now, I am not talking about all of the kids, but most of them definitely went along those lines.  The team lost there last game this week 47-0. It was a learning experience for sure, but the coaches were great and they taught me a lot, and as one of them stated to me "at least you know what talent without heart looks like."

Today, was a great awakening for me. I have been feeling distant and lethargic about where I was going in my faith. I was even late to church, but am I glad that I went. The sermon today was one of those things that I needed to hear at exactly that moment. It's funny how that usually works. God totally is rocking my world when I focus on him. The sermon talked about putting my daily actions to the test of the scriptures and basically gave a guideline that offers quick ways to test my intentions. Now, I don't mean it was the exact way, but it did give me a new way to approach the scripture. It was refreshing to hear how my approach to the day might affect those on their path and how I can be more mindful of that. It was really awesome. 

I am enjoying Bamberg, but I think I am ready for another big trip somewhere. I am trying to figure out the best options for me, but I am ready to go somewhere else, just to have a break. School is a challenge, and I am shocked at how much I am working. It has not been unusual for myself to be putting 12-14 hours a day. Just to let you all know that I haven taken over all of my classes. I am doing well, but I struggle with the apathy within the school. I guess I have never really faced students just not caring and not doing their work. That has been a real big challenge for me. 

I appreciate all of the love and support that I am receiving. I got a letter from my grandmother the other day, and it literally brought tears to my eyes every time I tried reading it. Thanks Grandma! :D Know that I am doing really well, and that I am really working hard and trying to be the best teacher I can be. One of the exciting things that I have done has been with my project. I am studying Kinesthetic movement and how it affects student learning in the classroom.  Kinesthetic movement is basically any type of movement associated with learning. For one of my data collection days, I used swing dancing to show how cultures create distinct identities to identify themselves. I taught a swing line dance, and I have now been asked to teach swing dancing on a regular basis. So that is always a positive :) Also, the other day, I had my students become planets to help them understand Kepler's laws of planetary motion. They were spinning and laughing, and hopefully learning all over the place. I am curious to see how my research project on Kinesthetic movement ends up.

I miss you all dearly, and I can't wait to see you all again. Thanks so much for all of the prayers and support. It helps more than I can ever express :)  I would like to ask everyone for prayers for specific guidance in service and recognition of what God is calling for.  I love you and miss you all! 

The Joy of Victory

Hello all! 

Well, we did it. We finally won a football game. This means that my first experience as a football coach is not for lost. We will not go 0-fer in this season. I am pretty pumped about this if you can't tell. 

So this past weekend, my advisor came to visit. It was good to see a friendly face. One of the nights he took all the interns out to this steak place in Germany, and we basically cooked our own steaks on hot rocks in front of us. It was.. interesting? But seriously the food was really good. I am going to post some pictures of it soon. 

I know that this is extremely short, but I wanted to make sure everyone knows that I am doing ok. :) I miss and love you all! 

Venezia, Italia

So.. for all of you getting injured and crashing your bikes... Stop it. Stop it right now. I am serious Steven, if you ever do something like that again, I swear I am coming at you like a spider monkey (for those of you who don't know, it is a reference to a movie) 

So this past weekend, I was able to travel to Venice, Italy. It was awesome, and a really beautiful place. Sadly, I did not get to ride in a Gondola because I was a chaperone for the football team, but maybe next time. Venice right now, is going through a major renovation as Italy tries to keep the city from sinking all together. It was really awesome going through the city and seeing all of the shops that I will never be able to afford on a teacher's salary. But that is ok, it was fun to look through. There was also really cheap designer label stuff for sale on the streets and if you believe that it was real (like some of my football players) then I have a Brooklyn Bridge to sell you. Walking through the city, you realize how much those who explored the world for Italy, STOLE. It was crazy, art and everything from all over the world was placed everywhere and claimed as Venice's own. In particular, this winged tiger was stolen from Turkey. It just kind of reminds you how close the world really is, even during the renaissance era. Oh, that was awesome too by the way, seeing structures and art from the Renaissance. Seeing something as old as the 14th century was incredible. On a fun note, I did find the Murano glass that the city is famous for, and bought Mom a really nice piece of Italy (Don't worry Dad, Steven, I got you souvenirs too). Saturday, after the game, we went to an Italian pizzeria, where I ordered , what else, pizza. It was pretty good, but nothing like American pizza. I know right now people are reading this, or hearing this, and going, your crazy, but I simply have to have way greasier pizza. Godfathers, comes to mind.  

I had a really kind of rough weekend, I found out that Truman is making me edit my IRB form. This form basically allows me to work on my research project. It is frustrating because in the email sent to me, the form states, "drop this off, as soon as possible." TRUMAN, LET ME BE JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE CLEAR, I AM IN GERMANY! I mean, come on! What do you want me to do, fly it to the states and drop it off personally? I know that I can email to my professor and have him drop it off again, but that is simply not the point. The mass email sent out, shows that Truman really has no idea what is going on with some of their student interns. I can't turn this is in as a hard copy because of being...umm.... out of the country.  You would think that they would at least send another email, encouraging action to be taken, but at least taking into consideration some of the difficulties of living and studying abroad.  I am asking for numerous prayers this week. I found out that my brother got in a pretty big bicycle wreck, and that my grandma was in surgery. Two of my friends also left for Uganda for a mission trip. Please keep all of them in your thoughts and prayers. 

I miss all of you dearly, and I love Europe. School as been... quite the experience. I am working hard and trying to get my students to learn, but sometimes, I feel like I am just pulling teeth. But there are some who work really hard, and those who can be pains, really like learning too, they just don't know it yet. I am working nearly 14 plus hours a day, especially with trying to keep up with my online classes... and I am now done complaining.. because, A) I am in Europe, and B) I know that there are hundreds of people praying for me. I just re-read the post, and if it comes across like I am complaining, I am sorry. I know others out there are dealing with so much more, and frankly, I don't need to complain. I apologize for that. 

On a much more positive note, I am visiting SO many awesome places, I love Europe and the history I am experiencing while I am here. I am working hard and trying to understand my purpose. I leave you with a few pictures from Venice. Keep praying for me, I miss and love you all!