Two stories... real eye openers...
1. Yesterday we walked to the bowling alley on base with a group of children. There is a group of soldiers coming home very soon and for them the garrison is getting decorated with signs and yellow ribbons. As we were walking by a cluster of signs this little boy (i cant use names) pulled my arm and said "Look Miss Beth, Look!!" He pointed at a sign of him and his brother that said, "Forever in our hearts, finally in our arms, Welcome Home Daddy!" His dad has been gone for 15 months! he started talking about all the things he would do with his dad when he came back and how much he missed in. It brought tears to my eyes to think about how much this family had sacrificed to defend our country. It brings a new perspective to soldiers and the strength of them and their families. There is also a 5 year old girl how is waiting and waiting for her mom to come back (in the same group) and asks me at least twice a day if it is the end of June yet.
2. There is also the other end of the story. A 6 year old in the child care center approach me really upset, talking about how her dad was going on a 15 month deployment to Afghanistan in a couple weeks. I watched her little heart break in front of me. how can these families do this... WOW! To be in constant fear all the time about whether of not they will come back and having to live 15 months without them... trying to keep their relationship and attachment. It astonishes me.. the strength of these children!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Camp Army Challenge
For the past two weeks i was in Bitberg (North west) Germany for an army camp for middle school and high school students with deployed parents. It was a sports camp and we were able to do really fun outdoors stuff like rock climbing, ropes courses, and hiking. i was put in a special group though that was a leadership group that worked hard to prepare a briefing for a FOUR STAR GENERAL!! So exciting!! It was so weird and such a culture shock (yes the military is a culture in itself) to hear so much about military children's lives. Their goal was to compile all of the individual bases youth issues to create the five main issues that effect military youth in europe. I was so proud of how hard they worked and how amazing their finished product was. I mean for the most part they did it all on their own. They also created a Public service announcement commercial for the Military channel (AFN) and a slideshow of the camp. They worked so hard.
While i was in Bitberg i did a little traveling. I went to Trier which is the oldest city in Germany and saw buildings used during the days of the Romans. We also saw of course a cathedral (it would not be a german town without one) and we werent able to get to Carl Marx house but it is the town he grew up in!! We also went to Koln which is a huge city in Germany with lots of shopping and... get excited....... the Lindt chocolate factory!! i dont know about all of you but i LOVE Lindt chocolate! mmmmmmm So i got to see how they make those wonderful truffle ball things. YAY!! We also saw a cathedral there that was bigger than Notre Dame... Crazy! It was to elegant and elaborate. I could have spent a good hour or two just seeing everything in it. Us five interns had a nice dinner together which was really nice becuase we had not all traveled and ate at a restaurant before then.
I will be getting pictures posted soon... I just had some camera trouble and am now trying to collect pictures from friends and get them up. But i at least will have some up early next week of our trip to Austria this weekend!! Get excited... sound of music tour!!
Hope all is well with everyone,
Love Beth
While i was in Bitberg i did a little traveling. I went to Trier which is the oldest city in Germany and saw buildings used during the days of the Romans. We also saw of course a cathedral (it would not be a german town without one) and we werent able to get to Carl Marx house but it is the town he grew up in!! We also went to Koln which is a huge city in Germany with lots of shopping and... get excited....... the Lindt chocolate factory!! i dont know about all of you but i LOVE Lindt chocolate! mmmmmmm So i got to see how they make those wonderful truffle ball things. YAY!! We also saw a cathedral there that was bigger than Notre Dame... Crazy! It was to elegant and elaborate. I could have spent a good hour or two just seeing everything in it. Us five interns had a nice dinner together which was really nice becuase we had not all traveled and ate at a restaurant before then.
I will be getting pictures posted soon... I just had some camera trouble and am now trying to collect pictures from friends and get them up. But i at least will have some up early next week of our trip to Austria this weekend!! Get excited... sound of music tour!!
Hope all is well with everyone,
Love Beth
Friday, June 12, 2009
Munich
Last weekend we went to Munich! Me Kalyn and Maggie had so much fun! We rode the train (my first time) and I was able to see how beautiful Germany is! Seriously i wish I could find a place in the states with this much green.
It rained all day on Saturday which was kinda a bummer but we made the most of it and explored the sites. Munich is a pretty crazy town. We really embeded ourselves in the culture and spoke as much german as possible. I am slowly learning the basic so i can at least get my needs met. Munich reminded me a lot of san francisco with street performers and thousands of people rushing through the streets. A lot of people would bump into me and not even react. For how slow paced German life seems this town was quite shocking. Its so bizzare to wonder the streets and see so much history all over the place. THe buildings are hundreds of years old (something we never experience in the states)The rain kinda kept us from doing tours so we just explored on our own. The main plaza is called marienplatz and it has a huge cathedral with a glockenspiel. Hitler did a lot of speeches in Munich during the war and prior to its beginnings.
We ran into so many Germans celebrating their bacholor parties. The were hilarious. Dressed up like women and singing drinking songs. We even ran into a guy dressed as a viking singing Opera!! :) That made my day! (I have a video but its not posted yet) Next we headed to the hofbrauhaus... It was just like in the movie beerfest. There were so many tables and a huge culture shock was the fact that you just sit at a table with other peopel you dont know (which I guess is common in Germany) So we filled a table with some people from Hungary. During dinner we had live traditional german music, people dancing on tables. being dressed in laderhoisen, and some many different countries represented under one roof. CRAZINESS. I had a blast. The beer mugs were almost to heavy to hold.
After dinner we went to our hostile. It was a room with 10 beds divided into 3 sections. But the blankets were amazing (def better than the baracks we usually sleep in). We woke up the next morning and explored and had breakfast then headed home. :) Great trip great trip.
It rained all day on Saturday which was kinda a bummer but we made the most of it and explored the sites. Munich is a pretty crazy town. We really embeded ourselves in the culture and spoke as much german as possible. I am slowly learning the basic so i can at least get my needs met. Munich reminded me a lot of san francisco with street performers and thousands of people rushing through the streets. A lot of people would bump into me and not even react. For how slow paced German life seems this town was quite shocking. Its so bizzare to wonder the streets and see so much history all over the place. THe buildings are hundreds of years old (something we never experience in the states)The rain kinda kept us from doing tours so we just explored on our own. The main plaza is called marienplatz and it has a huge cathedral with a glockenspiel. Hitler did a lot of speeches in Munich during the war and prior to its beginnings.
We ran into so many Germans celebrating their bacholor parties. The were hilarious. Dressed up like women and singing drinking songs. We even ran into a guy dressed as a viking singing Opera!! :) That made my day! (I have a video but its not posted yet) Next we headed to the hofbrauhaus... It was just like in the movie beerfest. There were so many tables and a huge culture shock was the fact that you just sit at a table with other peopel you dont know (which I guess is common in Germany) So we filled a table with some people from Hungary. During dinner we had live traditional german music, people dancing on tables. being dressed in laderhoisen, and some many different countries represented under one roof. CRAZINESS. I had a blast. The beer mugs were almost to heavy to hold.
After dinner we went to our hostile. It was a room with 10 beds divided into 3 sections. But the blankets were amazing (def better than the baracks we usually sleep in). We woke up the next morning and explored and had breakfast then headed home. :) Great trip great trip.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
The kids....
WOw. I dont even know where to begin. Working with these children is so eye opening. They have been through so much between having their parents fighting in the middle east, moving from, not state to state, but country to country!!!, and having to grow up pretty fast. They seem so different than the american children in the states. They talk about war and moving on a daily basis. I have made friends with two children and watched them move the next day, and I have only been here a week and a half.
I work split shifts becuase they are still in school. 6-8 (yes in the morning) and 1-5. But soon i will be working 6-3 monday-friday which will be much easier.
They are soooo much fun though. they call me miss beth and usual fight for my attention (since I am new) which always makes a person feel good. I have a few (I cant use names on the internet) that ask me to sit with them all the time. Some of them have never been to the states so when I tell them I am from Cali questions come flying. They are so interested in what it is like "over there." We play a lot of board and card games. i have never seen kids so into organized games with rules but I am not complaining. I dont think I could ever get tired of playing skip-o. :)
There play equipment is SOOOOO awesome. I even have fun playing on it. I am pretty sure most of it would not be allowed back home (too big and dangerous) but it is crazy cool.
The staff is really awesome. They have taken us under their wing and made our stay here feel as close to home as possible. They are sooo sweet and I am really thankful to have such wonderful people working with me. They have invited us to hang out after work and one person even took us to have home made pizza which was so good especially since all we have here is a microwave and refrigerator.
I am going to get some pictures posted soon. I left my camera cord at home so i need to find a way to get them on my computer. I cant wait to show everyone pictures of my trip thus far.
Much love to everyone,
Beth
I work split shifts becuase they are still in school. 6-8 (yes in the morning) and 1-5. But soon i will be working 6-3 monday-friday which will be much easier.
They are soooo much fun though. they call me miss beth and usual fight for my attention (since I am new) which always makes a person feel good. I have a few (I cant use names on the internet) that ask me to sit with them all the time. Some of them have never been to the states so when I tell them I am from Cali questions come flying. They are so interested in what it is like "over there." We play a lot of board and card games. i have never seen kids so into organized games with rules but I am not complaining. I dont think I could ever get tired of playing skip-o. :)
There play equipment is SOOOOO awesome. I even have fun playing on it. I am pretty sure most of it would not be allowed back home (too big and dangerous) but it is crazy cool.
The staff is really awesome. They have taken us under their wing and made our stay here feel as close to home as possible. They are sooo sweet and I am really thankful to have such wonderful people working with me. They have invited us to hang out after work and one person even took us to have home made pizza which was so good especially since all we have here is a microwave and refrigerator.
I am going to get some pictures posted soon. I left my camera cord at home so i need to find a way to get them on my computer. I cant wait to show everyone pictures of my trip thus far.
Much love to everyone,
Beth
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