Weird Sounds, a Surprise Visitor, and Trash - Again.

German sounds:

1.  ei is pronounced with a long i sound.
2.  ie is pronounced with a long e sound.
3.  The e at the end of the word sounds like a short a.
4.  The w sounds like a v.
5.  The v sounds like a w.
6.  The z sounds like an s (they try to tell me it doesn't, but it does).
7.  The s sounds like a z (see above comment).
8.  The ä-ö-ü are impossible to pronounce so I'm already giving up on those!
9. ß is not a crazy b. It is 2 s's together - sort of. There are rules that I've been told and promptly forgotten, so as long as you know that it is an s sound, you are safe.

Now you know German - or at least you can read German and sing songs. I have no idea what they are saying, but since I don't have an English hymnal, I'm singing in German at church.

German Friends:

These are friends from church.  They often have guests over on a Sunday night.  This was my second Sunday coming.  This was a going away party for Bianca, my friend that went with me to Stuttgart.  I am going to miss her so much even though I hardly know her really.  We really bonded on that trip!.   You can see half of her head next to the little girl.  We ended the evening with singing and I got to sing in English while they were singing in German.  The thing I miss most about church in America is singing. I sing in German if the songs are slow enough for me to try to pronounce the words.  But I sing very quietly so I don't mess up.

A Surprise Visitor:

My brother Kenneth was sent to Munich for a sudden thing that happened with work.  He had 2 days advance notice.  He was in Munich for 4 days, so I decided to go see him for a few hours after work.  

So Munich is pretty much the capital of Oktoberfest and it started the weekend before Kenneth got here.  We found a great Bavarian restaurant with lots of great food.  It was great because there were so many people dressed in dirndls and lederhosen. It was very perfect for anyone with a few hours to spend being a tourist.  Most of the people of course were Americans and from the UK, but that is beside the point!  We were seeing costumes!  :)  Lol.  We heard more English on the streets than German for sure.  At least the waiters were German anyway.  Lol!  We had our wiener schnitzel and bratwurst.  We were as German as anyone else in the restaurant, but I should have worn my dirndl darn it!  I'll have to save it for next time.  (By the way, people at church wear theirs all the time.  One day, I'll be brave enough to wear mine.  It just seems wrong to wear since I'm an American.  But other Americans wear theirs, but they speak German fluently.)

One of those "chance" moments happened again when I mentioned to my friend that I was going to Munich on Wednesday.  She said that she was actually driving to Munich on Wednesday to catch a plane and would I like a ride.  Kenneth's hotel was close to the airport! Amazing coincidence, tender mercies, or Karma - No matter what it was, it was awesome to get a ride and to have time to get to know one of my co-workers even better!  The man in this picture - Jesus - is Kenneth's co-worker.  He and his wife are from Spain (I'm not sure why I have all these chance encounters with Spanish people).  They are amazing people and I had a delightful time speaking my Spanish with them.  I even got kissed at the beginning and the end of our time together.  They want me to contact them the next time I am in Madrid.  I swear I love Spanish people, they are amazing, warm, kind, and generous.  Germans are also lovely people.  I am pretty sure the reason my heart is in Spain is because I have spent more time there (Not to mention it is warm and has the ocean and the sea.  Any place that gives you kisses as you come and go is a pretty good place.)  I'm sure that I will love Germany as much as I love Spain. The Germans have actually really made me feel very welcome and have bent over backwards to make sure that I feel comfortable and I am a part of the group.  I love that Germans have groups that you can join everywhere.  Not to mention that the houses in Germany, the views, and the castles are amazing!

This is Edelweiss.  It was in the Bavarian restaurant that we went to.  Of course, we broke into song singing.  I had no idea Spanish people even heard of the Sound of Music.  Most Austrians and Germans never have.

Trash - Again:

Taking my paper trash for a walk.  We have bio pickup, plastic pick up, trash pick up, but no paper pick up.  So, I had a large pile of cardboard and trash to take, so I put it in my old lady grocery cart and took it for a walk to the nearest paper recycling thing about 3 blocks away.  Unfortunately, that one was too full and I couldn't stuff any of my stuff into it, so I had to go to the one about 3 blocks on the other side of my apartment building.

This paper recycling bin was the one that wasn't full to the brim, but if you look, it's pretty darn full, but I could at least stuff my paper in.  I was actually afraid I'd have to bring it back home with me and keep storing it until I knew a paper bin was empty enough for my stuff.  Darn IKEA and all the paper that comes with their stuff.  I bought a blanket at a grocery store and I actually unwrapped it at the paper recycling place so I didn't have to bring it home with me and take it for a walk back later on.

The View from Other Side of the Street:

Do you ever get in a habit of doing something the same way every time you do it?  Well, whenever I walked toward the city after work, I always walked on the same side of the street as the school - of course, it is straight.  Well, last Thursday I walked toward game night and I crossed the street right past my school.  I was very surprised to see how pretty it was.  There are lots of multi-colored houses with lots of German charm.  I had noticed the stores on the ground level before and I had even gone in a few of them, but I never noticed it was so pretty above the stores.  So, I decided to walk to game night a different way and I passed an Asian restaurant.  Mr. Luu's.  I remembered that I had gotten a flier about the delivery that was available.  I looked in the restaurant and it was empty.  The chef was at the top of the stairs and looking out.  I felt so sorry for him that I almost walked right in even though I had just finished a huge meal at school (It was a fundraising meal for a school in Nepal).  I didn't go in, but I felt like I should to support him!  It was in downtown Neu-Ulm, but it was a side street with nothing around but houses.  I had never been down this street before and had no idea it was even there.  Do you ever see things and imagine what is really happening?  I made up this whole story about that man standing there on his own trying to earn money for his family in some poor Asian country.  I hope he has success.  After playing games, I went back by the same street and looked back in.  Still no one was there and the man was gone from view.  Possibly in the kitchen just sitting and hoping that someone came.  This reminds me that I should go by sometime for dinner.  :)  

Ode to Google, Malls, and Galway's 10-minute walks

A 10-Minute Walk

The following is what I did on my way to go see Spencer in the hospital.  I call it my 10-minute walk although it lasted for several hours, because I took my time going and coming.

I went back to McDonagh's and had chicken and chips.  I was so tempted to try their mushy peas, but I was too full.  I will have mushy peas before I leave!  I love eating here because they have stools on the outside of the room, so even if you are sitting by yourself, you aren't really because you are so close to other people eating.  It's a nice way to meet people.

There is a very nice walkway right next to the river on the way to the hospital.  It is beautiful and green and surrounded by people and nature.  It was by far my favorite path.  I tried to use the panorama feature on my camera, but it made the pictures really small.  See what you think.  The first on is on the walkway and the second is next to the cathedral. 

I had a very nice visit with Spencer at the hospital and he started to cry and told me how grateful he was that I was here with him in Ireland. I was so happy to hear him say that, but when I was on my way home I wished that someone was here with me.  So, I went in a nice restaurant and had hot chocolate and shepherd's pie - Comfort Food.

I believe that God really watches out for us and he's always there when we need Him.  I walked out of the restaurant when I was done and heard the most beautiful Irish music!  I kept walking and there were street performers after street performers.  I heard guitars, harps, and even a Didgeridoo!  My favorite was this guy.  I'm not sure what Marilyn Monroe and Pres. Obama have to do with Irish music, but here it is:

I Have Clothes Now - Sort Of

The original plan was to come to Ireland on Friday and leave the next morning with Spencer and go to the doctor here.  By the time I was in Chicago, he was in the hospital.  So, I literally had 2 shirts, 2 pants, 2 pairs of socks (one was what I got from the airplane ride), and luckily 3 pairs of underwear.  So I have been washing in the sink and hanging out to dry things I wasn't wearing.  Today I found the mall.  It's so strange, you would never know there was a mall unless you were looking for it.  It looks like a tiny alleyway and then BOOM!  It's a mall.  It's just like an American mall.  It was huge!  I was very surprised that such a big mall can start off as a little alleyway.  I found 2 shirts, socks, gloves, and a suitcase.    I tried to find pants, but that was asking the impossible since even when I'm in America I can't find pants that don't need alterations.  I was thinking of buying shoes, but this is what I found:

These shoes are a little too cool for me.
I'm a comfortable shoes kind of girl.

Sorry, I don't want to have to balance
when I'm wearing shoes.

These look semi-comfortable, but they had
absolutely no padding on the
inside of the shoe.

Ode To Google

I have had to make several calls since I've been here, both to the U.S. and inside of Ireland.  Gmail has a chat feature.  Next to the chat feature is a picture of a little phone.  I get to talk to America for FREE and I get to talk to Ireland at 17 cents a minute.  THANK YOU GOOGLE!!!!!

Google is the best.

They put my mind to rest.

I can call my Mom.

I can also call my friend Tom. 

(It rhymes, I don't have a friend named Tom.)

Thanks Google for making calling cheap.

So I can hear the sheep in Ireland bleat.

(Use your imagination and pretend it rhymes!)

Checking Out Downtown Galway, Ireland

Bap Bread

I finally was able to go to downtown Galway today - after visiting Spencer and a very long nap!  I went to find lunch and there is a street lined with restaurants and shops.  I found a bakery that had sandwiches and so I walked in and it was warm, crowded, and friendly.  I had a bread called bap.  I had no idea what that was, so I thought I'd try it. This is bap bread and turkey and cranberry sandwich.

Downtown Galway, Ireland

There are a lot of shops and restaurants on one road and the road turns and there are a lot of vendors and food carts on the other road.  There were lots of people and shops!  

 

I had to take a picture because of the funny name!

There is a beautiful cathedral in between the city center and the hospital.  I love going inside the cathedrals, there are works of art and amazing architecture, not to mention inspiring worshipers and prayers happening.

This was the river next to the cathedral.  Very beautiful!

I was trying to find the hospital when I was done walking around, so I asked a person for directions.  He told me which direction and then said, "5... no... 10 minutes walk."  I thought that someone was going to say something other than 10 minutes, but I think it's the law to say that it's 10 minutes away.  :)  I found it easily and I am happy to say that Spencer is doing very well, I think that his stay will be very short hopefully!