They're here!!!

View of Holzen from my window

New students arrived yesterday to Storchenblick, and returning ones are arriving today. It's so great to start filling up the dorm with all these young ladies!! I've definitely enjoyed meeting them and some of their parents. There is a lot of diversity among them, which I think is just great, and it will be interesting to see how community life unfolds as time goes on. I look forward to a fantastic year ahead of us!!

So here are some more details about what's been going on over here in Deutschland. This past week we had All Staff Orientation for BFA, as well as additional Res. Life training. It is all well and good to have orientation for 3 weeks, but let's just say that I feel like I'm oriented for the rest of my life and will never need to go through orientation again. Meetings. So many of them. Glad they are over. On a positive note though, it was really good to be here that far in advance in order to get more settled, become familiar with the area, develop relationships with staff, and start to get over the initial shock of being in a completely different country. I don't feel entirely clueless at least!

My desk, where all this literary magic happens

I had my driver's test with our Res. Life supervisor this past week. I've stalled a vehicle twice since I came to Germany. I stalled a vehicle twice during my driver's test....seriously?!? Performance nerves, I'm telling you! I still passed though, so it's all good. I seem to have had a few embarrassing moments this past week...I'd like to attribute it to mental exhaustion, so that's what we're going to do. During All Staff Orientation us newbies all had to give our testimonies to the entire staff (3 mins), and there was a list of what order we were to go in, and I got so zoned into the whole “I have to get up there and just get it over with” (I'm not a public speaker...) that I completely skipped the person before me, even though she was sitting just a few feet from me and was already in the process of getting up there. Didn't even register. Lord have mercy. I gave her a good introduction though for when it was her turn. :) Another incident (that same day!) was at the grocery store. So here in Germany grocery stores don't bag your groceries. If you've ever been to Aldi, it's like that. Except here they expect you to put your groceries in the cart as they scan (having emptied it and put everything on the conveyor belt and taken it to the other end of the register). The belt is really long, and then on the other end there is like maybe a foot or two of space before your groceries start to overflow off the counter and the cashier gives you a dirty look. That actually wasn't my embarrassing moment. So because they don't bag your groceries you just take your cart out to your car and bag/box them in there as you load it up. What they don't tell you is that you aren't allowed to take out the shopping basket as well. I found that out when I walked out the door, the alarm went off, I stopped, looked at my friend and she said, “I think it's your basket,” so I turned and went back through, setting the alarm off again. Thankfully I had a bag in my purse so I just discreetly (ha!) put my stuff in the bag, returned the basket to it's rightful place, and scooted out the door, trying not to make eye contact with the many Germans who were staring at me. Sigh. Welcome to acculturation.

A lovely town, Todtnau, that has falls nearby

Well, our new girls are about to get back to the dorm from their day of new student orientation, so I should go help with snack prep. Tomorrow are opening ceremonies and then classes start on Wednesday! I'm looking forward to getting into the routine and having everyone feel more at home. Keep us all in your prayers, especially the students as they say goodbye to family and adjust to dorm life! Also for us, that we would provide a great loving home for them!

I John 3: 1a

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!