Mario's Birthday and Katherine's Going Away Party

Last night Monica and I made the rounds and saw Mario for dinner and then headed to Barley's for Katherine's going away party.




Janet, me, Monica and Katherine. : )




The gang. Can't forget the guys!




A little black and white.




Mario turned 36 yesterday (or so he said!). Mon and I met him for a quick meal to tease him about getting old.





Emma Jane, I'm glad to know you're reading! Thanks hon! I'll look for you online soon. With my left eye, of course. ; )

Eye Surgery

I had the surgery yesterday and it went ok. I am quite blurry (probably shouldn't be on the computer so I'll make it quick). Hopefully it will have worked this time! The vision is supposed to get worse before it gets better. So for now I'm staying inside and listening to books on tape. Oh yeah. : )

Homecoming

Dad picked me up from the airport Tuesday. As I was going on about something, we stepped outside and he tried to get my attention so I would look forward and I was all, what? Then it took me a moment to process. Standing across the street beside a limo were Mom, Auntie, Lexi, Dusty and Lisa, and Danny and Rona! I about fell over! I definitely wasn't expecting anything like that!





We took the limo to Overland Park and ate some delicious Japanese food.










The next two pics are more random. The first is of Dan playing at Legends last night.





And the last one is for Emma Jane. It has the Progress of the Mullet. As well as pic of our new bumper boats! Oh yeah!






It's good to be home.

Last Day

My last night I had dinner at Emma and Chris's. I love eating there! It was a weekly thing for us. Afterwards I went back home and Steffi and Katha had decided to stay at our place so they, along with Kathi and Sandra, could take me to the airport at 5 a.m. Which meant getting up at 4 a.m., after going to bed at midnight. I couldn't believe they were so sweet! And willing to get up so dang early. Talk about the butt crack of dawn!

They also made a great little movie/slide show of my time with them. I'm still not sure how they did that!




Here are the girls, Sandra, Steffi, Kathi and Katha with a huge sign they made for me in ENGLISH! It was amazingly sweet and I was sorry I couldn't take it with me!





There we all are in the airport, looking just a bit sleepy.




One last look at my girls before heading home.

Going Away Parties

The Saturday before I left I went out with the gang (Emma, Chris, Nayeon, Eric and Ryan). We went to the Hofbraeu Haus for dinner, walked around Planten und Blomen, and went to do some Korean karoake and eat Korean food and drink (too much!) soju. It was a fun evening.





This is Eric eating the aloe plant. Very nice.




Me, Emma and Nayoen posed by a lovely waterfall.




The boys found an equally lovely area to pose by! Then Chris and Eric hopped across the water to climb a tree until Emma gave that warning tone and they obediently came back.






We learned that in Korean culture it is respectful to hold your empty shot glass above your head once you drink it to show you really drank it. Nayeon and Eric are demonstrating.




I don't think Emma is as amused as the boys...





The boys at the Hofbraeu Haus. And their one liter beers. Wow.





Chris baked me a cake from scratch and Emma wrote my name on it with chocolate chips (or Germany's closest version). The "e" started to fall off the side, which I thought was pretty dang cool. Chris even let me cut the cake, until I started making funny geometrical shapes out of it, at which point I was quickly relieved of cake-cutting duty.




A passerby took a photo of us in the park.



Eric and Ryan jamming in Korean. Man, those boys can sing! Luckily I didn't get up or else everyone might have vacated the premises....

The next night Jens and Silke invited Kathi and I over for dinner. We grilled on their balcony, talked, smelled someone below us smoking pot, and had a really nice time.






One guess who took this pic.





The roomies, me, Jens and Kathi.





Their kitchen is similiar to ours! Or, I should now say, Kathi's.

Both going away parties were really wonderful. I was glad to be able to celebrate with some of my favorite people from the past year.

I'm really going to miss them!

Readers

So people actually DO read this thing! lol. Thanks, guys!

I went to the eye doctor today and he said he wants to try one more operation so next Friday I'm going to try it for the last time. This one is a bit more painful than the last, but hopefully the results will be better.

Dan's band was playing up at The Legends tonight so I went up there. Guess I could put some pics up of that too! I've been busy settling back in, but I promise pics will come soon!

The weather is hot and sunny and I'm in heaven. I also feel incredibly spoiled to have things like a dishwasher and washer and dryer. Ahhhh, how I've missed them!

I miss you guys back in Germany, naturally! Sorry your weather sucks, you should take it as a hint to come visit!

: )

Home

I am home safe and sound, and a bit jet lagged. I've been having problems with Blogger so haven't updated lately. But it seems to be working now, so soon I will get picks up and do a proper update!

It's so good to be home! : )

Koto's visit

Koto visited this weekend and we had a fun, if short, time.





We played around in Planten und Blomen, my favorite park in Hamburg.













We also ate some yummy Afghani dishes. Dad, does this look familiar? : )





We rented a boat because it's sooooooo much fun! Sadly they were out of canoes so I tried my hand at the rowboat.




It was definitely harder than I thought! Koto had to be my eyes since I couldn't see behind me and so many people were out on the water. But sometimes she forgot because the surroundings are so beautiful!





This is me in the park again.





We also ate some delicious Ethiopian food. She said there isn't a lot of variety in cuisine down in Frankfurt, so we had to get in some different food.




We also found a bit of a worn-down looking hookah bar near the Uni that was interesting. I would love to have one of those at home! Koto said she got one when she was in northern Africa, but they use it as decoration.




Here is Koto near my place in front of the Alster. Part of the day was nice and sunny. The rest of the time it was a bit chilly and rainy. But you'd never know it from this picture!

It was really great seeing Koto, it had been two years!

And now I'm doing Uni stuff and getting ready to pack up a lot of my things so I can mail them soon. I think I will have one or two heavy boxes and I'm not sure how I am going to carry them down the stairs. I think I will have to get a taxi to take me to the post office because no way can I get them there by foot or bike. Hmm. Ah the logistics.

Chris and Emma and I wanted to grill by the Alster tonight, but it's been rainy and is not quite warm. We will see.

Just one more week now! : )

Happy 4th!

Happy Fourth of July! So sad I can't be there to celebrate!

It's been actually really warm the past few days and way hot in my apartment, but last night a storm came in and it's been raining ever since and has cooled off significantly. But certainly no day for grilling and blowing things up. Sadness.

Also, Koto is supposed to come up today, but there was a strike with Lufthansa this week and a lot of people are just waiting in the airport and sadly, she is one of them. I'm not sure if she'll make it or just be late. I hope she does, though! It's been two years since I've seen her!

Guess I'll go work on the last paper.

Blow stuff up for me! : )

Two down, one to go

I just finished my second big paper, yay! I will turn it in tomorrow and then start on the last, and biggest, final paper for the semester. Hopefully it will be the last paper (thesis excluded) I will ever write for grad school! Now if only I could pick a topic.... ; )

My blinds broke a few days ago and came crashing down on me. They are heavy and wood and I screamed and then they hit the floor and then I said a profanity. They were already crap and broken when I moved in, but I can't get them back on the wall. The other night I literally taped a blanket over the window (hello only dark from 11-3:30) and Kathi had a good laugh at me and said how ghetto. Hm. Yes, but what else to do? So I removed the blanket and have just left it.

It is also nice and warm today! Sunny even. My laptop tells me it's 86 F outside, and 83 F in my room. Whew. Toasty. I wanted to grab a blanket and go sunbathe by the lake, but then I realized finishing my paper ought to take precedence. So I did the responsible thing. (You're relieved, aren't you Dad? hee hee)

I met Emma for lunch and we got sandwiches and took them by the Alster, then we walked around and enjoyed the nice weather. We agreed that when the weather is lovely (i.e. sunny and warm), Hamburg is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Sad that that only happens about 10 days out of the year! lol. I also told her I am really looking forward to laying by the pool and going from ghost-pale to tan. Ahhhh, home.

There are still a bunch of official things I need to take care of before I go, but I will wait until the last few days. Not sure how to cancel my insurance. Hmmm.

So that's it for me right now. I've already planned my very own Welcome Home Me Party (is that bad?) for Saturday the 19th. Pool and bbq party! If I failed to invite you, but you're sure I meant to, then just let me know you'll be there. : )