Young Love

So first we will start by adding a couple to meet the cast: THE SPIVEYS

Kristy Spivey is a nurse with Gretchen and I tease them that they have become the new Shannon and Meaghan. Because Shannon and I spend a lot of time together, but Gretch and Kristy lately have been attached at the hip. Kristy is married to James (but everyone calls him Spivey- turns out last names are a common nickname in the Army) and they have a four year old named Kaiden. This blog not only introduces you to the Spiveys but it also tells a little tale of Kaiden and a young girl named Bailey.



So Kaiden has started soccer. He is doing workshops after school were he is now learning the fundamentals of soccer. So him and his parents go to a field with a bunch of other kids and parents and kick the ball back and forth, try to get the ball between cones, and do other things that make this four year old excel at the sport. Kristy invited me to come and watch because she told me "in my unbiased opinion, he is really really good." So Gretch, Josh, and I go there and after a four year old meltdown and Kaiden saying that he didn't want to play anymore, he did show us some futball skills after I volunteered Josh to play soccer with him.



So they do the drills for thirty minutes and then the next thirty minutes are spent playing games, i.e Red Light, Green Light, and Duck Duck Goose. Well, his parents, Josh, Gretch, and I are watching from the field and he keeps falling down. He is trying to make it look like he is accidentally losing his footing but there is no doubt that he is purposely falling down. But we then realize that as sure as he is falling down numerous times, each time a cute lil blond hair girl named Bailey is helping him up. So he is falling down to have her help him up... I was amazed that this kid could woo a girl so well at a young age... but it does not end there.




So all the kids are lined up and we notice Kaiden is not lined up with the other kids but a little bit back in the field picking flowers and sure enough he then goes and gives the girl the flowers. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen... but it does not end there.




Then they are lined up waiting for Red Light, Green Light to begin again and sure enough, Kaiden pulls out this move!!!



I guess it ended by Bailey's parents coming up to the Spiveys and saying we have to be careful because Bailey really likes boys... which is obviously a problem since Kaiden has more game than Milton Bradley :)

A German Milestone

So yesterday was a HUGE day for me in regards to my Germany adventure. I had my first complete conversation in German. That means that not only did I only speak German but the people speaking to me only spoke German and we communicated. Now before you get all proud of me let me recap the conversation for you...

Scene: Me and Shannon sitting in a German restaurant watching the Italy vs New Zealand soccer game.
Prior events that happened immediately before the conversation: Italy and New Zealand had just tied 1-1 in soccer.
(Older friendly German couple approach us)
German couple: Say a few things in German but pretty much ask did Italy win.
(Shannon tries to hand motion that there was a tie and the couple's faces fill with confusion and they speak more German)
Me: "Eins" (I put up my pointer finger on my right hand) "Eins" (I put up my pointer finger on my left hand and then put the fingers next to each other to let them know that both teams scored one point and it is clearly a tie since both teams have the same number of fingers up... eins)
German couple: (instant smiles on their faces) Say some other things in German and smile
Me: "Tschus"
Them: Tschus

So to recap my first German conversation consisted of "Eins.. Eins... Tschus" In English... "One... One... Bye" Awesome, eh?

Sylvia (the German cleaning lady that is helping me learn German) was very proud of me... obviously!!

Just thought I would share.

Eins... eins... tschus

Slainte Mhath

The title of this blog is the Gaelic phrase that is equivalent to saying "Cheers" whenever drinking whisky. I think the actual translation is "To Good Health." It is one of the many things I learned on the trip to Scotland this weekend.

The trip consisted of my friend Shannon and I. We had planned this trip awhile ago because one of the places that I really wanted to go and felt that I might want to go often was Scotland. So we booked the ticket a bit ago but we didn't really plan too much. We stayed at a hostel (both of our first experiences with a hostel). It was actually a dorm room at the University of Edinburgh. We did not think it was too bad but it was definitely a different experience.

It was a lot of fun to go this weekend because there was a lot of World Cup Soccer on and they really get into it over here. The first bar we went to was outside and there were big tvs playing the game. Now I learned a lot of things this weekend and here is what I learned at the first bar:

1. There are a lot of young gents in Scotland. When we went into this bar I think that we were the only females surrounded by about 500 men. And I am not kidding. It was very strange. Now I thought at first it had to do with the fact that it was a Friday afternoon and there was a sporting event on but as the weekend progressed, I noticed that the ratio continued to favor a larger portion males to females.
2. They are really into "Stag Parties" in Scotland... in the US we know these parties as Bachelor Parties but Shannon and I witnessed upwards of 10-12 of them throughout Edinburgh and the guys always dress funny. They were seriously everywhere... very weird because i am not sure where the parties were for the females marrying all of these lads.
3. If you are a girl in a bar and you accidentally drop your full beer at 330 in the afternoon, a lot of men will come talk to you... turns out men like clumsy! (And yes, I somehow managed to spill my entire first beer from a plastic pint glass in front of the 500 men and then just continued to stand in the puddle with a huge smile)
4. The Scotish do not like England. They feel connected to Wales and Ireland but for the most part do not like England because England acts like they are better than them.
5. If you are from the US and do something that someone doesn't like, they are quick to just say that you are a stupid American. It is much easier and more fun to just tell people that you are from Canada. I figure myself from Southern Canada, so I don't think it was too much of a fib.
6. EVERYONE over there is mad that they feel Obama is blaming them for the BP spill since it is "British" Petroleum. SERIOUSLY every person we met talked to us about this. It actually led to numerous awkwards talks. Here are two of them (you can see one went much better for me than the other).

Scene: Outdoor bar with the world cup game on and a group of men that had decided that Shannon and I were stupid Americans but fun to talk to.
Man 1: Do all of you think that the BP oil spill is our fault?
Me: I don't know what you mean?
Man 2: You do know about the BP spill, or do you just not care about the world because you are American?
Me: I am aware of the spill, but I don't know how it would be your fault?
Man 1: Obama said that it is our fault... do you agree with him?
Me: No, I don't think it is your fault. I think it is the companies fault that is not directly associated with any country.
(As I think to myself.. can't we talk about something a little bit lighter in nature)

Scene 2: Another bar later that night with live music. We had met two older Scotish men that were a lot of fun and very social. They believed that I was from Canada but knew that Shannon was from Philadelphia. Both of the men's names were Jimmy (very convenient).
Jimmy 1: I can't believe that all Americans believe that the BP oil spill is our fault.
Shannon: We don't all think that. Do you think it is America's fault?
Jimmy 2: Do you think it is Britain's fault?
Me: One thing I know for sure.. IT IS NOT CANADA's fault.
(Shannon, I, and the Jimmys then switch the subject to much lighter topics, go back to our beers, and enjoy the live Celtic music that is filling the air)

Besides meeting some great locals (I do believe that the majority of Scots are just happy people to the core) we also learned a lot during our trip. We went to a Whisky place were you got to learn all the different types of whiskeys and try the different regions of whisky and how they taste different. Shannon didn't like whisky but we were told that "there is a whisky for everybody" and she did actually find some that she could easily palate.

We also went to learn about the Loch Ness monster. Now I actually knew a fair amount about the loch ness monster since for awhile i did a lot of reading on it. Turns out that I have always liked the show Unsolved Mysteries and I like mysteries in general. I think that I have concluded that I do not think that it exists. But I would like to get back someday and go to the Highlands and see Loch Ness even though I was told by my sister "why go there, it is very unlikely that you will get to see the loch ness monster."

My other high point of the trip is a shout out to my mother. Now growing up my mother made us listen to Celtic music every once and awhile (when we weren't jamming to 50s and 60s music like purple people eater and chantilly lace) and all the Kirschling kids went to the movie "The Secret of Roan Inish" four times in the movie theater. Now I don't think that anyone else saw this movie because I know I didn't see anyone else in the movie theater any of the four times that we were there. But it is a movie about a folklore in Ireland. So anyways I feel semi connected to some of the Celtic ways. Well, it paid off in the bar last night when I led a large group of Scotish men to sing the song "What do you do with a drunken sailor." I think they thoroughly enjoyed it and I know I did. Sorry mom you couldn't be there, you would have enjoyed it immensely. I know there was also a song about "seed by seed row by row i am going to watch your garden grow" and "dancing with bears at the zoo" but I couldn't remember these songs and the Scots didn't know what I was talking about.

The other aspect of Scotland that I have to report on is HAGGIS. I have decided that I am really going to dive into the different places experiencing and learning about their food and drink. I think you can tell a lot about a place by the food and drink. I know some people get into the architecture here with the beautiful cathedrals, schlosses, burgs, castles, and towns but I think food and drink really is a great outlet for both what to expect from the places and the history. Haggis was described to us as ground up sheep intestines. They usually serve it over turnips and mashed potatos. Now I know haggis doesn't sound appetizing but it is REALLY good. It is not too powerful but has a lot of taste to it and it is a nice consistency. And it is usually served with a whisky sauce and paired nicely with a whisky drink. So even though it doesn't sound like a treat, it really is!

So overall, the trip to Scotland was so much fun. I am going to go back with my family at the end of August for the festival that they have there. I was actuallly surprised to find out this weekend that when we are there the Minnesota Orchestra will be playing. I thought that was ironic.

I have really had an enjoyable couple of weeks. I did venture home quickly the weekend before to see Josh and Gretch. It was a short trip and unfortunately I didn't get to see everybody because of the speed of it all. I travled 19 hours on Thursday and 14 hours on Sunday to be home Thursday night to Sunday morning. It took me all week to get back to a Europe pattern but I have realized that you know when you are around people you love that love you because you heart just feels good, your soul feels refreshed, and your waistline feels tighter. Good food and eating always goes hand and hand with good friends and good times (that is why I really want to learn more about the food and drinks of the different regions over here)

I will try to post pictures of Scotland soon.. I didn't actually get to take that many because my camera died half way through the trip. But the scenery of the castle and gardens in Edinburgh are gorgeous and I did take some great ones of the city.

Until next post... Slainte Mhath

Austria.. The Land of Old Friends and New Adventures

Thanks to facebook and the fact that it is not too hard to stalk people this day and age, I was able to reconnect with an old friend from high school. I had thought that he lived somewhere over in Europe, but I couldn’t remember where. Since everyone is one facebook message away from being located, I sent him a message and found out that he was quite close to me and living in Salzburg, Austria which is about a five hour car ride away.

I decided to go visit him last weekend and we had an amazing weekend full of many wonderful Austrian activities. I got there late Friday night and he was bbqing with some friends. I soon realized his European adventures are quite different from mine. He has really embraced all of the German/Austrian lifestyle. He speaks fluent, really fluent, German and only really has European friends. It was quite amazing to see. It definitely motivated me to speed up my learning of the German language and culture.

The next day we got up and went to a pond/lake/streams that were filled with frigid cold green/blue water. He jumped off a cliff and I tried to do it but couldn’t make myself take the long plunge so I opted for a smaller cliff. After that we went for the most gorgeous hike up to the top of a green mountain top. I thought we would see tons of people because it was a perfect day for a hike but I think we saw one person on the way up, two people on the top, and a few people on the way down.

The ascension up to the peak was full of wonderful views of all angles of Austria but the descent was my favorite. We stopped at a hut were we had some Austrian beer, snacks, and Schnapps. Everyone left the hut and we watched the sun go down over the mountains. We then went down the hill a bit further and all of a sudden the night air was filled with the voices of Dolly and Kenny singing “Islands in the Stream” while two Germans danced to it. It made me smile quite a bit. So we stopped and had a beer with the dancers and their three closest friends.

The next day my friend had a piano concert and then we took bikes around Salzburg (best known for the birthplace of Mozart and the location of the Sound of Music). We grabbed lunch by the lake, ice cream in the town center, and drank a few beers as we ventured up to a castle and through the forest. We meet up with two of his friends and they were also very much fun. The final destination was a beer garden where I enjoyed sauerkraut, german potato salad, and German meats while the three others drank their final beer.

I then drove back to Germany which was actually a great car ride. It was very scenic but there was also a lightning storm that lit up the night sky for about two hours of the drive. I did get a bit tired near the end but I have found a fun activity to do when I get tired on drives.. try to learn the words to “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel. So that and frequent stops kept me up long enough to get home.

So needless to say the weekends do keep getting better and better. I am really enjoying traveling and getting a small taste of what each place has to offer. Salzburg was a great city but I really think the best part was being around an old friend and having an insider show me the best hidden treasures... thanks Paul for all your hospitality and great memories!!!


Goodbye Austria!!!

Croatia Fun!

Memorial Day was spent in Croatia with 21 of my closest friends here in Germany. Actually there might have been a FEW people that I didn't know going into this trip and a SMALL amount of skeptism on my part that this trip was going to be incredibly chaotic traveling with that many people. But I left meeting some really great people and the whole weekend was nothing less than amazing.

There was one bad part... we will call it the low of the trip. The ride home on the airplane. Now I am not a terrible flyer... I have settled down over the past few years but I don't like turbulence or take off. And I found out this weekend that I really don't like turbulence DURING take off. Shortly after we took off the plane started shaking really bad and it dropped a few times. Then the engine started making odd noises. Now I really don't understand why during these times people feel the need to scream. While I was trying to reflect silently on my life and how at least I had a grand weekend before I was part of a plane crash, people were screaming. I am going to go out on a limb and say that screaming in this situation doesn't really do much. But I really shouldn't judge because about 15 minutes after all this happened and we were in the clearest of air and no turbulence was to be felt the rest of the trip, I started silently crying. I couldn't stop which shocked Gretchen and Josh and I then informed Josh that he definitely married the more sane Kirschling. My mom would have just told me that I must have been tired since that is what she says anytime I get silly emotional. Which she would probably be right that I did need some sleep since here was our weekend in Croatia in a nutshell...

There were 22 people that ventured to Croatia: 11 males, 11 females. We got there on Friday and stayed at a beautiful little villa. We then went out to a long dinner in the harbor and had a lot of fun. Gretch, Josh, Patrick, Lydia, and I went home to get some sleep since the next day was the big boat ride.

We had rented a boat driven by a local for the next day. And it was an awesome time. We got to see the land of Zadar and go swimming in the Adriatic Sea. It was beautiful weather and everyone had a grand time. That night we went out to dinner again and then went to a Croatian disco. They definitely like there there techno music. It was a very different experience and very enlightening.

The next day we went to a waterfall in Krka national park. It was absolutely gorgeous and amazing because you could swim into the waterfall. I am pretty sure in the US they would rope people off from the waterfall but in Croatia they let you fully experience it. After the waterfall, we went to a city called Split. The city lived up to its name because it managed to split the group up a little bit since we were staying at different hotels. Then when eight of us went looking for the others we got split into two groups of four due to one crabby taxi driver. Then the four of us which was me, two of my female coworkers, and an optometrist tried to track down where the other four (Gretch, Josh, Patrick and Lydia) went to dinner... we had a run in with what I think was a shady character.

We were walking on this pier near the harbor and the places were getting shadier and shadier. I was pretty sure from talking to the locals that the restaurant was on the harbor just further down. One of my coworkers and I were standing together and we saw this guy approach Louie, the optometrist. Louie then said the name of the restaurant that we were going to and the guy said he knew exactly where it was and that it was down this dark alley and he would be happy to walk all four of us there because he was meeting up with some of his friends down nearby. Louie and the other girl start walking with this guy. I turned to Hattie and asked her if she got a bad vibe from all this and she said, "Yes, especially since the guy approached Louie" so we made some excuse on how we didn't want to eat seafood anymore or go to that restaurant and parted ways. I am not sure if there were bad intentions but I feel good in this situation erring on the side of safety. So the four of us just found another restaurant and had a great meal of wine, seafood, and pasta.

We then met up with all of the rest of the group. They had a rooftop terrence on the top of their room so we went there for a short period of time to see Split at night.

The next day was back to Baumholder.... with a lot of new facebook friends :)