Weekend

I just finished my first "real" weekend here on my own. After rain and clouds every day, we had such beautiful weather Saturday and Sunday - it was perfect timing! Saturday I slept in a bit, did some writing and loafing, then rode my bike (by myself - without getting lost between the billions of trails!) around the lake. That night I was invited next door to celebrate Harry´s acceptance into a very competitive art program. He and Kristina had a barbecue next door with several friends, and they were so nice to invite me over! Granted, they may have done it out of pity, but I was so glad to relax and meet new (and younger than 40) people. :) At first I was uncomfortable and embarrassed because my German skills are still greatly lacking, but after a while people started to involve me, and most were excited to test their own English skills by having conversations. In fact, after asking me from which part of the U.S. I came, I found out that one person had studied as an exchange student in Wichita about 10 years ago. On the west side, Aunt Ann and Uncle Lorin! We talked about places we enjoyed in ol´ Wichita, and he´s planning to visit KS sometime next year for the first time since leaving so long ago. Need it be said that it´s a small world? Didn´t think so. I thought I would only show up and politely stay an hour or so, but I ended up staying from 5 until 11:30! I guess I´ve been craving some social interaction... I doubt any of these people will become my best friends or anything, but it was so good for my confidence and sanity to talk to people about things that do not involve household chores, child schedules, and street maps! I could have stayed longer, but knew I needed to wake this morning to have brunch with the family. By the sound of it (the window by my bed overlooks their backyard), everyone else stayed until nearly 3:00am!

This morning after brunch Claudia, Emmi, and I took another bike ride past her fathers and south of town to the moorlands. There was a beautiful country trail that wrapped around part of the large moor preserve, and we even rode on a smaller trail right into it for a while. The ground that we rode on was solid, but very springy. I can imagine that runners would love it! There was one place where we stopped to walk out on a boardwalk right across part of the moor. Emma Sophie made certain to tell me that while the ground around us might appear to be harmless, if I leaned too far over the edge and fell in, I would probably sink into the swampy earth and die. Good to know! Thanks, Emmi. We rode by several fields and pastures with cows and tractors that reminded me of Kansas! Who knew this place was so diverse? And just as I adjusted to the flat prairie land, we rode into the dense, tall forest that protects the moor. It was such a pleasant trip. Claudia and Emmi picked a few wildflowers that they didn´t recognize, to later look up in a book at home. It was very breezy, and normally I hate riding my bike against the wind, but for some reason today the crisp air was so refreshing. I never knew such a beautiful place existed, let alone that I would ever get to live in a place so gorgeous. Sadly, the rumor is that today was the last warm day, and will be followed now by more cold rain and clouds. So it goes. It was exciting, though, to hear the crunch of new fallen leaves under my wheels and feet and see some colors start shifting to rusty hues. Autumn is here already! Always my favorite time of year - we´ll see if it is still so! Things could be quite different here in Bordesholm than in Kansas.

We went over the weekly plan today over tea, and I´m feeling a bit less nervous about the schedule. I think getting tomorrow over with will be a relief, and I´ll be able to embrace my new routine. After taking Emmi to Kindergarten, I will go grocery shopping for the first time alone! Wish me luck. I still have no idea what I will be cooking for lunches all week. EasyMac, tuna sandwiches, carrot sticks, or spaghetti are not going to be acceptable here! They need some serious casseroles, soups (no, not from a can), vegetable medleys, etc. It will be good for me, though. I need to learn to cook. As usual, I´m panicking about nothing, and everything will be just fine. Things will only get easier after tomorrow, right? Please humor me. Of course it will get easier! *(thanks)

Well now this post is already much longer than I intended. I´d better go for now. It is 5:00 p.m. here (10:00am Kansas time!) and I have no idea what to do with the rest of my day and evening. It is still nice outside, maybe I´ll take advantage of this last bit of sunshine while I can. Until next time!
-Kate