long overdue...

Sorry! This blog got really boring! I changed families, and they didn't have much of an internet connection. And it made me a bit lazy about updating this.

I could try and fill you in on everything since the last post, but I'm a bit too lazy and daunted at the prospect, so I'll just say: coming soon.

As for now/recently:

I went home for Christmas! I bustled around visiting family and friends, enjoying a break from speaking German. I had a cold right before I left Hamburg, so my ears plugged up, and I finally had to see a doctor halfway through my two week visit home.
He got me all fixed up, and I could finally hear everyone in time for New Years'!

What did I get for Christmas? Besides friends and family? Ummmmm.... some nice clothes (including hand-knitted gloves and scarf from Anna W!), great CDs, canadian books to help me tell everyone here about my culture.... and lots of other cool stuff.

January has been mostly a quiet month, but things have been a bit more interesting lately- I visited my mom's aunt Susan and uncle John in Austria last weekend! They live near Kitzbühel, a big skiing area, but we took it easy, watching videos (Schindler's List, and Cry Freedom, about the South African apartheid), and visiting. This weekend I'll be moving to family three... so who knows what adventures await me there! All I know for sure is, I won't really miss cleaning up after the new puppy that came at Christmas at my current house. He's really quiet well behaved, but we're still working on the 'don't chew on things' and ' pee outside, not inside' basics. You know how it is....

I'm starting to feel quite decently comfortable with leading the elementary school classes. Because English isn't a main subject at this age, there aren't any tests or grammar to worry about, so it's a bit easier to be useful every class. At the high school it's all stress about grades, so I don't get the chance to lead as much. But that also means I get to relax, so I'm not complaining!

Gosh I miss home some days! Often right after I spend a few hours looking after the kids and dog, but even just sometimes travelling, I see or hear something, and want to show someone from home. Ah well! I'm already halfway... it's downhill from here! There aren't many holidays between Xmas and Easter here... but there are two weeks at Easter, and a few long weekends after that, so I'll have more chances to travel later on.

This is awfully rambly! Again, sorry I neglected this blog for so long. No excuses really cover it... but I have good intentions to try better next time!

Russ