Blogs from Stockum, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Europe

Today, Franzi and Maike graduated from the Gymnasium in Sundern. The celebrations began this morning with a church service and then "Zeugnis Ausgabe", passing out of the report cards. Kind of like receiving their diplomas. I wasn't at either of these events. In the evening I joined the festivities as the celebrations continued with the Abi-ball. Family and a few friends who were fortunate enough to be able to receive a dinner card joined the graduating class in the Stockum Schützenhalle for an elegant dinner. In many ways the night reminded me of Prom. The ladies were all dressed in long elegant dresses. The hall had be nicely decorated with flowers on the long tables. Franzi and Maike looked beautiful. Luckily, we were all able to get a seat together (Bernd, Angelika, Johanna, Franzi, Maike, Anne, ... read more

Ahhh.... what a relaxing Sunday it was. (Especially considering Marina and I were at the wedding till 2am) Of course, neither of us woke up really early. Unfortunately, Marina had to head back to Köln soon after she got up. She still had a lot of studying to do and a test to take. =/ She's studying for the German equivalent of the CPA exam. But, it was still very very nice to see her and, I'll be seeing her again when I go to Köln next week. =) Later that afternoon, Mama, Papa and I went for a walk around the Sorpesee, a lake in the area. Just a few years ago, they re-did the area around the lake, with new walkways and play areas for kids. It's sooooo nice. There were quite a number ... read more

Yep, I'm back in Stockum. =0) I arrived on the 31st and brought in the New Year here at home with a group of friends. It's great to be back in Stockum. It almost feels like I never left, except Johanna, Franzi and Maike, my little cousins have all changed so much. They've grown up since I've been gone. I've been spending my time seeing old friends. Many of them are home for the holidays from various parts of Germany where they're going to school. It's been 3 years since I've seen most of them! That's waaay too long. Naja... that's not why I'm writing today. Today in Germany it's Der Tag Der Drei Königen (The Day of the Three Kings). In most of Germany the day is no longer observed, but today reminds me of ... read more

Hey everyone, Just got back from Essen. Went with Mama, Papa, and Marina to watch The Phantom of the Opera (theater production, not the movie). It was sooooooo good. It was neat too, to hear it all in German instead of English. What a great night it was. I love the music and seeing it live was definitely a different experience than watching the movie. (Although the movie is also very good, so I would recommend watching it if you haven't) Other than tonight I haven't been up to much except getting ready to leave for Kenya. As you can see I'm moved back up to Stockum. Fri. night (my last night in Trier) I made dinner for friends. It was nice spending the last night with them just kicking back... It was a fun and ... read more

Just got back from Juli's sister's house. They live in Stockum and Juli was babysitting her little niece, Louisa tonight, so I went over to hang out. Louisa is soooo cute. It was the first time I had seen her. She was supposed to go to bed around the time that I got there, but she was so excited that Juli and I were there, so that didn't happen. She has sooo full of energy. =) We played together a bit. Then she ran around the room and was just a very happy baby until we put her to bed about and hour later. We tucked her into her crib and then left her screaming and crying. Juli and I both felt soo bad. I hate leaving babies crying, but she eventually fell asleep. Juli and ... read more