*Big Sigh*... do you know the overwhelming feeling when you haven't blogged for 8 months and way too many things have happened that it would take forever to blog about it... and then you decide to postpone that big post for one day when you have too much time, which you know will never happen?
That's how I feel!
I really hope that I become better at this and post shorter, but weekly posts to keep everybody updated, instead of a huge, overwhelming post every blue moon...
We'll see... maybe I need one of you to call me every weekend and remind me ;-)
I still haven't blogged about the other half of our time in Jordan. But maybe for now, a couple of pictures will have to do...
To give you a "little" summary of what has happened in the last 8 months, for all those who wonder:
A couple of weeks before we were supposed to fly back from Amman to the US (summer 2012), we found out that they needed Anthon in The Hague, Netherlands. Although I was excited to not live out of the suitcase anymore and go back home, we were really, really excited to go to the The Hague, which is only about 7 hours away from where my family lives!
Anthon and I decided to fly me out of Amman a couple of days earlier and surprise my parents in Southern Germany. You should have seen my mom's face when she discovered me in the living room! Of course, my mom felt overwhelmed by my surprise visit and a lot of crying (hopefully for joy!) was involved ;-)
After 1 or 2 weeks, my parents, my sister Rebecca, my nephew Fynn and I drove up from Augsburg to The Hague and spend 2 weeks together in the Netherlands. We really had a wonderful time together! Since Anthon and I live so far away from our families, it is always wonderful to see our families again and have fun. We really feel blessed to have such awesome families on both sides ;-)
While we were in the Netherlands, Anthon and I drove down to Wiesbaden, where Anthon had spent his high school years. That evening, his football team had a game and of course we had to go there. Anthon's trainer from back then made the game an unforgettable memory for Anthon and got him and me a full outfit of his (and Anthon's old) football team. He also let Anthon stand right at the field with him during the game and let him do some other things *I'm German and have no clue what they were doing the entire time, but Anthon looked good* :-)
The next day, we drove around the area where Anthon lived, where he went to school, where he hang out with friends, etc. Later that day, we went to downtown Wiesbaden, where they had a wonderful market with all kinds of good German food. We had the best Currywurst there, too. Anthon still often talks about that specific one.
On that same day, there was a harvest festival going on in downtown Wiesbaden- lucky us!
After our time in Wiesbaden, Anthon finally got to meet both my grandparents and some aunts and uncles after 2.5 years of being married! Of course, we forgot to take pictures with most of them :-S *I guess we have to visit them again* ;-)
While we were in Hamm, where I lived from 4-11 years, I showed Anthon where I grew up, went to school, hang out with friends,... I hadn't been there since my family had moved to Augsburg when I was 11, so it was very special to go back and see many of my memories come back as we drove through the area.
During our time in Netherlands, we also went to the Edelweiss Lodge in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Southern Germany) with Anthon's and my parents, Anthon's sister Jessi with her family and my sister Vanessa. We had a very relaxing time there and enjoyed spending time with our two families!
After 1 month in Jordan and 2 months in The Hague, we finally went back to Washington, DC to our apartment. But because we couldn't break the tradition of living more out of our suitcase than living in our apartment, Anthon was sent to work in Lima, Peru for 2.5 weeks. Since Lima is not that far away from Machu Picchu and Cuzco, Anthon decided to take a couple of days off before he had to start working in Lima.
We are really glad that we went to Cuzco and Machu Picchu. It's kind of expensive to go there just for a couple of days, but it was totally worth it! We loved the food there, we loved our hostel, we loved the landscapes, and we LOVED seeing Machu Picchu. The only thing I didn't like about Cuzco was the little oxygen in the air :-S I fainted about 30 minutes after we got to Cuzco and it was hard to recover from that. It took us both a while to adjust to the air there. Going up stairs was really, really exhausting because you couldn't really breath that much. While napping, we had to remind ourselves to breath in very deeply once in a while. It was one of the weirdest experiences I've ever had in my life. You want to breath in deeply, but it just doesn't work... your lungs can't really expand in that altitude and there is just so little oxygen in the air- really weird.
After 3 weeks in Peru, we flew back to DC. In December (and I think also 2-3 weeks before Peru), Frank and Emily (Anthon's brother and his wife) were so nice to let us live in their basement. It was really nice to have family so close and play with little Frankie and Katie!
One funny experience. While we were living with them, I was working on an independent study class, so I was pretty busy during the day and couldn't play much with Frankie and Katie. One day, they really, really wanted to play with me, but they knew that they were not allowed to enter my room when I'm studying. Smart as they are, they tried to get my attention anyway and slit about half of their toys (at least the small things) underneath the door. I heard how Frankie was always suggesting something to Katie, Katie always just agreed, then they ran back to their play area, got some other toys, slit them underneath the door, made noises, waited for my reaction, talked about further plans, went back to their play area, and so on.
It was sooooo funny and soooo cute that I quit studying and rewarded their persistence and cuteness with my presence...hahahahah! :-D
For Christmas 2012, Anthon and I were back in our DC apartment. It was soooo nice to have all our stuff again...at least for a couple of days.
Since I'm not done with school yet (and all that travelling and moving around every 4 months doesn't help getting my credits in), I decided to go back to BYU for winter semester (Jan-end of Apr). Anthon was so kind and took a couple of days off so he could drive with me from DC to Provo. On our way there, we stopped by Anthon's parents in Colorado Springs- a ride on Dad's Harley inclusive ;-)
Thanks to Mom Petty, we had a huge lunch bag that lasted us for the rest of our trip. *Moms are so caring and thoughtful*
After moving into my Provo apartment, Anthon flew back to DC. I remember how hard it was to say good-bye for the next 4 months. At that point, we weren't sure yet if we would see each other during that time.
I absolutely hated being so far away from Anthon and only being able to facetime with him. During the first 2 months, there were many nights when I was sooo physically and emotionally exhausted that I just wanted to quit this dumb distance-relation-thing and drive back to DC. It was great to be able to facetime, but I felt like I could not really nourish our relationship from so far away. It's kind of hard to serve another person that much and show affection through facetime, I feel. Of course, we always wrote e-mails, chatted on facetime, told each other how much we love each other, sent each other cards, pralines, etc. But it is just not the same!!! Facetime can not replace your precious time together as a couple, and I felt like our relationship couldn't grow as much during that time as it normally can when we are together with each other.
So yeah... I was just struggling a lot at first because I felt like I couldn't be a good wife from that distance. I also was struggling because I believe that relationships are even more important than your education... but on the other side education is very important, too, and I wanted to get done with my degree. Soooo.... luckily I survived the first couple of weeks and decided to stay in Provo until the end of April. Prayers always help ;-)
It also helped that Anthon came for Valentine's Day weekend and 2 weeks before my finals (we couldn't wait 3 more weeks to see each other again *true love*).
Valentine's weekend was soooo much fun- it felt soooo good to have Anthon around me!
I took 18 credits that semester and it was definitely the hardest semester ever! On average, I had about 4 hours of sleep, which was sooooo exhausting! Classes were way harder and more time consuming than I thought when I signed up for them, and I had to give several long presentations, and write 2 big papers on top of everything. It was absolutely crazy and I'm glad this is all over. But hey, at least I got all A's ;-) *at least 1 good thing*
((And since I can't just quit being crazy, I signed up for another 18-credit semester :-S I really wanna get done with school :-) But let's hope that this semester won't be as crazy as the last one.))
Towards the end of my time in Provo, Anthon found out that he would work in Brasilia, Brazil for 3 months. So, I flew directly from the cold Provo/SL to hot Brasilia *life in a suitcase will never end*
Speaking of living out of the suitcase, in January while I was in Provo, a Relief Society president wrote me an e-mail that she wanted to meet me. I was really impressed of how quick she was, because I had just moved to the ward 2 weeks before that. For several reasons, we had to reschedule our little get-to-know-each-other about 4x because something always came up on her side. When we had finally a time and date, I wrote her that I had to reschedule this time because I was asked to drive a friend to the SL airport. She then wrote back: "No worries about tonight. I'm not sure that I could have made a visit anyway. Not if you are in Provo. I live in Arlington, VA. I thought you did as well???"
- Oooops.... how was I supposed to know that this is the RS president from my ward in Virginia and not the one from Provo, who had never had the change to introduce herself to me?!?!?
-> That happens when you move around every 4 months... :-S
So yeah... our life never gets boring! It's pretty exciting to travel around the world so much, see new things, eat new kinds of foods, learning about other cultures and stuff, but we are both looking forward to moving "only" every 2-3 years, starting in January 2014 when Anthon enters the Foreign Service.
Anthon and I are sooo excited to join the State Department! Since Anthon and I were dating, I knew that Anthon really, really wanted to be a facility manager in the Foreign Service one day, but he had to graduate first and have 2 years of work experience. The time has finally come, and Anthon passed all the difficult tests and interviews.
He's the youngest Facility Manager (25 years) to ever join the State Department *so proud of him!!!*
We'll find out in about a month where we're gonna be living in the next 2 years...kind of like getting a mission call again :-)
I think this is enough for now. When I have some more time, I'll post more and try to keep it shorter ;-)
That's how I feel!
I really hope that I become better at this and post shorter, but weekly posts to keep everybody updated, instead of a huge, overwhelming post every blue moon...
We'll see... maybe I need one of you to call me every weekend and remind me ;-)
I still haven't blogged about the other half of our time in Jordan. But maybe for now, a couple of pictures will have to do...
Dinner with our new friends
Walking around Petra- awesome!
The best Chocolate shake ever- we still talk about it and compare every chocolate ice-cream we try to Gerard's dark chocolate ice-cream!
Floating on the Dead Sea
Delicious baklava and kunafa from Amman's best bakery
Sightseeing in Amman
Mount Nebo, where Moses supposedly looked down at the Promised Land and later died
Jordan River
My first time seeing banana trees
More pictures of Petra
To give you a "little" summary of what has happened in the last 8 months, for all those who wonder:
A couple of weeks before we were supposed to fly back from Amman to the US (summer 2012), we found out that they needed Anthon in The Hague, Netherlands. Although I was excited to not live out of the suitcase anymore and go back home, we were really, really excited to go to the The Hague, which is only about 7 hours away from where my family lives!
After 1 or 2 weeks, my parents, my sister Rebecca, my nephew Fynn and I drove up from Augsburg to The Hague and spend 2 weeks together in the Netherlands. We really had a wonderful time together! Since Anthon and I live so far away from our families, it is always wonderful to see our families again and have fun. We really feel blessed to have such awesome families on both sides ;-)
The Dutch LOVE their bikes!
Famous cheesemarket in Gouda
There were soooo many different Gouda cheeses- yumm!
Alkmaar- another famous cheese city with a big cheese market
We lived very close to the Wassenaar Beach and regularly rode our bikes there and walked along the shore- awesome!
Yumm!
Fresh stroopwaffels are soooo tasty!
While we were in the Netherlands, Anthon and I drove down to Wiesbaden, where Anthon had spent his high school years. That evening, his football team had a game and of course we had to go there. Anthon's trainer from back then made the game an unforgettable memory for Anthon and got him and me a full outfit of his (and Anthon's old) football team. He also let Anthon stand right at the field with him during the game and let him do some other things *I'm German and have no clue what they were doing the entire time, but Anthon looked good* :-)
The next day, we drove around the area where Anthon lived, where he went to school, where he hang out with friends, etc. Later that day, we went to downtown Wiesbaden, where they had a wonderful market with all kinds of good German food. We had the best Currywurst there, too. Anthon still often talks about that specific one.
On that same day, there was a harvest festival going on in downtown Wiesbaden- lucky us!
After our time in Wiesbaden, Anthon finally got to meet both my grandparents and some aunts and uncles after 2.5 years of being married! Of course, we forgot to take pictures with most of them :-S *I guess we have to visit them again* ;-)
While we were in Hamm, where I lived from 4-11 years, I showed Anthon where I grew up, went to school, hang out with friends,... I hadn't been there since my family had moved to Augsburg when I was 11, so it was very special to go back and see many of my memories come back as we drove through the area.
Anthon with my grandpa and his wife in Hamm (my mom's mother died when she was very young)
Downtown Hamm
The farm where I spent many, many hours "helping" take care of the farm- fun times!
The tree I often played on with my friends
My elementary's courtyard- still the same paintings from 20 years ago
Another area where I played with my friends but with a lot fewer trees than back then- boring!
The 4-family house my family lived in when I was 4-10 years old
Visiting my relatives in Duisburg
Visiting my aunt and uncle in Worms (yes, that's a city's name in Germany!)- we miss German breakfast- it's huge!!!
During our time in Netherlands, we also went to the Edelweiss Lodge in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Southern Germany) with Anthon's and my parents, Anthon's sister Jessi with her family and my sister Vanessa. We had a very relaxing time there and enjoyed spending time with our two families!
Linderhof Castle in Bavaria
Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria
So cute, huh?
After 1 month in Jordan and 2 months in The Hague, we finally went back to Washington, DC to our apartment. But because we couldn't break the tradition of living more out of our suitcase than living in our apartment, Anthon was sent to work in Lima, Peru for 2.5 weeks. Since Lima is not that far away from Machu Picchu and Cuzco, Anthon decided to take a couple of days off before he had to start working in Lima.
View of Lima from our hotel room
Sightseeing in Lima
Meeting up with mission buddies- S. Chinchay
Ceviche- traditional Peruvian dish
Amazing food!
In the catacombs of a church in Lima
Awesome fountain park in Lima
We are really glad that we went to Cuzco and Machu Picchu. It's kind of expensive to go there just for a couple of days, but it was totally worth it! We loved the food there, we loved our hostel, we loved the landscapes, and we LOVED seeing Machu Picchu. The only thing I didn't like about Cuzco was the little oxygen in the air :-S I fainted about 30 minutes after we got to Cuzco and it was hard to recover from that. It took us both a while to adjust to the air there. Going up stairs was really, really exhausting because you couldn't really breath that much. While napping, we had to remind ourselves to breath in very deeply once in a while. It was one of the weirdest experiences I've ever had in my life. You want to breath in deeply, but it just doesn't work... your lungs can't really expand in that altitude and there is just so little oxygen in the air- really weird.
Trying Alpaca meat for the first time- so delicious!
The lamas were posing for me- awesome!
After 3 weeks in Peru, we flew back to DC. In December (and I think also 2-3 weeks before Peru), Frank and Emily (Anthon's brother and his wife) were so nice to let us live in their basement. It was really nice to have family so close and play with little Frankie and Katie!
One funny experience. While we were living with them, I was working on an independent study class, so I was pretty busy during the day and couldn't play much with Frankie and Katie. One day, they really, really wanted to play with me, but they knew that they were not allowed to enter my room when I'm studying. Smart as they are, they tried to get my attention anyway and slit about half of their toys (at least the small things) underneath the door. I heard how Frankie was always suggesting something to Katie, Katie always just agreed, then they ran back to their play area, got some other toys, slit them underneath the door, made noises, waited for my reaction, talked about further plans, went back to their play area, and so on.
It was sooooo funny and soooo cute that I quit studying and rewarded their persistence and cuteness with my presence...hahahahah! :-D
For Christmas 2012, Anthon and I were back in our DC apartment. It was soooo nice to have all our stuff again...at least for a couple of days.
Since I'm not done with school yet (and all that travelling and moving around every 4 months doesn't help getting my credits in), I decided to go back to BYU for winter semester (Jan-end of Apr). Anthon was so kind and took a couple of days off so he could drive with me from DC to Provo. On our way there, we stopped by Anthon's parents in Colorado Springs- a ride on Dad's Harley inclusive ;-)
Thanks to Mom Petty, we had a huge lunch bag that lasted us for the rest of our trip. *Moms are so caring and thoughtful*
After moving into my Provo apartment, Anthon flew back to DC. I remember how hard it was to say good-bye for the next 4 months. At that point, we weren't sure yet if we would see each other during that time.
I absolutely hated being so far away from Anthon and only being able to facetime with him. During the first 2 months, there were many nights when I was sooo physically and emotionally exhausted that I just wanted to quit this dumb distance-relation-thing and drive back to DC. It was great to be able to facetime, but I felt like I could not really nourish our relationship from so far away. It's kind of hard to serve another person that much and show affection through facetime, I feel. Of course, we always wrote e-mails, chatted on facetime, told each other how much we love each other, sent each other cards, pralines, etc. But it is just not the same!!! Facetime can not replace your precious time together as a couple, and I felt like our relationship couldn't grow as much during that time as it normally can when we are together with each other.
Eating and having fun with my Asian roommates
So yeah... I was just struggling a lot at first because I felt like I couldn't be a good wife from that distance. I also was struggling because I believe that relationships are even more important than your education... but on the other side education is very important, too, and I wanted to get done with my degree. Soooo.... luckily I survived the first couple of weeks and decided to stay in Provo until the end of April. Prayers always help ;-)
It also helped that Anthon came for Valentine's Day weekend and 2 weeks before my finals (we couldn't wait 3 more weeks to see each other again *true love*).
Valentine's weekend was soooo much fun- it felt soooo good to have Anthon around me!
Of course we had to spend some time in our favorite city- Las Vegas!
Best hot chocolates in the world- at Max Brenner's
If you're looking for the best Sushi go to Yama Sushi- really amazing, creative yet affordable sushi!!! We've been to many Sushi places, but this restaurant is still our absolute favorite Sushi place
I won the Jumpin' Jackpot- yeah!
I took 18 credits that semester and it was definitely the hardest semester ever! On average, I had about 4 hours of sleep, which was sooooo exhausting! Classes were way harder and more time consuming than I thought when I signed up for them, and I had to give several long presentations, and write 2 big papers on top of everything. It was absolutely crazy and I'm glad this is all over. But hey, at least I got all A's ;-) *at least 1 good thing*
((And since I can't just quit being crazy, I signed up for another 18-credit semester :-S I really wanna get done with school :-) But let's hope that this semester won't be as crazy as the last one.))
Towards the end of my time in Provo, Anthon found out that he would work in Brasilia, Brazil for 3 months. So, I flew directly from the cold Provo/SL to hot Brasilia *life in a suitcase will never end*
Speaking of living out of the suitcase, in January while I was in Provo, a Relief Society president wrote me an e-mail that she wanted to meet me. I was really impressed of how quick she was, because I had just moved to the ward 2 weeks before that. For several reasons, we had to reschedule our little get-to-know-each-other about 4x because something always came up on her side. When we had finally a time and date, I wrote her that I had to reschedule this time because I was asked to drive a friend to the SL airport. She then wrote back: "No worries about tonight. I'm not sure that I could have made a visit anyway. Not if you are in Provo. I live in Arlington, VA. I thought you did as well???"
- Oooops.... how was I supposed to know that this is the RS president from my ward in Virginia and not the one from Provo, who had never had the change to introduce herself to me?!?!?
-> That happens when you move around every 4 months... :-S
So yeah... our life never gets boring! It's pretty exciting to travel around the world so much, see new things, eat new kinds of foods, learning about other cultures and stuff, but we are both looking forward to moving "only" every 2-3 years, starting in January 2014 when Anthon enters the Foreign Service.
Anthon and I are sooo excited to join the State Department! Since Anthon and I were dating, I knew that Anthon really, really wanted to be a facility manager in the Foreign Service one day, but he had to graduate first and have 2 years of work experience. The time has finally come, and Anthon passed all the difficult tests and interviews.
He's the youngest Facility Manager (25 years) to ever join the State Department *so proud of him!!!*
We'll find out in about a month where we're gonna be living in the next 2 years...kind of like getting a mission call again :-)
I think this is enough for now. When I have some more time, I'll post more and try to keep it shorter ;-)
So good to hear from you guys! Exciting in every way. Can't wait to hear where you are gonna go. Congratulations to Anthon! Melissa, let me know when you are back in Provo. I would like to see you again :) Liebe Gruesse von mir, Grit
ReplyDeleteI know that living out of a suitcase can't be ideal but GOODNESS GRACIOUS your life looks exciting, fun and glamorous! I'm so glad we're related to people with such fascinating lives so we can occasionally live vicariously through you. My goal is to come visit you wherever you're stationed next (assuming it's, y'know, cool) so that you can rub off on us more. Loved the post! Love you!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comments, Grit and Rissa!
ReplyDelete@ Grit: Ich werde Dich wissen lassen, wenn ich in der Gegend bin. Ich werde Anfang Juli ein paar Tage mit meiner Mama in der Sandy Gegend sein. Vielleicht sollten wir uns dann treffen ;-)
@Rissa: I had to smile about the "live vicariously through you". I actually just had another friend tell me that a couple of days ago. Would be soooo much fun to host you guys wherever we live. Start saving money for your tickets ;-)