Carissa's (Continuing) Adventures

The story of my Christmas break adventures will have to be several posts long. It has been a crazy week filled with nothing I could have predicited. I left my house for the aiport on Sunday evening, planning to catch a 6:00 plane. I was nervous because I only had a 34 minute layover in Vienna before heading to Frankfurt. However, the airline had assured me that I had a "valid transfer time" so I was hopeful. As I was waiting to board my plane, a lovely announcement came on that my plane would be delayed 15 minutes. I'm assuming there was some sort of language barrier, because it was actually delayed an hour. I talked with a guy at the check-in counter who told me that because of bad weather in Vienna, all the flights were delayed, so I would still make my connection. Guess who didn't make her connecting flight? Yeah. So, I totally missed my flight in Vienna and had to wait in line for two hours with the angriest humans I've ever met. My only comfort was t...

Since the world is ending tomorrow, I figured I'd leave you with some pictures of the latest happenings in the BG. We found the AMAZING stars at Ikea. The snow-capped mountains are as enthralling as ever. And will apparently explode tomorrow. My kids have enjoyed playing out in the snow. I finally snapped a picture of my favourite bus sign! Every time I see it, I feel the need to stand up and draw my sword. (I should note that I don't typically carry a sword onto the bus with me)   This is one of my favourite parks, lightly dusted with snow. In the far background is the old palace. English Club Christmas Party! We had a lot of people show up and had a great time singing, talking, and most importantly, eating!  Provided that our mountain doesn't explode tomorrow, and the world doesn't end, I'll be heading to see some friends in Germany, then taking a little side trip to Paris. And, by accident, Warsaw. These things happen. ...

SNOW! This is the view from my window right now. This morning they were calling for snow showers, but since about 2 it's been nearly blizzard conditions. It probably won't stop until March. So I'm hanging onto this excited feeling now. Back to living in Narnia! At least I know Christmas is coming.

  Guess where I was on Thanksgiving? If you guessed Narnia, Hogwarts, Neverland, or a Jane Austen novel... you'd be close!  I took my second trip to London to visit my dear friend, Julie and spend some time reading English menus.  We were able to find our hotel quickly and it was in this nice, quiet neighborhood:   Then, we headed out on the town to see some famous, must-see, London sights. Like... Platform 9 3/4!   I also enjoyed feasting my eyes on all of the colourful, beautiful buildings that Western Europe has to offer.    Later that evening, we paid a visit to the Queen.... or at least her home.   We also got to see this view of the London Eye over a lake.     After that we had a fun trip of park strolling, Wicked-watching, sight-seeing, and relaxing.   Park near Buckingham Palace   Reading Harry Potter in London? Don't mind if I do.  This pictur...

It's hard to imagine that this time last year, I was seeing my Mom for the first time seven months, with over a year left overseas. Now, I have seen my Mom travel internationally twice and I have only two months left here. I'm constantly blown away by the great love the Father has lavished on me. To name all of the things I'm thankful for would take much more than one blog entry. So, here are a few things that I'm particularly thankful for as of late. That I live in a such a strange and amusing country. Hardly a day goes by when I'm not laughing at something. I've truly come to love this place.     For friends who understand what it's like to live overseas and are willing to listen.   For students who are hilarious and creative and help me enjoy my job.   For pumpkin pies and artistic roommates.       For  roommates.    That Christmas decorations are out!  Most of all, I'm t...

I've been overwhelmed with getting ready for my transition back to America. In just over two months, I will board a plane and start processing what these past years have been all about. Writing my cover letters, resume, gathering references, and looking for jobs has been so consuming, that I've forgotten to write updates! A lot has been happening, besides just my job search adventure. I've been busy with school and after-school activities. I've been able to regularly attend a young adult group at the national church I go to, as well as helping with English clubs.  Here's a picture of our most recent English club via Bethany:   I'm enjoying the pattern that I've fallen into. I spend my days teaching some precious kids and my evenings hanging out with some amazing friends.  I'm looking forward to the upcoming Thanksgiving break, complete with a trip to see on my best friends!  Please pray for me as I move forward with decision making a...

What's been happening:   The leaves are changing.    Germany was lovely.   I made a new friend.    I hung out with real people, too!     We threw a Halloween party! I went as Esmerelda.   So many people! And so much fun!  

Yesterday, after lunch, I began my trip to Germany for a retreat/conference. I started by taking a taxi to my teammates' house and had quite the fun time trying to talk with my driver. After we were all ready, I got into a car with my teammates and we began driving to a nearby city so that we could use their airport. About twenty minutes in, my friend asked "Carissa, are we going the right way?" This makes some sense, since I've been living here a year and a half and they've been here under two weeks. However, I have never driven in or around my city. I rely completely on public transit, so I  didn't know if we were lost or not. We were. No problem, though. We turned around on the highway, and then had to turn around again, and then we were heading the right way. About an hour later, we stopped at McDonald's (universal road trip food) for a late lunch. When we walked in, the place was packed with children. So packed that we walked back out and dec...

Living overseas requires a lot of improvisation. Especially when cooking, since I often don't have the ingredients or tools I would in the states. I wanted to make pumpkin scones for a team dinner the other night, so I assembled everything I needed and then remembered I didn't have a can opener. But the pumpkin goodness can not be stopped!   So, I gathered the tools I had on-hand and proceeded to open the can.  Yes, I hammered a knife all the way around the edge of the can. It takes a long time and it slightly dangerous, but pumpkin is worth it. While the scones were in the oven, I needed to make a glaze for them which included sifted powdered sugar. Sifting the sugar here is especially important because it's much more coarse than sugar in the States. Unfortunetly, I don't own a sifter, either. So I used my tea infuser.   This also took a long time, but again, worth it. You'll understand why when you see the fininshed product.   They are p...