Adventures of Coach Lewis

I’m sitting on a charter bus, listening to the conversation, laughter, and musical stylings of about 30 BFA high school students. For this weekend’s athletic road trip, the 25 girls of the volleyball team joined with the 7 runners of the cross-country team (5 girls and 2 boys) to travel the Autobahn for a competition at the Bitburg Airforce Base (about 6.5 “bus hours” away from Kandern).

Bitburg High School

For me, this was my first time to ever coach/chaperone an overnight meet. Going into this adventure, I wasn’t overly concerned. As a former collegiate runner, I was used to the life of a traveling athlete—staying at comfortable hotels, eating at Italian restaurants, watching TV, and spending time with my teammates doing crossword puzzles in the lobby of the Hampton Inn. I mean, with memories like these, how difficult could an overnight trip be? Piece of cake, right? Wrong! Let’s just say, coaching an athletic team at BFA is not for the faint of heart. :)

In order to preserve the athletic budget for the entirety of the season, BFA opts to spend nights on the military bases. Regretfully, this does not mean on the plush white mattresses of the Hampton. Instead, staying at the base means staying at the high school, in the gymnasium, on the floor. (Or on a wrestling mat, if you’re really brave…)

Armed with Jesse’s yoga mat and Hunter’s extra sleeping bag, I too enjoyed a night’s rest(?) on the hard gym floor at Bitburg. Honestly, by the time we arrived at the base, had our passports checked, got the girls settled in the wrestling room and the boys settled in the open gym, brushed our teeth, and set up our sleeping bags, I was so utterly exhausted that I probably could have slept anywhere!

But just for future reference, don’t park your sleeping bag directly under a lighted exit sign. They’re quite bright and, as I found out the hard way, they don’t turn off at night.

German exit sign

Regardless of my lack of sleep quality, I woke up at 7am (five minutes before my alarm, as usual) bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and ready to coach a fantastic day of cross-country running! We fed the kids a hearty breakfast of whole wheat English muffins, hard-boiled eggs (the Germans sell colored, hard-boiled Easter eggs year-round), peanut butter, granola bars, and bananas. Thankfully, we only had to pack enough food for the XC team. I think I would have been a little overwhelmed if I had to plan for an additional 25 volleyball players.

While the volleyball team left on the charter bus to play at a nearby base, we rode with some Bitburg parent volunteers over to the cross-country course. Nestled among rolling German hills, the Bitburg course meanders peacefully around a beautiful forest lake. Completely flat with smooth footing and beautiful scenery, this course promised to bring good tidings to the BFA cross-country team. The day was cool, crisp, and clear. The runners were healthy and injury-free and this was our last away meet of the season. I felt certain that we were going to snag a few more European qualifying times on such a beautiful morning. 

Beautiful XC Course

 The girls started their race in a blur of excitement and cheers. Since the course was basically one big loop around the lake, I knew that I would not be able to have too many “cheering/coaching” stations. Therefore, I worked out a plan to run the course backwards, meet them about half way to cheer, and then continue on to meet them at the finish line.

At the halfway point, the BFA team was looking strong. Some of my girls were actually smiling as they ran past me. I cheered loudly, as a proud coach should, and then tore off in the other direction, hoping to be able to beat the lead pack back to the finish line.   

I made it to the finish line with time to spare and stood there waiting in anticipation, hoping that each one of my girls might be having the race of her life…hoping that each one might run a European Championship qualifying time. I watched nervously as the numbers of my watch clicked closer and closer to the 25 minute mark, the cut-off for qualification. The first place girl, a runner from Wiesbaden, finished in around 21 minutes…next pack came in at 22 minutes, now 23 minutes…where were my BFA girls?

I watched in disappointment as the clock turned over 24:58, 24:59, 25:00. It was too late. The qualifying mark was gone and I hadn’t seen a single one of my girls. We would not be running at Europeans.

Finally, about a minute and a half later, I saw them. They were coming in strong and in a tighter pack then they had ever run been before. I watched as each of my girls crossed the line all within one minute of each other—a feat that they had never before accomplished. It was an exciting achievement, but I was still feeling frustrated as a coach. What good is it to finish together, if we all finish in the back of the pack? This not only loses races, but it also doesn't get any European qualifiers. Still holding onto my frustration, I walked over to find my team at the finish line.

What I saw next was beautiful. The BFA girls' team had all turned to face one another. They locked arms in a circle and hugged each other in a tight embrace, each girl laughing and smiling in the beauty of the moment. No, they hadn’t run phenomenal times. In fact, they weren’t even close to running their best times…but today, they had achieved a different type of goal. They were a team, they were united, and they had run entirely for one another. I watched them as they smiled and laughed together. I knew then that even if we didn’t qualify, it had still been a successful meet.

My wonderful XC girls, enjoying post-race french fries!

Racing the Basel 10K

It is not often that you can begin a story, “The first time I ever visited Switzerland, I raced a 10K.” Well, for me, this line rings true. Last Sunday was my first time to ever make a visit to Switzerland. Along with this exciting accomplishment, it was also my first time to ever enter a 10K road race with over 530 competitors. And to add a little more icing to the cake, it was also my first time to ever win an international road race. :) By now, you are probably wanting to hear the rest of the story, so here goes…

Beautiful Basel

It was a chilly September morning in the beautiful city of Basel, Switzerland. Runners from the surrounding regions came pouring into the city, eagerly anticipating the start of the Basel marathon, half marathon, and 10K. Crowds wearing brightly colored spandex, fluorescent warm-up jackets, compression socks, racing flats, wristwatches, and headbands filed in and out of the registration arena. I breathed a sign of relief amongst these exercise-loving, morning-happy runners. Though I may have been thousands of miles away from my home in West Virginia, I knew at once that I had returned to my people.

BFA Teacher Team!

I stood in line with about 12 other BFA teachers who had all decided that they too would like to be part of this ambitious racing endeavor. As we waited to pick up our registration packets, bib numbers, and complementary draw-string bags, I nervously glanced at the clock. It was less than 25 minutes until start time and none of my teacher friends showed any inkling of wanting to go warm up for the race. In fact, it seemed to me that they were all just going to walk to the start line and go. What about a 20 minute warm-up jog, dynamic stretching, form drills, changing shoes, and pre-race strides…what about everything I was ever taught to do before a race? I tried to calm myself down…“this isn’t college, there’s no points, no scoring, no prize money. This is just to have fun. I’m not going to warm-up. I’m not going to change my shoes. And I’m definitely not going to do any drills. Besides, I’m sick. I caught a cold last Friday in school and I shouldn’t be racing anyway. I’m just going to go have a jolly fun time and jog it.”

Well, this attitude lasted a good 6.7 seconds. As soon as I saw the start line with the hundreds of people lined up to race, I knew without a doubt what I was going to do. I was going to try to win the Basel 10K.

By now, it was too late to change into my racing flats, but I could still manage a 4 minute jog around the start area. So jog I did, across the bridge spanning the Rhine River, past the little old lady who smiled at my smile (I like to smile at people when I’m running) and back to the start line. By now, the starting area was really getting crowded. The other BFAers urged me to go up near the front, but the best I could do was somewhere near the middle. In a pack of 538 people (244 women and 294 men), “somewhere near the middle” isn’t very helpful when you are trying to win a race. But it was the best I could do.

Within minutes, the start siren sounded and we were off. Well, more appropriately “they” were off. Since there were so many people, it takes a while to actually get moving. I was boxed in by at least 150 people. Though I was frustrated, I tried to keep my cool. “The pack will open soon…you’ll be able to get around them.” After 3 or 4 seconds (though it felt like an eternity), I finally managed to take a few halting steps forward and was able to slip through a little break in the crowd in front of me. There was a guy nearby who looked just as frustrated as me. He was tall, muscular, and obviously very fit. I could tell that he wanted to get moving too. So I did what every veteran racer would have done in the same situation, I followed his path through the crowd. Within minutes, he had led me safely through the melee and into the freedom of the open road. Now I could begin to formulate a strategy. I needed to catch the lead woman and I needed to do it quickly before she got any further ahead. Seemed simple enough. With the plan in mind, I set out blazing down the Basel roads in order to catch as many women as I could (and any men that happened to be in the way.)  

I was about 2 kilometers into the race and I was still catching women. The strange part was that these women weren’t even running that fast. I couldn’t quite figure out why they would run the first 2K at 6:00-6:15 pace and then would just slow to a leisurely 7:15. Why go out so hard if they weren’t going to be able to maintain it? And to further complicate matters this guy on a bike kept insisting on biking right in front of me. He wasn’t slowing me down or anything, but he kept staying right in front of me and looking back to make sure that I was still there. He had said something to me in German when he caught up to me, but my German skills aren’t refined enough to comprehend much while racing. Not to mention, he had an obvious Swiss accent.

We were getting near the 3K when I noticed some media people starting to get excited. They were pointing towards me and towards a sign that was attached to the front of the man’s bicycle. One of them called to the others, “Schau mal! Die erste Frau!” The bike made a sharp turn around a corner and I was able to catch a glimpse of the sign that was attached to the front. Sure enough, typed in big bold letters on the sign were the words, “10K Lauf 1. Frau.” At last, I was able to put the clues together. I was “die erste Frau” (the first woman), the bike was pacing me, and I was leading the women’s 10K. Those women who I had been so desperately trying to catch for the last 4 kilometers had been half-marathoners who had started their race about 15 minutes prior to the start of the 10K. I didn’t need to play catch up anymore, I was already winning!

Following my bike pacer (I'm in the blue shirt)

I realized then that it was time to put another game plan into action. “Maintain the lead, keep up the pace, and don’t let anyone (man or woman) catch me from behind. Oh, and keep breathing.” The congestion in my chest was not making it easy to breathe and I still had more than half the race to go.

I approached the 5K at about 19:45. By now, my biker friend and I had come up with a good system. When the road would start to get crowded, he would go up a little ways to blaze a trail though the marathoners and half-marathoners. He also was really good at letting the media know which one was “die erste Frau.” If there happened to be another woman nearby when they were about to take a picture, he would always hold up his hand, point behind him and say, “Da hinten!”

Though I was starting to get pretty fatigued, the second half of the race was filled with quite a few highlights. First of all, the scenery was beautiful! What better way to explore Basel than by foot? We made two crossings over the Rhine River and got to enjoy a number of picturesque views of the cityscape.

Racing along the Rhine

The second major highlight was hearing the cheers from the other BFA teachers who were racing. There is a part of the course where the road doubles back and you are able to see the runners who are still coming in the other direction. The cheers of my friends during this section was exactly the encouragement that I needed to keep going. I even had the chance to cheer for them as well!

The third highlight was the encouragement from the local crowd. As I soon discovered, the Swiss do not cheer with the typical American phrases of “good job” and “keep running.” No, they yell something much more inspirational than that. For them, the perfect cheer is the words “hup, hup, hup!” yelled continuously and in great succession. This lively cheer is then interspersed with an occasional, “Jawohl! Jawohl!” I’m definitely planning to take this one back with me to the states. In fact, maybe I’ll try it out on my cross-country runners this weekend. :)

The rest of the race finished in a blur of excitement as I rounded the final bend and took the turn towards the downhill finish line. I had maintained my lead and kept up the pace. Now all I needed to do was finish strong. To help create some additional excitement for the audience, my bike pacer decided to tell the man right in front of me (who I was about to catch mind you) that the first woman was right on his heels. Of course, this sparked some impressive sprinting on his end and I wasn’t quite able to catch him.

I crossed the line in 39:55…nowhere near what I could run in college, but not bad for a weekend in Basel. :) After the race, I attempted to chat with my new racing friends (the biker and the man who beat me to the finish line). It didn’t take long for them to realize that they were going to have to use English if they wanted to have a half decent conversation with me. Luckily, it ended up that they both spoke English really well and were more than happy to accommodate my lack of language skills.

After grabbing some Gatorade, a banana, and a recovery bar, I waited at the finish line to cheer on the rest of my wonderful BFA teammates. For a number of them, it was their first time to ever race anything further than a 5K. I was so proud for what they were able to accomplish!

 

Celebrating after the run with my roommate Hanna

After all the runners had crossed the finish line, a short awards ceremony was held at the center meeting area. I had the opportunity to walk up on the stage and was announced as “Die erste Frau—ein Ausländer aus Deutschland!” (foreigner from Germany). Apparently, they had seen my German address on the race registration and thought that I was German. I was awarded a beautiful bouquet of yellow flowers, a water bottle, a backpack in the shape of a fish, and a gift certificate for a free appointment with a specialized Swiss sports doctor (worth 210 Swiss francs!) Although, I have to admit I am seriously hoping that I never have to use this prize.

On the award's stand

 Overall, it was a wonderful weekend! To me, this race was a stunning reminder of God’s faithfulness. How thankful I am that God would allow me the opportunity to continue doing something that I love so much even in the midst of serving Him in Germany. I thank Him for the talents that He has given me and the opportunity to use these talents to meet new people, build relationships, and glorify Him. Please keep praying for me as I press on to win the prize here in Germany. No, in this case, not the runner’s prize. (Although you probably know that I like winning those as well…) But what I am really referring to is the heavenly prize—the goal of giving my life to serve Christ by teaching, serving, and loving the students here at this school.

A Day in the Life of Miss Lewis

At approximately 8:05 each morning, I step across the threshold of the Garni House and into the wide German world outside my doorstep. My red drawstring bag is in my hand, packed with my cross-country shoes and running clothes. I carefully load the bag into the front basket of my German bicycle, roll the bike out of our garage, and prepare to make my descent down the hill and into “downtown” Kandern. My WVU backpack is strapped to my shoulders and securely packed with textbooks, computer, lunchbox, and anything else I might need for the school day (such as a shopping bag for picking up groceries later at Hieber or an umbrella for the inevitable German rain showers.) On most days, I also have two of my roommates—Johanna and Hanna, the other bicycle riding Garni Girls—at my side and ready to make the great morning commute to BFA.

I arrive on campus between 8:15 and 8:20 each morning (a little bit earlier on the days when we have staff devotions.) Since I teach a first period class, I like to have a little extra prep time before the students arrive. After dropping off my teaching materials and coaching clothes at my office, (yes, I have my own little desk space in the community faculty room!) I run my lunchbox up to the third floor staff kitchen and then proceed to prep the lessons for the day. This might include making photocopies, setting up the projector, organizing materials, entering grades, or just getting the computers turned and warmed up before the start of class.

Students begin to arrive on campus about 8:30 and continue to trickle in all the way up until 8:45 (or later!) when the first warning bell rings. If it’s a Monday, the students file into the BFA auditorium for a short beginning-of-the-week assembly called Matins. This usually includes announcements for the week as well as a short devotional.

Matins runs from 8:50-9:00 and then it’s off to first period. The other days of the week (with the exception of Friday chapel) students report directly to first period for a 10min opening class devotional and prayer time. By 9am, the devos have ended and the regular class schedule is in full swing.

The first class of my morning is Beginner Journalism. We meet on the very top floor of the Janz building in a tiny classroom called JB 32. 

 

Though it may seem small, it works out just fine for my very small class sizes. To me, the low wooden ceiling and large rectangular table in the middle of the room has a nice, homey feel. I like being able to discuss poetry and story ideas seated at this table with my students. I feel that it helps to create a classroom atmosphere of safety and trust. (However, I will admit that my room is not without it’s flaws…it has been mistaken for a closet on a number of occasions.)

With a school of over 300 students, perhaps you are wondering how I ended up with classes that are so small. If you have any experience in today’s high school culture, you will soon discover that the English electives are usually not the most popular of classes. Here is the usual response that I receive when I ask a student if they would ever consider signing up for a creative writing class: “Why would I choose to take a class where I actually have to write?” Interestingly enough, I receive a similar response when I ask a kid why they won’t sign up for cross-country...“Why would I choose to play a sport where I actually have to run?”

I suppose that I never before realized the similarities between writing and running…both can be (and usually are) extremely taxing and time consuming, but both when the right amount of time and effort are invested, can produce the most amazing results. I guess I just love to see the result of hard work. I love to see young people enjoying the journey, learning to push themselves to the limit, and learning to always work to the best of their abilities.

Sorry, I realize that I am off on a major tangent. Back to my schedule. My next class after 1st period Jouranlism is 3rd period Study Hall. What do I love about teaching study hall at an international Christian boarding school? The students actually study! So far, my biggest issue in this class was when a student forgot to sign in with me because she was so eager to go to the library to get all of her homework done. (Seriously, this happened.) Study Hall is also a good time for students to meet with teachers individually, take private music lessons, or meet with the counselor. Seniors have the privilege of signing out of study hall to go to the student center, outside to a picnic table, to the grocery store, or to downtown Kandern. As long as they are back in time for their next class, BFA has an open campus. (Something that I always wish that I had in high school!)

After 3rd period, I have a prep period and then lunch. I typically like to take my lunch with some of the other teachers outside, but since it’s been so rainy and cold lately, I have been eating in the upstairs kitchen. There is always some sort of lively conversation going on in there…which usually involves a discussion of each other’s intriguing dinner left-overs and the ever popular question: "where did you find __[insert random food]__in Germany?"

Directly after lunch is one of my favorite classes of the day: Creative Writing Poetry! I have had so much fun planning lessons for these young writers. They are all so eager and enthusiastic…not to mention talented. I often feel like I am teaching college freshman or sophomores, not juniors and seniors in high school. Next semester, I will have Creative Writing Prose added to my schedule, which I am also looking forward to teaching.

Creative Writing is my last official class of the day. The other two periods are dedicated to prep time and “office hours.” School ends at 3:50 and at 4:00, cross-country practice begins!

I will write more about cross-country as soon as I can find some more blogging time. We had our first meet this past Saturday, so I have lots to tell you. :) Along with the BFA cross-country team, I also had the chance to race this past weekend. On Sunday, I went to Switzerland with about 12 other BFA teachers to run in the Basel 10K. Such an exciting experience! Full update to come soon!

First Week of School

Week one of classes has come to a close here at the Black Forest Academy and the first-year teachers are wondering just how they managed to survive it all. :)

I realize that it’s been a while since my last blog update, but, as you can probably imagine, my life has become a little more busy now that classes are in session, cross country is up and running, and the school year is in full swing. Therefore, I’ll do my best to update you on some of the bigger highlights of the week.

Garni Girls on the first day of school!

  
Monday evening was the official start of the semester and what BFA likes to call “Parent-Teacher Fellowship Night.” During this time, the parents of the BFA students have the opportunity to meet the teachers (hey, wait a minute, that’s me!) and preview the campus. For the evening’s agenda, each parent was given a copy of their student’s schedule and 7 minutes to visit each classroom. 

It was fun to see parents bustling back and forth across the campus, wondering how in the world their child will be able to get from the 4th floor of the main building all the way to the 3rd floor of the Janz Building all in less than 5 minutes! One of the things that impressed me the most about this evening was the opportunity to see so many world missionaries gathered together in one location. How inspiring to be surrounded by men and women who have given their lives to serve God and are willing to step out in faith and entrust the care of their children to the faculty and staff here at BFA. It is a decision that is definitely not easy, but one that will hopefully open so many new opportunities for their children to grow both in faith and in education.

Tuesday brought tidings of the Opening Ceremonies as well as the first day of school. A time-honored tradition at the Black Forest Academy, the Opening Ceremonies begins with a flag carrying procession in which every member of the senior class carries a national flag into the BFA auditorium. 

 

Flag Carrying Procession

Since most of the students at the school are TCKs, it is not uncommon for them to feel as if they come from several different countries. Therefore, it is often difficult for them to settle upon exactly which flag they want to carry. Students might choose to carry the flag of their passport country, the flag of the land where they spent the majority of their childhood, or perhaps even the flag of the country where their parents are currently serving. It is truly the diversity of this procession that makes it so spectacular. Who would ever believe that in the tiny town of Kandern, in the corner of Southern Germany, so many nations would be represented?

Along with the start of school, Tuesday also brought the start of cross-country! Though the team is small (4 boys and 5 girls), I am honored to be able to coach such a fine group of young people. We began Tuesday’s practice with a warm-up jog to the park behind the tennis courts. After a few minutes for drills and stretching, we headed out to Sitzenkirch on a trail affectionately known as the “Llama Run.” And yes, since I know you are going to ask, we actually do pass real llamas!

As I have quickly learned from my first week of coaching and running with the team, there is a variety of trails known only to the elite few who have even donned the BFA cross-country jersey. Each of these trails includes a creative name, so here’s a sampling of the names that I know…. there’s Monsoon (including both an easy version, “Mini-Monsoon,” as well as a more advanced version, “Big Monsoon”),  Fox Trot (haven’t run this one yet, so I’ll describe it for you later), the 5k race course (which just so happens to include a hill called “The Widowmaker”), Sausenburg Castle (almost entirely uphill!), and Sitzenkirch (aka the Llama Run). So far, I have greatly enjoyed my time with the team, which has consisted mainly of running up mountains, demonstrating form drills, encouraging the newcomers, and running up and down the forest trails looking for the boy’s team! (When do boys ever learn to follow directions?!?)

Friday was Chapel Day at BFA. This weekly service includes a Praise and Worship Band which is entirely student-led. So cool! There was also an encouraging message from the campus chaplain as well as an introduction to this year’s theme, which is “Seek Truth.” At the end of the day on Friday evening, I went with my roommates to the Italienisch Eis-Café to celebrate the successful completion of the first week of school. With two scoops of stracitella in my waffle cone, a group of friends all around me, and the beautiful stars in the German sky, I couldn’t help but thank God for this amazing opportunity to live and serve in such a place.

The Black Forest Dorms

So what does it look like to attend boarding school in Germany? Read along for a glimpse into the BFA boarding program…

Along with attending classes, dorm life is an integral part of the BFA student experience. Of the 250 high schoolers who attend the school, about 60% are dorm students. There are eight high school dorms at BFA—each one different from the next. 

 On Thursday night, the new staff had the opportunity to take a grand tour of all the BFA high school dorms. Since Kandern is such a small community, most of these dorms are spread throughout the neighboring German villages. Piling into two BFA vans, we prepared to depart on a 3 hour adventure of visiting dorms and meeting the 2013-14 Res Life staff.

Palmgarten

Maugenhard

Our journey began with a stop at Palmgarten and Maugenhard. These two dorms are the only ones located right in the center of Kandern. Because of their close proximity to the main campus, students at Palm and Maug have the luxury of walking to school when the weather is nice. Palm was originally built as a hotel (much like our ever-beloved Garni), but now accommodates between 20-22 girls. Above Palm, is the newest of the BFA dorms, Maugenhard. It too, is fairly large, housing between 20-24 boys. My favorite feature of these dorms would have to be the enormous kitchen in Maug and the stairway to nowhere in Palm. I guess if you’re feeding 24 high school boys, you had better have a huge kitchen! As for the stairway to nowhere, I suppose it just makes Palm even more unique. :)

Check out Liel's green fireplace to the left!

After Palm and Maug, we took a 10 minute drive to the village of Liel. One of the oldest buildings in the BFA dorm collection, Landhaus Liel (known simply as Liel) was built around the year 1760. No big deal or anything, but that’s 16 years older than the entire United States of America! As a result of Liel’s impressive age, the floor has started to sag a little bit, which means that BFA will have to find a replacement building in the next year or so. My favorite feature in the girl’s dorm of Liel would have to be the lovely green fireplace…which doesn’t actually work anymore, but is still a really cool visual piece.

Yup, that's a real stork!

After Liel we proceeded to Storchenblick, known for short as Storch. Originally a village school, this girl’s dorm got its name due to the beautiful view of nesting storks that can be seen on a neighboring church tower. This dorm was one of my favorites—very artistic with a warm and home-like feel.
    

Storch Dining Room

Archway into HBR

Haus Bad Riedlingen was the next dorm on our tour. Known commonly as HBR, the 20 boys that live in this dorm often joke that “bad” is their middle name. Built around 1750, this dorm is even older than Liel! The original building had a mineral spring bath. One of my favorite features of the dorm was the large painted sign that hung over the front entrance.

And...another dorm room! (boy's)

Inside a typical dorm room (girl's)

 Wittlingen (pronounced with a “v” sound) was originally built as a combination inn, country store, and gas station. I would say that it has the most confusing and exciting layout of all the dorms we visited. Secret rooms in the north tower, fire escapes to the roof, hidden basements, and a lovely backyard were all a part of the Wittlingen experience. Witt accommodates between 18-20 girls. One of my roommates, Julie, used to live at Witt when she was a high school student at BFA!

Outside of Wittlingen

The final two dorms on the tour were located about 10 kilometers away from Kandern in the beautiful hillside village of Marzell. These dorms included Blauen, a girls dorm with lovely blue shutters, and Sonnenhof, a boys dorm with a castle-like appeal. Although these dorms are the farthest from Kandern, they were definitely two of my favorites! 

Sonne

Blauen

Painting on the wall of Sonne

Seeing the dorms of BFA helped to give me a better understanding of campus life here in Kandern. It was a glance into the lives of the students and a chance to imagine what it must be like to live and study as a high schooler away from home. While it must be extremely difficult to live away from one’s family, it was encouraging to see the way that BFA strives to create such a loving home away from home for MKs from all over the world.

To Infinity and Beyond!

For those of you who were particularly interested in my post entitled, My Run to the Sun, I have some exciting news! I have successfully completed the quest to locate all nine planets! In addition, I was even able to find Ceres, which is largest asteroid and the only dwarf planet in the inner Solar System.

The first stage of my mission was accomplished last weekend. While my roommates were still nestled all snug in their beds, I rose early Saturday morning to follow the illusive trail to Pluto. I decided that the best plan would be to work my way back to the last planet that we had discovered: Neptune. Sure enough, when I reached the model of Neptune, I found a small picture of a planet and a tiny arrow pointing back towards Kandern. Above the arrow was the word, “Planetweg.” I also noticed a short footnote at the bottom of the sign, “1400m zum Pluto.”

With these two bits of information to guide me, I turned back down the trail and started to head in the direction of downtown Kandern. It seemed strange to me at first  to be heading right into the city. After all, shouldn’t the planets be hidden in the woods and not in the middle of a city street? My fears soon faded when I noticed the start sign for another hiking trail. Since the Planetweg was obviously built as an attraction for hiking trails, I was convinced that this must be the way to find Pluto. Completely ignoring the previous information that Pluto was only 1400m from Neptune, I headed pell-mell up the mountain and into the new world of the red diamond hiking trails. (Most of the trails that I had been following before had been yellow diamond trails.)

You can probably guess that my hasty actions did not serve me well. I scoured those mountain trails for nearly an hour, completely determined that I would not give up until I had found the little planet. Finally, hot, tired, and a little grumpy, I decided it was time to head home. I would have to look again tomorrow. Besides, how was I to know if some crazed anti-Pluto activist hadn’t removed the planet years ago? Perhaps all my searching had been in vain…

Feeling much less enthusiastic than I did on the way there, I ran dejectedly down the main street and back towards our home at the top of the hill. Just as I was crossing by the bridge near Rachel and Amy’s house, I noticed a man reading a city map that was posted off to the side of the main street. Taking a closer look, I realized that right beside this map of the city was none other than the model of Pluto! It had been right there on the main street all along and I had just kept on running blindly past. You can probably imagine my elation when I realized that I would not have to return home without accomplishing my task. The littlest planet had been found and it was much closer to home than I had ever guessed it would be!

My planet quest was officially completed on Sunday. Before church, I spent my morning time with God by running from Pluto, to Neptune, to Uranus, to Saturn, to Jupiter, (to Ceres,) to Mars, to Earth, to Venus, to Mercury, to the Sun and back again all within 70 minutes. Talk about a great reminder of God’s amazing creation!

My favorite planet, Saturn!

Einkaufen Gehen

One of the biggest adjustments to living in Kandern has been learning to adapt to a new style of grocery shopping. Besides the obvious struggles of reading German food labels and converting dollars into Euros, there are so many other little differences to be considered. Let me share with you a few of my lessons learned…

 

The Playing Field: There are two main grocery stores in Kandern: Penny and Hieber. Penny is more of a discount grocery store (similar to Aldi in the States). However, unlike Aldi, Penny offers a random assortment of special sale items each week. These can be anything from “Hello Kitty” pajamas, to chain saws, to cheese graters. Hieber, on the other hand, has a much bigger food selection and a wider variety of international brands and products. Yet, with this variety also comes higher prices! 

Weigh those Veggies: At Heiber, you have to weigh your fruit and vegetables before you check out. This can be confusing since we usually weigh produce at the check out counter in the US. If you forget to weigh your veggies, the sales clerk has to get up from their seat at the cash register, go all the way back to the produce area, and weigh your produce for you! As can be imagined, this can get a little embarrassing if you end up holding up an entire line of time-conscious German shoppers. 

Decisions, Decisions: Many of the German grocery stores (Penny more so than Hieber), don’t offer the product selection that we see in the US. If shopping at Penny, you probably won’t see fourty-five different types cereal, eight brands of ketchup, and fifteen different kinds of milk. Instead, there are usually two or three reasonable options. While this might sound limiting, it does make shopping a lot easier!

On the flip side, if you are shopping at Hieber, you may find an overwhelming selection of products that you would never suspect to see in the US. For example, there is an entire aisle devoted to jam. Though I don’t have an official count, I am guessing that Hieber offers well over forty different jam varieties. Hieber is also crazy about their müsli selection—raisins, sunflower seeds, chocolate, dried fruit, almonds, crunchy, chewy, healthy, organic, for kids, flax, millet, and the list is never ending! But, to the German’s credit, the Müsli here is really good! 

Going Green: Don’t come to the grocery store without your own bag! In Kandern, people typically use reusable canvas shopping bags. You could request plastic at the checkout line, but you would have to pay an extra 5 cents per bag…not to mention a few glares for your wasteful ways.  

Who says we need a canvas bag? We have a laundry basket!

Less is More: In Europe, you typically don’t buy as many groceries as you do in the States. The reason is very simple, you just don’t have the room! The refrigerators here are much smaller, especially when you are sharing with seven other girls!

Our German "mini-fridge"

Eat Fresh: It seems that food here goes bad a little faster than it does in America. There is much less use of pre-packaged/boxed food and preservatives. (yay!) So, be sure to eat your food quickly, otherwise, watch out for mold!

Scrambled Eggs: Looking for eggs? Don’t check the refrigerator aisle. German eggs are always left out on the shelf. At Hieber, you also have the option of individually selecting the eggs that you would like to purchase. You simply load your own carton right there in the store! You can also buy hard-boiled colored eggs at any time during the year, not just Easter!

Bäckerei: Heiber and Penny both have a great selection of fresh breads. Most German breads are crusty, grainy, and brown—just the kind that I like! They also have some yummy soft pretzels for only 70 cents. I have enjoyed getting to practice my German skills with the bakery staff at Hieber (and Heitzmann, another local bakery), “Ich möchte zwei vollkorn brötchen, bitte!”

So this isn't actually the Heizmann in Kandern..but the inside looks similar!