The Kandern Trails

If you jog about a quarter mile away from the Garni House, heading in the direction of the mountains, you will encounter one of the many entrances into the hiking world of Kandern. I've discovered that there is an entire network of trails, or Wandernweg, which lead over mountains, through forests, and across fields to connect all the little rural villages in the area. I have been told that one of the hiking groups at BFA actually followed this trail network all the way to Basel (which is no small feat considering the fact that Basel is about an hour away by car!)

On my first run in Kandern, I can remember how easy it was to find a trail. Bleary eyed and jet lagged, I stumbled out of the house and headed down Wolfsheule in the direction that I knew led away from the center of town. (In Kandern, it’s not really normal to see people running up and down main street…so I figured that I had better flee to the woods. After all, I wouldn’t want to bewilder the locals on my first full day in Kandern.) Within 3 feet (literally) of leaving city limits, I saw a small white sign pointing up a gravel path. Although I didn’t see the customary picture of a hiker, there were a bunch of different town names followed by a distance marked out in kilometers written on the sign. Seemed like a trail to me…so I started on my way up the mountain. Sure enough, I had stumbled upon an entrance to the Kandern trail network!

Oh, the forests of Germany are beautiful! There are so many trees, all so thick and full, like wide green umbrellas bending over the hiking trails. While the Black Forest is commonly known for its foreboding dark pines which supposedly block out the sun, thus making the forest “black,” this particular section of the forest is a logging area. Therefore, instead of numerous pines, there are a large number of tall, branchless trees that are ideal for lumber yards. While running along the trails, I often see piles of these trees, cut by the side of the trail and perfectly stacked in flawless German fashion. In addition to stacks of logs, there are also numerous tree houses, wooden huts, and benches staggered randomly along the trails. I’m not really sure if these are for camping, or if people just like to build tree houses…but I have yet to see any people in them. I'll be sure to let you know if I ever do. ;)

The trail closest to our house is called Sauweg. It leads about a mile up to big picnic/hiking area called Waldparkplatz. This area has a large trail map mounted on an announcement board as well as a few parking places for cars. The trails that begin at Waldparkplatz are Rainweg (my favorite, so far!), Rotterrainweg, Obererheubergweg (my other favorite), and Fasanengartenweg. Most of these trails are interconnected and lead to even more trails...but I can't quite remember all of the fancy German names. Sometimes they are so long that it is hard to read them within the two seconds that I am running by. I do remember that one of the trails connected to Kandernweg which took me all the way to Hammerstein, the neighboring village. My plan is to explore as many trails as I can before the winter sets in. :)

As far as wildlife is concerned, I haven’t really seen much while I am out on the trails. I caught a glimpse of a German deer the other day…but they kind of look just like American deer…maybe a little leaner from running up and down the mountains. The most common animal that I have encountered are these giant orange slugs. These things are at least 3 times as big as my thumb and are an brown-orange color. They kind of remind me of carrots...which is just creepy. On wet days, there are so many that I have to watch my footsteps pretty closely so that I don’t end up with globs of orange goo on the bottom of my running shoes.

In addition to those lovely creatures, I have also encountered some German dogs. My first encounter occurred on my second run into the mountains. I was on my way back down Sauweg when this small, Benji-looking dog came charging at me from down the trail. Normally, I don’t mind encountering dogs while I am running as long as the dog’s tail is wagging and the owner is nearby. Well, this dog’s tail was NOT wagging. He was actually barking and half-snarling as he was tearing up the trail towards me. His owner, who was about 30 meters back, yelled something at me in German—but she was too far away, so I couldn’t understand what she was saying. All I could do was hope that it was something along the lines of “Don’t worry! He’s nice!” and not “Run for your life!” My instincts told me to stop running and wait for him to approach me. I stopped and put out my palms face up, so that he could see that I wasn’t trying to threaten him. Thankfully, he stopped barking, sniffed my shoes, and decided that I was no longer a threat to German society and allowed me to go on my way. I greeted his owner with a simple “Guten Morgen” but didn’t stop to chat just in case “Benji” decided to get frisky again.

My second encounter with German dogs was even more startling than the first. I was out running on Rainweg. It was a particularly dark morning with lots of rain clouds and heavy tree coverage. Well, I was just thinking about how lonely and quiet the woods were when a man comes around the corner with his three large dogs. The man was tall, muscular, and bald. He was wearing a black workout suit and he kind of reminded me of Vin Diesel. Among his large dogs was a fit (slightly ferocious-looking) Doberman pinscher. Remembering my encounter with “Benji” from the day before, you can imagine how scared I was to see these three big dogs coming towards me with their rather intense-looking owner. Well, as soon as the owner sees me coming up the trail, the most amazing thing happened. He stopped running and faced his dogs. Then, without saying a word, he put out his palm in front of them as if motioning for them to stop. The dogs immediately stopped running and sat in a perfectly straight line in the middle of the trail. Their owner remained with his hand outstretched until I had passed safely by. He then, lifted his hand, the dogs simultaneously stood up, and the four of them continued running. People weren’t kidding when they told me that German animals are well-trained!

The Joys and Terrors of Ikea (aka “ee-kay-ah”)

Though it may be hard to believe (I have already shocked several of my roommates with this information) our shopping trip to Freiburg on Friday was my first time ever shopping at an Ikea. Unless, of course, I just forgot ever going to one…but, as one of my roommates clearly pointed out, “Ikea is not a store that you just happen to forget.”

Ikea in Freiburg

Well, as I was saying, I had my first experience at the German Ikea on Friday. If you are a frequent shopper of Ikea, then you probably know how huge and overwhelming it can be. You begin by traversing an enormous show room on the top floor where you basically take a walking tour of a thousand different little apartment rooms. During the tour, you use your nifty Ikea golf pencil to write down all of the furniture that you are interested in purchasing. If you survive the showroom, you continue down the stairs to the “small items” area where you can pick up everything from bed sheets, to lamps, to clothes hangers, to picture frames, and ceiling fans. Then, if you somehow make it through all of that, you enter this gigantic warehouse where you push roller carts up and down aisles searching for the items that you had written on your card from the showroom. These items are packed away in large boxes that are often extremely hard to lift and awkwardly shaped.

Now, I want you to  take that image of Ikea and imagine how you would feel if every sign and product description was written in German, every measurement was using the metric system, every price was in Euros, and every employee was speaking in German. This is exactly what I experienced. Let’s just say that after 3 hours of intense shopping, I finally crawled out of Ikea, barely alive, and feeling even more tired, hungry, and thirsty than I do after a long run. However, I did end up with some pretty exciting bargain-priced furniture…and a green polka dot duvet cover! ;)

Yay! New duvet :)

Now, the big challenge is assembling all those wonderful bargains into actual furniture and not just a random pile of wooden boards and screws that is lying on my bedroom floor. I assumed that with all my training constructing Lego sets as a kid, I would be more than equipped to handle some Ikea furniture. Not so! I ended up assembling an entire dresser only to find that I had left the backs off all of the drawers! Live and learn, I guess. ;) 

Ikea construction kit...please note the beautiful rock that we substituted for a hammer!

The Garni Girls

I am sitting on my balcony watching the sun rise over the rolling green of the German mountains. My room is located in the northeast corner of the third floor of the Garni House. I have a little balcony that I can walk out onto and enjoy a lovely view of the neighbor’s garden and the surrounding hills. It’s nice to have a garden just outside my window. It reminds me so much of home and my dad’s garden in the backyard. Although, I suppose that dad’s garden is filled mostly with vegetables, while my German neighbors only seem to care about flowers (which is just fine with me!) They have so many varieties—blue and purple hydrangea, pink hibiscus, roses, daisies, mums, and a wide assortment of delicate wild flowers. Sometimes, my neighbors sit outside on their balcony (which is directly across from mine) and chat or play cards and work on crafts. I have tried talking to them, but so far we haven’t gotten much past, “Hallo!” and “Guten Morgen!” 
 

Some of my neighbor's flowers

The Garni House

Even though I have only been here about a week, I am starting to settle into life at the Garni House. I have some terrific roommates who have come from all over the US to serve God and teach the students at the Black Forest Academy. There are four of us living on the third floor—two in rooms to the east, and two in rooms to the west. Laura lives in the room next to mine. She is from Portland, Oregon and is going to serve as the freshman English teacher at BFA. How exciting to have another literature lover right next door! Across the hall of the third floor are BFA’s two new orchestra instructors. Dayla lives in the room across from mine. She moved here from Boston, plays the viola and violin, and is going to teach the advanced orchestra class. Next to her is Johanna who is from Vermont, plays violin, and is going to teach the beginner orchestra class. So, interestingly enough, the third floor is the land of books, writing, and music. :)

 If you continue down our twisting marble staircase (okay, it’s not really marble, but it’s something like marble) you will arrive on the second floor/main living area of the building. There are two bedrooms on this floor—one occupied by Hanna, the new BFA Spanish teacher from the Chicago suburbs who used to play as a goalkeeper for the Georgetown soccer team. The other room is occupied (temporarily, until her actual apartment becomes available) by Julie the new BFA health teacher. Julie grew up in France and actually attended BFA while in high school! 

Living Room :)

  The living room has four big picture windows that let in lots of sunshine (well, that is, of course, if it is one of those blessed days when Germany actually decides to be sunny). Connected to the living room is the dining room and kitchen. We currently have only two mini-fridges in the upstairs kitchen…not sure how this is going to pan out with eight girls living in the house…pray for us. :) 

Dining room and kitchen

The first floor has three more bedrooms, plus the “guest room” and the cupboard-under-the-stairs. The guest room is a pretty tight squeeze…there’s a big water heater thing in there, so it’s kind of creepy. But, hey, at least there’s a bed! The other bedrooms on the first floor are fairly big and spacious. They also come more furnished than the other rooms in the house, probably because no one really wanted to carry all that large German furniture up the stairs. There is a small kitchenette in the front bedroom…which will definitely help since there will be so many of us living at the house. Currently, there is only one housemate living on the first floor. Her name is Christine and she will be teaching special education at BFA this year. Our other housemates are still on their way to Kandern, but should be here within the next couple of weeks.

Well, I hope that served as a good introduction to a little of my life here in Kandern. I will be sure to add more stories of our adventures at the Garni. :)

Ready for Take-Off!

Well, here I am...sitting in the Washington Dulles airport waiting for the flight that will take me to my new home across the ocean. Moments like these always seem to be such a surreal combination of dream and reality. I’ve been planning and anticipating this move since January. Now that it’s finally here, I can’t decide if I am living in actual reality or if I am just caught in some crazy dream world. I can pinch myself a hundred times, but I still have to keep reminding myself that all of this is real.

I’d like to thank you all for your encouragement and prayers along the way. God has shown up in my life in some pretty exciting ways. Two weeks before today, I wasn’t even sure if I would be arriving in Germany on time. And now, I’m sitting here at Gate B44—tickets in hand, suitcases packed, and a heart full of eager anticipation. Thanks for walking with me in the journey!

For some interesting airport items of note…it appears as if I will be flying to Europe along with a high school drama team. There’s currently about 30 high schoolers bopping around the airport terminal and all of them are wearing fluorescent yellow T-shirts. I wonder if London is their final destination? Perhaps they will be stopping to see a performance of Shakespeare at the Globe! :)

Otherwise, things at the terminal are pretty tame. Although I am getting some entertainment from the continual paging of people with really cool and complicated names, like Abdul Kerygista Thaileke Egimofor or Malcolm Sinbad Alzsakei. (I probably really messed up those spellings.)

Well, it’s almost boarding time. Please to sure to check in with my blog along the way!

Return from Wheaton

I have just returned home from what has turned out to be a tremendous time of personal growth, learning, and preparation for moving overseas. Yes, I know that I was only gone a week, but the friendships that have begun as well as the learning that I have acquired will definitely go a long way in helping me prepare to move to Germany!

These girls will all be serving with me at BFA this coming August!

 

I arrived in Chicago early on Sunday morning. Since I didn’t have to be in Wheaton until the afternoon, I decided to spend the extra time exploring the city with my new friend and fellow TeachBeyond member, Leslee. After we finally managed to find each other (it turns out we were both waiting at different Dunkin’ Donuts shops!) we headed out to see the city sights. The highlight of our adventure was most definitely a ride on the Water Taxi. Such a beautiful way to explore Chicago! 

Take a ride on the Water Taxi!

After a fun time in Chicago, it was on to the MetraRail and off to Wheaton College!

One of the most meaningful experiences of my week at Wheaton was the opportunity to build relationships. It was inspiring to meet so many other staff members whose hearts share the same passion as mine—a passion to reach out, encourage, and love young people through teaching, mentoring, and coaching. I was inspired by so many men and women from all over North America who have given up jobs, homes, comfort, and family in order to follow God’s call in their lives.

TeachBeyond president, George Durance, spoke to the candidates during our very first meeting on Monday morning. He shared his vision of transformational education, a vision to bring hope, knowledge, and new life in Christ to thousands around the world through the medium of Christian education. It was inspiring to realize that I have the opportunity to be a part of this vision.

During orientation, we had lots of opportunities to talk with those who have already spent time teaching and serving overseas. The majority of these veterans were from BFA in Germany, but there was also a number from schools in Africa, Asia, Eurasia, and South America. These global teachers shared the stories of their lives with us. They told us about their joys and struggles, their battles and triumphs, and their laughter and tears. Most importantly, they shared how God has continued to be faithful though it all—changing them day by day to be more like Christ.

One session that I particularly enjoyed was an in-depth study into the benefits and challenges of growing up as a TCK (third culture kid). As you probably remember from my previous blog posts, this unique cultural group will represent the vast majority of my future students at the Black Forest Academy. Since there were eight TCKs joining staff with TeachBeyond this year at orientation (including two BFA alumni!) we were able to have a live TCK Q&A session. I found this extremely helpful as I was able to get an insider’s perspective on the best way to reach TCKs in the classroom.

On our afternoon off, we spent some time exploring the Wheaton campus and downtown area. I had the privilege of exploring the Marion E. Wade Center and taking a glance into the very wardrobe that inspired C.S. Lewis and his Chronicles of Narnia series. The wardrobe was crafted by Lewis’ grandfather some time in the 1800s. True to the image described in the first book of the Narnia series (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), the wardrobe was filled with a wide selection of old-fashioned brown, gray, and black fur coats—just like the ones that Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy might have found. However, one major difference that I’m quite certain was not there when Lucy first wandered into Narnia was a small warning label posted on the bottom corner of the wardrobe door. It read: “Warning! Enter at your own risk. The Wade Center assumes no responsibility for persons who disappear or are lost in the wardrobe." Though I looked diligently for the passage into Narnia, I suppose Aslan will be taking me to my Narnia (i.e. the Black Forest) by plane and not through a magical portal…but one can never be too sure!

About to enter the wardrobe!

 

  The final evening of orientation, we had a commissioning service at a local church near the Wheaton campus. After reciting a pledge to uphold the values of the organization and to be faithful to the call of God in our lives, we made our way to the front of the church for prayer and communion. Current staff members and leaders then prayed with all of the new candidates for God’s guidance, grace, and blessing for the years ahead on the mission field. It was such an encouragement and such a sweet confirmation of God’s call in my life. We concluded the evening with a trip to downtown Wheaton for ice cream! :)

TeachBeyond Commissioning Service

 

 

"Mega" Adventures

For the bargain price of $4.50, I booked my round trip bus ticket all the way from Columbus, OH to Chicago, IL. Who knew that for the less than the price of a foot long sub at Subway, you can travel from Nationwide Boulevard in Columbus all the way to Union Station in Chicago?!? All right, I suppose I should admit that my traveling conditions were not exactly ideal…I had to catch the bus at 10:50pm on a busy street corner in Columbus, ride the bus through the night, make several stopovers in Cincinnati and Indianapolis, and arrive in Chicago all before the clock struck 7 in the morning! However, compared to a $300 plane ticket…the price really can’t be beat! 

My biggest adventure during this fabulous 8 hour bus ride occurred at a random stop off in the middle of Indiana. The time was approximately 3:30 in the morning and I was trying desperately to get some much needed sleeeeep. Well, just as I was beginning to doze off, the bus driver comes on the loud speaker with an important announcement—“All passengers are required to leave the bus at this time!” I’m still not sure that I understand exactly why we had to get off the bus…maybe some kind of deal with the Pilot snack station, but regardless of the reason, his announcement spurred me to action (and the fact that he came upstairs to the top of the double-decker area to ask why we weren’t moving out of our seats!) Trying desperately to keep my heavy eyelids open, I located my shoes, unpluged my ipod, and gathered my belongings for my little nightly escapade to the Pilot in the “middle of nowhere” Indiana. I did my usual gas station routine…went to the restroom, walked around the store a little bit, considered buying a snack, thought better of it, and proceeded back outside to wait for the bus.

Well, two minutes later, I saw what looked like our bus roll up about 30 meters away from where the group of us were standing. Though I was slightly annoyed that the driver didn’t pull closer, I figured that I had better head over there so that I could reclaim my seat on the top and towards the front of the bus. As I was walking over, I kept seeing all these people loitering around the loading area who I didn’t remember ever boarding our bus. Perhaps they had boarded while I was sleeping?? I checked the digital display sign over the top of the bus—“Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Chicago”—well, all of those locations looked correct. This had to be the right place. I was just about to cross the threshold and get on the bus when the driver suddenly stood up and blocked the entrance. “You going to Columbus?” he asked somewhat gruffly. “No, I came from Columbus. I’m going to Chicago.” He looked down at me and shook his head, “Then your bus over there.” He indicated the diesel fueling station on the other side of the rest area, “This bus coming back from Chicago.” And so, thankfully, I did NOT get on the wrong Megabus at 3:30am in the “middle of nowhere” Indiana. I can only imagine how horrifying it would be to wake up from your nap only to find that after another 4 hours of driving you were back exactly where you started. Praise God for keeping me on track to my destination!

So, why all this trouble? Why did I even decide to visit Chicago in the first place? Well, this entire week is new staff orientation for all the new members of TeachBeyond! I am excited for what has been (and I’m sure what will continue to be!) a meaningful week of building relationships with other staff members, meeting teammates who I will be working with in Germany, attending seminars, and completing various training exercises to help prepare us to live, teach, and work overseas. Two of the topics of exploration include learning how to better understand TCKs (see previous post) and exploring our personal cultural identities and how these backgrounds affect our opinions, judgments, and perspective of the world. We will also be taking and discussing a DiSC personality test to help “increase self-awareness and personal effectiveness” (I stole that from the DiSC website) as well as learning more about ourselves and how we work best in a group atmosphere. :)

 So thanks for your prayers and encouragement! I am looking forward to lots of learning throughout the week and maybe even some more stories of my adventures!

Third Culture Kids

Imagine growing up caught in a chasm between worlds. You are American by birth, your parents are American, your siblings are American, your hair, your eyes, your look is American. There’s even a little blue book, issued by the government, stamped with an official seal proving that you are indeed fully, absolutely, and entirely American. And yet, you know you are not. The world that you know is not America, but instead is Kenya, Vietnam, Morocco, Hong Kong, France…wherever your parents happen to be living, working, and serving. What if English was only a language that you spoke at home? What if the school, traditions, food, and mannerisms around you had nothing to do with America? Would you really feel American? Where would you fit? Where would you belong?

“Home is not where you live, but where they understand you.”

There is an interesting dilemma that permeates the lives of many overseas missionary kids. It’s that feeling of being trapped between two (or more!) worlds—the feeling of not really knowing where you belong. Young people facing this dilemma are known as TCKs or “third culture kids.” They are kids without a place to truly call their own. They hold a passport to one country, yet their childhood memories and many of their friends reside in another. And to make matters even more confusing, both of these cultures might be completely different from the culture where they are currently living. They feel as if they are continually bouncing back and forth between cultures, trapped and confused as to where they really belong. Talk about a fragmented identity!

As a teacher at the Black Forest Academy (BFA), I will have the privilege to teach, coach, and interact with TCKs from over fifty different countries. Many of my students will have experienced life in more than three distinct cultures by the time they reach high school. Though these TCKs may lack a specific culture to call their own, the wonderful thing about coming to the school is that they are put together with other students who are facing the same dilemma. At BFA, all the students are world travelers and global citizens. They all know what it is like to spend a holiday in an airport terminal or to have to Skype their grandparents for Christmas. Through shared experiences, BFA creates a new and unique sub-culture for TCKs to find that missing sense of belonging. At last, there is a place where they don’t have to answer the question, “where are you from?” and they don’t have to feel like the outsider.

If you have time, check out this video about BFA and the missionary kid experience. I found it really helpful to hear the TCK concept explained from the insider’s perspective. 

To close, I’d like to ask that you will please pray for me as I learn how to reach out to this very special group of young people. Pray that I will be sensitive to their situation and able to come alongside them as a Christ-centered mentor and guide on their search for identity and belonging. Most importantly, pray that these students might find that their true citizenship lies in heaven as children of God. 

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” Phil 3:20