Let The Games Begin!

So I left you guys at Saturday morning. So Saturday it rained!  It was so sad, so after breakfast we started our orientation and did paper work for visa's and everything. Then after lunch they gave us a bunch of options and I took the bus to Friendsrichshafen, the closest town. I went to a coffee shop called Aran with a bunch of people: Molly, Jamyie, Josh, Valentina; and shared some hot bread with this onion and cream cheese topping. DELICIOUS! It was sooooo good! Then my friend Josh saw a ice cream place, so we quickly left the group and got Eis (that's what they call ice cream in German). Then after dinner we had some more orientation, and the guys did a sauna evening. The girls just hung out, and I tried to start a dance party, but it didn't follow through; another night. :)

Then Monday, our first day of classes. So I got up at 6 am to go for a run...but the doors didn't open till 6 :30 am, so I joined aerobics but hated it! Then had breakfast and some more info in the morning. Then on Monday a group of us biked to Friendrichshafen (which is around 20 minutes) and Ursula (one of the staff here who took time off to volunteer and help out) took me and Josh out for coffee. The other girls went to Aran to do homework, but we all know how productive homework is with 10 girls...ha ha. So Josh, Ursula, and me walk around and went to a different coffee place. :) She's such a sweetheart and I know she will be a person I can turn to whenever. Then after dinner we had our first lecture. This week Peter Ried, our "boss" is talking about 'Walking the Talk' and he talked about how God's Good Plan Went Bad. Then the girls had a sauna night,  didn't go though. A sauna includes the following:

1) Stay in Sauna for 15 minutes until you are ready to die :)
2) Go under ice cold water for 1 minutes until you are ready to die....again!
3) sit in sofa chair and relax for 10 minutes
Repeat 2 more times.

Sounds killer, but supposedly it loosens you and you get the best sleep ever-Steve's words.

So on Tuesday, which happens to be today for me, I got up at 6 am and actually went for a run. Man, I haven't ran in a long time and I can tell! Then breakfast, and I accidently feel asleep between breakfast and the first lecture so I was 10 minutes late....and I had to walk in the room in front of everyone! It was really embarrassing. :( Today Peter talked about being 'Born Again' and what it means, and  on 'Sign of a Spiritual Life.' It was so good, he is such an amazing speaker! Then after lunch me and Josh went and biked to Immenstadt (oh, and by the way, my legs are killing at this point! I haven't biked or ran in years!) and got Eis. We got a Bananasplit with three scoops of different ice cream for 3.50 Euros which is like 4 or 5 bucks canadian. Then we walked out on the dock and I beat him at a game of giant chess (only because a man helped me at the end :P) and now I'm writing here. Tonight we're talking about Community Life and then splitting up the Guys and Girls. And then I am going to sauna, because I am in so much pain, but tomorrow I'm giving my body a break! I'll talk to you guys later!

Having a blast, and keep up the prayers; they're working!

BODENSEEHOF

So after all the working, worrying, and anticipating I'm finally here. It's nice to know what the rooms and people actually look like (instead of only hearing about it from Nick and Dave!) I feel at home here already and know that it will be a fantastic 6 months. I got to Friedrichshafen on Thursday around 5pm and then got to the Graf Zepplin Hostel. There I ran into 4 people going to Bodenseehof; Josh, William, Brooke, and Alissa. We all went out to dinner (I had Salami Pizza and Pepsi, I know....very German :)) and then when 3 more people joined us at the Hostel; Danielle, Tim, and Robbie, I went and got my first Spagetti Eis! It was so delicious.

The next morning we got picked up at 8:15 am and were some of the first people at the Bibleschool. I'm in a four room, and my roomsmates are from Germany, America, and Japan (a missionaries kid) so we are a very diverse room! Whatever, we all have Jesus in common, ha ha. They gave us snacks, lunch, and dinner. The food was so good and everyone is so friendly. It's weird though not knowing people, so your just going up to new people and I'm like 'Hey, I don't know you but wanna hang out...' ha ha, so it's the weirdest environment, but everyone is in the same boat.

So since I had the whole afternoon we played some beach volleyball behind the school, and I planned a bike ride to Kaufsland (which is like our Walmart) You can just rent out bikes here, and so like 10 of us biked to Kaufsland and I got towels, so I could shower! And it was so much fun and the weather is beautiful..I was almost sweating from the heat! Ha ha, and for once I was warm (unlike Edmonton, where I froze to death!)

Then after meeting my roommates and finishing my unpacking we got dinner, and after dinner we all sat down in the lecture hall and everyone stated there name, where they're from, and what they did this summer. 40% of the people here are from CANADA! Yeah, we are representing for you guys. There is a girl from Kenya, Ethipoia, Japan, and Australia. So we are a little diversified. And we met all the staff members.

After the meeting I played some games and then a bunch of us went down to the lake and looked at Switzerland. It was beautiful. Our RA's, Kristi and Justin, are trying to keep us off the computers...there were like 30 people down here yesterday evening on the computer, it was pretty crazy. I say do as much stuff as possible while your here! So I'm down here now before breakfast (it's actually around 7:45 am here) and my day is about to began. Breakfast is at 8:30! So, I'll keep you updated, and hopefully put some pictures up later today or tomorrow. See you guys later, wanna hear from you!

At the Edmonton Airport...

Well I'm on my way...here I go. Let the adventures begin :) The goodbyes are all done...which were very difficult. It's always hard to leave loved ones behind. Especially church, my second home and family. Thanks you for all the prayers and support from everyone, it means the world to me. I know that God is with me and am excited to see what He does in my life in the next year. Know that you are all loved and missed by me, and I want to hear what's going on in your life too, so send me messages. Also, I would LOVE to get snail mail, nothing like getting a hand-written letter on a day I feel home sick. Here is the address for the Bible School, so please send something, and I will try my very best to respond. :)

Mailing Address (for letters)
My Name (Jessica Meier)
Bodenseehof
Postfach 29 33
88023 Friedrichshafen
Germany

Mailing Address (for packages)-----MOM :P
My Name (Jessica Meier)
Bodenseehof
Ziegelstrasse 15
88048 Friedrichshafen
Germany

5 Days Remaining

So time has flown by and in a week Bible School will be starting. Actually in around exactly 168 hours I will be sitting down to the first dinner in Germany. Insane! There are so many emotions running through me. Excited, and nervous, and kinda scared to travel all by myself. I appreciate my mom so much already, but have a feeling that after traveling and trying to figure out where my hostel is I'll appreciate her and what she does for our family so much more. Ha ha. Well since I haven't even started packing, I should probably go start. :)