Same Old

John's dad says life in Germany must be boring now since I haven't really posted much lately...I guess we have been busy, but just doing regular stuff, so I haven't had much to say!

John left a few hours ago for a work weekend in Madrid. He is probably just about to land in Zurich for his layover and then he will get to Madrid about 7:00 tonight. I am sure he will be thrilled to be a country where he can actually speak the language pretty well! I am jealous, but I have a full weekend of homework ahead of me...

I have been skyping into one of my classes back in Portland for the last several weeks and because of the time difference that means waking up around 2:40 to begin class at 3 am. This particular class is one in the core series and I wasn't able to do the other two this year, but Samuel (the professor who has been skyping with me individually all along) is willing to use skype in the classroom which is a huge blessing! Since I will be condensing two years of core courses into one year when I go back to Portland next year, it will be nice that at least one course is out of the way! Fortunately, there have been several really interesting guest speakers, so I can do a lot of listening instead of talking. It is crazy to participate in a class taking place in Portland in the wee hours of the morning while I sit in my pajamas and sip tea in Germany, but I just consider myself extremely lucky to have the chance. I even came up with a great idea for a possible research question around 3:30 am yesterday during class. Luckily, I only work 1/2 days on Thursdays, so I can come home and enjoy a nice long afternoon to make up for lost sleep. I am already half way through the term, so there are only 5 more class sessions to go!

Next week the interest factor of our lives will go up a bit because we are taking a trip to Amsterdam to visit Jesse and Michelle. There is no school on Thursday or Friday, so we are heading there Wednesday night. We may take a day trip to Brussels while we are there and we are really excited to go! John has been to Amsterdam before, but I haven't. I will post some pictures when we get back. John has another work trip coming up the following week to Paris and then he will also go to both Portland and Arizona in June for another work trip. Luckily, my friend Jill is trying to plan a trip for her birthday so I will get to do some traveling as well! I don't think it is remotely possible to catch up with the number of stamps John has on his passport, but I can try!