Picture post! October and November!

 If you love dogs, then you've come to the right blog because I can promise that half of my pictures on my phone are of this gorgeous guy!

Spent some much needed girl time with the one and only Linda!

 The Fall Market in Bremen! This was an excellent day! We drove the two hours to Bremen, hung out with my awesome host Grandm, Oma Ute, and visited the gigantic market there! It was tons of fun. Fun fact that everyone knows, you can drive as fast as you want on the autobahn! On the drive back, I'm sure we were going about 120 mph the whole way and honestly thats scary I can't stand it but ok Germans, you win.

 From the top of the ferris wheel!

 Rad mushroom in my front yard!

 I got to spend an hour on the beach with a profressional photographer/family friend who wanted to take pictures of Arthos! I also got a few not so professional photos in :)

They turned out so well!

Katja, Oma, and Toddy man! Sorry my pictures got a little messed up.... working from a tablet is always fun.

 And last but not least, I've been doing a lot of running and biking, and the fall has been so gorgeous this year, I'm often stopping to get a quick snap of the wonderland I'm lucky enough to experience everyday.

Two Months Plus MY BIRTHDAY?!?!?!

Two months is such a strange amount of time. Its as if I never left Germany.... But did I just get here? Who am I? Am I really turning 20 in a few days? The big two zero? Two decades of the world being blessed with my presence?
Is it really November? Is it really almost 2015? I find that it is often I'm asking myself these questions while time keeps on ticking forward without giving a damn about what I think of it. I'm not sure of the exact details about how time works, but what I do know is that its unforgiving, whether you chose to be hurt by it or not. Its probably the one variable we don't have control over in our lives.

Things, like always, have slowly been pulling together with grace and a lot of patience. I'm currently enrolled in a German class at the local community center which will add to my University language requirements when I apply in July. As of two weeks ago, I decided that I want to become a teacher. The idea has always been in the back of my head, but I never thought that I would pursue it... But it was the first thing that jumped out of my mouth when I finally asked myself to make a final decision. Not that a final decision was needed, but I was sick of not feeling like I had a plan. So I made one...
I'll start school next October, studying English and (insert other subject here... I'm thinking math) and in four years I'll have my bachelors degree, and two years after that, a masters in teaching those two subjects!

It feels wonderful to have a plan. To have all the papers in front of me and to feel ready to start this whole process of my career. Yet, on the other hand, the idea of the next seven years of my life dedicated to this city and country feels overwhelming. I knew from the beginning that this is what I want, but its always overwhelming... And sometimes it crushes me and sometimes the feeling pushes me to do better. I know once school starts I'll feel more secure and comfortable about it, but until I get accepted, I feel like I'm free falling. And sometimes that's what living is all about. Taking chances that you aren't %100 sure about. Nothing worth it is just going to happen with a snap... working towards this will be worth it whether its right for me or not...

Sorry for the mental blurb, I've been mulling this over way too often lately, but it feels nice to have it out of my head and on your screens. Lucky you, you get a personal look into Torey's life and thoughts!
I get to see Elliese again tomorrow! That's always a breath of fresh air to be with another Boiseian, makes me feel like I'm not the only strange half-hodunky person in Deutschland.

Just a quick shout out thanks to the Kless family, without them, I'm not quite sure where I would be. I love them so dearly...
And another big shout out hugs and kisses to my family in Boise!!! I'm so jealous of all the snow! Thank you guys for also being so supportive and lovely! I miss you all terribly!
I wish everyone a special November and stay warm!!!!!!!!!
PS CHECK OUT MY NEXT POST WITH PICTURES ATTACHED! SORRY THAT THE WHOLE BLOG IS IN BOLD SCRIPT.

Heimweh - Thoughts on Homesickness and my Previous Hatred towards Boise ID

So my homesickness finally arrived. Of course I was expecting it... I guess it just took me off guard. Swept me off my feet this morning in a very nonromantic way.
Homesickness has been a tricky friend of mine since I first started spending the night at my grandparents and grandmas house. You know what I mean right? You go to your grandparents house, its freaking awesome, you eat a bunch of sweets and watch movies that maybe you shouldn't be watching and its like the best time of your life! But then you're lying there on your grandmothers couch a few minutes after she tucks you in and you feel a hole in your heart. Like, oh geez, what if I need my mom tonight? What if I need my dad? What if they need me? It sinks in and the voices won't stop tugging at you until you burst into tears and end up calling your parents to rescue you from such terror. I had this happen so many times as a child. And in my teenage years when it wasn't cool to call your parents at sleepovers... The homesickness ate at me all the time. All I wanted was my bed, my dogs, and the security that I was there for my family at any moment of the night.
Moving to Germany was me facing homesickness, flipping it off, and moving on with my life. Or so I wanted it to be... But I remember those first six months clearly. They were full of tears, holes in my heart, and doubt. Was moving to another country for a year the right thing to do? I should've just stayed at home...
After six months, I found that the Kless's house felt like home to me, and while the Heimweh for Boise bugged me, it was overshadowed by how comfortable I was here. And when I left the Kless's to go back to Boise, it was another rough six months of having homesickness for Germany...
I don't think I'll ever live my life without homesickness. I was so homesick for Germany and when I got here, it was bliss. It was like waking up from a coma. Now that a month and one week has gone by, I feel the reality of leaving Boise.
While I never plan on living in Boise again, I will always miss it. I'll miss the mountains and the river, the Co-op stealing my money from me, the exciting moments when the Record Exchange had that one piece of music you were looking for... I'll miss the Hyde Park Street Fair, the time of year when the hot air ballons show up and you think to yourself "damn its that time of year already?". I'll miss midnight drives up to Bogus, the ability to get out of town and barely make it home on a half tank of gas... I'll miss walking past Boise High while on a guilt trip work out sesh at the YMCA.
Home sickness it not just about missing your house and your family... its about missing a community. While Boise simply was not the place for me to start my adult life, I will always love and respect it as a city that it simply gorgeous and full of life.

Pictures from the first month!

Because I can't control the format very well, just check out this random assortment of photos from the last month! Sorry that its backwards, but pictures of what my room first looked like is at the end... :) then just a few photos from hiking along the Elbe, hanging out with my Toddy man and Linda :) and! I also got to see my friend Elliese from Boise who is doing an exchange year in Flensburg, only a few hours away from Hamburg :)

One Month in!

Once Thursday shows up tomorrow , I will have been here in Wedel for one month! Its incredible how fast time has passed but how it feels like time hasn't passed at all... Very surreal, but at the same time, its very wonderful. I'm so so so happy and thankful to be back in Germany. I am the happiest and healthiest I've ever been in my life, both mentally and physically, and strive to continue trekking through my life with this outgoing attitude.
One of the best surprises I got about a week after arriving is that remodeling my room was to become a top priority. The room in the basement is the one I lived in last time I was here and it was about due time to clean it out and fix it up. Thanks to the wonderful family and friends that I have, my room has transformed into a glorious, spacious place that I love being in with the fluffiest carpet ever! I really can't thank everyone enough who helped make my new room possible.
A few German words that I learned through repetition whilst helping remodel my room are Staubig (dusty), Tapete (wallpaper), and Flauschig (fluffy). Tapete is a word that I struggled with because it sounds a lot like Teppich (carpet) and there was constant discussion with those two both in the sentences and it got quite confusing...
I'm slowing picking up my German speaking skills again.... slowly. Thanks to this last year in German 4, understanding and reading German has become no problem at all. My vocabulary expands every day and the most important thing to do is ask what something means! I still make newbie mistakes, but repetition has been good to me lately. Speaking is still taking a little bit due to being very self conscious about my American accent and the challenge of putting sentences together, but I will get there.
As of now, I have a few babysitting jobs set up that will run parallel with a German bootcamp course that starts in two weeks. I'm exciting to be in school for something at least, because I can't really study officially until my three month tourist visa is up, so this course should buy me some time in my weeks to come.
Besides remodeling and being with all my friends and family, I've picked up running and reading to fill in empty spaces in my days. Running has been good to me (no matter how much I hate it) and I just finished The Silence of the Lambs the other night, which was fabulous.
I miss Boise, but there's a strong feeling in my heart that tells me moving back to Germany was the right thing to do. I doubt I'll ever live in Boise again. Of course I will visit, but life feels a lot bigger than Idaho right now and that feels good. Someone asked me the other day when I planned on moving back to Boise and I really couldn't give her an answer. In fact, the question threw me off. I haven't really thought ahead of studying here... I guess we shall just have to see!

Now for a few pictures!!! On the next post because I can't seem to figure out how to put them on the same post!!! yay!!!

A few photos

 They hd to wait so long because I lost my bag :(

 We we finally got together with my one bag (and one in Iceland) and no one sent me back home!! It was wonderful seeing them after a year and two months.

 The Toddy man and I after many surprises and a wonderful dinner.

Linda!! It was wonderful to be reunited with my best friend :):)

I'm Back!!!

I am back in Wedel! For those of you who need to be caught up, welcome to my new/old blog! Besides creating a new one to keep everyone updated, I figured that just using my old blog from my exchange year would be easiest.
So! Here I am! After a very stressful flight, I finally arrived in Germany on Thursday afternoon to be greeted by the Kless's! I almost thought that I wouldn't make it here thank you to ridiculous ladies at airline checkins who tell you that you will be sent home or forced to buy a return ticket when you get to immigrations (what an awesome beginning to my journey right!?!?) But alas, she was just a ridiculous checkin lady, and the immigration people in Iceland didn't even look at me while they stamped my passport.
And then my bag with all my clothes in it was left in Iceland... awesome again. But thanks to the wonderful people at the Hamburg Airport, it arrived to me last night in tip top condition.
As of five minutes ago I am all unpacked and settled in.
This time around, it was much easier knowing how to pack and what to bring with me. This time I brought rainboots, more scarfs, and a wider variety of long sleeved shirts so I don't wear the same thing every time its below freezing outside. I also brought Reese's Peanut Butter Cups for the German family (a delicacy) and my trusty neti pot because I just got a sinus infection! Woo!
First thing about Germany that kind of freaked me out is that THE SPIDERS GOT SO HUGE. JUST YOU WAIT TILL I POST SOME PICTURES BECAUSE THOSE MOMMAS ARE GIGANTIC. I thought it was bad in the basement I was living in in the North End! Nooooo way! This is much worse. These are like two inches long spiders and its not fun.
Today was fun though! I got to eat breakfast with the fam which is something I missed dearly, spent three hours on the beach in beautiful weather with my family and neighbors, and then had an incredible four course meal with new family friends.
All in all, a bumpy ride here, but a wonderful start to my next block of life in Germany. I'll get around to posting pictures and feel free to leave comments and ask questions!