Taking it all in

Hello from one of the more beautiful places I've ever been able to call "home". I have arrived!

I didn't write the first day I got here (yesterday) because i didn't trust myself to write anything that actually made sense.:) Jet lag definitely had it's affect!

The flights over here both went well! We met at APU at 4 AM Thursday morning to leave. I debated staying up all night before going, but decided that may not be the wisest thing to do. But i had so many people at school that I wanted to see during my short time there! So after sleeping about 2 hours, we were on our way to the airport! I tried really hard not to sleep on the first flight (to detroit) so that I could sleep on the second! It almost worked, but i'd still say on the second flight I only got about 3 or 4 hours of in and out sleep. But after it all, we arrived in Frankfurt at 7:30 AM or so. 

After TIGHTLY fitting 14 people into a bus, we drove about an hour to Heidelberg,  where we were first taken to a brunch, and then we got settled into our rooms. The pension (hotel) is adorable! I want to get unpacked, but in just a few days, we are leaving on a four day trip, and when we are gone, they are going to rent out our rooms, so there isn't much of a point in unpacking.

Yesterday was mostly spent trying VERY hard to stay awake all day so that we could sleep through the night. A lot of people took naps, but I wouldn't let myself. I knew that if I fell asleep, I would never wake up. They took us on a walk around town just to keep us busy. There is so much to see, I can't wait to explore more! Then my roommate and I went on a bike ride. Oh yes - the greatest part! They have rented us bikes! They have 7 for 14 of us, but i plan on riding all the time. After a summer of riding EVERYWHERE, I'm thrilled that I don't have to give it up for the semester. 

This morning I went on a run and was just in awe of the scenery! I ran along the beautiful river which is only a block down from our pension. I then spent time journaling and reading sitting by the river, starring at the storybook houses nestled into the hills. I'm telling you, I'm living in paradise!!:) If every morning is like this, I will be very happy this semester! Although, they are telling us, not to get used to this nice weather. It was about 80 yesterday, but they say it is rare, and that it will soon get chilly! Yikes...I hope I'm prepared! I DID bring THREE coats...so hopefully I'll be okay :)

Well we are off to have a little church service with our group, go on a bike tour of the city, and have a welcome barbeque. We begin orientation tomorrow! 

 I still feel like I'm just on a choir tour, like I'll be packing up and leaving in just a few days, but I can't believe that I get to call this place home for the next few months. What a blessing!!

Hope everything is going wonderfully at home! I will put pictures on here shortly. Love to you all!

Aaand she's off!

Making lists, making piles, errand running, packing, weighing, re-packing...that is what my life has consisted of for about the last month! And now...time is almost up! Tomorrow I leave for California, where I will meet up with the others going to Heidelberg, and we will have a few last minute meetings and such, and we take off early Friday morning!

The title of my blog means "Around the world". Weell, that is, according to freetranslation.com...yeeeah i am going to study in a country where I know not one word of the language! But we will have a few days right when we arrive where we will take a German crash course, and then I'll be taking a 4-credit German class all semester.

I am getting anxious to go, but right now I would say the word that best describes my state of being is clueless! Clueless about what I'll need, what to pack, what to expect, what I'll do there, what I'll miss, what I'll love. This will certainly be an adventure:) It is kind of fun to go into it with little idea of what exactly I'm walking into. Since this is the first year APU has had a study abroad program for music majors, it's all brand new to them too! So, we get to be the guinea pigs, which I'm sure will have some perks!

I am not sure when I will next be able to write. I know that when we arrive in Heidelberg, we are just there for a few days, and then we take off for our first trip! We'll go to Eisenach, Weimar, Leipzig. Upon returning, we start classes on the 8th!

I will try to make this blog as interesting as possible, which probably means NOT writing extremely often:) While I'm sure you all are just sitting there dying to know what i'm doing every minute of my day, I think I'll let you sit and wonder for awhile! :) But I will try to update regularly and include pictures! If any of you are interested in just seeing more of Heidelberg, this is a link to the director of our program's website, and he has taken a lot of pictures of the town. -http://gallery.mac.com/timothy.schwarz#gallery- It looks absolutely beautiful! I have heard nothing but good things about the town, so I am looking forward to calling it "home" for a few months and getting to explore all it's beauty! I am extremely excited that I will get to experience a "fall" again! That is something i have DEEPLY missed since leaving Iowa. I can't wait to crunch the leaves and see lots of colors. Howeeeever I'm frightened to death about being cold again! I liek to pretend that I'm big and bad and tough being bad frmo the midwest, but the truth is that I became quite a baby since moving to California, and now anything below 60 seems frigid to me! I'm taking three coats, though, so hopefully, if i layer all of them...I'll be okay:)

I really am keeping this blog for a couple of reasons. One, so that you can all have an idea of what I'm experiencing where I am, but also because I really would LOVE to hear from any of you, all of you! I would not have put you on this list if that wasn't the case, so please, if you have any thoughts or any thing to share, please please comment or shoot me an email - rrgrove@hotmail.com. You are all dear to me, and even though I will shortly be across the world, I will no less be caring about what is happening in your lives! Please keep me in the loop as well:)

Well, back to packing and squeezing in as much time with my family and friends as I can! here I go...next stop...Europe!