Snow Vs. Glasses!!!

Readers from all over the world. :)
Thank you for continue to read my posts and keeping an eye on what I'm up to. I haven't been very good on blogging lately as I started to work and learn more about how to tutor someone. It's been a great experience, but I feel that I know have enough knowledge so i'm reading lots and preparing a lot to ensure that I teach the right material and that I'm prepared for all kinds of questions. Hence, I haven't been blogging as much as I would like.
So I hope to keep blogging more of my thoughts, and my journey in life. I constantly check where I'm at, how i'm feeling and what my next step may be. Life seems so short when you do have time.
But when there is time, you gotta take the time and have fun.
Yesterday, we woke up to 2 inches of snow. It was very pretty. Then the sun came shining down upon us. It was even better. So, when Jan came back from class, we went outside to play, just like kids, which we all are. I hope you had time to get outside to play. It helps relief any stress you may have. Unfortunately, when it becomes too much, adults having way to much fun, there might be accidents. You may throw too hard, hit too hard, or facewash someone good!!! I sure did, but what I got back....broken glasses. Opps. We were having way to much fun. I hit Jan in the face with a snowball. It was bang on. I was sure waiting for one coming back to me. But instead of a snowball, a bit of a fist instead. WHACK!! Right on the tip of my glasses and now they are in two pieces. Fortunately, we were able to find the small piece in the snow. WHEW!!! I'm sure i can tape it back together. I'll just look like a geek. It would be a great story to tell. Jan didn't feel excited to be in the snow any more. It was just an accident. No big deal. I can live with broken glasses. It's not that I haven't done it before.
I remember breaking my glasses playing basketball. I remember my contacts falling out during a volleyball game. Me can't see....isn't the first.
So we went home to see what I can do with my glasses. I put that silly puddy or that blue/white tack stuff. It sure looked good. Then Jan's mom suggested to go to a optometrist to try to get it fixed.
Se we quickly planned out where to go, and got my glasses fixed. New again. :) See. No sweat. No more sad Jan!! :)
There is always a solution. :)
Until another accident. Happy Snow Day. Picture of our snow day to come...oh and more on my italy trip. I promise. It's always in progress. :)
Cheers.

CAPRI in ITALY

Hello readers. More on my update of my Italy trip. Yes, i'm not done showing my pictures yet. Thank you for waiting patiently. Starting a new job and learning German has distracted me from sitting down to write. I hope to continue to keep writing as i have been taking lots of pictures.
Well, these are pictures from Capri. It's an island off of Naples. We took an early ferry as it was cheaper than the later times.

The weather wasn't the greatest when we got there. The clouds covered the island. Then it start to pour. It was cold and miserable....but as a Vancouverite, I guess I should be use to it huh.
Guess what we found!!! A FIG TREE! It wasn't on any propery. It was like on the streets so we happily helped ourselves to some figs. Another girl from the hostel came with us and she must have thought we were crazy. But that's the fun part of it.....exploring fruit from the region.

We just like fruit. Any fruit. I need my daily fruit intake. If not, I get cranky. hahaha. I sure need sugar....I haven't had anything today. Perhaps i'll go get a mandarin orange now. :)  In germany, I can get any fruit here. It's just like Canada. You can get any fruit you want. It all depends on where they come from. Most of the fruit are local, but after the season, they come from abroad. It's tough to eat locally. BUT, the only fruit you can get locally is Jan's grandparents apples. hehhee. They have  about 5 apple trees or so and they have those apples all year round. I just don't understand how apples can be kept for that long. It's amazing.

So the early morning was nice. I'm in summer clothes hoping to spend the afternoon on the beach. It's a nice place here, but the weather wasn't really cooperating with us.



See, the sun is out in this photo.

A new fruit. Or is it a fruit. I don't know what it was so i didn't pick it to eat it. IT looks like a flower, or not a rype flower. hahhaa

Does it even look edible?

So here is a picture of the clouds rolling in. YIKES! How long will they last?

Here is a neat ceramic sign for a pub. I liked the sea theme. :)

As for the picture on the right, .50 Euros to go to the bathroom. Like I said before, if i can find a university to go to the bathroom, why should I pay!!! But there are times when you can't find a University, hence you have to pay. BOOERS! Had to pay for the bathroom.



So instead of heading out in the rain and on the beach, we had an early lunch/snack. We needed to kill some time as we didn't want to leave yet, but also didn't know when the rain would stop. So here I am, it's raining outside, and I'm having ice-cream. hahahaa. I was told to have NETELLA ice-cream. It's to die for....well, i'm not sure if i'll actually die for an ice-cream. I did enjoy it thought. Although, it was 3 Euros. What an expensive ice-cream. But i'm in Italy...that is where ice-cream was invented or made!!! HAHAHA.

So, we heading out of Capri thinking that it wasn't going to get any better. We were cold and didn't want to stay anymore. THings are expensive as it's a tourist place. Lots of hotels and people on their honeymoon. IT's beautiful, but I think we saw enough. Soon after, the sun came blazing out. What a bummer. We already got our ferry ticket to head back. Oh well, perhaps another time.

On the way back, we sat on the deck. We took pictures and watched the waves go by. Near the end of the ferry ride, I thought i'd take some pictures of Naples from far away. BAD IDEA!! I was sure getting sea sick. So glad that I didn't stand up earlier.

So as we got back to Naples, we walked around town to shop, and look to find more figs to buy and perhaps grab a real lunch.
We then saw this huge tube of nutella. They love nutella. It's in everything they make. YUM. In the photo on the right, i found this car with their lock. Oh my, if they are scared that people are going to steal cars, look at this. No one can steal this car. hahaha.

So here I am, found a catus fruit. I bought one to try what it tastes like. I wasn't sure how to eat it or what to do. I finally opened it up and gave it a try. Hum.....no impressed. Did not like it at all. Perhaps i didn't pick a rype one or it was already too rype. Not my kind of fruit. YUCK! The ice cream flavor was good. But it wasn't too sweet. So that might be why the fruit wasn't yummy.

Pizza was the thing in Italy since, for 3 Euro, you would get a medium pizza that can fill you up for the whole day. YUM!
After that, we went to get ice-cream. I wanted something new. So I got the ice-cream chocolate in a ball. There was a bigger one that I should have gotten instead....if only Tanya shared it with me. Otherwise, my stomach can only handle so much food.

Naples had a little Christmas street selling all these handmade ornament. They were so pretty. But so fragile.


Anyhow, these are some pics for Capri. Hope you enjoyed it. Praya is next. Gotta have a break. Learn some German vocab.

SHOP instead of WORK!!!

This weekend ended on a high note, but started off with a bad note!!! hahaha.
On Friday, I had a training for teaching courses over the internet. We left at 12:30pm for my 3pm training. It only takes 45mins to get there....to Stuttgart. We were going to head there to shop around and be in the town to explore. But instead, we explored the AUTOBAHN HIGHWAY!!! We were at a complete stop. Not moving for a long time when we got to the highway. We moved a bit, but not enough. We waited and waited and still, like everyone else, stopped to see the fields and other cars. There was a huge accident in the tunnel where we were headed. It is a major entrance and exit out of that town so many people were not able to get in or out. When we did start moving, we decided to go off road....4 by 4ing. whoohooo...but still, the cars were going way to slow for me to get to my training. First ever, missed a training. What can I do? I couldn't fly there. What a bummer. So instead, we started to head towards Jan's parents place. We ended up going to a larger town to shop a bit. It basically took us 5 hours to get there, when it only should have taken about an hour and a half. The accident really stalled our time. NEVER, EVER go on the AUTOBAHN HIGHWAY!!! It's just not worth it. Just go up and down the mountain even if it takes an extra 15 mins.
Perhaps they will have another training soon. I guess it just stalls me for working for that company a little longer. Oh well, I have this other company. I start tomorrow. Whoohooo. Kind of nervous, but I'm sure i'll be fine.
So we spent the weekend at Jan's parents place. It is always nice and peaceful. Last night, it was warm and we went for a walk around his own. I was star gazing a lot and say Orion's belt and other stars that were out. I did have the classic winter, hot, wine that Europeans have...but the German way and probably that made me not sleep at all. Yikes. I should have that again. hehee.
Anyhow, heading back home through the mountains this time. I hope we will see snow. :) That would be nice.
Happy Remembrance Day Weekend!

10 laps on the TRACK!!! WHOOTOOT!

So, yesterday was a beautiful day....but the weather is starting to change. I pondered on running or not...realizing that I may play volleyball for 4 hours. I decided not to run as I start to plan to go to work on Monday....gotta prep for my teaching. As I was on my way to volleyball, traffic was bad. I was going to be late. No big deal. It was only drop in.
So I stepped into the gym to see many people playing already. One of my Green Tree Dream Team teammate yelled out to me and said "Molina, not worth you time!" I didn't get it at first, but then he repeated it. The level of play is beginners....or should I say pre-beginners. I was told later that there were 3 people that stepped on the court for the very first time. I'm glad I didn't play. Instead, I went outside for a run. I ran 10 laps in about 25mins. I was impressed. BUT, as I was running, this old man, must be 60 or 70 passed me. He must have just started. So i kept up with him for a while. I couldn't believe how much in shape he was in. I was impressed. Then this other guy, about 45 to 50 years old, passed me twice!!!! TWICE! OUCH. This means that I am so out of shape and I'm not a running. Then a track team was training and a few of the boys passed me. They must be around 20 years old. GEEE!!!! What do I have to do to get back on track? There is so much food around here these days. Perhaps once i get working, i won't have time to bake and therefore, i won't be eating all this bad things. HUMMMM....good though eh.

Well, off to Ottersweier today, but first, detour to Stuttgart for training at another language organization. YUP, got hired for both organizations that I went for an interview on Tuesday. It just depend on the class or assignments. Have a great weekend. Cheers.

Pompeii, Day 8 of my Italy Trip

 POMPEII, DAY WHAT!!! I THINK I'VE LOST TRACK!!!

ENJOY THE PICTURES.

 Alright, I'm behind in my story telling of my trip.....life has just been keeping me busy. Had to find a job to start paying for something. I gotta pull my weight. It's just not fair to Jan to pay for everything. Gotta be a independent woman right!!!!

None the less, I also gotta post more pictures of my trip. Here is my section of Pompeii. There were two sites to see all the ruins. Although I like the history that has been created, all this sight seeing makes me tired. The weather at the time wasn't the greatest. We weren't sure when it was going to rain. But in the end, we had to go even when we were tired of sight seeing. Why go to Italy in the first place if we weren't going to see the place. :)

Here is part of the Colosseum and this is where they take the injured gladiators out of the Colosseum.  Tanya is slowly going out of the rink as she had a huge battle with the other tourist. HAHAHAHA.  As we continue to sight see, we saw gardens, gardens, rooms of how the people use to live, etc. But knowing us, we got bored really easily. So what do we turn to.....FRUIT!!! We saw this lemon tree...humm...could we eat it?  Then we had to go to the luuu....there was a persimmon tree. WOW. So ripe. How can get get one??? I told Tanya that if she stood on my shoulders, we could get some!!! HEHEHEHE. WHY NOT! No body is looking. hahaha. Who's going to eat it? They all drop to the floor. What a waste. 

Well, around the corner, we went to take more pictures of the view. But at the corner of my eyes, I could not resist. Pomagrantes. YUM!! I wonder if it was ripe.  So I took one and opened it. Is it eatable? Will I die from it? There were other peels off the ledge. It wouldn't hurt to have one. So we picked a few. It was our lunch. It was a sunday and there weren't many things open. We thought that we would buy lunch but no food to be seen. Well, there were some food, but wasn't very appealing to the stomach. We sight saw some more and moved onto the next site.

 Pictures of our first site.

 
Last photo as we were leaving this place. It was nice, but huge. We didn't really want to walk any more. Just buildings, vineyards, empty rooms with designs....I'm no history major.

Just in case you forgot where I was. hahhaaa.

Next site. So pretty, but so much the same as the last place. Just with a different story. 

 

There were so many tourists that it was hard to get a photo. This photo is nice....all using small pieces of tile. What a beautiful mosaic.

Alright, so if I were to live in the olden days, I would probably be in this room....well, it was suppose to be a room. It doesn't have a roof anymore. hahaha. The kitchen of this palace. I don't remember what, but another historical place to visit. At least I can say that I was there.... hehehe

So here is an example of a place that was closed, but had a great picture....at that point in time, a burger would be so great. My stomach was aching for some food. Where is the cheap pizza stand around there????
 Ahh, here is the pizza I was talking about. YUM. More pizza back at the hostel....and as we party it up with Giovanni.

Giovanni partying it up with Tanya. What a great memory that was. NAPLES. A great place to visit if you are into history. So rich in HISTORY!

I promise to continue more journey, but there are so many other things to blog...or other things to do as i prepare for more interviews and plan my teaching. So, I'll try my best. This weekend, Jan and I are heading back to his parents place. We try to go back as much as we can as Jan misses his family and that his family misses him. hahaha. But he has things to do back at home so we are going there for the weekend. Perhaps to really immerse myself in the German culture...which isn't very different to Canadian culture.....just different language, different lifestyle, different eating habits....I guess it's different. Perhaps I feel like it's the same as Chinese culture is so different and growing up Canadian, you appreciate all that there is and really look at the Chinese culture of what can be changed. hahaa.

Alrighty, over and out. More cooking photos to come. hehehe.

INTERVIEW DAY

I had 2 interviews today! 

What a day. It was exciting but also nerve racking!!! WOW!
I didn't realize how looking for a job can be quite a challenge when you are in another country. But especially when the area you are looking for is not your forte.
The first location I went to did not feel very right. I made 2 mistakes on the application and it sucked. Am I even right to teach English??? Yikes. They were welcoming but not a happy welcome, they didn't seem exciting about being there....they were just a company who is very business oriented. I don't know if I can teach Business English.
Jan and I strolled around Stuttgart to kill some time before my next interview and teaching.
My next interview was great. I had plan this teaching for a week now as the company called to make an appointment with me. The 1st company didn't. They just sent an email. Which is how different companies be when they hire. Just like back at home.
If the company does not fit your values or the interview doesn't go right, then it might not be the best company to work for. So for the 1st company, the interview didn't feel right. It wasn't comfortable at all. The topics discussed was different. Not the same.
The 2nd interview was perfect. I had a 45 min lesson planned for it so I was ready. A bit nervous since my 1st interview didn't go that well. I had the lesson then the interview. The lesson went well. It was perfect.
After the interview, I was getting all set up!!!! TO WORK ON MONDAY!!! WHOOHOOO. I got my first assignment and I hope to get more. What is next in store for me!!! :)

Green Tree Dream Team

Volleyball has always been a passion after I finished school. I kept playing after college and I still continue to play. Now that I am in Germany, I found myself a team. My team is called "Green Tree Dream Team". The colours....GREEN!!! I have been wearing green all my life for my uniform. I hope I can get a uniform and be part of the team. We'll see. :)
We played our first game this past Sunday. Although we have a lot of players for 2 teams, I'm playing on team 1. Whoohooo...the competitive team. They say they play in the "C" league which is the lowest league. A team has to move up the ladder to make it to the top. There was suppose to be a "D" team, but there weren't enough teams. So we are stuck at the bottom. They win every season so perhaps now that they have 2 teams, Team 1 would be able to get to the "B" league for next year. :)

Although I am a sub for the team, it's great to be part of a team. The game I did play, I must have served 10 serves in a row. It was a weaker team. We won 25-9. Opps....I guess I hit too hard!!! hehehe. It is a co-ed team that I'm playing on so it's okay to hit hard. The guys hit harder.

So, another week has gone by. I have 2 interviews tomorrow. I'm quite excited to work. It does challenge me more to learn how to teach. I know I've always know how, but to put a plan together and use it as an interview is a bit nerve racking. All I can do is have fun with it. Show them what I've got and hope that they like me. If not, no worries. It wasn't met to be. :)

Living the life in Germany has been different. Lots of time to hang out at home, take time to learn more about my boyfriend and try a variety of recipes to pass by time. I have mastered my bread and it's so good. I made apple sauce without sugar. Didn't expect it to be so easy. Then making applesauce muffins....DID NOT TURN OUT!! GROSS!!! Jan liked it. But perhaps he's just being nice. It sure taste like flour because that's what is in it. hahahaa. I didn't follow the recipe as Germany doesn't have baking soda. Is that true!!! humm.....gotta find out if i want to make cookies. It's Christmas soon!!! So, anyone having a Cookie Exchange party!!!! Maybe I should have one here. :( No cookies???

Anyhow, getting ready for a volleyball training/practice. Ready to exercise. Need to burn off all these calories....bread, butter, cheese and meat!!! But it's so good. hehhee.

Oh, made Chicken Congee today. It was delicious. YUM!!! It sure made me feel at home. I AM HOME!!
Thanks for those who email or comment on my blog. If you want to chat, Skpye is the best. I can see you and you can see me. Just as if I am there right beside you. Even if i'm on the other side of the world, it doesn't me that I can't chat. :) Hope all is well. Miss you all.

NEW LANGUAGE

I thought I was in Germany, here to learn German, but yesterday, Jan and I went to a International Fellowship for a bible study and free dinner. We sang some songs and we learned 3 new languages. We sang in Mandarin, Arabic and Russian. We had a great time.....for a Thursday night! New friends, new language and great food. We may go back depending on if my volleyball practice is canceled.

So, an update on my job hunt! I got an interview on Tuesday at Kmp. It's a recruiting company for teachers and clients. I guess my interview will be more than an hour and a half since I have to teach for 45 mins. Yikes. One on one teaching. I hope I get the job. I got to have multiple jobs as they don't offer a lot. We'll see. I hope I get it. It seems simple enough. English is my mother tongue....I should be able to "ACE" this. hehehe.

Anyhow, time to prep and look forward to my interview and my 1st volleyball match on Sunday. My new team! Our colours are green.....which is my kind of colour!!! HAHAHAHA. My high school colors were green and my college colours were green. New team!!! GREEN!!!  Whooohooo

Europa Park ~ GERMANY

The official Europa Park Mascot 'Euromaus'. Just like Mickey Mouse at Disneyland. That's what I felt like I was at. A big Disneyland in Germany. It is the largest theme park i Germanz and 2nd most popular theme park resort in Europe. I guess Disneyland in Paris is the most popular one. Will I go some day? My dad promised me! So dad, when are we going to go!!! hahahaha. When we were kids, my parents promised that we would go to very disneyland in the world. I've been to Flordia, LA, HK...a few more to go! Not many. HEHEHE.
So, as you can see, we made our masks. We didn't wear it during the day as it was hard for us to see and go on the rides. We didn't want to loose our masks on the roller coasters. hehehe.
So, enjoy all the pictures. We took lots....well, I took lots to show you. There are more, but here are the ones I choose for you to check out. We had so much time that we didn't rush, but we also didn't go on all the rides. It is too much for our stomach. The picture of the pumkin whale is huge. It has 10000 mini pumkins on it. Can you believe it. This theme park and so many decorations of pumkins everywhere was amazing. I couldn't believe how many pumkins there were. There must have been 100000 pumkins everywhere. There are so many different areas in this park. All named after European countries or reigons. There were so manz roller coasters here that i was amazed. We took a lot of time to watch many shows as we didn't want to tire ourselves out. It was going to be a long day. We got there at about 8:30 and doors open at 9am. We stayed until 11:30pm. It closed at 2am but my body was screaming for the bed as I got really sick. Not due to the ride, sick from a cold. Not fun at the end of the day. But it was fun. We painted our faces so that it would match our masks. It turned out okay. We did look funny as not a lot of people dressed up. We felt out of place at times as we got lots of looks. Not that I don't get looks anyway so I was use to the looks. hahaha. (Picture of the huge pumkin) There was a rollercoaster ride in there. It was fun. We went on it twice. Once in the morning and once at night. Just like Disneyland, there were thousands of people and rides had lots of line up. The main rollercoaster us up to 90 mins. That sure isn't worth my time in a line. Maybe next time if we had more people...that would be a lot more fun.
Sorry for all the random photos everyehre. Im trying to fit them accordinly,  but it is not working well, so you'll have to just look at the photos. Hopefully I can give you enough hints that you know which picture i'm talking about. There are a few that I have nothing to talk about as it's just a picture for you to see. hehehe. Some were taking during one of the rides. Like this one with the kids and the dog playing tug-a-war. hahaha. We didn't go on any water rides. We didn't want to get wet as Jan is getting over his sickness and me, don't want to get sick. Too late for that huh!

Alright, these pictures with the angry corn I thought was really funny. They had all these decorations of these angry corn. I don't know what it means but it was so funny that I had to share with you.Tell me what you think! I should give all these corns names. HAHAHA. They sure like pumkins or do they hate them. Perhaps they hate them as thez are hanging them like the olden days when they hang people or when pirates hang humans. hahahaa. But on the other hand, they look like they want to eat pumkins. hehehe. Guess what? Pumkin in German is Kurbis. hehehe. I've been learning a lot of food items, but not progressing too much. I sure need to study more.  Who knows when i'll be fluent. Learning another language is challenging. I guess who said it was easy!

This was taking during our train around Europa Park or should I saz Europe. hahaha. Volleyball scene, but no volleyball. They should have used a pumkin!!! hahaha






 Here is the start of the parade. Europa Park is celebrating their 35th Anniversary this year. There was so much confetti and Jan wanted to catch all of them. He was happy that he caught one just for me.




At the park, there were lots of shows to see. We saw some of them to relax from all the food we ate. This is a picture from the Gladiator Show at the remake of the Roman Colosseum. I sure like Gladiators don't I. hahhaa. There is a  video on my facebook. Check it out. 




Beside the Halloween Ice Show that I didn't take pictures of, we did see the Acobatics Show. There wasn't a huge 'Wow' factor, but it was cool. An old guy, world famous someone, don't remember his name rode a motercycle on a typerope while another girl was doing acobatics under him. Then another girl, 'Anna' was up 50 meters high doing other acobatic stuff. The girls were both sisters. It was interesting to see. 



 She was pretty high up. Yikes. Not for me.

So some foods that we had there were the famous mini donuts just like any amusement park. hahaha, but they like it with chocolate syurp. I do perfer the sugar and cinnomon. But these were alright. I also has the cheese on bread in Switzerland. hahhaaa. 

 Here are bird's eye view of the park. We went up on this tower, i think similar height of the eiffle tower. It was high. But beautiful.

Here we are, at the concert with our masks. It was quite a challenge to see but we loved making it. I will post pictures of that soon. Perhaps after another nap. hahaha. 




Here is a picture of the stage. It was amazing how they set it up. All the songs were in English and annoucements in German. hehehe. IT was fun.  On the left is one of my last pictures that I took as my camera died after that. We were to watch a 3D show. It was interesting what it feels like being a cat in a haunted house. Scary...but also fun, when you are a bit buzzed. hahaha. Yeah, we brought some vodka into the park. It was all good. Enough to get buzzed. It didn't help that I was getting sick. Perhaps relaxed me more to stay up a little bit longer.
So, here you have it. My Halloween day at Europa Park. What a party it was. I know I haven't finished mz Italy trip. It's on its way. I promise.
Hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween.