Here and There and Everywhere...

Some random happenings from the past week or so...

We went to a "Green is the New Pink" party last week at the apartment of one of Sidonie's colleagues!  I took a couple snapshots of the festivities.

Lara, the host, giving directions to someone who was lost.  Lara is in the class with Sidonie and is from Brazil.

Sidonie, Lara, and our new friend (we met her that evening, and she goes to a dance academy in Hamburg - don't mind her grey attire, she was ill informed about the evening.)  Notice how Sidonie not only wore both colors, but managed to put them both on her face as well - that's my baby!

Pink meets green!

Some folks from Sidonie's class (Clockwise starting with the boy: Morten who is from Denmark and is learning German as well; Maxine who is from Switzerland and speaks slightly different German than they do here; Ela who is in a class ahead of Sidonie, and way in the background, Nina who is from southern Germany - all of whom speak English to varying degrees!)

This girl (two classes ahead of Sidonie) came to the party as Glinda from Wicked (for those non-musical theatre folks, one of the most popular musicals on Broadway right now) with tiara and all!

The dancing begins!  Fun was had by all!

In other news, fall has arrived in earnest here in Hamburg!  Not only are the leaves falling, as you can see below, but the temperatures are as well.  Yesterday was about 9 degrees with a wind chill of about 6 (no, that's not Fahrenheit, it was 48 and 43, respectively!)  

This cuttie (Lili) is the daughter of a couple at church, and I just couldn't resist snapping a shot of how adorable she was in her little hat - they always keep a hat on her because it is too cold for her bald little head!)

A "leaf drift" if you will!

The my leaf-lined pathway to the grocery store.

The fruit section of my favorite grocery store: Penny Markt!

The veggie selection!

On the language front, our German skills are progressing.  I have had several conversations with people who speak no English, and we've been able to communicate, so that's a real plus!  (I had one conversation yesterday about my cell phone (Handy) which had stopped working.  We understood each other enough that I now have a working cell!)  The people who see us daily comment on how we're speaking better and better (besser und besser) each day.  We're both often told how amazed people are at the speed with which we are picking up the language, so that is an encouragement as well!  Our vocabularies are growing, and we're picking up the grammar (Gramatik) slowly but surely!

Teaching is going well - I have quite the full schedule next week!  Most of my classes are mid to upper-level English speakers, so the majority of our lessons are discussions centered around a particular topic or world event.  I spent several hours yesterday compiling and becoming familiar with current world events so as to create lesson plans around them!  I also have another audition on Tuesday morning of next week.  This one is for a German show called Ich War Noch Niemals In New York (I was never in New York) which is a show based on a famous German composer's music.  The show is in Hamburg, so this would be an excellent opportunity if anything comes of the audition!  We'll see which path God has planned!

As for my work permit, (Arbeitserlaubnis) I spoke with the office yesterday, and I should be able to call and get an answer on how it was processed on the 3rd of November!  I'll keep you posted.

Ciao for now!