My Blogger is now in German

I have almost been avoiding writing this post for a couple days. It's not that I don't want people to know how I am doing or what is going on, it's just that I'm not sure I know how to describe my time here in a way that is even remotely interesting, or which makes any sense. I don't know how much detail is too much, but I don't want to be too brief and make people upset. This is just all so big that I found it easier to just ignore it. But I will just say what I can and then answer any questions you might have.
I arrived her last Monday (Aug 20) and promptly got myself lost at the airport, kind of. I flew into Basel, and because of where the airport is located, you either come out in France or in Switzerland. I guess it is right on the border. I realised that no one had told me which side I was being picked up from, so I guessed Switzerland and waited for about twenty mins before deciding I had guessed wrong. So I went to the other side without showing anyone a passport or even talking to anyone and was picked up and driven to the dorm.
The next few days were spent in meetings and in preparing the dorms. I practiced driving a standard transmission vehicle, which I hadn't really done before, and found that it isn't all that hard, though I do still need some more practice. I met all of the other people who work at the school and I even remember one or two of them. There are a fair number of Canadians working at the school, so there is always a bit of an immediate connection there.
The other RAs in my dorm are super nice and have been very helpful. There is Byron, a guy from Ottawa who has been here three years. Gabe and Becky are married and this is their second year as RAs at the dorm. Joni is from Texas, but she went to college in Vancouver, and she is also in her second year. The dorm parents are Mark and Cindy from Canada (he grew up in Saskatchewan and she in Penticton) and they lived on a chicken farm in Sask for 20 years before coming here three years ago. They have all been very helpful and put up with all of my questions and really shown me what I have to do and where everything is.
The kids arrived in the past couple of days and I can tell it is an interesting bunch. I don't really know them that well yet, but I am excited to do so in the upcoming months. I will let you know more about them later.
And that really takes us up to the present. I have to go because the flies in this office are driving me insane, and I have to get a snack out for the guys.
Ciao,
D

Placeholder

I will update for real soon, I promise!

Pshaw

So here I am, sitting in Germany, writing on my laptop. And I suppose you are expecting an update, just thinking that because something is happening in my life that you have some sort of right to know about it. Well I'm not some trained monkey just here for your entertainment. I'm a person with real feelings, consarnit, and I won't bow to your wishes. I can't believe you....

Sprekken zee deutche? Nope.

All right, so here I am. But where is here? Well, at the moment, here is my apartment in Calgary. In a little over 12 hours, here will be on a plane winging its way across the ocean (actually, in 12 hours I'll probably still be over Alberta or Saskatchewan), and 24-36 hours I will be in Germany.
That's right, I am finally going! It all came down on Thursday. I had a meeting at the church to see how things were progressing and through the course of the conversation we started figuring out what I had for funding, what was coming in for sure and what might be coming in. And then we called the Janz Team office in Winnipeg and started talking to them about the numbers, putting figures into the formula and suddenly we realised that I was over that magical 80% figure and they could book my ticket. Within two or three hours I was booked on a flight for Sunday at 9:30pm. So by the time you read this I may already be gone! Maybe I should start packing....
Kidding, I'm already partly packed, and the rest will come easily.
I am so stoked!
Now, this doesn't mean I am at full support. As near as I can figure, I am around 85%, possibly as much as 90%, but that last little bit would still be awesome to get. If you would like to donate some, let me know (aliens8elvis@hotmail.com) and we can totally set you up.
Wow, I can't believe I am actually going. Up to now it's really all been theoretical. I "will" be going soon, I "am planning" on living in Germany. Well, now I can remove those quotation marks of doubt. I am going.
But seriously, I really have to go finish packing.

Fools Of Us All - Chapter 16 (See July 28)

I stared at the door that the General had just shut rather rudely in my face. I had desperately wanted to be in that room, but it was hard to argue with a guy as big as the man I had been following. I wasn't sure if Caz had noticed me or not, she seemed rather focused on the guy. With a shrug of my shoulders I turned around and stood before the door, holding the gun I had stolen from the M.E.R.C. soldier whose clothes I was now wearing. There was another pair of guards standing one my left, and one on my right. I had never felt quite so alone in my life.
I didn't know where I was, and I didn't even know when I was. Things had started moving really fast ever since I met the strange girl from the future, and now I was standing outside of a room where she had been captured and was probably about to be killed and I could do nothing about it.
"The General seemed a little upset," said one of the other guards. I looked over at him and noticed that his gun was holstered. In fact, all of their guns were holstered. That gave me a weapons advantage. Plus, I had the element of surprise because they wouldn't be expecting an attack.
Silently thanking my mom for making me take years of martial arts and gymnastics, I lashed out suddenly with a fist, knocking the first guard to his knees, doubled over in pain. Instantly I swung at the man beside him, knocking him out against the wall. Before the other two had a chance to react I spun around and leveled my gun at them. They raised their hands in surrender, so I was as gentle as I could be when I knocked them out. The first guard was still awake, and he was trying to get his weapon up to get a shot at me, but a quick knee to his face put a stop to that. The activity had only lasted for a few moments, and now I was alone in the hall, able to make a move at rescuing Caz. I faced the door just as it opened, revealing the large man standing there, scowling down at me.
I looked down at the guards laying at my feet, and then back at the large man. I shrugged, feigning innocence. That was when it finally registered that he was also holding a gun. Without a thought I raised my own weapon and fired, catching him right in the chest. He fell back, a stunned look on his face. I turned my gun to cover the General, who also looked surprised. "Don't move gramps," I said. "I just want to take her and get out of here."
Slowly I moved over to the table where Caz was strapped down and removed the restraints. Immediately she went over to the large man, now dead on the ground. She just stared down at him, tears streaking her face.
"We have to get out of here," I said quietly, unsure of what I was seeing.
She nodded. Looking up, she glanced at the General and then motioned with her head.
I smiled. "Well, sir, today is your lucky day. You get to not die." With that I turned my gun around and hit him across the face with the back of the gun, knocking him out. As he slumped to the floor I rejoined Caz at the door.
She glanced back at the man on the floor and looked like she wanted to speak, but then just shook her head sadly and left the room. I followed, wondering about what I had just seen.