Well, currently I am snuggled up under a blanket, with ginger tea and a box of tissues because sometime in the last week some kind stranger shared their flu germs with me. It's not so bad though, because I am catching up on reading and watching "New Girl" online...there are of course far more productive things I could be doing such as practising my German, or finding a loop hole in this visa business. At the moment being that I am 25 and too old for an AuPair visa, I have had to apply for a WHV (working holiday visa), which is ok, in theory would be more beneficial, except that I can only stay for 12 months. However, being that this situation apparently doesn't arise very often, no one can really give us a straight answer and so my host family has been ringing a million different people and checking a million different websites...I feel rather helpless, one because I am sick, two, because I can't read or speak German... OK well, moving right along...

Lets back track, so far I have been here for almost two weeks, although it feels like longer, and then at the same time it's flown by, I am not sure if I can accurately describe it. The first weekend I arrived, I got one a bus with 30 or so Germans, most of whom didn't speak or understand English, and drove 5 hours to Austria. To be honest I have no idea where in Austria, but it didn't matter, wherever it was, it was breathtaking! Never have I seen such beauty and wonder, according to the locals it was starting to become drab...

When we got to the top of the mountain, the beauty of it started to become the reason I couldn't breathe, I looked out and down...down and down some more at this mountain that I was going to have to ski down. In reality this was the first time I had ever skied. Actually that's not true, I went once with my family when I was maybe 15. It didn't go so well. I ended up with my feet in the air, bum stuck at the base of a tree after a rookie skier took me out while managing to stay on his feet. I was cold and wet and refused to get back on the ski lift so, 10 years later, it felt like the first time. However, I made a promise to myself, that I was going to give everything a go, even if I was scared. I wasn't just scared, I was terrified, I fogged up my goggles standing still from breathing so heavy, Kristin was so patient though. I think I spend maybe 70 percent of the time on my bum for the first 5 hours or so. After a while I decided it was a good idea to try and reach the pub that all the others were meeting for lunch. On the map it looked no farther than a little cross country ski. 

Oh how wrong I was, After decided there was no way I could make it, I opted to "ski" down and get the chair lift back up to safe ground. There was kids no older than maybe 6 skiing down so I was determined...I got a little bit confident...to confident, next thing I know I am tumbling head first, skis in the air down, straight down this mountain, eating snow and I guess resembling something like a...well a 25 year old who can't ski falling down a mountain. I ended up with some pretty decent bruises, though you know it was far more efficient to make my way down the mountain that way, only took like a minute!

I had some angry Germans yell at me though, and rightfully so I guess, I did almost take out his kid. Anyway all that hard work deserved a rest and a beer! Beer...Sun...no sunglasses...no water...jet lagged...trying to ski...I ended up with a wicked headache that had me so sick I couldn't see straight. So my first night there ended with me popping neurofen and passing out at 8pm. The next day, I traded my skis for snow boots and caught the gondola up to the pub and stayed there...drinking hot chocolate and reading, unable to move because I don't ever remember being so sore in all my life!

However every time I looked outside at the sun pouring down over the white snow capped mountains, it didn't matter because at the end of the time, I was living, living my dream and witnessing some of the most amazing declarations of God's majesty!