Why we call it the ark...

Some people have asked me why my family refers to the "new" (yes, even if it is an old mill it's new for us!) house as The Ark. Now that I think if it, calling a house that is built over a creek and suffered a significant amount of flood damage some years back "The Ark", does have a bit of an ironic undertone!
I guess it's because it's a God Thing. One of those crazy things somebody does for no apparent reason - perhaps even against all human logic. Seriously, now that all four kids have moved out - why acquire a property with several old buildings, lots of lawns to mow, space to take care of? When God told Noah to build an Ark, that sounded like a pretty random idea (especially considering it probably hadn't ever "rained" up until that point), a pretty stupid idea actually. But in the end, it was a good thing that Noah did build an Ark, load it up and sit out the rain and the storms. That's the story behind our Ark in a nutshell, nobody really knows why, or what exactly will become of the Ark - but we're sure that in the end it will be a good thing.
I haven't met anyone yet who has been up to the Ark and hasn't fallen in love with the place. And I can tell who has caught the vision and who just still thinks it's the coolest place ever (which it is, but I'm convinced it'll be more, too!). There's so many doors and rooms and buildings my parents have a box of keys, each one of them labeled making it quite easy to grab a bunch and go explore. One of the is labeled "Seminarraum", the seminar room. If you go outside and halfway around the house you can enter a large "room" beneath the house: It's got a concrete floor, the walls are rough plaster and you can still see damage from the flooding, there are crates with water bottles in against one wall, a little oven off to one side (it's several degrees colder in there than outside or anywhere in the house), a few random things (garden chairs, the drier) there are large windows across the wall to your right and you can see the "back wall" opening up into the garden. At least that's what you would see if you took a picture.
For those of us who've caught the vision you stand in the doorway and you see a big room, well lit from the big windows to your right, a loooooooong table with comfy chairs,  a dry board, some instruments and music stands off in one corner, a shelf or two of books, maybe an overhead or digital projector, a fussball table and you can almost hear the excited chatter of people exchanging ideas, little kids running around, music, laughter, ...
And that's just one room bursting with potential. Just imagine what the Ark could become!

Why there are no pictures from Konstanz

During my three weeks in Germany I was able to reconnect with so many good friends. It was both surprising and comforting how easily I slid back into chatting, joking around, heart-to-hearts and hanging out - almost as if we were merely catching up after the summer months.
I whizzed through Konstanz on a tight schedule, I got on a train, hopped off a train to bake cookies with my former partner in crime in the lab, hopped back on the train, went to rugby practice with my old team, hung out with former class mates at favorite Irish pub with classmates, I hung out on my old campus, laughing when people squeeled across the hallway/parking lot and running towards me "Shaaaaaaaaaannon"... it was good to be back.
I covered most of the city and saw people's new apartments, had lunch, ice-cream, dinner with various people, and finally met the husbands of some of my closest friends (yeah, really everyone is getting married).
I spent my last rainy day with some amazing friends, just talking, discussing, ranting - sharing each others lives... that night just before we said our good-byes I was laying on my friends bed just taking it all in and, the sighed and said: "I love you guys... I wish I could pack all of you in my bag and take me with you back to my island".
Before I knew it I was back on a train heading out... I usually use my train rides to download pictures off my camera, organize them as a way to "relive" the experience and process all that happened. As I reached for my backpack I realized that in the whirlwind of four very packed days I hadn't snapped a single picture. Not one.
These are the people that for three years where my "Konstanz-family". Some of the literally the first people I got to know and made friends with and connected with from the first time we introduced ourselves - other friendships matured over time, some where even people I hadn't spoke to much until my final semester.
These are the people I shared my life with, who picked me up and carried me through the rough patches, who laughed at my stories and jokes and shared their worries and joys with me.
These are the people that touched my lives in ways they (and maybe even I) don't realize. That really know me. The kind of people that I not only have a many good conversation with, who patiently waited as I put words to whatever was going around in my head, but would also sit with you in silence if there was no need to talk.
These are the people that you will see on plenty of pictures of various fun activities and crazy adventures throughout my "college days". And yet, I suppose I was so caught up in cherishing every moment during my brief visit...
I leaned back and recalled some of the conversations I'd had, sitting around in a pub exchanging stories, catching up, people riding on a bike and waving "Shaaaaaaaaannon, you're back!", laughing, bear-hugs and good byes ("see-you-laters" as I prefer to call them).
I don't need pictures. They're in my heart.

Top 10 ways to know you're back in Germany...

10. The guy in the airplane gets all upset because the stewardess served him dinner.
Yeah, apparently he told the "pasta-serving stewardess" he didn't want anything, and when the "chicken-serving stewardess came through giving everyone with an empty tray chicken she naturally put one on his empty tray. When she asked if everyone now had everything they wanted they needed he got quite vocal and the poor stewardess was quite confused.
9. The aerial view shows a patchwork of fields, rolling hills and NO BASEBALL FIELDS
We play soccer here. If your village has more than 11 guys... there is a soccer club and a soccer field.
8. People speak German.
I realize this doesn't come as that much of a surprise, but the fun part is, people speak a wide variety of dialects. I missed my German dialects.
7. We have colorful money.
Diligent readers of my blog have heard this before, but having every bill be a different color makes life SO MUCH EASIER. It really does. U.S. Money Designers - are you reading this?
6.  Castles
We all get one. Even Schriesheim,...
5. Doener
Macht schoener. Ehrlich.
4. Cobblestone pedestrian zones,... small alleyways,... old buildings,...
We call it history.
3. Chocolate
Need I say more?
2. It's totally normal and okay to go places on your bike. There are places to park your bike EVERYWHERE
Dear Long Island: Bikes are a good thing.
1. My family is here.
They're kinda awesome.