Pictures!

I know that this is the post that you all have been waiting for... the one with pictures! Yaaayy!! In addition to the pictures that I've included here, I went back and added pictures to previous posts- like the ones of the cars in the airport and the bagpipers. Be sure to go back and check those out!

when I was in my old apartment, this was part of the view as I walked into campus

part of my walk to campus

they sell the absolute weirdest things here... who really wants a gift certificate for driving lessons?

the town "diamond" in daylight

There are these security cameras about every ten feet or so in town.
They try to make them seem more decorative by using crucifixes to attach them to the wall.

silly street signs...

some of the shops and apartments in town

the River Bahn

Things have been going sooo much better. God is so fancy! I've moved into a new apartment on campus, and my housemates are all really nice. I will be able to get Internet access in my room now (no more walking to the library!), and I'm only a 30 second walk from several of my friends. Carrie and I are becoming pretty close; it feels so good to have such a great friend here. I'm getting to know some of the Irish students a bit better, as well. On Sunday, I went to church with Becky and Guy- I really enjoyed it! It seems really family-oriented, which makes me feel more at home. I'm becoming more involved with the Chrisitan Union and with the International Friends, and that definitely helps. I'm actually having fun here (imagine that)!

Every Monday, an area church invites all the international students to their church hall for three or four hours. I think the activity varies from week to week, but this time, they gave us snacks and had a bunch of board games. It was pretty fun. At the end of the evening, when we were waiting for the bus to come pick us up, Carrie and I started talking to a couple guys. While we were talking, they asked us where we were from. Carrie and I said, "The United States," and one of the guys started to get really excited. He exclaimed, "Oh! Our countries are friends!" I was a bit confused, so I asked where he was from. He said "Iraq!" I was really surprised, but also fascinated. He absolutely loves the US. He couldn't say enough about it. I told him that the US media makes it seem like all the Iraqis hate us, and that they just want us out. He said that isn't true at all- that really, it's only the remnants of Saddam Hussien's regime that are anti-US. That was just so surprising to me (in a good way, of course). He said that he thinks George Bush was one of the best presidents that the US has had. It's really interesting that he said that (not only because most people in the US seem to hate Bush) because he seemed extremely knowledgeable and familiar with the American political system. As the discussion turned to American politics, some of the other foreign students began to praise Obama. He seemed more cautious in talking about Obama, and made comments about how everyone is putting their hopes on him when they really need to be focusing on the US Congress. I absolutely loved getting to talk with him- like I said, I was absolutely fascinated. Poor Carrie- she had to listen to me talking about politics and the American media all the way back to the university!

Classes started (for me) today. I'm actually getting full credit for all of them- another blessing! I had pretty much given up hope, and wasn't even focusing on that anymore. It's a nice surprise! I think that they'll be a bit of a challenge, but I'm ok with that! It will be fun to see how they develop.

Please feel free to leave comments about any of my posts! I love to know that people are reading them.

Lots of love and hugs!
Erin