Memorial Day Weekend in Normandy

I sometimes feel Josh and I live in a world of FULL of Murphy's Law, and frequently when things are suppose to go wrong, they do. However, I am overjoyed to say on our Memorial Day trip to Normandy this wasn't the case. Josh was able to leave work early and we took off in the early afternoon. We didn't run into much for crazy road conditions, and we made decent time to our destination. Yahoo! I had been proud of myself for finding a hotel deal - I found a hotel with free parking (which is rare, at times. Sometimes you have to hunt to find a hotel which has parking, or parking which is reasonable), and it was only $130 for three nights. I had told Josh (and I quote), "I don't care if it is a total dive, for that price, who cares?!" Who cares indeed. It's not that the hotel was a complete dive... I've stayed in worse. But the room was tiny, and old, with a horribly uncomfortable bed. The bathroom looked as if it was an RV bathroom which had been put into our hotel room. You really had to position yourself to sit down on the toilet without hitting your legs on the sink. That, and I was allergic to something inside of our room and every night my nose would become stuffy. But. $130 for three nights.

Anyway. Onto happier topics... like the awesomeness of our trip and the fact that we were able to take it, we were able to leave early on Friday afternoon, and didn't get stuck in traffic. We made it to our hotel on Friday evening. It was after 8, so we had dinner in our hotel. Normally I'm against this, but we were tired, worn out, and I didn't want to try to go find a place to eat. It actually turned out to be decent food. In fact, every night we stumbled into the hotel completely exhausted and chose to eat at the hotel instead of finding other food. Rare, for us.

Our first morning we hopped on the road to Mont St. Micheal. I had seen pictures of this and heard about it from my friend Andrea. Mont St Micheal is an old abbey built upon a rock which turns into an island every day when the tide goes out. There is now a road/causeway which leads out to the island, but it doesn't take away from the beauty of it. We got there in the early morning to beat the crowds. There really is only one street through the town which leads directly to the abbey. We wandered past the tourist shops to the abbey and wandered through it. Stunning views of the island and the surround areas.

When we finished at the abbey we had basically seen all of the island. It was great timing because just as we were leaving the crowds were beginning to arrive. We decided to head back to the town where our hotel was to see the D-Day museum. There are a lot of different D-Day museums in the area, but this one is the biggest. The day had turned rainy, and we figured it would be a better use of our time. It was one of the museums where you could have spent the whole day going through everything. The museum covered not just D-Day, but highlights of everything in World War Two which lead up to D-Day, and then what happened after World War Two. There was a lot of interesting information about the preparation for D-Day and things which happened during D-Day which was new to me. It's always interesting to hear the human stories. The nice thing was this museum was open late, so we were able to fit it in with our other half-day trip. We went back to the hotel to eat a late dinner and crash.

The next morning we got up early again and went to the American Military Cemetery. This Cemetery is located right above Omaha Beach, and it is the final resting spot for many soldiers (over 9000) from D-Day and days afterwards. We got there right when it opened, and didn't realize we were there for the Memorial Day Ceremony. I thought any sort of ceremony would be on Monday, but it was on Sunday. Something we weren't planning to see, but excited to stumble upon. We walked around the cemetery - it is HUGE! And beautiful. There really isn't anyway to describe it. The white crosses all stand in a row as if they are soldiers at attention. For Memorial day there were little American and French flags by each cross. There were a lot of people at the cemetery, and we saw a few people placing flowers on gravestones. Moving, to say the least. We stood to watch the ceremony - it is a very big deal, and many people there were there by invitation. Needless to say, we had to stand back behind barriers because we weren't invited guests. The ceremony itself was pretty standard I would assume... but I will say this. I consider myself a pretty middle-of-the-road person when it comes to patriotism. I'm not one extreme or the other. However. Being in a place where so many people lost their lives, sacraficed themselves to help others... to be in a place so full of beauty... and then to hear the national anthem played after living outside of the US for over two years (and I have probably only heard the anthem twice in the time I've been gone)... well, all of this stirs something inside of you. It is hard to NOT feel compassion or sorrow, and you can't stop the swelling of pride you feel to be a part of a nation which would help others in need. I have never in my life felt more proud of Josh for the work he does or for my nation. I was moved to tears.

After the ceremony we went to the side of the cemetery and went down to Omaha Beach. There are paths which lead right down to the beach. It was high tide, so there wasn't a whole lot of sand showing, but it was still amazing to see. The walk from the cemetery down really gives the perspective of what kind of circumstances soldiers were having to fight against - it is a rough and rugged climb from the beach up. It is hard to think, on a beautiful, sunny day, what it was like for those soldiers so many years ago.

After wandering up and down the beach for awhile, we went back up to the cemetery for a few minutes. We got in the car and headed on to Point du Hoc. This is an area where Army Rangers scaled up the cliffs. This area was heavily fortified by the Germans, and had a lot of mortar fire. There are still holes where explosions occurred. The area still has remnants of old German "pill boxes" as Josh calls them. It made for an interesting area to walk around and explore. Again, it was hard to imagine what soldiers were facing trying to scale up the cliffs with intense opposition.

We hiked around this area for a bit, and then headed to Utah Beach. I'm glad we saw things in the order in which we saw them, as it helped to paint a better picture of D-Day. The amount of soldier's lost at Omaha was much higher than at Utah Beach. Omaha Beach also had a steep embankment soldiers had to climb, where the bank at Utah Beach was quite small. To my understanding there was also less defenses in place and more support from the Navy at Utah Beach. The tide was out when we got to Utah Beach, so there was a lot of beach showing. There wasn't as much to see, so-to-speak, at this beach. We walked up and down it and looked for shells. It was kind of nice to walk and enjoy the simple beauty of the beach. Josh and I had a conversation about how this was, minus the history of it, a really beautiful place. We were enjoying a day full of sun (something we haven't see a lot of in Germany recently)... and it is strange to think of how such a wonderful place could be such a frightening graveyard.

After we finished at Utah Beach, we decided to go to nearby Ste-Mere Eglise. During D-Day, a paratrooper's parachute got stuck on the steeple of the church. As a way to honor this the town has a dummy in fatigues hanging off the church. It's kind of funny, but neat too. This town was in LOVE with Americans. Even though it's been 69 years, they all still remember and are still grateful for the American efforts during D-Day to liberate them. Many things around the town pay homage to the 101st Airborne, or businesses are named "American" or "Airborne." Not just in this town, but all over we found people to be welcoming and extremely kind to us... and not just because they wanted our money or business. It is a change from sometimes feeling you want to avoid talking about being an American for fear of retaliation (remember, we're not living on our home soil)... to feeling okay with talking about it. Or even acknowledging Josh's job.

After our full day we went back to the hotel and called it a night. In the morning we knew we were facing a long drive home... but we were considering making a small detour on our drip home to check out the city of Roune. After some debate, we decided not to go through there and just head home because we'd heard driving and parking could be a nightmare. But, as it happened, our GPS had one of its moments where it decides to send us on a crazy path... and it sent us through the middle of Roune anyways. So, we did get to see the city on the fly, so to speak.

We put off Normandy until now because it is a long drive - close to seven hours. We also have been putting it off because we knew we would have to fill up off base. While in Germany we can gas up at certain gas stations and pay US prices, but outside of Germany we have to pay European prices. Which we've been trying to avoid. I'm glad we finally faced our "fears" of paying for gays and the long drive. The 13 hours total (6.5 there and back), the 55 Euro in road tolls, and filling up three times on the economy at around 75 Euro ($100ish) a pop... it was worth every penny to have had the experience we did.

Guest Post: 4 Job Myths Military Spouses Shouldn't Believe

Here is a first for me. Today is a guest post. I was contacted by Emma Banks after she read one of my posts. Emma is a mid 20-something year old with a passion for life, love, fitness, and helping others. She loves to be active and get involved in as many sport and community activities as possible. Emma is currently studying to become a Career & Life Coach, and loves to network with people from around the world! Check out Emma’s blog at http://smileasithappens.blogspot.com/! She has a lot to say - interesting reads!

As I'm sure some of you can remember, I struggled to find a job when we first got to Germany. Prior to our arrival, I had been told (incorrectly) by many people that I would have no problem finding a job on base and there were many job opportunities available. When I got to Germany, I discovered many of these statements were not correct. There weren't many jobs open for spouses. It made me feel discouraged and I struggled to find work. Emma has had experience working to help other military spouses with their struggles to find work. Here are her thoughts on this topic.

4 Job Myths Military Spouses Should Never Believe

As a military spouse, you’ve got one of the hardest jobs of all.  Sometimes it doesn't seem fair that in addition to being your spouse's biggest cheerleader, being mom and dad during deployments, and managing move after move you now face yet another challenge of finding employment.  To make this process a bit easier, here are four common myths about finding a job as a military spouse and the truth behind the myth.  

MYTH 1:  There aren't any programs that help military spouses find a job, or even give any special treatment.

TRUTH: Just like the programs for active duty military that assist in finding a job, there are programs out there just for you, the military spouse.  The Department of Defense started the Military Spouse Preference, which gives you preferential treatment when you are PCSing.  This resource helps you get a leg up in a job market that you are unfamiliar with, and it can even assist you in updating your resume or honing your interview skills.

MYTH 2: Temporary jobs are a dead end for me.

TRUTH: Temporary jobs can help pay the bills while you look for something more permanent, and a temporary job may even turn into a more permanent position itself.  Working in a temporary job gives you the opportunity to prove yourself to your employer.  Once your employer sees you as a dedicated, hard working individual you are more likely to be hired on a more permanent basis. Additionally, a temporary job can be a great introduction to the company and a way to find a permanent job that really compliments your skills and education.

MYTH 3:  A cover letter is not necessary and is a waste of time.

TRUTH:  A cover letter is one of the only ways that you are able to express your personality and explain how you fit the job requirements.  A cover letter gives you a chance to express yourself and let your prospective employer see your communication skills.  You should always include a cover letter with your application or resume unless the employer specifically says not to include it.

MYTH 4: Applying to jobs takes forever

TRUTH:  Several years ago, applying for a job meant getting in the car and driving all over town asking for applications.  Today, we have the benefit of the Internet, and applying for a job has never been easier!  Many tech-savvy Fortune 500 companies allow for the posting of open positions, and applicant’s application and supporting documents to be uploaded right to their website by using a platform provided by JIBE, a mobile recruiting specialist company.  Another benefit to this is your ability to keep a pulse on the job market in the area you will be moving to even before getting there.  

While getting a new job is not easy, you don't have to do it alone.  Many companies realize that you are a unique and dedicated individual and are looking for your skill set.  You can do this, and now that you know the truth behind some of the most common myths, you're all set to shine in your new job wherever you may be or go. 

Things I wish I would have known back in the day! Thanks for sharing Emma!

Travel Retail Therapy

After my day at work Monday, I was running errands on Tuesday and decided to indulge in some retail therapy to perk myself up. I'm not a huge shopper under normal circumstances, but I do have times where I "feel the urge," so to speak. It doesn't happen too frequently. But when I was on base on Tuesday, I indulged a bit. And man it felt good.

A few weeks ago I bought a plane ticket home for my best friend's August wedding. I had been dreading buying this ticket because it was going to be at the height of summer/European travel and would be more than I wanted to pay. I tend to pride myself on my internet travel shopping abilities... but with all of my hunting the cheapest ticket I could find was around $1500, but that was with terrible connections and ridiculous layovers (12 hours in Atlanta). To find a ticket which didn't involve weird connections or long layovers was around $1750. Ugh. Way more than I wanted to pay. I've heard of people buying tickets through the base at a cheap price. I've never done it because I've been able to find cheap tickets on my own. But in this instance, I was willing to give it a shot. It took less than ten minutes for the travel person to find me a ticket with good connections, short layover times, on the dates I wanted for $1200. Holy bananas. Yes. I was impressed.

My parents have been talking about coming out to visit again. Originally they were talking about sometime in October. Then they changed their minds and said they wanted to come for Thanksgiving. After telling my parents about my experience getting my ticket on base, they asked me to look for them. The travel office was my first spot on my shopping spree. Like my experience before, in a matter of minutes I was able to buy tickets for my parents on the dates they wanted for $800 a piece. A price I've come close to finding before online (but only with a LOT of finagling and fiddling) but never that cheap. So. My parents are officially coming for Thanksgiving.

While the travel lady was finishing up the details of my parent's plane tickets, I started flipping through the brochures for upcoming bus tours for the base. Josh and I have done a few of these (such as our wine tasting trip last weekend), but we usually do things on our own. However there were two trips which jumped out at me. One was to Lucerne, Switzerland, and the other was for Reims, France. I've wanted to go to Switzerland, but it is about a six hour drive away. Six hours is do-able, but it can make for a short weekend. There are also road tolls/taxes you have to pay to drive in Switzerland. They aren't horribly priced because when you purchase your "road sticker" it is good for 14 months, so if you think about the price per use it's not bad. But... well, I don't know how often we're really planning to drive in Switzerland. It's a cost we've been trying to put off or avoid. Not to mention Switzerland is just expensive in general. I've looked at hotels before trying to plan a trip and was completely unsuccessful in finding something reasonable in price. However, a bus trip would avoid all of this. Josh wouldn't have to drive, someone else is taking care of the road tax costs, no hotel... I'm sold. I signed us up. Reims, France isn't too far from us - I think it's around a three hour drive. I recently read a fictional World War Two novel which took place around Reims. It made me curious, so I did a bit of research on the city. I thought it looked beautiful and I added it to my list of places I wanted to see. The trip through base included transportation to and from Reims and a champagne tour/tasting as Reims is in the heart of the champagne region of France. Again, the appeal of not having to drive... well, sold. In less than half an hour I purchased two plane tickets and two weekend tours. Needless to say, I was feeling better.

My therapy continued when I got home. Josh and I had talked about going to Normandy for Memorial Day weekend (we can drive there, but it is a long enough distance we really need a long weekend to do it). Originally I thought that trip wasn't going to happen because of things going on at Josh's work. But things worked out in our favor, and our trip was back on - as long as I could find a reasonable hotel. I set my online super skills to work and found us a hotel. BOOM. Trip back on.

After all of my shopping, I felt great. Each time I think about our upcoming trips or plan a bit for them, I feel even better. I am looking forward to having some stories and pictures to share!

The NEVER ENDING Parade of Stupid

I don't have much patience or tolerance for people who judge others, which is a crazy thing to say because we all judge. I judge others, even though I know I shouldn't. There is a whole list of reasons not to judge, the number one reason being you don't know a person's situation or circumstances. Until you know what they are going through, don't judge them. I try to remind myself of this. I really get irritated when people say or do something to someone else who is going through a hard time and no one knows about it. It's the stereotypical story: someone who is bullied or the target of something is fighting a secret battle, and later when people find out about it they feel bad for how they treated the person. It's trite and it's overdone. And yet there is a reason why stories like this happen over and over again. People feel the need to open their big fat mouths when it isn't necessary. Yesterday was another reminder of this.

Here is a little background information, which for most might border on being too much information. It's something I never thought I'd be sharing on my blog. I didn't imagine sharing this information with my aunts this way. But I feel it is time.

As we all know, I was born with a congenital heart defect, and although it has been repaired, there are still lasting effects and things I will have to deal with for the rest of my life. But hey, I'm alive, so I'll deal with the effects and call it a fair trade. The first time I had an MRI done of my heart (about five years ago), the cardiologist had said something which struck me when she was talking about the results of my MRI. She told me based on what she saw she would okay me having a baby at that point in time. I found this a little odd... but that may have been because I was in my early 20s, single, and wasn't considering children. I logged that statement away. I brought it up later to my cardiologist in Montana (whom I have known since birth) explained I was a little mystified by the statement. Why would my heart or valve matter with kids? My cardiologist explained the increase in the amount of blood volume a woman has when she is pregnant puts extra stress on everything, but especially on the heart. Since my heart is already fighting a harder battle, well, extra stress and work isn't necessarily a good thing. Additionally, if I haven't had my valve replaced yet, well, it would be a bad situation for me to get pregnant as a "surprise" and then realize my valve isn't up to making it through the pregnancy. Then we'd face a lot of tough choices, such as do we attempt to operate while you're pregnant? A whole mess of things to be avoided if possible. My cardiologist gently explained that though he would never tell me I couldn't have kids, that I should accept the idea that I might not be able to physically have them. It's wasn't the best idea and it wasn't recommended (this idea was confirmed last year by two other cardiologists). Again, I was in my early 20s, not thinking about children... so this wasn't quite the blow it could have been. I should also add here that I have never been that person who dreamed of having kids. I just... haven't. I can't explain it. Some women dream of their wedding day and building a family... I dreamed of building the Kirsten empire. To each his own.

Fast forward to closer to the present... From the very beginning I was honest and upfront with Josh. He knew about my heart from childhood, but I explained that because of my heart I was advised not to have kids, which I was okay with since I wasn't 100% sold on kids anyway. Josh not only understood, but he agreed. We got married with the understanding there would be no children, and if the urge for children ever arose we would adopt. Period. Some people will never understand this, and that is fine. You don't have to understand. It is my life and my choice.

I have found being a person in their late 20s who is married with a career makes people question why you don't have children. Never mind the fact it is nobody's damn business. I would guess at least five or six times a day I have the following conversation:
Patient: "Do you have any children?"
Me: "Nope, just furry, four-legged cat children."
Patient: "Oh yes, well for now, but in the future..."
There really isn't a response to that. For now? In the future? Who said I wasn't happy with the way things are in my life right now? And what makes you think I would ever discuss my reproductive plans with you? What makes it your business? Just leave well enough alone. Some people don't have kids. That is okay. That is acceptable. Although this makes me sound like I'm constantly irritated by this question, I'm not. I only get irritated when people are pushy or cruel about it. Yesterday was a day for cruel.

I had a patient whom I have seen multiple times before. I guess part of me is still confused by this whole situation because I have seen this patient before, so I thought the question about kids would have come up before now. I guess it had not. The patient asked if I had children. I gave my usual response... and she launched into a speech about how it was my job to "be fruitful and multiply" and I need to work on building a family unit... and "being in a childless marriage is a sin." Wow. Just wow. I had a moment where my temper flared and I really wanted to chew her out. Instead I took a breath, remembered that I wanted to keep my job, and replied, "Hmmm. I don't remember learning about that sin, but I think we're talking about two different Gods anyway." She didn't say anything after that. I didn't either. I was in shock that someone would have the gal to say something like that.

Why on earth would someone think that was acceptable to say? What made it her business? The thing which continues to bother me is this woman did not hesitate to say something incredibly cruel and rude in a professional environment to a person who was doing a service for her. Obviously she didn't think what she said was wrong. She did not hesitate to spew her horrible, judgmental crap. I could have easily "put her in her place" by giving her some speech about how I couldn't have children because of a heart condition. I could have really worked to make her feel like the asshole she is. But I didn't. This is what bothers me. Why would one person try to hurt someone else, and when I have the opportunity I don't? By all means I think she deserved to get her ass chewed. But I didn't do it. Part of me wonders if I had laid into her if it would have made a difference? Would it effect her enough to keep her from judging the next person? Would she keep her unwelcome comments to herself with the next person? Could I have helped another person avoid this situation? I don't know. I am proud of myself for keeping my composure, for attempting to remain as professional as possible under the circumstances. Despite my questioning of my actions, I am proud I didn't stoop to her level.

The world is a wonderful, beautiful place. It just happens to have a few ugly people in it. So please, don't be part of the ugly. Think before you speak. Attempt to see the best in every person, every situation. Remember there is a lot you don't know. For me, I am going to try my best to stop judging others. I don't want to make anyone feel the way that woman made me feel yesterday.

However. I realize what I've written may make some people react and say more terrible, unwanted things. So I will continue to prepare myself for a whole lot of ugly coming from the never ending parade of stupid.

Wine Tasting in Bernkastle

The base offers a wine tasting trip about once a month. I've heard from a few people that it is a good time. Josh and I have been interested in going since we got here, but we have never taken the time to do it. Kind of like the Cochem castle dinner - we wanted to go and we just never seemed to take the time to do it. I think I was in this mind-set a few months back of, "Screw it, we're doing it," because I signed us up for the wine tasting the same day I signed up for the castle dinner.

We met on base in the afternoon and we were bused to Bernkastle. We went to Bernkastle for the Christmas Market when my mom was here. It's a cute little town - quaint is definitely the word to use here - which is surrounded by vineyards. We had time to spend in Bernkastle. When my mom was here we had found a little jewelry shop which made and sold unique pieces. The only thing I wanted to do was find this store again. It took a little bit for us to remember which winding street to take, but we eventually found the store I wanted. When I had gone shopping during the Christmas Market I found this bracelet which I constantly receive compliments on. I found a bracelet yesterday which is similar in concept but still different - I'm excited to wear it. Poor Josh was patient as it took me about 20 minutes to walk through the store and make my decision.

After I did my necessary shopping, we still had plenty of time to kill. The weather was typical German spring weather - it couldn't make up its mind. One minute it was pouring down rain, and then five minutes later the sun would come out and it would be beautiful. Josh and I sat out the rain storm inside of a cafe, and managed to have sunshine as we walked along the river.

We met back up with the tour group and we were bused to where the wine tasting took place. The fun thing about this tasting was we were, literally, having dinner and tasting wine at the vineyard owner's house. He talked with us about the history of his vineyard, explained the different wines, and attempted to tell some dirty jokes in broken English. The food was amazing - pork roast and potatoes au gratin. The wine was okay. We live near the Mosel River, and in this area they mainly grow grapes for white wines. There were a few dry white wines we tried, which were good - nothing special, but not bad. The majority of the wines which we tasted were different varieties of sweet white wines. I'm not a huge fan of sweet wine. It can quickly become too much and lead to a headache without a buzz. Needless to say, Josh and I would just take a few sips of each wine. That was more than enough for us. This actually worked out well because at the end of the night we were both still sober and feeling fine. Similar to our castle trip, there were plenty of people who were absolutely schmammered. Most of the drunks were entertaining, but there was one highly obnoxious drunk (there always is). Luckily our trip back to base was relatively quick so we didn't have to endure much. Even though we weren't fans of the sweet wine, we still managed to come home with 8 bottles of wine. How does this happen? I'm not really sure... But we had a good time and I'm glad we can check this trip off our list.

German Father's Day

I will start by apologizing - I forgot to take my camera with me, so I don't have any pictures to share. Which is a shame, because it was a wonderful day.

Thursday was a German holiday, which means everything was closed and everyone (well, mostly everyone) had the day off. This is one huge difference between Germany and the US - when there is a holiday, everything is closed. I believe in the US this only happens on Christmas Day, and even then there are a lot of places which remain open. Not here. The other major difference is holidays are celebrated on the day they happen. So if the holiday is on a Wednesday, everything closes and that's how it is. There are so many US holidays which just happen to fall on "third Thursday" or such. Anywho, the holiday Ascension Day - 40 days after Easter, it is the day Jesus returned to Heaven. It also happened to be Father's Day as well. My landlords were in town with some friends for the holiday. They came over to invite me to celebrate with them on Thursday (the holiday). It was my day off so I figured why not. I really wasn't sure what we were doing to celebrate.

I met my landlords and a group of their friends outside of our house around 11:30. They were all carrying bags or pulling wagons full of drinks and food. It looked like we were going on a picnic. We took off walking. I have recently discovered (thanks to the nicer weather) there are many walking/hiking trails surrounding the village where we live. These trails connect to other villages and weave in and out of the forest/farms. Josh and I went for a short walk the other night - it was absolutely beautiful and so relaxing. Our group walked to the edge of the village and then down a worn path. My landlords, as I have said before, are wonderful people and they tried to make sure I felt comfortable with the group. My landlords and their sons speak English, and there is one other woman (who is extremely kind) that speaks English, but everyone else only speaks broken English (or chooses not to attempt to speak at all). Although I can only understand about 40ish% of what people are saying in German, I didn't really feel out of place. If it was something important or funny, someone would take the time to quickly explain it to me in English.

We walked for about a kilometer before we stopped for a beer break. Yes. A beer break. Everyone opened some sort of beverage and had a drink while we stood around in the sunshine chatting. I have discovered this group of Germans really enjoys taking shots - not exactly the way drunk American college students do, but they have their favorite liquors which they will pass around to take a shot. So with the beer break came a round of shots. At noon. On a some-what random Thursday.

After the first beer break we continued on walking for about another kilometer or two. Then we stropped for another beer break. The woman I was chatting with pointed out something to me which I had not heard before. Our village is right along the 50th latitude line, and there are markers all around to "mark" where the latitude is. I didn't quite realize we were that far north, but I don't know if I've ever been "on" a specific latitude like this before. Maybe it's the geek in me, but I thought it was neat.

We finally made it to our destination, which was a picnic area by three lakes (the Germans called them lakes, I would consider them ponds). Some people had come to the lakes earlier to set up, and there were tables of food and a barbeque set out. The lakes (ponds) are small and somewhat murky, but the area around it is full of green trees and meadows. The beauty of the area definitely makes up for the size of the lakes.  For the rest of the afternoon we sat round, ate, drank, and chatted. There were some younger kids there, and they played soccer and ran around. When Josh got off work he joined us. It did, in a way, remind me a lot of my family back home as we have spend many holidays outside just relaxing together.

Although I was highly amused by our walk to the cook-out, the whole day was a fun surprise. As my landlady said to me, "I told you. I like to make party." Indeed, they do.

Inspiration

Thank you Pinterest for your never ending display of quotes and ideas. This morning it seems Pinterest was talking specifically to me...

Hmmm. Well played. So I'm being "told" by the "universe" to not be afraid and go for it. Then the "universe" said to me

Okay then. Challenge accepted. Happy Wednesday everyone.

Something to Talk About

So the second part of my post about being in Wurzburg. This may end up being a bit of me rambling as I'm just trying to get everything together and get my thoughts out. This may also be a bit boring for some people and it won't have much for pictures. Sorry.

Something to talk about. Most of you are probably breaking into song at this very moment. Although I enjoy that song, it's not where I was going with that phrase. That is the phrase which rocked me to the core this weekend. 

As I had mentioned, at the conference there was a woman who spoke about forensic dentistry and her experience working to identify victims of the World Trade Center. This woman was an amazing speaker. She was also a model of the type of hygienist I could only dream to be. I've been fortunate to meet many women like this through the years, but she was another reminder of all I could hope to be. She has quite a bit of experience - I'm guessing somewhere between 30-40 years. She has done more than work as a hygienist. She's been very involved in different dental hygiene organizations as well as dental organizations and a dental board. She has worked to pass legislature about the role of dental hygiene. She has worked as a part of a forensic team. She gives lectures at continuing education courses. She is an examiner for dental hygiene licensing board exams. I only hope in 40 years I have done as much and made as much of an impact as her.

As I was sitting in class, it made me think about school and what I've been doing in school. I only have one semester left, and there have been times recently where I've been wondering what I should do next. What is next in line for me. Where do I go from here? I've thought a lot about that. I will complete my Masters, however, with the state of the world at the moment, there isn't a lot available for new job opportunities for me. I've often wondered... if a job became available to utilize my new degree, would I go for it? Would I be ready, willing, and able to leave hygiene behind? I haven't been sure of the answer of to that. This weekend confirmed for me that no, no I would not be able to leave it behind. When I started working on my Masters my goal was to find a way to "marry" dental hygiene with education in some way. To "marry" dental hygiene with cardiology. To do... something. Something. This weekend I feel like it became a bit more clear. I was sitting in class, listening to the lecture, and I realized I wanted to do this. I wanted to be the person up there talking with other dental professionals. I have had this thought before - it's not a new idea - but now I'm at a point where I'm closer. I'm closer to actually being able to do something like this.

I was sitting next to the women I mentioned above (by random chance). I casually asked her how she got started or got involved in teaching CE courses. She looked at me and said, "I think it's that you have something to talk about." A simple reply. However, it is something which seemed so much more significant to me. You have something to talk about. I have a LOT of things I want to talk about. I have so many thoughts and ideas burning, churning inside of me all the time. I am almost dying to let those ideas OUT. I told her that. I told her I want to teach courses. I want to be an educator. She could have ignored me. She could have brushed me off or simply given me some sort of fake encouragement. Instead, she said, "Okay. Tell me your ideas." I gave her one idea I had. She gave me feedback on it, and then simply said, "Okay. Tell me another." She drilled me like this for awhile. I will admit, I was a little overwhelmed and a bit shaken. However, I gave her and idea which she responded to positively and told me it was a marketable idea I should pursue. I can't explain to you how it felt to have this minor validation. A woman of her background and experience thought I had a good idea worth pursuing. Mind. Blown.

I discussed this with Kristy at length. She knows of my ambition, but I felt like I needed another person's opinion of the discussion I had had. From Kristy I received one of the best compliments I have ever gotten. She told me she believed even before we were friends that I had a special gift for communication, especially when it came to dental hygiene and communicating with others. She told me she thought I would make a wonderful educator and encouraged me to pursue it.

Needless to say, there were moments throughout the rest of the conference where I was a bit lost in thought. My drive home was quiet as I was wrapped up in ideas and thoughts. As I said earlier, after attending a conference you leave feeling pumped up about your career. I am definitely feeling this way right now. I'm also feeling... clarity, I suppose. I feel like I have found something I want to pursue. I know something I want to do in the future. At the moment I feel I am still unsure how I'm going to get where I want to be. I don't really know how to make things happen for myself.

But.

I've got something to talk about.

Wurzburg EARDH Conference

This is going to have to be in two parts. The first part will be pretty with pictures highlighting the conference. The second part (most likely a whole 'nother post) will be me rambling.

This weekend I went with my co-workers to my first dental conference in Europe. My co-worker Eric had asked a few months prior if I would be interested in a dental hygiene conference in Wurzburg (about 3 hours away from where I am). The conference was for the EARDH - the European Association of Registered Dental Hygienists. You can check out their website here. I did not realize until we got to the conference how many American hygienists there are living and working in Europe. There were some hygienists who worked as contractors on military bases, which I had expected. However, I didn't know there were many American hygienists who work for German dentists. Many of them had come to Germany quite a few years ago and never left.

I had almost forgotten about it until a few weeks ago. I drove to the conference and shared a room with Kristy and Yesi, two other female hygienists I work with. There are some people you work with and you are only able to try to keep things "professional" between you. Then there are co-workers who turn out to be good, dear friends. I feel lucky to say both Kristy and Yesi are the latter. We had a fun drive down to Wurzburg, got settled into our room, and got ready for the conference. This conference was a bit smaller than other ones I have attended - I would guess there were about 25 people in attendance. However, it is always neat to have the time to meet and speak with people in the same career field who share the same interests.

Thursday afternoon the conference started. We had one "class," and then had some time to kill before dinner. One great thing about this conference is dinners and lunches were included in the cost of the conference. This was not only a good deal, but it was nice to have an opportunity to socialize further with people. I have to say from prior experience that it can be both lonely and expensive to have to find dinner by yourself at the end of a conference day. While we were waiting for the conference dinner, we took the time to walk around Wurzburg. When I say walk, I mean we did the craziest power-walk possible to try to see as much as possible in one hour. We did actually see some things, but there's still a lot I wish I could have seen and done. Wurzburg will remain on my list of places I want to go with Josh. I apologize - I have some great photos of Wurzburg, but my computer and my memory card are NOT communicating. Hmm. Well, enjoy the picture of some beautiful hygienists.

Friday was a day full of class. I won't bore you with much for details, as, well, I just won't bore you. However, there was an interesting course about forensic dentistry, or using dental records to ID bodies. The speaker was a dental hygienist who was part of the team who worked to identify victims from the World Trade Center. Chilling topic, but interesting. Not exactly something I have as an interest personally - I'm not sure how I could handle the dead bodies - I take things way too personal - but it is a fascinating career path.

Friday evening we went to a wine tasting, which was in the wine cellar of the Residence (aka "palace") of Wurzburg. This area is known for their dry white wine, which was delicious. The cellar is underground, and although they have "normal" lighting, they mainly lit the area using candles. It made for a beautiful backdrop. We were able to try five different wines and we had a dinner of meats and cheeses. It was delicious and a lot of fun... especially when all the hygienists started to get a bit tipsy and therefore got a touch wild. I always love when people let loose and let down their "professional" guard. It makes for great stories, and this night was full of them. Let's just say everyone looked a little rough the next morning.

Saturday was only a half day of classes. At the end of the courses we had a group lunch before everyone left to go home. It was amazing how after only a few days there were women giving me hugs to tell me goodbye and telling me what a pleasure it was to meet me. I was the youngest hygienist there, hands down, and it felt good to feel accepted in a group of experienced and talented hygienists. All of us are already talking about the conference next year which will be in Stuttgart, Germany.

The ride home was mostly uneventful. We did run into a patch of foul weather, which slowed our trip down. I can't help but laugh. The Germans, like many Americans, seem to panic in any sort of weather. And believe me, there are definitely times when you should slow down, take your time, and focus. However... rain (and not hard rain or rain which was sitting on the road. Just plain ol' regular rain) isn't a crisis. We don't need to slow down to 25 mph on the autobahn just because it's raining. Good grief. I was happy to get home and just wanted to spend the evening relaxing. I told Josh I was excited to talk to him about the conference, but I was just tired. I also felt like my mind was still spinning from everything I learned at the conference - the wine didn't help.

However, it's always fun to get home from conferences like this. I always walk away feeling inspired, empowered, and excited about my career field. Yahoo! It's great to be a dental hygienist.