German 101: Theft

luckily, i have no horrible story of theft to share with you, in fact, quite the opposite - it almost doesn't exist here. for real. these are people of their word and germany, especially munich, doesn't have a theft problem. case in point: 1 - small kids take the train to school or the city all by themselves 2 - when you leave something behind, germans will simply hang it up so that when you are looking for it, it's right there. i have seen jackets hanging on these lion's hands, a bike lock on a street sign, this shoe, and more 3 - you don't have the newspaper stands where you put the money in and the door unlocks, it's always open and just put your money in the slot on a trust basis 4 - when my boss' car was stolen the german insurance company didn't even have papers for that, so they had to fill out an accident report. in the 20 something years their agent worked there, she had never heard of a stolen car (by the way it happened in prague)!!!
crazy, huh?

world cup fever

no, i don't have it. sorry. but the germans do. the other night myself and my fellow passenger were assaulted by about 12 german inebriated teenagers running around the train chanting "auf die knee" and proceeding to hang like monkeys from the train handles and yell through their bullhorn. there is still much construction yet to be finished before millions of people crowd in here, but that isn't stopping all of the advertising: we have soccer grills, soccer shower heads, soccer sausages - you've gotta see these!, bedspreads, couches, placemats, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. i will try to post some pics of these amusements.
the first game in munich is june 9, germany v. costa rica. go deutschland!
by the way, did anyone notice that budweiser was the official beer of the world cup? is anyone else confused by this?

Romania service project

ever seen the movie children of the corn? that is how to best understand how many kids were running around at all hours of the day, doing whatever they dang well please in romania. crazy, man. no adults would tell them they should stop harrassing the girls, quit asking for money or food, clawing at us for any sort of attention they could get. this country has been wrecked by communism like no other i have seen. these people are poor with no hope of that ever changing. if something is broke, it stays broken, if a lightbulb goes out, they just plain don't have one, if you litter, it doesn't get picked up. i don't think we can comprehend this world that many romanians live in every day. they believe the only way to get ahead in life is to steal, cheat, and lie even when it comes to family members. doctors lie to pregnant mothers telling them that their baby will die unless they perform a certain surgery just to get more money. there is blood on the hospital walls, kids pee and spit on their school hallways, you have to carry toilet paper with you because if you leave it, it will be stolen - toilet paper! that's why dana and brandi bates moved there 7 years ago with Young Life to try to begin rebuilding hope and trust in the local community of Lupeni. it has taken years for the people there to even begin to trust them, in fact many businesses there have cheated and stolen from the bates. that is why we come - to help wherever we can and build trust. this year we built a ditch, taught english classes, put together playgrounds, and loved on kids. we were on the news, the mayor and many residents were very grateful, and young life romania shared Christ in service and deed.

May Day a la Germany

perhaps May Day is a German holiday that we just decided to absorb into the American goo, but here they do it up right. i remember as a kid making paper flower baskets and hanging them on doors, then ringing the bell and running. so simple, so cute. well take that times 500 and then you will get german "maidult". a good way to picture it is oktoberfest smaller scale meets the sound of music. tents, beer, lederhosen, dancing round the maypole, what have you... there was no more room for us in the tent, so we just went to a nearby restaurant and watched the young lederhosen clad men (with their adidas shoes) chase the dirndled ladies (plus purple hair). a little generational clash perhaps for our amusement. i am loving learning about this place!

my sweet ride

so here she is, i went from a white caddy with tinted windows care of ebay in kansas city to a bmw in munich! who am i? mind you, it is a bit different here in the land of bmw's, they are a dime a dozen - the taxi's are beemers! i bought her from a guy at our church moving back to the states in great condition and at an amazing price. the lord provides is again my motto. i even have young life plates. i shamelessly advertise.

the evolution of an ikea kitchen

at ikea they have every kitchen version with all moveable counters, hinges, shelves, doors, knobs... overwhelming, exausting, and let's face it - beautiful!

my bare-bones kitchen with a donated big fridge!

the kitchen has arrived in boxes for me to put together - who do they think i am?

actually, not to shabby...

time for the reinforcements

TAAADAAA! ain't she a beaut?