Discovering Zurich

This past weekend, I went on my first solo trip: Zurich, Switzerland.

I actually did not plan on going to Zurich. I purchased a “blind” plane ticket from German Wings, in which they choose the destination. They give you a list of cities depending if you want to go for culture, nightlife, shopping, etc. The ticket is cheaper than most and I thought it would be fun to purchase and be surprised. You can ask anyone – I am awful at decisions. I mean seriously awful. (A lot of the time when I am trying to choose between two things, I mix them around behind my back and choose a hand. I know, this game is usually played with two people – it does make it a little challenging to mix them behind your own back, since you still know in the back of your head which is in which hand. So I try to hum a song, like Elephant Love Medley or something Disney while I’m mixing them up. That way, I forget to pay attention to which is in which hand.) Now that I’ve given you a tip on how to make decisions for yourself if you, too, are bad at making them, I will continue. Basically, anything that takes the decision-making aspect out means I am happy, so this blind plane ticket was perfect for me. I already told you I went to Zurich, so you know the outcome of my purchase. Initially, I was not overly excited. I had never pegged Switzerland as one of my top 5 places to travel while being here. Nevertheless, I threw myself into researching and psyching myself up for my first trip. As the planning began and I researched Zurich, I grew more and more excited.

I have to say that I was not sure what to expect of Switzerland. I made sure not to have any preconceived notions, as I didn’t want to be disappointed if it was not as beautiful and serene as I have been led to believe. However, there was no need to worry. Everything about Zurich is beautiful: the people, the turquoise-colored river that flows through the city and into Lake Zurich, the cobblestone streets, the view of the snow-capped Alps in the background, the chocolate shops on every corner…just, everything. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. I was in love.

I arrived at my hostel around 9:30 on Friday night. There were two girls checking in at the same time as me, and they were also American. We immediately recognized each other as Americans and started talking. They were sisters about my age that had been travelling around Europe for three months. Switzerland was one of their last stops before returning home to New Jersey. It was so nice to meet some Americans that I could tour around with during my stay. After putting our stuff down in our room, we went back to the hostel’s café for our free drink and to start planning the next day. I, of course, had made a list of everything I wanted to do in Zurich. So, I whipped this list out and we made our plans.

We first rode a train to and then hiked to the top of Uetliberg (a mountain), where it is possible to see all of Zurich and the surrounding Alps: the bird’s eye view, basically. We got back to the city of Zurich around noon and began our own walking tour of the city, starting out by walking down Bahnhofstrasse, the most expensive street in all of Switzerland, lined with the major designers: Prada, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and on and on of stores that would fulfill any girl’s Pretty Woman fantasy. One of my main goals on Bahnhofstrasse was to find Spruengli’s. It is the go-to chocolate shop. All of the reviews I read said that it was a must. And it was. We each bought a few chocolates (not too many as they were expensive. I got 4 little pieces and it was CHF 7.20, which is about $9.00) and then went outside to sit on a bench and eat them. They were divinely (yes, it is a word – or if it isn’t, it is now) delicious. For the rest of the day, we walked around Zurich – to the old town, where the Roman’s first settled Zurich in 200 A.D., to the various churches along the river, down Augustinerstrasse, one of the oldest and cutest streets in Zurich, and other various spots. We found lunch as we were walking by a square – there was a band playing to benefit MS and a restaurant had set up a table selling some superbly scrumptious mushroom risotto out of wooden bowls. We rode a boat around the lake and watched all of the swimmers, sailors, and boaters enjoying their day. We stumbled upon a flea market with all kinds of old treasures. We went into the toy store, and looked at all the Swiss toys, then to a music store that was 5 stories, where we drooled over the Steinway pianos and other instruments, all wishing we were more musically-inclined (it is one of my goals in life to learn to play the piano).

View from Uetliberg

Walking along the river...

We sat for a long time at Lindenhof square, which is the exact spot in Zurich where the Roman’s first settled. They have giant chess boards there, of which 2 out of 3 were taken up by white-haired old men, but we took the third one and started to set up the board. Then we realized none of us knew how to play chess, so we didn’t know how to set up the board. I hadn’t played since 5th grade when we had to play a tournament in GT, so I definitely didn’t remember. But we set it up how we thought and then I asked a guy that was walking by if it was correct. I asked him in broken German, “weiss du if das ist richtig?” (Christian/Monika – what should I have said?) Ok, so the “if” is English, but he could figure it out. Anyway, he just looked right at me and said, “Why don’t you just say it in English, it will be a lot easier for both of us,” in his barely-there Swiss accent. So I asked him if it was correct; he said yes, it was, and then asked us if we were going to play. We told him we didn’t remember how, so he showed us and then sat with us for a while and told us all about Zurich – where to go, the history, and lots of other interesting things.

Let me just stop here and say how much I love meeting new people here. I love the European lifestyle. This Zurich guy (we never asked his name) is just one of the examples. He was eating a carrot (I mean, a whole carrot. It looked like he had just pulled it out of the ground. It still had the green part attached to it. I’ve never seen anyone eat a whole carrot like Bugs Bunny – it made me smile), and he had no problem just sitting down and talking to strangers, telling us about his city and country. Most Americans would have just kept walking, or at least not have given us all this information. Another example: the girl that worked at the hostel was from Germany. She moved to Berlin when she was 16 for a couple of years. She then went to visit some friends in London. And she liked it. So she stayed for 4 years. Then she visited some friends in Zurich. And liked it. So she stayed. I so admire the sense of spontaneity and courage that it takes for her to make those choices, and I’ve met quite a few Europeans like that so far. People just amaze me. It’s so interesting for me to meet new people and find out their story and background. What makes them who they are today? That is one of my favorite things about being over here: just the culture and lifestyle of all of the people I will meet. I feel it will make my life much richer, just learning these things and meeting these people. They know how to live in the present, and that is one thing I need to learn to do. Rather than planning out my life so much, I need to be better at just letting it happen.

Back on track: after Lindenhof Square, we began our search for dinner. Switzerland is beautiful, but expensive. We walked around for an hour, and the cheapest restaurant we could find was about 25 Swiss Franks (CHF) for a plate (around $31). While I would love to eat a nice dinner for that price, I can’t afford to do that. So, we kept walking and finally found a Beer Garden-type restaurant right on the river with a band playing, which was pretty cheap. I got a small salad, a side of potato salad with a drink, and it was CHF 20. Expensive, but the view and atmosphere was worth it. I also learned that I have reached one of the minor goals that I have been working on for a long time: I think I FINALLY like tomatoes! I am a believer in if you don’t like something, but keep eating it, then you will teach yourself to like it. I’ve done it with potatoes (which I now regret as my diet would be a lot healthier if I didn’t), collard greens, black-eyed peas, lima beans, and now, tomatoes! So that was exciting.

After dinner, we walked slowly back towards our hostel, got our free drink, and we all sat down to plan out Sunday. Jenn and Carrie were going to be leaving in the morning, so I was solo on Sunday until my flight back to Germany at 6:30. I still wanted to do a guided walking tour to find out small tidbits that I didn’t know already, and go to the Swiss National Museum (mostly because it is in a castle).

So Sunday, I woke up, went on my guided walking tour (where I learned a lot), ate lunch and wrote postcards, then went to the Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum), (where I did not learn much because most everything was in German & French – the English translations, which were just on papers by the door, were all out, and I didn’t have enough time or patience to try and read all the German descriptions). The Landesmuseum was very pretty, though, and I’m glad I went. I did get to go to the special exhibit on the WWF, which was very interesting. I did not know that it was founded in Zurich (World Wide Fund – not wrestling, people).

View from Lindenhof Square

Although Zurich would not have been my first choice, I am so glad that German Wings made that choice for me. I got to see a beautiful city with beautiful people and a beautiful atmosphere.

The Simple Things

For the most part, I get way more excited about simple things rather than the big things in life that most people would get excited about. An example is in a drink I got on Saturday. It was a short tumbler glass with a short straw (the drinks are smaller her, not always in large glasses). The cool thing was the short straw was a bendy straw!! I had never seen a short bendy straw before. Sure, you get tall ones in drinks all the time, but a short one?? So cute!

Anyways, there have been a lot of examples of these types of things this past week.

I went to Koeln (Cologne) for the first time. It was just a day trip, so not a lot of time, but it was nice to get an introduction to the city. I walked out of the main train station in Koeln and looked up at the Dom, Germany's most popular tourist attraction with about 20,000 visitors a day. At that moment, I started smiling and couldn't stop. It was amazing. Huge. Intimidating. Old. Basically, a masterpiece. I loved it.

I couldn't decide what to do first, so I just sat on the Dom's steps and looked at it while listening to "Nowadays" from the Chicago soundtrack. I wrote in my journal and then decided to just walk around the Dom and Koeln to get an idea of what the city holds. I walked around the Dom taking pictures, journeyed over into some other streets, and after about an hour of walking around, stopped to eat at a cafe. I got an omelet and coke light and read a book. It was bliss, but not the best part of my day.

The best part came next. After eating brunch, I decided I needed some ice cream (because who doesn't?). While I was walking around before, I saw about 23 Eis cafes surrounding the Dom. I walked back over to one of those, got a chocolate cone and walked back towards the Dom to ogle. About that time, some street musicians started playing Chopin with 2 accordions and a tuba. So I stood beside them and listened while I ate my Eis and stared at the Dom. THAT was the best part of the day. I wasn't touring the Dom (that came later) or in a museum, but it was real and it was simple and it was perfect. I could have stood there all day. But then I ran out of ice cream and decided it was time to actually go inside the Dom.

Let me first say that the Dom is wonderful inside and out, but I prefer the outside. The inside was beautiful and incredible to look at, but there was just something about the outside, so intricate. I could have sat outside all day just looking at all of the detail that went into creating it. No wonder it took centuries to build.

After meeting Monika and Yannick and walking up the 500-something steps to the top of the tower, we drove back to Moenchengladbach. Koeln is close to us, so I plan on taking day trips there every now and then to see everything. I have plenty of time.

The next day, I took the train with a friend to Duesseldorf. I have to say, I love taking trains. It is so easy and you can just sit back and relax while reading a book or listening to conversations (you know you do it, too). Although, it makes it difficult to listen when they're speaking a different language, but it helps me learn German. See, I listen only for the sake of my German education. No one should deny me that, right?

Duesseldorf was so cute. We went to the older section of the city and everything was cobblestone streets and older buildings with ivy growing up the sides. We mostly walked around, got a Doener, which is a really popular street food in Germany (basically a gyro), and sat down to people-watch. Again, simple, but a perfect day and night.

Other than the trips to Koeln and Duesseldorf, I am still getting acquainted with Moenchengladbach. t's been a good couple of weeks. Germany is treating me well. I'm learning more every day and thoroughly enjoying it. While I haven't done a lot of extravagant things yet, all of the little simple things remind me of why I am here and how special it is.

Guten Tag!



Extra:

Things I have learned so far:
1. While searching for the 3rd Harry Potter book in German (I figure since I know it so well, it will help me to learn German), I went into a bookstore and politely asked the man working there if they had Harry Potter. I asked the question in German, yet when I got to "Harry Potter", I said it in my british accent. He looked at me for a minute, I think trying to decide if I was American or English (because my british accent is so believable), then answered my question in english. Must remember not to use my british accent around strangers.

2. Germans are serious about driving. They do not like it when new straight-drive drivers are learning in front of them at a red light and stall out for four cycles in a row. They might pull up beside you (on the wrong side of the road) and glare at you. Luckily, I've got the whole starting/stopping thing down pretty well now.

3. No matter how well I think I am saying something in German to a sales clerk or someone I don't know, they can immediately tell I speak English. They then answer me in English. How do they know I'm not fluent in German?

4. I can't depend solely on my debit card like in America. Some places don't take Visa. WHAT!?!? But, I do like Euros better than the Dollar. I'm going to miss them when I have to return to the States.

On to Deutschland!

Well, I have finally made it to Germany! The flight here was a 15 hour journey, including the layover in Miami, but not counting the 6 hour time difference. Basically, I didn't sleep for about 36 hours. I am still trying to catch up, but am much more awake today. On the flight from Miami to Dusseldorf, I flew AirBerlin, so all of the flight attendants and most of the fliers spoke German. However, they did play Friends in English, which was nice of them. The guy sitting next to me slept for most of the flight, except to eat. I am pretty sure he was German. He didn't speak much except for "danke" und "bitte", but he had a German accent. Although his t-shirt was in English, so who can say? So confusing.

The stewardess did ask me all of the questions in German, like "möchtest du zu trinken?", and I of course responded "haben Sie Cola Light?" and guess what! They DID have Coca Cola Light :) So before even landing in Germany, I got my first Coca Cola Light. Life is good.

As I got in the car from the airport, the song that was playing on the radio was a techno version of American Pie. It was the perfect welcome of fused German and US music. Although, everywhere I go here, they are playing American Music. I asked Monika if people could understand it OK and she said they understand some, if the song is slower. On the sidewalk while we were shopping today, some German musicians were singing Stand by Me (auf Englisch). It makes a girl proud to be from America.

I often wonder when I am around a bunch of German people (before I start speaking, of course) if they can tell I am American. Can I pass as German? I always thought I could tell if someone was German, but now that I am surrounded, I notice that they mostly look and dress like Americans. Although, the MC Hammer pant is in big time style here right now. I have seen many-a-women wearing these and they actually look good! Don't be surprised if you see a picture of me in some MC Hammer pants soon. I think it is very fitting considering my initials are MC, ja? How can I NOT wear them when they were clearly named after ME and not that one-hit-wonder guy. I might not want to claim that, actually. They have been made fun of for most of my life. Ignore all of that, bitte.


So, now that I am done rambling: on to my experience so far. First, the family is great. They are very helpful and patient with my lack of skill in speaking German. Yannick is adorable; I will post pictures soon. He has a lot of personality and is very personable. He yells, "Hallo!" oder "Guten Morgen/Tag!" to anyone we pass, and is always talking, talking, talking. He loves to talk. It is funny to see a child speak a different language than English. He is a very funny kid, and it is hard to tell if he would be as funny if he was speaking English and I could understand all of it. Who knows? I guess I will find out once I learn more German.


My German class starts in October. Because I am not taking the easiest class, it starts later. Until it starts, I will just try to learn from the book and from asking Monika and Christian questions. Most of what they say right now goes over my head, but I am trying very hard. It is hard to be somewhere and can't understand much. You can't say what you want to say because you don't know how. It is a real challenge. Sometimes I get excited because I understand a whole complex sentence, and then I realize it is because they are speaking English. Oy Vey. :)


This is my 3rd day here and mostly we have been running errands, like to the bank, to the schule to find out about my German class, to the grocery, etc. We have also gone to the Water Park and to one of Yannick's friend's birthday parties. There were three boys, all with blonde hair. I haven't really eaten anything German yet. For breakfast, we mostly have toast and jelly or cheese or salami. We had pizza for dinner one night and then pasta another night. We drink mostly iced tea (which is bought from the store in a glass bottle and doesn't really taste like tea we drink in the US, but it is good), apple juice mixed 50/50 with mineral water, mineral water, oder kakao (chocolate milk). They did buy me some Coca Cola Zero today, though, because I saw a commercial for it and got excited since they did not have that last time I was here! I still need to look for Oatmeal or Grits in the grocery. I don't think I will have any luck with grits. Might have to get some mailed to me.


Not too much to report on yet, but I am having a good time. It is a lot to adjust to, for sure. But I'm am definitely going to enjoy the experience and can't wait to travel and have visitors!

The First Dose of Europe

First, I have to give props to my good friend, Elizabeth, for giving me the idea for this post and helping me relive all of the funny adventures we had in order to include them all. Check out her hilarious blog @ www.catscatscatskittycats.blogspot.com. You will not regret it.

Now, because I am about to go on a year-long excursion to Europe, I (with Elizabeth’s help) thought it would be good to relive the first time that I went to Europe in May 2009. I went with a summer session study abroad group to Italy, Austria, and Germany for about 2.5 weeks.

We started the trip off in Rome, where we immediately figured out (Elizabeth and I) that we were not going to be included in the “popular” group. One girl arrived late because she had been vacationing in the south of France at her family’s estate (poor thing). She also threw away all of her clothes when we moved from city to city because it was too much of a hassle to actually wash and pack them. She would then proceed to buy new clothes at the most expensive place she could find in each city (I mean, SERIOUSLY, did her mother never tell her that there were starving kids in Africa/China/EVERYWHERE). With her being the ringleader of the majority of the students, we decided to choose our own path and steer clear of them for the most part.

One of the best things I first discovered in Europe: Coca Cola Light!!! AMAZING! At the time, I was so addicted to caffeine that I would wake up in the middle of the night and have to drink a Coke Zero (Bad, I know). So when I got to Europe, and they didn’t have coke zero, I tried Coca Cola Light and fell in love. This is one thing I’m very excited about, getting to drink it again!

We of course did a lot of touring and walking in Rome. One day while touring, (with our British tour guide, David, who used to be on a soap opera!), I was walking and talking as I normally do. However, for someone that is not very coordinated and trips while walking quite a bit, I really should remember to look forward during pretty much any type of activity. On this particular day, though, I was talking to someone behind me and walking through the streets of Rome, periodically tripping over cobblestones or uneven pavement. As I was laughing and smiling, marveling at the sites, I ran right smack into a pole. Yes, you are correct, no one around warned me that I was about to run into a pole. Nope, they just let me keep on walking towards it. Things like this happen to me a lot. Is there such a thing as a “walking class”, where an instructor teaches clumsy, uncoordinated individuals how to walk? I feel I would benefit from this.

After Rome, we went to a small town and visited a vineyard for a wine tasting (wonderful). I lost my camera on the bus back from that trip. We then went to Florence (the statue of David is incredible – should be on the top of everyone’s list to see… there I go with lists again), Venice (smelly, but getting lost in all of the alleys was fun), and we hiked Cinque Terre (amazing).

 The view from our hike.

Our final desination of the hike.

Some buildings in the small town we hiked to at Cinque Terre.

Our last stop in Italy was my favorite Italian city: Verona (hello Romeo and Juliet!). The memory that is ingrained in my mind from Verona is Elizabeth, Ann, Audrey, and I trying to find a Laundromat. Basically, after a bunch of hand motions and broken Italian with some Veronese, 3 bus changes, about 2 miles of walking, and lots of sweating, we finally made it to the Laundromat. The Laundromat in the sketchiest area of Verona with no air conditioning in 98-degree weather with all the dryers going. Sounds fun, ja? However, all that isn’t the part I remember most. The part I think of when remembering my time in Verona is the 4 hours we rode around in a bus trying to find out way BACK to the hotel. The bus driver finally stopped and kicked us all off the bus since we were the only ones on it for about an hour and a half in a random neighborhood in Verona.  After that, we just started walking and I think we finally found our hotel around 6 that night. The worst part was when we got back to our hotel and some of the other group said that they went to a Laundromat that was just around the corner. We had been told that one was closed. At least we got a good tour of Verona, right?

Next stop: Austria. I loved Austria. It is beautiful and exactly what you expect when you think of Austria. Except I never found Julie Andrews, which was a bummer. We were only in Austria for a few days, but we made sure to make the most of it. I bought some Seven Jeans, froze my butt off most the time because Austria is cold at night. Even in the summer. And again, we got lost. I imagine I get lost so much because I really don’t mind it. It is fun to get lost in most instances. You get to see more of the city and discover things that you wouldn’t normally discover. Mostly, we walked and shopped and took a lot of pictures, and didn’t pay attention to where we were walking, so we got lost. We hiked up some mountains, went to a petting zoo that was in the middle of the mountain on our hike (strange place for a petting zoo), drank lots of cappuccinos and tried to talk German to the Austrians that would talk to us.

Out of the bus on the way to Austria.

After Austria, we made our way to our final stop: Germany. I wasn’t expecting to like Germany as much as I did. But I loved it! Jolly might have had a lot to do with this. The first day we arrived in Munich, Germany, we went on a bike tour with Mike’s Bikes (If you’re ever in Munich, you must do this!).  Jolly was our bike tour guide. He was from Australia and apparently left home when he was about 16 to just travel from place to place. He was about 26 now and was in Munich working for Mike’s Bikes for a while. All the (cool) girls had a crush on him. Anyway, he gave us our awesome bike tour and I still can’t help but laugh when I think about the people in the parks we rode through and people running over geese (funniest and saddest thing I’ve ever seen).

Our our bike tour. In a few minutes, some geese are about to dart in front and be run over by about 5 people.

Needless to say, Germany was interesting and my favorite place that we visited.

And now I get to go back! Very lucky girl, I am.

Tschüss!

The What, Where, & How

I guess I should explain how I have received the amazing opportunity to live in Germany for a year. I am not just going to travel around and site-see on another person’s dime (I’m not that lucky). I was offered a job as an au pair. That’s right, a nanny.

I will be caring for an adorable, blonde-haired, German-speaking, almost 3-year-old little boy named Yannick.

Yannick likes horses, the zoo, and going to the airport to watch planes. He is an only child; son of Monika and Christian. They (soon to be "we") live in a town called Mönchengladbach, which is right beside Düsseldorf and about 45 minutes from Cologne (Köln).

My basic duties include getting up in the morning around 8 (Monday thru Friday) and getting Yannick ready. I then proceed to drive him to preschool for the day. After that, I can spend the day how I like, but must be home around the time that Monika and Christian pick him up from daycare in case the traffic is bad and I need to go pick him up. Oh, and I must also do a little cleaning around the house (about an hour a day). I get weekends off (Fridays if I want to travel that weekend) and 4 weeks of vacation during the year.

I picture myself (after dropping Yannick off) going to cafes and drinking cappuccinos (although in the states, I do not like coffee, I have figured out that I do like it when I am in Europe. I know, it’s touristy and all in my head, but I’m OK with that.).  What will I do at these cafes while drinking my cappuccino and perhaps eating some type of pastry? I could read a book, write a journal, people-watch, plan a weekend getaway, plan the rest of my day, skype with friends/family that happen to be up at 3 in the morning (which will probably only be James), et cetera, et cetera. Basically, whatever I feel like doing that day.

After breakfast at my café, which I will become a regular at, I will maybe drive my stick-shift Opel back home (after I learn to drive stick-shift). Then I could ride my bike around and explore the ‘hood. Apparently there is a river/stream near and also some horses. Maybe I can ride a horse! In Germany! How awesome would that be? Or I could take a drive over to the Netherlands (which is 20 miles away) and buy some tulips. Or maybe I’ll just go home and watch Pirates of the Caribbean in German and laugh at Johnny’s dubbed over German.

I also have in my head all of the outfits that I will be wearing while I do these things. Monika has informed me that they are very casual, wearing mostly jeans and basic t-shirts. However, as my mother will pledge to, I denote certain articles of clothing as “my skirt that I wear to stroll along the riverbank” or “my shirt that I pick apples in”. I like to visualize stories with my clothing. So as I picture my time in Germany, I also picture all of the clothes I will get to wear, like the pants I barely wear, but save because they would be perfect for wearing to an open air market while carrying a whicker basket for all of my fresh fruit and vegetables.

At one point it might have seemed far-fetched, but now I am getting to not only visualize but live out my dream.

So the question is: will I really do any of these things? Who knows. But I am excited about finding out and living my day-to-day life in Germany. I’m sure no matter what activities I get into every day or what clothes I have on, it will be a perfect experience. And as I start this life, I’ll be sure to let you know if I spend my mornings sipping cappuccinos and my afternoons picking tulips.

“Die wirklich glückliche Person ist eine, wer die Landschaft wenn auf einem Umweg genießen kann.” – Unknown  (I think this is translated correctly?)

(“The really happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery when on a detour.”)

The Beginning

As most of my friends and family know, I am a list maker.  At work, I make lists of what needs to be done that day, who to call. At home, I make lists of groceries, errands, movies to watch, books to buy, doctor appointments to make, bills to pay, etc. etc. One day, a good (and smart alec) friend found an old to-do list in my car that had found its way under my seat. It included things like “eat lunch” and “get dressed” (not in that order). Needless to say, he made jokes about that for weeks, “Meg, don’t forget to eat lunch today – make sure it’s on your list”.

In my defense, the reason I add such obvious things as “eat lunch” or “get dressed” is because of the satisfaction I get when I check things off of my lists. Those things are so easy to do, yet so satisfying when I can cross them off! I know my other list-soulmates know exactly what I am talking about. It’s right up there with the feeling I get after a really good workout or buying a new pair of citizens to go in my jean collection.

Anyway – back to my list-making: when I see articles that start with “5 Things to do in Such-and-such City” or “5 Ways to Save Money” – anything that has to do with lists, I can’t NOT read them. One day not too long ago, I was reading my headlines on MSN, as I do every morning (they say it’s good to read headlines on news sites every morning to help keep your self in-the-know when you don’t have time to read the actual news. Before you think “MSN isn’t a news site”, let me say that although it doesn’t contain as many news stories as CNN or Fox, it mixes together news + lifestyle + celebrities + “weird news”. Therefore, it saves time going to 5 different sites to get ALL the different forms of news). Where was I? Oh yes, so I was reading MSN one morning and I saw the headline “36 Things Every Single Girl Must Do Before She Settles Down”. Of course I had to read it: a new list for me to read, check off the things I’ve done, and start working on the things I still need to do.

I’m not going to list all 36 things here right away (I still have a fear of accidentally plagiarizing ever since my college days). However, below are the things I have checked off (numbered by the way that they are on the list).

To build confidence…

1.   Go to a movie alone.

4.   Take out the trash, set a mousetrap, do your taxes, build a bookcase. (while I haven’t ever set a mousetrap, this is one thing that I never plan on doing because I will cry for 3 days straight if I wake up and find a poor dead little mouse named Guss with a broken neck)

5.   Live alone, or at least move apartments in NYC without the help of family.

8.   Quit your job.

10. Learn to stand up for yourself. (I don’t really think there is a benchmark where you know that this has been accomplished, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got this one down)

To be able to look back and say “I had fun”…

12. Revel in being able to watch all the reality TV you want. (I’m pretty sure I’ve got this down pat – and I think Soap Operas should be considered in this)

14. Go on a date with someone who actually makes you nervous. (no comment)

16. Go out with a guy that makes you laugh till it hurts. (I’m counting friends in this one)

To get perspective…

19. Volunteer.

To make you appreciate the next guy…

20. Do at least one valentine’s day alone.

22. Date the creeps. You’ll really value the nice guys afterward. (Does stalker by text count for this? I think it does as I was thanking the lord that he did not know where I lived because I’m pretty sure I would have been on the next 20/20)

To make the most of your free time…

27. Finish all of your schooling.

To make yourself a better partner in the future...

30. Learn to cook well. (While I may not be a gourmet chef, I do know my way pretty well around a kitchen)

31. Get some hobbies. (there are plenty of hobbies I still want to pursue, like kickboxing or fencing, but I still have enough hobbies to count this as checked off)

To appreciate being single…

34. Babysit someone’s baby for an hour.

36. Host a girls-only night.

While I have completed a good part of the list, I still have 22 left to do. However, there are some, such as number 15, “go out with an older man who takes you somewhere nice and makes you feel like a million bucks”, that I do not think I will ever do. Because, well, that one just creeps me out and I think would make me feel cheap, not like a million bucks. And there are others like “Chill with your widowed and single grandma” which I cannot do because I don’t have one of those. My grandparents are still happily married and in really great health. But most of the things on this list are things that I am looking forward to doing, which brings me to the point of this post.

Ever since I was younger, I’ve always wanted to live in a foreign country for a bit before I settle down. I remember sitting in my blue room on my hardwood floors when I was around 15 or so, and making a list of things to do before I turn 30. I wish I still had this list so I could remember everything I dreamed of then. But I know that this was one of the items on my list, along with “learn to speak 3 languages fluently. And this August 1^st, I will be flying to Germany to live and travel for one year. I plan to finish the 22 items on the list above while I am over there. The things that I can’t do there, I will save to do when I return to the states in August 2012, like “get your finances in order” (I’m pretending like this can and will happen).

As I go through this year, I will post my stories, lessons, and pictures of this time in my life. And as I complete items on the list above, I will post them. I encourage all my single girl friends to google this list and see what they have done and what they still need to do. A lot of these are great suggestions and some aren’t something that I would choose to do. However, I am choosing to replace the ones I don’t want to do with something that I think will be gratifying but isn’t on the list already.

I’m so lucky and excited to go on this next journey in my life. I think it will be something that will have a profound impact on the person that I am and the life I will lead in the future. And while I can’t physically share the journey with friends and family, I’m glad that I have this outlet to share my stories.

Shoenes Wochenende.