Interuption

Guys, I have something I need to say and it's not easy.

I just found out this morning that my mom has cancer and it's pretty advanced. The not so bad side is that it's ovarian cancer, so the surgeons will take her ovaries out and then she'll be fine; I just hope it hasn't spread to any other organs.

I got a plane ticket home for as soon as I could (and which didn't break the bank [too] much).

I'll be flying home on 31. Dez. around 7:25 in the morning from Munich, and I should touch-down in Salisbury around 20:03 the same day (long day ahead). I am needed home 'cause mom needs someone to look over Julia, my sister.

Even though Julia is 2 years older, she's autistic and is totally dependent on mom. Mom bathes her and wipes her when she goes to the toilet. Mom still has to dress her, although Julia can do some of it herself. . . yeah, it's not easy; but someone needs to be there for Julia while mom is in the hospital.

I have no idea when I'll be back in Bogi. I spent a good portion of today packing and such, but I won't be taking absolutely everything with me back home. If I do, I'll be way over the weight-limit and will need to check in at least 1 extra bag. If anything, I'll have an excuse to come back. ;-)

I cannot tell you how much of a shock this is for me. Mom is the strongest person I know, besides my dad. I am not kidding: if someone were to tell me she was made of iron, I'd believe it. . . but even iron rusts. Just this weekend, she ran about 6 miles (>10 km). She had no idea she had cancer to begin with until Sunday or yesterday, much less that is was so advanced.

She just went to the doctor 'cause she felt a little pain. When they did the tests, they wanted to send her to the hospital by ambulance immediately (she was at a small clinic). They told mom she had cancer. She drove to the hospital (about 1.5 hour away), was checked, and confirmed. She should have stayed in the hospital, but then who was going to watch over Julia? Julia is strong too and difficult to control (in order to give her a shot, 3-4 nurses are needed to hold her down). I'm in Europe and Dad is most likely in another state (dad's a truck-driver who drives all-over the North American continent--including Canada). So, she was given a few pills and a prescription and allowed to go home.

Now she's waiting for me.

God willing, I'll be home Thursday night. Dad will be home sometime tomorrow as well. God willing, all will work out fine. He knows what He is doing. No matter what happens, I know His way is best.

God, I ask You to take my hand and lead me through this dark valley. Lead me with Your light. . . oh wait, nevermind: You already are. Thank You.

My Christmas break, so far

Well, I hope all of you are enjoying your Christmas break/holiday wherever you are! I just happen to be haunting Bogi campus with 2 other fellow students. Yip, we spent Christmas in an empty campus. At least the library was open (connections are a beautiful thing)! Just thought I'd show you all a bit of what I/we have been up to since the 22nd, when break was officially announced:

1st thing I needed to do: Laundry! Normally, I need only 1 of these. . . I really needed to do laundry! Oh, and this is my roommate's side of the room. It's ok, she was already gone by then.

2 very thoughtful guys left gifts (even more interesting, they share the same name!). The square is a DVD of the Christmas concert (Shokran!--was that spelled correctly?). The rectangle is Ben Carson's bio "Gifted Hands". . . in German! Vielen Dank!

One of my friends had too much stuff to take home, so she left some of it with me to enjoy; including this bottle of non-alcoholic wine. It's the typical thing to drink on Christmas Eve. So, we did. Not bad.


The Kitchen (or the Cafe staff) was so kind, they let us have the leftovers from the Christmas party. Check out the fridge in the girls' dorm! Of course, not everything in the fridge came from the cafe--there were a few items already there to start with, but still! And this is about 1/4 of what they left us!

Roberto cooking rice and red beans. This Theo student can cook!

Seo-Yeon serving herself to the rice. This is basically how we've been eating every lunch and supper.

Oh, the food was great! This was Christmas Eve (about 22:40+), by the way. Hence the lack of good lighting.

So yeah, now you can see what we've been up to, when not in the library online or reading or what have you.

Hagenau and Bogi in Snow

I've posted pictures of Bogi and Hagenau during the Autumn, and I know I posted some during the winter of my 1st year here, but I wanna show you the "latest" in this region's winter. They are all landscapes and little "experiments" I've conducted with training my artistic eye. I will be the 1st to say, "I am an ameteur." So don't judge me. :-P

I took these pictures on the 19th and the day of Weihnachtsfest (21st).

The Inn River by Hagenau . . . and a few of its inhabitants.

Roberto and the swans.

The sundial in front of the Schloss in Bogi. Can you see the wheel?

The bench around the tree in front of the Bogi-Shop.



Where do you want to go?

Welcome to Bogi... in winter.

The bridge between the girls' and guys' dorm.

The dock by the pond.

Seriously, when I saw this tree, I saw this picture.

Clouds over Hagenau

Schloss Hagenau

wintery shore

The boats and dock in a blanket of snow.

Docked by the castle's reflection

Sunny, wintery shore

Ladder/dock to the boats/canoes.

Hybernating boats.

Cold light.

Lonely

I absolutely love how this tree looks, with the snow on top.

Ok . . . well, I was busy today. Setting up 3 different posts in 1 day, and I'm still not done. I need to post pictures from the Skiwoche (ski week) in Switzerland with the academy students. Oh, I'm gonna see if I can finish it for tomorrow. Don't know how much longer the Bibo (library) is gonna stay open tonight, but I'm sure it'll be open tomorrow. 'Til then!

Skiwoche (ski week) in Laax, Switzerland (13.-18. Dez. 09)

Alright! My last post and I am officialy up-to-date! Now I can concentrate on more important things; like reading German, figuring out grad school options (again), and so on and so forth. But for right now, let's go off to the story.

I went with the academy kids (freshmen-juniors) and a few teachers to the annual ski trip. This year was a little early (usually it's in January or February), but it worked out well. We had snow to work with, and we went to Switzerland!

We stayed in a small village called Laax: which is in eastern Switzerland. Something very unique in this part of Switzerland is the official language. Ok, Switzerland has 4 (German, French, Italian, and Rätterromanisch--I only know what it's called in German), and Rätterromanisch is the one that's used the most in the eastern region of the country. Again, I am grateful that I know Spanish, even though there were some words that were not related at all to anything I know in Spanish.

Last time I was in Bogi, I tried snowboarding during the ski week. I got as far as trying. At least I got over my fear of falling ('cause that was the only thing I did)! So this time, I thought I'd try my hand in skiing. I got as far as learning to make the curves: yeah, not far at all. I realized 2 things: 1, skiing is a heck of a lot easier than snowboarding, and 2, skiing is not for me. I didn't really enjoy it. I was happy when I only fell twice on the bunny hill, but I didn't really have fun. Besides, the ski boots were killing my feet. I don't remember ever experiencing so much pain in my feet (it was worse than high-heels)! I knew they had to be tight, but how tight? When your feet fall asleep, is that normal? I asked several people that, and a little over half said no. Even though I got bigger boots, it still hurt. I didn't think this was worth it, so I quit and decided to explore the place and study German while everyone else was hitting the slopes. Of course, how could I ever go exploring without my most faithful companion: my camera?!

Here are the highlights:

The picture says it all (in Rätterromanisch).

Where we spent the night during this week (13-18 Dez.)

As you walk down to the entrance of our lodge, this is what you see.

Ah, the bunny hill across the lake.

A cute house right next-door.

The gondola port on our 1st mountain.

The snowboarders learning, and the view.

I liked this.

Giving myself a break, and a photo opportunity.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

At night, all sorts of colors come out.

The half-pipe for the extreme snowboarders.

There's a ramp way down there.

I thought I was getting better, 'cause I got bigger boots.

Our beginners' slope, next day.

I could not get over the view.

I have found my dream home!

Yip, the mountain has the word "Crap" in its name. Remember, this is not English.

I had a little accident with the pepper shaker.

How we got on and off the mountain.

Back in the village, you see this ancient language (it was used at the time of the Romans) with German.

Those of you who know a latin language, can you figure out exactly what this says?

I do love trees.

Back to the lake.

I was fortunate to find the Tourist office, 'cause they had free internet! Look at how different this keyboard is: it is not like the German or the English keyboard.

I love this charming village.

The long and winding road...

Getting back down the mountain after the last day. It was colder that day than it ever was! Look at my hair and how frozen it is!

Ok, back to the village.

I was told this was the "Grand Canyon" Switzerland. Too bad all my pictures of it came out slightly out of focus.

The lighted trees beside a roadside chapel.


You know how I love nature and love to be outside!

Well, this is it. I'm all caught up. I hope you all have a great and lovely Christmas with family and friends.

"A merry Christmas to all, and to all, a Good night."