Sooo Excited

Potsdam, Germany
08:00 pm
Autumn weather

Hiya,

I'm so excited. Only 10 days till take-off to India.

But my last week was a lot of excitement, too.

When I came to work on Sunday afternoon, I saw one of the windows was broken, the wall black and a burned out washing machine lying on the ground before the building.

Apparently our wet room had started burning early in the morning. Thankfully, the early shift nurses reacted very quickly and were able to evacuate all the children and parents, so no one was hurt. The damage is extensive, half our ward had to be closed off, walls and the ceiling need to be repaired, because of burning electrical wires. I will be able to find out how we are going to manage going from 40 beds to 30, especially seeing that the part that is closed was mainly for rooming-in purpose. We'll see.

After working late shift on the weekend, I was off on Monday and Tuesday. Denise had to get teeth surgery so I was back in babysitting business. Vivian and I enjoyed ourselves tremendously after we had ensured her mom, that yes, I am able to make a bottle, and that yes, I knew how to use the car seat. After her nap and a change of diapers, I finished my preparations for the English class while Vivian played on her blanket. She's growing so fast and finished her bottle in no time at all (meaning no break, because every time I pulled the bottle out of her mouth, she complained - very loud). That baby burpes like a fully grown man. Did you ever have to take a baby for a walk? I had my backpack, a baby bag (diapers, change of clothes, wet wipes, a tea bottle, a bottle of milk, and a changing blanket), the car seat and Vivian in the stroller bag, already dozing. After carrying the stuff and the baby 5 flights of stairs down and getting the stroller upstairs from the basement, we locked the car seat and backpack into the car and were on our way. Vivian was fast asleep and enjoyed the autumn sun for a good hour.

By 2pm, the two of us arrived at the hospital to teach English. We started the class by handing the baby around for a cuddle and then talked about introducing a ward to a mom and her child. For the first 10 minutes Vivian listened intently while sucking her pacifier and soon fell asleep in her car seat in front of the class. When Denise returned from her surgery, Vivian was sleeping peacefully in her car seat, waiting for another walk in the nice weather.

Today I received my last vaccination shot for India (I didn't even flinch, but my arm feels like I wrestled Hulk Hogan - honestly!). And afterwards, I spend a nice evening with Jana and Yannick. He gets cheekier every day.

Greetings to the Banyan - see you soon.

Love,
Rea

P.S.: Bought lots of sweets, guess for whom. *wink*

Horses and Babies

Potsdam, Germany
01:00 pm
Rainy

Hellu,

I’ve been to Havelberg last weekend. There is a farmer fair every first weekend in September.

This was actually my third trip and I am enjoying it every year. They have a huge flea market, pet market and a fair with a huge Ferris wheel.

The trip should have included Sandra and Lea, but Sandra was detained because of work. So Lea and I met on Friday evening at my place to have a noodle dish and watch “Brothers Grimm”. The movie was okay, but had I been alone, I would have stopped the movie after the first 10 minutes. It’s a fairy tale for adults and kinda of crazy as well as scary. Though I did sleep well afterwards.

We had self-made banana pancakes for breakfast, prepared the sandwiches for our trip and left. The trip there takes about 2 hours and we parked our car on a field, build our tent and walked the short distance to the fair.

The flea market was 1/3 of its original size, which was okay nevertheless. I was able to buy 2 LP’s (Bing Crosby Xmas and Back to the Future OST). The rest of the day was spend with taking a look at the pets for sell (dogs, bunnies, horses etc.) and enjoying the treats of the fair (different kinds of food, beers, clothes etc.).

The night in the tent was pleasant despite the cold (I came prepared – thick blanket, pillow, quilt, sleeping bag). All in all, a great trip.

Seeing that it’s already September I’ve started my preparations for India. I cleaned my suitcase, bought some goodies for the Weiss family, got some Insecticides (bugs love me – ouch) and am making a list of things to take with me. As you might have gathered – I am so excited!

On Tuesday I will join Denise and Vivian at the baby swimming course. I bought and under water camera to take pictures of Vivian’s diving. You’ll get the pictures as soon as they are developed. Promise!

I will spend a few days with Donnée, who’s looking for an apartment and will be driving to visit my Dad.

Have a great day,
Andrea

With a balanced combination of the two principal energies from mother and father, a girl can both be in touch with her womanly strengths and be a powerful force in the world – strong and nurturing, decisive and caring, goal-oriented and aware of the needs of others. She has the courage to voice what she thinks and feels and the strength to follow her destiny.

– Jeanne Elium