Sunday, March 20, 2011

Dropping the Bomb

(I understand that given the recent happenings in Africa—Megan, you should be proud.. I watched the news—this is probs not the most politically correct title, but it got your attention didn't it?!)


Hello blog world! Sorry for my absence. STAR Events happened.
But now Region is behind us…the marathon is over. 4 of my 5 teams advanced to State and the one that isn’t advancing still got a gold ranking which pretty much means that my kids are the shit! One of my groups even got a PERFECT SCORE!!! All we have to do before state is a little bit of tweaking. I had to resist the urge to post the pictures that I have of their projects. I’m so proud of their projects that I want y’all to see them, but us FCCLA advisors are a competitive bunch and I didn’t want to reveal our secret weapon before it was unveiled. Now that it’s been seen I can share the pictures I have, but I don’t have many =(

This is our Chapter Service Project Display. My FCCLA and my 8th grade classes have been making dresses to send to the organization Little Dresses for Africa. You can find more information about them here! The doors were our secret weapon, but it doesn't really matter now anyway since this is the one that didn't advance =(


One of my groups planned a wedding for their project, so for their visuals we made a lemon cake with blackberry filling. Then we covered it in fondant and decorated it with ribbon and a flower!

This is for the wedding project too. This is one of the bouquets. Its made out of fabric, pearls, floral wire, and ribbon.


And now that the STAR Events marathon is over, I can drop the bomb…

I’m moving to Germany!!!
in November to take care of this little squirt...


Here are the most frequently asked questions when I tell people this and my answers.

Why?!
Why not?! I’m 22, unattached, and apart from my current job and my dog, have no responsibilities tying me to Athens, Madison County, or really even Bremen. Also, I have always said that all I want in life is to be a mommy.  What better way to find out if that is true?!  I get to be a mommy for my job and if I decide at the end of the year that it isn't really what I want then I'm not stuck with the responsibility for 17 more years.. SMART..

What about your job? Why on earth would you leave a perfectly good job in this economy?!
Please don’t misunderstand…I love my job! I really do! As much as I vent about FCCLA and dumb kids, all the bad stuff is canceled out ten-fold by the precious kids that are excited to see me every day. I realize that I am incredibly blessed to have gotten such a great job right out of college. That said, it was never my intention to stay in Madison County or Athens forever. It kind of freaked me out at the end of last year when I realized that, IF I were ready to be settled in one place, I could do this year after year and have an amazing amount of job satisfaction, BUT I’M NOT!! Zac Brown puts it best.. I’ve “got a gypsy soul to blame, and [I] was born for leaving”. I’ve not always been that way, but that’s a long story best saved for another time. Another contributing factor is that I am also currently working ridiculously long hours. Between cheerleading and FCCLA, I am normally at the school until like 5:30 every day. Not to mention the 30 minute commute each way. I’m away from home like 11 hours a day!! I miss my dog! And I’m just tired.. My new job is an adventure and has much better hours!

What about the Doolster?
She’s going with me!! And no, she will not have to be quarantined.

What will you be doing?
I am going to be an au pair! Think Sound of Music (minus 7 kids and the hooking up with the Captain part.. I think the wife would be pretty pissed), Nanny McPhee (minus 7 kids and magic), and Mary Poppins. I will be taking care of one little boy named Bennet. I already introduced him here but I couldn’t spill the beans yet! His dad is in the German Air Force, but has been stationed in Texas for the last 5 years doing NATO training. His mom is a speech therapist who was an au pair herself during her gap year between high school and college. I will be living with them and taking care of Bennet, who will be 13 months when I start taking care of him, for 30 hours a week (beats the heck out of my current 50 hour weeks).

Isn’t that a big pay cut?
Yes, but when you take into account that I will be living with the family (no rent or utilities), eating most meals with the family (no grocery bill) and that the family provides health insurance, has offered a car, to pay for language classes, and a gym membership if I want one, what’s left to spend money on?! Germany has pretty strict regulations on the au pair industry so the family can only pay me 260 Euros a month (a little more than $350). Obviously I will be spending money on Dooley’s food, eating out, and gas. Hopefully I will be spending some money on traveling, but I am also prepared to dip into my savings for that. That is what I was saving that money for anyway!

How long will you be gone for?
I will be moving to Texas in September 2011 and then Germany in November 2011. I will be over there for a year, so I’ll be back in November 2012.

What if you don’t like it?
Then I grin and bear it for a year… I’m prepared to be homesick—its inevitable. BUT I’m just going to have to remind myself that I’m living in EUROPE! So I guess I’ll just have to suck it and go enjoy Europe!

Why Germany?
Well, according to everyone I’ve told about it, their first reaction is usually ‘you look German!’ so we could go with the whole I’ll fit in thing, but at some point I’m going to have to open my mouth. I don’t think Germans have a southern drawl. By heritage, I am German (well Prussian), so maybe that’s why I feel drawn to Germany. Germany is very dog friendly country and Dooley wouldn’t have to be quarantined. Also, I did my study abroad in Austria, so I have confidence that I can survive in a German speaking country. During study abroad we were going through Munich pretty much every weekend and I loved it! LOVED IT!

Do you even speak German?
Not well. I took German while I was on study aboard but as Frau DiBella and Mary Claire can attest, I wasn’t too hot at it. BUT I did learn the grammar rules and some vocab. I have Rosetta Stone, and have done this intro and its going pretty good! I have confidence! My goal by Nov 2012 is to be on my way to being fluent.

What do your parents think?
They are being super supportive! Of course it is going to be hard, but, as they put it, they have raised me this way, so they have to be okay with the results! They aren’t too upset that they are going to have to come to Germany to visit!
I had to add just one more.  Isn't he presh!?!

2 comments:

  1. Jealous jealous jealous!! I've suddenly got a MAJOR case of baby fever & this is the perfect idea to test out motherhood! We definitely need to get together before you run off to Germany for a year! Love!

    ReplyDelete
  2. So proud of you...you'll be great! And that is so sad that your parents will have to come visit you there. :) That is how my parents felt, too, about me being in England. Very cool. Can't wait to hear all about it...way to follow your heart. Love you!

    ReplyDelete