What's Going On?

We've had an interesting week. Yesterday was my last German class, and it was a little sad for me. I've met some really nice people there who are all from different cultures. It was really a great dynamic to have in the class. I have a friend, Amanda, from Scotland, who I think I'll still hang out with from time to time. Then, there's Maria from Italy, who is just the sweetest person. There's Reshad from Iran, who is one of the smartest and hardest working people I know. There's Curt and Nelson, my fellow Americans, of whom I am so thankful. I am hoping that all of us will still get together every other week or so for lunch. Actually, Amanda and her boyfriend are going snowboarding with us this Saturday in the Austrian Alps. (FYI: You've not really snowboarded or skied until you've done it in the Alps).

So my job with Vivat Lingua fell through, unfortunately. I guess the people wanting to take the class didn't want to start a medical terminology class until January of 2009 (and I am sooooo not coming back for that). Thankfully, I met a woman at my school this week who works on an American military base nearby, and she's trying to help me find a job there as a nurse, substitute teacher, or whatever. There's not a military hospital there, so the nursing positions are slim to none. I guess many of you don't know my struggle with trying to find a job on a base, but I've tried for months to get in touch with people. So far, no one has even answered the phone. I think maybe they've just really increased security on the bases, so unless you know someone, it's incredibly difficult to find anything. Finding this person at my school is a God-send. I'll let you know if something comes from it.

Our friends, Kenny and Tiffany Tucker, are coming to visit soon; probably the end of February. We are so excited about that. Kenny has a business trip in Paris, so we are going to go there for a few days, and then, when Kenny is finished with business, they are going to come stay with us for a little while. We were hoping to be in Paris for Valentine's Day, but I am not sure that they'll be here early enough.

On January 3, Danny and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary. We didn't really do much. It was on a work day, and we were still a little pooped from having Mark and Mirjam over for the holidays. Next year, however, I will get a new wedding band. =)

We haven't been able to travel as much lately, because the weather is pretty cold and rainy. Also, it gets dark here now around 4:30pm. It's really strange and a little depressing. Danny really enjoys his job, and his co-workers are really nice. I think his job here is a lot less stressful than his job in the US. I've had a bit of a hard time lately. It's difficult for me here sometimes, because it seems like all I hear about America is negative. I would never say anything negative about Italy, for instance, to someone who is Italian. But here, they don't really care who you are. They'll bash America or President Bush, because you're there. I don't think Danny experiences this as much as I. Because I am constantly surrounded by people from all over the world, people tend to want to always talk about foreign affairs. It makes me really sad that the image of America to the rest of the world comes from what people see from Hollywood and stupid MTV. I try to tell people that that's only one tiny part America, but unfortunately, their minds are made up. The media here is so biased (CNN, BBC, etc), so it's no wonder that America's image is so tainted here. I wish that these networks that produce terrible television shows that give America a bad name could see what they are doing and take some responsibility for their actions. I guess it's just so much more entertaining to see smut than good things. So that's my soapbox for the day. Sorry about that.

So that's about all that we've been up to. We covet your prayers, and I can't tell you how much we love to receive letters and pictures from home. Also, we'd love to hear from the people who actually read this blog, so shoot me an email sometime: mrsehl@gmail.com.

We love ya and miss you so much!!! 7.5 more months!!!!!!