Since someone told me..

... that this blog is still being read (what I highly doubt)... I'll tell you tonight, how much I miss Canada, especially Nova Scotia. On monday I was at a small fare for future exchange students to tell them how wonderfull a student exchange in Canada is. I met a very nice guy from Halifax (in fact a co-worker of Carlee) there and it was just awesome to speak English again...And now I'm home again, still searching for an apartment in Freiburg, and although it is a great city, there is no way the people are gonna be nicer there than home! Germany is just extremly stuffed and has a negative attitude, but what can you do?
SMILE and whistle "Farewell to Nova Scotia"...

My way in Nova Scotia....

...went from Truro to Antigonish for a first camping trip (friday - saturday) and from there on back to Truro. There Ken's Cousin came with his girlfriend and two kids to visit us. With them we went camping again (monday), which was a lot of fun. From Antigonish I took a bus up to Whycocomagh in Cape Breton (on tuesday) where I visited an other friend of mine. She lives up on a hill on a small sheep and alpaca farm and also runs a little store with fair trade clothing(very very cute and adorabel!) We had a wonderfull time although I only stayed for two nights. But we got to talk a lot, went for a little hike in a "Magic cave" and - you won't believe it - saw whales! Without going whale watching! Isn't that the most amazing thing?! Anyways, after two nights (thursday) a friend of my hostfamily picked me up in Whycocomagh and we had a very pleasent trip back to Antigonish where my hostfamily was still camping. They decided to stay one night longer and that way we got another chance for a nice kayak trip. After we went home on friday, we had a big party on saturday with a lot of family and some friends from high school. We had a nice time in the hottub and around the campfire. On sunday we went camping again (you see, i spent a lot of my time outdoors) and went kayaking and swimming and spend some time at the beach simply enjoying the sun. On monday morning I went kayaking (or more tidal bore riding :)) before breakfast. Sadly we had to go home after that because Mariel (another old host student who was visiting for the summer) had to fly home last night. So Ken brought her to the airport while Maria drove us into the city. So, I'm in Halifax right now and will stay here with Amanda until my plane leaves on friday.
I'll see you soon!!!
shalom

On my way

Wow... time rushes! After my stay in Nelson I went back to Chilliwack for a few days. I hardly found myself back there before I got picked up by my second cousin Erika who picked me up for a day around Vancouver. My tiem in Chilliwack and Nelson was awesome, I met amazing people there and learned a lot.
My cousin and I spent an awesome days, walking in Lynn Park, watching the Capilano Salmon Hatchery and visiting Victoria for about an hour. It truely was wodnerful, and I'm glad we could meet again.
After that I stayed for three days in vancouver, doing some more sightseeing and souvernier shopping, before my plane to Nova Scotia left on July 21st. I left teh hostl around 5a.m. and was in Halifax around 7.20 p.m. It was a long day, but it was great, because in Halifax I got to see my hostparents,Amanda, her new boyfriend and Mariel. On friday we went camping together with Alex and we had a wonderful time, sitting by the campfire, going kayaking and swimming. My hostsister and Mariel left towards Halifax again today, but I'll go camping again tomorrow, and maybe i'll visit another friend, which would be very nice. It's not even 2 weeks anymore, until i'll be back and I'm looking forward to see all of you again!
Shalom

Mount Sentinel Farm

Hello!
Well, right now, I'm not in Chilliwack, but in Nelson staying in a Community which is connected to the one in Chlliwack. The people and the farm and everything are just great, including the weather. I get to do many different things, like working in the Cafe, helping with the animals, doing some gardening, cooking and baking, cleaning, and seeing B.C. Well, seeing B.C. basically means swimming in a wonderful river and picking wild cherries in the evening. And I saw quite a bit, since it was a 7 hour drive from Chilliwack to here. I'm really enjoying my stay here, and if you ever go to Nelson, you should see the renovated "Preserved seed cafe"! The people are really living love and giving themselves to whatever they are doing, no matter, if its painting or making wonderful tables.
But although I really enjoy my stay here, I'm looking forward to August 7th, one month from today, when I'll be back in Germany. But before that, I'm really excited to see my Nova Scotian friends again on July 21st.
That's the basic news from here, take care
Shalom

Here again

Hey! I know, it's been a very long time since the last entry, and I know, I haven't sent any email yet. problem: My laptop is not logging in properly, so my email programm is being weird. I'm very sorry about that. But what happened during the last few weeks: I spent a greta time here in Chilliwack, a time that really got me, I learned a lot and was deeply touched by these people and god. On monday 14th I moved to the next farm in Maple Ridge where a nice host family was waiting for me. Funny thing: their daughter has been in Neustadt on a student exchange two years ago. Isn't that crazy?! But anyways... I work with them, cleaning plants and transplanting. This was from 8.30 - 16.30. after that I didn't have anything to do really... they showed me around what was really nice, and I think they are lovely hosts for some wwofers. Problem with me: I was now used to having people around me from 6.30 - 22.30 or so. I made friends with the community in Chilliwack and I started to miss them as soon as I arrived on the other farm. Additional to that, I had found out that there are communities in Nelson (Rockies) and on Vancouver Island as well, which I have the opportunity to see. So on Thursday morning I told my host family that I would leave them again to see the communities.
Although I hadn't talked to my friends in Chilliwack, I knew I could come back everytime. So I called them on friday from Vancouver, explaining to them that I'd be there in a couple hours. And really I was! As soon as I arrived in Chilliwack and was back at their cafe, I knew I had made the right decision. For some people, journeys like mine might be to see as much as possible. For me, it is much more about relationships. So, I was welcomed as warmly as you could imagine (by the way, when I left them, I got the nicest Pancake breakfast you have ever seen!)- my bed in the old room was made, a Welcomebackstet full of home made cookies and fruit was waiting for me. The people here had missed me just as much as I did.
So yeah, I'm glad to be here. Since a lot of trips are going back and forth between Nelson and here, chances are good, that I can see the community over there for maybe a week. As well as I know that there are people going to the Island around July 1st, maybe.... we'll see.
I hope you're all doing really good, whereever you are!
Shalom

Thoughts...

I'm still here... for almost two weeks now. And I'm pretty amazed by what happened within those weeks. From the outside it might not even look that big, besides me feeding caws and sometimes helping milking. But from my point here, I can see, that I was brought here by God himself on purpose. If you look at the website of the community (www.thetwelvetribes.org), you might think of them as crazy people, living far away from reality. But when you meet them, you'll meet the most loving and caring people. I've already learned a lot from them. What it means to be a true friend and to be present. And a lot more.
So, ya, that's the short inside. If you want to know more, feel free to ask, but I might not answer really quickly, since I'm trying to use the PC not too often.
Take care
Shalom

Chilliwack

Hello there!
I'm in Chilliwack for almost a whole week now and I feel very good here. The people around me are wonderful loving and caring. Besides that I'm doing a whole lot of new things I've never done in my life before. I tried to make a list of all the things I did in this past weeks:
- weeding (not new, but nice)
- feeding baby goats, cabs and a bull
- making butter, cheese, yoghurt
- milking a goat
- baking cookies
- cooking and baking in general
- cleaning
- planting strawberries
- hottub + swimming pool
- walks + runs
- cafe-work

Yep... all new things... getting up at 6.00 is pretty hard but oh well... at least I get to sleep in on saturdays and sundays. So yeah, i'm getting part of a very ncie community, that reminds of Taize. Although at first I thought of them as being very strange, because they look very old fashioned and so on, i found really open minded and loving people here who all try to give me a good time. So yep, that's about it.

So, you take care!
Shalom

Vancouver I

Das sagt der Heilige, der Wahrhaftige: Siehe, ich habe vor dir eine Tür aufgetan und niemand kann sie zuschließen.
Offenbarung 3,7.8

Das obige stand heute in der Losung und ich fand's sehr sehr treffend. Ich bin gestern gut nach einem langen Flug und scheinbar nicht endender Warterei bei der Visumvergabe hier in Vancouver angekommen. Nach einem kurzen Rundgang durch's Viertel mit einem anderen Deutschen bin ich dann um 10.00 p.m. ins Bett gefallen.
Heute morgen habe ich dann zunächst mit meinem Adapter gekämpft, dies und das gemacht, bevor ich in die Stadt aufgebrochen bin. Das Moloch von gestern abend hatte sich über Nacht zu einer lebendigen schönen Stadt verwandelt :P auf jeden Fall kam mir das so vor. Zu allererst habe ich dann mit der Farm telefoniert, auf die ich gehen werde. Das Telefonat verlief total positiv und nun werde ich morgen nach Chilliwack fahren. Dazu brauchte es zunächst auch mal noch ein Busticket, welches ich ncoh schnell gekauft habe, bevor ich nach Stanley Park gefahren bin. Der ist wirklich total schön. Schon im Anflug gestern konnte man sehen, dass Vancouver auf vielen (Halb)inseln erbaut wurde. Eine dieser Halbinseln hat man zu einem riesigen Pakr verwandelt. Ich habe innerhalb von 1.5 Stunden vielleicht gerade mal ein Zehntel gesehen, während ich gleichzeitig einen wunderbaren Blick auf die Skyline von Vancouver und den Hafen hatte.
Im Anschluss bin ich noch ein bisschen durch Downtown getingelt, bevor ich den Seabus nach Northern Vancouver genommen habe. Das ist (ähnlich den Vaparettos in Vendig) ein öffentliches Schiff, das die Bucht überquert. Northern Vancouver ist einmalig udn ganz anders als Downtown hier. Völlig ruhig und sehr viel mehr Wohnsiedlung. Dort gibt es auch eine wunderschöne Markthall mit allen möglichen Ständnen von überall her.
Jetzt bin ich um 4 Blasen, tausende Eindrücke und so manches Lächeln weiter. Gleich gehe ich noch mit einer anderen Deutschen, die ich gerade kennen gelernt habe noch auf einen chinesischen Nachtmarkt. Morgen ist dann noch ein Einführungsseminar und dann fahre ich acuh schon nach Chilliwack. Wie ich mcih von da aus melde, kann ich noch nicht sagen, weil ich nciht weiß, wie dort der Tagesablauf und der Internetzugang sind.

Shalom

One Week

One week left, until the plane leaves... one little week to see all the peopleonce again... one week to tell myself it will only be for a short time... one week until the new adventure start. One week until I'll see a new part of my home. One week, until I'm gone.

Graduated

Hello!!!
Don't know, if still anybody's reading this, but anyway... I'm finally done with school, graduated. The dance and the party are over, now it's time to look forward. I'm coming to Vancouver in May and will travel on to Nova Scotia in July hoping to meet a lot of friends there before I'll return home in August...
But before I'll cross the ocean, I'll go to Taize for one week and then to Switzerland for skiing.
So... be blessed and everything

Unmotivated

Actually, I should be doing something more intellegent at the moment, like planning and stuff, but right now, i'm totally unmotivated. So I type something just so that I can't do, what I should so :P Maybe some of you will understand... if anybody reads this. Anyway... probably I should keep going, so byebye :P

Winterimpressions

Some pictures of the wonderful world :)