Hallo!

So the first week of my class is over. It's a lot of fun, though a bit boring because I know 99% of what is being taught. We have a couple of people in the class that are quite slow, but the class is progressing quickly; it doesn't even feel like we've had four days of class! My class is quite diverse, in both gender and nationality, which is something I am happy about. There are two Italians (M & F), two Koreans (both F), two Spaniards (both M), one girl from Honduras, one lady from Cuba, one lady from Russia, one girl from Serbia, one girl from Poland, one guy from France, one guy from Turkey, one girl from Japan (who has the cutest name ever, Tomo), one guy from China, one guy from England, and me (obviously). This class has given me so much confidence, not just in speaking what little German I already know, but also with going places alone and buying things in stores alone. It's really great!

A lot has happened since I wrote last. Helene is saying more and more words every day and is now starting to put phrases together. Her favorite phrase right now is, "Noch mal," which means, "again." She also says, "Hin setzen" a lot, which means, "Sit here." A new thing she started saying yesterday has a story behind it. Karin showed up yesterday to see if I wanted to go on a walk and to play at the playground with Helene. I went with them and as soon as Helene saw me she said, "Tulli! Missed! Tulli! Missed!" She heard her mom say, "I miss you" to a family member, and she says "Tulli" because she can't say "Julie." It's funny that she says it though, because "misst" in German is like saying "crap" in English. She has also started saying, "Tulli morgen" which means that she wants to see me tomorrow. She's the cutest baby in the world and she makes me want one of my own. She's such an intelligent girl; she'll make her parents proud.

I miss my family and my friends terribly. I have also done some cleaning in the friend department and finally took out the trash. I feel like I am missing so much, though. My best friend got engaged about a month ago and I am going to be in her wedding, which I am VERY excited about! But I'm going to miss all her showers and parties and I won't be able to be there for her until July/the wedding. I just remind myself that I will be there for as much as I can; I wouldn't trade anything for that.

Short post, but I'm hungry. Schönen Tag noch! Tschüss!