The Social Porcupine

Practicing splits When I first left Stuttgart , I was very nervous for many reasons. What if my next au pair family didn't work out? What if I didn't like my new class as much as I loved my old classes? Would I be able to find friends and a church so easily again? Would I even enjoy the rest of my time?  These are such silly worries, I know. But looking back, I realize I was more stressed than I let myself acknowledge. And my health was not good at all. I've never had a problem finding things to do and people to do them with. And yet the first two months in Germany really upturned my confidence for a time.  That was good, by the way. It's wonderful learning and growing, especially once the pain is gone.  I didn't even fully realize how poor my health had become until I saw this picture taken with my new German classmates. I had become very quiet and reserved, with little motivation to share with others. I told myself it was because I felt so much peace. Which wa...

Originally I wasn't going to be an Au Pair in Stuttgart, but for a family with six children just across from the border of Austria in Bavaria. The mother had contacted me around two years, along with two other families. But I immediately loved her best ... she just seemed so nice over messages, and I loved that she had more than the normal two or three kids most German families have.  But neither of us was very organized. First, I could never come as soon as she wanted. Then it never worked out for us to Facetime. And the contract got lost in the mail. And so many other little things, that when the Stuttgart family contacted me and things actually fell into place, I decided to go with them instead. It wasn't that I was impatient to get to Germany. I also had a cleaning business to think about. I was in the middle of hiring someone to take over all my houses while I was gone, and she was quitting all of her other work to come work for me. So dates mattered. And yes,...