Dinner with Herr Bauer, take 2: NEVER joke before dinner about dinner.

While getting ready, Nadine and I were joking that the only thing that could possibly be worse than the week before's dinner for me would be shell fish. I HATE shellfish. I would GLADLY take any thick, juicy, Adriel (or even MercyHouse Chris-Josh) style steak over shellfish. So we go to dinner in the next town over, and i want asparagas creme soup and taziki for dinner (restraunts greek), but Achim and Herr Bauer wont let me order the taziki, and instead order me a platter of SHELL FISH! It was a very very good thing Nadine was there, because when the food came out, i was so speechless, i couldnt have said anything if i had tried. This platter had oysters, calamari, taziki, olives, tomatoes, babagonush, WHOLE crayfish (think mini brown lobsters), and fried crayfish tail. Thankfully Achim helped himself to the crayfish. Nadine and I couldnt look at each other the entire time, otherwise, we'd both end up laughing. I managed to choke down most of the platter (save for the oysters and crayfish tails)... Scary when calamari (very very bad calamari) is more platable than the whole diced raw tomato (i had to chew that quickly and do some fancy and descrete knife-fork handling to advoid upchucking that). Immediatly following that dinner Nadine and I hit the pub next to our hotel.

I felt so BAD though, because Herr Bauer is such a nice man and really wanted to take us out to a nice dinner and though he was doing me a favor by ordering that platter.

Aside from that, I had the chance to meet Sedat last night, a person who has been very important to Nadine. Great person, a gentleman, but his southern German accent was so thick, we had a very hard time communicating.

Well Im off to ride my latest horse (I ride 2-4 horses a day). Shes a Rheinlander, black mare, named Mona Lisa. Shes a blast to ride, and actually reminds me a bit of Chavez under saddle (a bit long and leggy). Yesterday I worked on counter-canter and walk-canter-walk: cutting edge stuff for her.

Take care, and keep the emails coming! I love reading them, even if I dont get a chance to respond to them right away. My contact info is the barn contact info. (I dont have all right off hand, but its on the site).

so for all of you out there wondering, SNFU is an acrynom for systems all fouled up. :) hahaha... the hotel where nadine and i are staying is about 7 to 10 km away from the barn, so we were given Katrins car... a silver MERCADES that is less than 10 years old. we hope to move out of our hotel into an apartment and exchange Katrins car for Herr Bauers extra smart car sometime this week! WHAT FUN!!!!

Also, i think i have to make a case point for my mother. Always know the proper etiquitte, especially when a multi-millioniar takes you out to dinner. These germans have been incredible hospitible to us, often taking us out to dinner in the evenings since we dont have a kitchen. This includes Herr Bauer, the farms owner (a multi-millioniar). the last time he took us out to eat, he had pre-ordered a 3 course meal, complete with schnapps after the meal. This meal was salad, quiche, and duck (for the non veggies, noodles for me). Nadine and I both had to choke down things we dont like; for me it was quiche (that was the first, the last and teh only time i will ever eat that) and for nadine, it was duck, eaten german-style: right off teh bone, skin and all. i was quite thankful for being a vegetarian for that one.

Its been a really rocky past couple days (might be an understatement), but I think I am learning lots. As for the horses, three have primarly come under my care. One is a four year old oldenburg mare, bay, who was origionally started a little bit incorrectly, so I'm re-doing her training and adding to it. Shes a pretty solid lower training level horse right now. The next, is a 6 year old chestnut hannoverian gelding, called Westerwille (after a german politician). Hes one of the most difficult (if not the most difficult) horse that isnt a stallion. I actually have a ton of fun riding him. Hes a bit Fergus-y in that hes a fairly mental ride, and hes definitely has a politician streak in his personality. He HATES being picked up from long reins, but once he gets over that he is starting second level. The other day I began simple changes and counter canter with him! The third in my care, is the stallion Cabaret. I often accidentally call him Starr, because he reminds me so much of Starr in his expressions and build. He was given to me and Nadine to ride/work because hes had three months off, and needs to get back in shape. Katrin says that if we can ride Cabaret well, we'll be able to ride anything well. Right now, riding-wise, he feels like Starr on an off day when he is good and Wez/Misha when he is bad. Fortuantly though, that should change, as hes only been ridden twice... once by Katrin and once by me.

Katrin's wonderful. She has to be the most charasmatic person I've ever been around, and she is a phenomenonally beautiful rider. I enjoy my lessons with her, our frequent dinners, and the chance to have more of her and her riding "rub off" on me.

Earlier in this post I mentioned that it has been a tough time, and it has. Although my german horse vocab is rapidly improving, I won't deny that there is a language barrier. Perhaps even more than that, there is a cultural barrier. Although I am quite use to the groom work that I am doing, the entire german mindset and barn culture is so much different than I am use to, that I often encounter problems and frustrations because of the differences. Nadine and I have both struggled, but in two different ways. For her, I think, there has been some personality differences, while for me there has definitely been cultural differences. Someone remarked that I ride like an American, but at the same time, other germans who do not know who i am, have asked about me on teh side lines, saying that my riding is like a painted picture. Nicht schlecht.

So here I am in Germany. I came to the Gestüt Saturday and have been working ever since. The horses, instruction and people here are incredible. I keep having to remind myself that its for real. I spend most mornings grooming (the stallions) and putting horses in and out of the hot walker. Actually, I might as well give you a detailed glimpse at the routine here: Katrin picks Nadine and me up at a very punktlich 7:10am from our hotel (a SAFU in itself), at the barn, we help with feeding, then we go to breakfast. After that we help put shavings in stalls, open the stall windows for the horses and tack up French Kiss, the first horse. We sweep, and continue tacking/untacking horses for the next 3-4 hours. After that, machen wir eine Pause (2 hour lunch break) then Nadine and I spend the rest of the day lunging, grooming, and riding. Thus far, I've ridden one of the stallions (Rubinstolz...GP), and two of the younger horses. Most of the time its very much like a Kari-group lesson: you ride as normal and occationally you receive instruction from Katrin. With the less advanced horses, we are often turned loose with. Katin is incredible, in a word. Not only can she teach in both languages, but she has an excellent eye and provides excellent guidence.

I've forgotten how much I truly enjoy these near all-nighters. Dawn's breaking; the crescent moon has a slight yellowish tinge to it, set against the slate/marine blue sky. The birds are chirping.

This day's been a fairly productive one. Not so much in the academic sense, but very much in the God-sense. Amazing how He works when one is completely unaware of it. I got a lot of packing done for Europe... all that is left is to remember to print out my flight info and remember to wear the clothes I have laid out. Possessions for 14 weeks all crammed into a moderate-sized gym bag and small suitcase.

Last night was so incredible. It was such a God night. The night sky was fantastic; the stars were so clear and so bright and all of creation just seemed to cry "glory!"


Two long talks tonight/this morning. Both very different, but very good in their own right. The well spring of love, forgiveness, and friendship does not dry up easily.

I never thought I'd be one of those people who kept an online journal. Yet here I am doing so. I'm coming to find its form (and the fact it is public) quite useful (nuetzlich).

Sad that today was my last time at MERCYhouse for a long while. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited for Europe and all that it offers, but I'm going to miss it. It's a comforting feeling, though, knowing that I'll be ejected from the Vortex for 16 weeks, and then I can come back to it. This type of talk seems foolish/foreign/komisch to those who have not experienced it...

Yet for all I don't know, one thing remains. I want to just be consumed by the Spirit, to be someone the world watches burn. And I never want it to end.

Matt is absolutely right though; I am an heir to a promise, to a long-standing tradition, part of a long line of believers, another link in the chain. This is where I belong.

Welcome to the creation of my new blog spot. Never figured I'd ever do one of these e-journal type-things, but never say never.

Tonight was a wonderful mix of happiness and sorrow; happiness for I was with the people I hold closest to me, but sorrow because I am sad to see so many of them sent off into the world after such a breif acquantiance. Finally met Matt though. My mind is still turning over some of his words; finding the smoothness and edges, as if those words were nothing more than a beach rock. Yes, I am part of a legacy, a long line of believers.