"Shoot for the moon...

even if you miss you’ll land among the stars."

After googling to find the origin of this quote, I found two options. One site said it was a quote from Brian Littrell, who I discovered is a former member of Backstreet Boys. I knew I couldn't possibly be quoting a Backstreet Boy on my blog, so I continued searching. And it looks as though the quote actually comes from Les Brown, a motivational speaker. Yes, that sounds much more appropriate. We'll stick with that.

Anyways - to the point. Difficult decisions have come upon me over these past couple of days, and we all know how amazing I am at making decisions. Well, I finally just came up with a solution to this little dilemma, set the wheels in motion, then strolled into the kitchen to make lunch. As I threw together the fixings for a salad, I noticed the end of the tomato I had pulled from the fridge. See photo above. I choose to take this as a sign. So maybe my decision wasn't perfect, or maybe something went awry along the way that got me into this situation, but look. I still landed among the stars :) I'm certain things will work themselves out. Thank you tomato for making my day.

cheerio.

They say Americans love Heidelberg...

I was told that three times in one day shortly after arriving in Heidelberg. And after spending two weeks there, I can see why they say it. Not specifically about Americans, but for all people. It's a quaint little town, and of course a place with lots of history (maybe that's why Americans like it? our history just isn't quite that old).

I didn't get out to take in the sites until my last weekend there. A shame. A friend came to town on Saturday, so we hit up the old town and grabbed some lunch at a Mexican place. Yeah, I know. German Mexican food - just not the same, but was still good nonetheless. Sunday I took a hike on the "Philosophenweg", a trail overlooking the old town. That's where the photos were taken. I proceeded to lose myself in the forest once I deviated off the main trail a bit. Was a beautiful escape after finishing my courses.

Feels like home....

Monday I said "tschuss" to Heidelberg, where I lived just "down the road" from the US military base, and enjoyed being in the land of the soft pretzel (which I have learned used to be hidden on Easter just like eggs are these days. I must say, I would prefer finding pretzels) and journeyed back to Berlin. Stepping off the train station just blocks from the place I'm staying (same place as before I left for my great European study adventure), I felt like i was coming home somehow. As strange as it may be, this is the place I've lived for the longest amount of time in the past 3+ years. Who thought I'd ever call Berlin "home". But, I guess for another month it is.

Berlin is a whole new place when there are leaves on the trees, the snow has disappeared, and the sun is out full-force. Ahhh spring. I'm really going to enjoy relaxing a bit and getting to see the city over this next month now that there are no classes to worry about - only planning my thesis.

And having said that, it's time to hit the patio for some vitamin D, vino and a book on qualitative research. What a combination.

Wrapping up...

I guess it's about that time again...

I arrived to Heidelberg, Germany about a week and a half ago to finish up with my Advanced Modules for my program. This final course is on consultancy skills in international health for the evaluation of health projects and programs. The professor is a pretty fantastic woman (a fellow nurse), with many years of experience as a consultant, and has done an amazing job at convincing me that short-term international health consultancy is not the career for me =) Maybe someday, but definitely not any time in the near future...too tough of a game for me to manage right now.

I am happy to announce that although we have two days of lecture left, our assignments for the course are finished as of today. I'm looking forward to seeing a bit more of Heidelberg now that the rush of the first week is over. All I've really seen so far is the castle (see photos), but Heidelberg is a pretty small place, so I guess there's not much left to see! Saturday a dear friend I met six years ago in Honduras will come to visit, so I'm really looking forward to seeing her again and to finally meet her family.

Next Monday it's back to Berlin, to prepare for my sister's first ever European vacation! Only one month away, and I can hardly wait. In the mean time, I'll be working on preparing the research for my thesis, and on May 25 it's back to Iowa for a few days, then off to Honduras for the annual medical brigade to Olanchito. I've been dying to head back that way, and am really excited to spend some weeks on the Ranch. Missing the kids like crazy.

Well, here are a few pictures from the castle, and probably more to come after this weekend.
hugs all around...