Insert Witty Title Here

So I sat down and thought today and I realize how much has happened during this last year at college. Even though I haven't actually been a student since Feb I've been living there and the real world looms up ahead. What's really in store for all of us college graduates who are almost $100,000 in debt with no jobs to be had in our fields? How are we all to be able to begin paying back our student loans in 6 months? This is going to be one of the roughest starts to the adult world for generations. Where not too long ago people didn't have to seriously worry all that much about things (granted the loans etc were all there) because finding a job wasn't always difficult. However, it seems more and more the response to what people are doing after graduation is either a) goto grad school or b) move back home. I see so many people already struggling and I'm just not sure whats going to happen with us all. Keep your fingers crossed and Goddess help us.

Iowa Adventure

So yesterday I went on an adventure through Iowa. My friend Melina and I spent 10 hours traveling around and looking at the fun, interestingness, and hidden beauty in that Midwestern State called Iowa.

We were shocked when we started getting to northern Iowa at the beauty of the hills and trees. Our first stop was in Strawberry Point. Home of the World’s Largest Strawberry. We got out took out needed pictures of us “holding” the strawberry up and decided we wanted to go buy some strawberry gifts. Turns out they don’t have a tourist shop. But we did find some good postcard finds in the gas station. Then we were hungry so we picked the most local and unique sounding restaurant there. Back Home Country Cookin. Boy did we make a GOOD choice. The place was packed with locals and all the waiters knew people by name and customers jokes with each other across the room. It really was a friendly and homey feeling. Plus the food was DELISH.

We then left there to drive another 20 mins to the Taylorsville Cemetery where we were on a mission for my mom to locate some relatives. We did find a few and we are afraid that a few more may have been grown over because we had to pull up some grass in order to see the dates on the stone of my great great grandfather. We tried to find hidden graves in the random empty area around the Family stone by listening for a different sound when we hit the grass and trying to dig a few inches down here and there. Needless to say I’m sure there were hundreds of spirits laughing at us yesterday.

We then headed off to the Maquoketa Caves State Park, however, we had a pit stop in Dyersville along the way. Whats in little Dyersville you ask? Only the filming location for the Universal Studios film Field of Dreams. This is where the baseball field is. Unlike most places like this where you cant do anything but look at it for about $10 and then maybe grab a souvenir shirt, the site was completely free to visit and you could even play baseball on the field. While we were there a dad and his son were having some batting practice on the famous field. How awesome is that?

When we finally arrived at the park we were shocked to find there was only a shitty map of the place on a sign and none for us to take and people were REALLY muddy. We went through one cave and it was awesome then we headed out to find the Ice Cave. We think we might have found the opening but didnt go in it because it looked like a hole that led to nowhere. So we kept walking. After about an hour of random paths, uneven stone stairs, steep as hell wooden stairs we get to the top of a hill at this little pagoda and the path ends. We did however find cell service. We were so disappointed that we never found the cave (because we didnt think the random hole was it) but it was getting dark and a storm was brewing so we left with plans to return. Only after we got home did we learn that the caves were being closed due to some fungus humans causing in the caves that are making the bats sick. Soooo sad we’ll never be able to find the ice cave.

Seriously?

Upset doesn't even describe it. More like disappointment. I borrowed my dad's camera for a few days and was excited to have a camera where I could swivel the screen around and see what I was capturing when doing self portraits. Little did I know that even though he has a 12mp camera he has it set on the lowest setting. So now I've got some decent shots but they're all....ugh low quality. They'd never be able to be printed without looking grainy. Why would anyone want such small photos?? I guess now I've learned to ALWAYS check the settings, because leaving it on good quality obviously isn't...well obvious.

flickr
formspring.me

Hello

**Note** I'm aware there are previous posts. But I dont feel like deleting them. So I'm pretending this is the beginning of a new blog.
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Well, here goes another attempt at the blogging thing. I’ve done this many times before and it fails miserably because I always forget to write stuff down. I’m hoping I’ll use it more though because I can post my photos and such here that I really like. For anyone that reads this I guess I’ll write a bit about myself:

My name is Jen. I’m 22 and recently graduated college. I feel I have a seemingly useless bachelors in German and I have no idea what I’m going to do with such a degree. I’m unemployed and my savings is dwindling fast. If I don’t find a job within the next few months I’ll be forced to move back to my parents. I have the worst luck with guys, and you’ll probably see multiple emo/depressed/angry posts dealing with the guys (or lack of them) in my life. And even though I just said that…I’m not emo. I love to listen to music and my favorite band of all time is Death Cab for Cutie. I also enjoy reading. Lately I’ve been reading the House of Night series and I’m über excited for the new book coming out today.

My biggest hobby lately is photography and I think it would be cool if people thought my stuff was good and that I could make money at it. People keep telling me to apply at a portrait studio, but I dont want to have to take the pictures that other people want. I want to capture what I see in the world as I see it. I don’t want my stress reliever and escape from the real world to become my work. Maybe if I were decent at portraits I’d think differently.

www.flickr.com/chasingautumn

More Travels Soon

Ok, so I'm fully aware that I was in Germany for 6 weeks and wrote 3 posts. I'm terrible at this. Well, in 2 weeks I will be in Asia for 2 weeks with spotty internet. I'll probably not write a single thing here until I get back, maybe...

Why not

Well, Germany is long over (ok more like 3 weeks), but I figured what the hey. I have the blog. TRy to use it.

Classes are alright. I'm dropping Vivian's one credit class. There is way too much work for just one credit involved. AND he hates the B2 room so even though there are 15 of us in the class we are all crammed into 213. When I got there last week there was literally no room left at the table and i had to sit in the corner and use my lap as my desk. To me, it's just not worth it. I would love to have free time on Thursdays.

Japanese is hard. So much of the hiragana looks the same. And its hard to learn vocab with the romanized alphabet and then also learn it in hiragana. Oh well, its just for a term anyway.

French isnt bad at all. I seem to be picking up on that one pretty well. Also Dr vivian said that Romanian isnt hard to learn once you know French..so yay!

Erm yeah..blogs....

So it's pretty much official. I am the worst blogger on the face of the planet. I guess I never got around to copying and pasting all of the emails I sent home to people on here. I've seen a ton of awesome places: Hamburg, Fulda, Hofbieber, Weimar, Passau, Eichstaett, Vienna, Augsburg, Ingolstadt, Munich...and soon to be more. I only have 10 days left of my 6 weeks here. See? I told you..worst blogger ever.

Polizei Bitte!!!

So this is what I heard for about 10 minutes straight. Outside the Hostel window there was a group of people and I didnt think anything of it because there was this huge drunken music fest all day and people have been loud all night. So all of a sudden this guy starts calling for the police. And I look and there is a guy on the ground with a ripped shirt. Now I cant tell if its from a fight or because he was trying to dress like he was a hippie...So im sitting there and he wont stop yelling and he's sounding really deprate and I was like omg i would call but I dont have the number for police here...and then I remembered that Lisa and Holly have my phone...so just as I get up to goto the hotel desk to say call the police..the police showed up...They were there about 20 mins and then an ambulace shows up...sooo what a lovely night I've had...

Also I didnt go with holly and lisa to go dancing with anna-greta because I had a headache and I knew strobe lights wouldnt help..they give me headaches...

I have weird red spots...my dad thinks its lyme disease...im 3000 miles from home...

In Hamburg

We have spent 2 days in Hamburg now and have seen all the major sites. So far pictures are on facebook. Flights and all were good no baggage lost or whatever. Although sadly Dan's mom's luggage was lost on their way to Thailand...

Nicole "surprised" us when our flight landed in Munich and we spend the afternoon with her. It was awesome. She even wrote love signs to us while waiting for her train to leave.

I have these two red spots that are almost like rings. I dont know what they are...they look a little like ringworm but they are on my arm and chest and they dont ooze, but the one does itch ...

I'm leaving on a jet plane....

...tomorrow. The adventure begins.

Oh, kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
cause Im leavin on a jet plane
Dont know when Ill be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

I shall miss you...