Mind = blown

Oh my. I just finished watching last nights Breaking Bad. I am stunned. The first two episodes were more like a little build-up for what just happened there. Check it out and keep looking forward to my review about the whole series(I know you want it e-e-e!)!
And also I felt like writing something here.
A lot of changes are happening at the moment, for example my medication training is finished like 9 hours ago. Day 4 went very well and was actually fun. Such a relief even when a lot of responsibility is now falling on shoulders with it! Don't panic I am not allowed to prescribe drugs or anything, I am just allowed to administer them as ordered by the physician.
Well, enough of that. I just want to sleep. This week will be so awesome, I only got 3 working days and all of them look like fun(even when I get tired watching the stuffed Google calendar every day, it's overwhelming). Not too much work, but still enough to not get bored though. And considering this, I have to say: I love my home and the community! Sometimes it can be a little bit too much, but not this week!
Also my days away are shifting again so my weekends are kinda inconsistent, which does not have to be directly a bad thing. In my head I'm planning my trips in the future time like watching a playoff NBA game, visting friends or welcoming some friends from Germany. Do what you gotta do!
I posted this on facebook a few hours ago.. but still I want to share it to you again. If someone made a movie about my life, this has to be the soundtrack:

Yo, today was a good day!

To say it with Ice Cube's words: Today it was a good day! Maybe I should extend it to "a good week" because yes, it definitely was. I actually didn't really do anything special, just hangin out at 6th Street, doing routines, attending meetings, having good time and taking some time for myself. 

Sometimes I just need half an hour alone, playing guitar or watching a series or whatever, because here are always people around. A lot. So I am grateful for having my own room(I heard that this was not always a standard in the community here), the first time I can really appreciate stuff like this because I never thought about it before. 

Sorry for not writing much in the past days, there actually wasn't really interesting stuff that I wanted to share. Just work, fun, meetings, sleeping, hanginaround(great song by the Counting Crows btw). 

I now want to share a little bit about my busy day, it all started last night when I checked my schedule and was like: "Fuck yeah, seems like a free-and-finally-long-sleeping day, because the first thing on my schedule was on 2:30pm. I stayed up till like 2am or even later, I don't know, watching Star Trek and enjoying some free time. I feel like a freak about it, believe me. But it is unexpectedly great and fun, yeah! 

"Hey Paul, I think you have a meeting right now" - this is what I heard through the door of my room today at around 10am. In the (lovely) british voice of another assistant, who fortunately decided to wake me up. Let's say it like this: We are all humans. And humans forget things. So no big deal, I got myself to Highland House(I still don't know how I managed to get out of bed immediately...but well) and had a meeting about my recruitment process and how I heard about L'Arche with a few other new assistants. After that I fell into my bed and had a around-noon-nap. I could share even more about my day, but that would maybe be a little bit too much for today. Let's sum it up: It was a busy but wonderful day!

Ah yeah, before I forget it: I hope you have seen the two new episodes of one of the greatest television series of all time, Breaking Bad. Walt is back, and Jesse too (more or less).

IT IS JUST SO F GOOD! 

I watched the last episode and when the ending tune turned in I was like "This was not 47 minutes!! This was definitely only 5!!". I could spend hours and hours talking about that show(because it is the best, after "The Wire, of course)! I will honor it in a whole blogpost, maybe when the last season will be finished in about 6 weeks. 

Whoever is reading this, you smell like fish. No just kidding, whoever is reading this: 

I miss you and I appreciate it!

Peace

Hoshi

"Are you sure about this?"

Thank god, I'm alive. My knees are still shaking and my heart is playing speed metal, but I survived the apocalypse. I actually don't know what came to my mind by asking: "Hey Eva-Elizabeth, do you want to cut my hair? Like you did with Daniel?" Probably the money. As you can predict, I love my hair. I really do, but I have no clue what persuaded me to take that step. Normally I only do stupid things when I am drunk or whatever. But hey, long story short: it is good. I sat in the kitchen, laughing and panicking at the same time. It was great actually.
It was as unprofessional as you can imagine, a cooking apron to cover my back and chest, sentences like "I am as nervous as I was with Daniel's hair", or "It is not my first time cutting hair" and of course, the scissors. Just take a look.

Nevermind.
But I have to admit: It looks great. I mean I am always looking great(just kidding) but it is a very good haircut. Thanks Eva-Elizabeth btw!
*Are you searching for your new barbor or haircutter? Call 6th Street and you will have it done!*
Here it is(the picture is pretty weak, face to face is always better, remember that!)

Just wanted to share this with you, it was so much fun! Seeya!

Backstreet's back, alright! Singing boy band classics, doing the Safety Dance and just messing around all the time.. 

Fun times at 6th Street, even though it is sometimes really hard to stay focused(oversleeping and starting a day like shit can do its part), I love my job here! Working with the core members is fun and encouraging because I can see relationships forming and developing every day, either involving me or not. 

To be good at the work here needs time, dedication and a lot of sensitivity and love for the detail. You learn by watching, trying by yourself and failing. It's life. But I love it, I feel like one year of this will make me such a better person overall. 

Okay now that's enough about the serious part, bro. Shit. I love my life, this weekend was so freaking good! I met one of my best friends from Germany who stays in the US as well for a whole year. Thanks to god that the distance between us is not much of a concern, a 2 hour drive plus a few metro/bus stations and it's done, nice! We just hung out Saturday/Sunday and had a good time (Btw the White House is really boring... maybe because it was my second time but yeah, nothing special). 

After that I felt like buying something.. I just had to get rid of some money and I was lucky to find a CD of one of my new favourite bands as I told you before. Hard Candy for 4 bucks, booya! I am addicted to the Counting Crows at the moment and while I'm spending my whole day listening to their music, Jack Johnson and the John Butler Trio, I followed the recommendations from two of my housemates, I'm totally into Alternative now. I was told to check the Dave Matthews Band out and oh my gosh, it is so awesome! 

I also want to tell you that I am a professional cook now. Jamie Oliver would be proud. Just kidding. I did pasta today. 

Well.. it was spaghetti with red sauce and I was not doing it alone.. just do not laugh and we're fine. But food that you prepare yourself does actually taste so much better than done by anyone else. 

I miss hell of a lot people from Germany, but the specific persons change each day. I almost forgot to mention that I am still sad about a new friend departing to Germany last friday after spending the last 4 weeks with me every day. Nevermind. Enough whiny stuff for this post. I don't want to start with that today. 

Here is something to laugh about before going to bed. Good night, I love you and hakuna matata!

4 weeks

Time is running!

At 5:50am I woke up and realized that I've been here in Arlington for 4 weeks. 28 days. Wow! This fact was mind-blowing because I still have to think about whether it seems short or very long for me. Damn, I just don't know.
But as my first month is over now, I feel like this is my new home(even though it is only temporary). Despite serious struggles in community life with some members in general, the feeling of independency helps me a lot. I feel like growing and growing all the time with all the challenging parts of community live-in life.
The last days were super-stressful but very good and energizing as well. I had a stuffed schedule with barely no breathing/energy-restoring time which however did not decrease the fact that I feel good spending time with my new friends. Thanks for helping and tolerating me(as annoying as I can be sometimes..)!
Monday I started the medication training and after 4 weeks I will hopefully be a completely-trained assistant at 6th Street! Jumping into a more or less transition phase of the community was hard but I feel like I am kinda prepared for the upcoming months now.
Looking forward to several skype-meetings with my friends this weekend, also I need to see my family again! Excuse my inconsistent writing/skyping.. how I said, the schedule is doing its thing!

This weekend will be awesome because I meet one of my best friends from Germany in DC. Yeah yay yeah!
Whatever, tonight I will celebrate the B.+S. combo with a new good friend of mine who is leaving tomorrow afternoon and departing himself to Germany.
Next update will come up soon, for questions just feel free to ask or text me personally,
seeeeya!

I need some rest!

Here we go again!
Stressful but great times at 6th Street, I'm starting to feel the groove and flow of the house. Although it is not running smoothly the past days because of some little troubles, I'm having no doubts that I will survive this year(even without my dog). I feel accepted and loved at L'arche which is the most important thing about my year of service. I start feeling and experiencing the hard and emotionally exhausting parts of being an assistant who cares for people with developmental, intellectual disabilities but I have to say: I love the work.
I'm sorry for maybe getting too sensitive right now, but I feel I kinda need it tonight. It's 1 am and I'm sitting here very sleepy thinking about life...
Certain core members make my day just by being around, they show me what life is truly about. I learned so much about myself in the past 3 days, por ejemplo I feel comfortable to hold people accountable, even though I'm still pretty bad at it. In some moments I am great at doing things, sometimes I have to accept that I'm not perfect. Failure is the best way to grow though. Thanks to all the other assistants for helping me out, it's amazing to have you guys.
I can even overcome my laziness, if you believe it or not.
But as good as it sounds.. I need the upcoming weekend! I need relief, that's what I experienced in the last days, I need some time for myself, get refreshed to jump into another busy but hopefully awesome week.
Just wanted to give you the opportunity to witness my life here in depth, I really appreciate that you are reading this!
Oh, before I go to bed I have to tell you this: A few people told me that my English is "killer" and "awesome" and "good"! That just made me so happy and proud that I had to tell you, whouhouu !
Miss you guys, I will try to make some photos maybe for the next post, hopefully this will work!
Take care and enjoy!