Hey Friends and Family!
I've decided to try to keep everyone updated with my blog so that I don't encounter as many problems with e-mail addresses. Hopefully this works.
School started for Black Forest Academy students this week. I'm in a dorm with 20 girls (actually, 19 for now, and the 20th is coming later). Our youngest is in 7th grade, and we have 6 Seniors. Our dorm name is Storchenblick, but we call ourselves "Storch" (pronounced in English "stork," and in German "schtork." It is appropriately named after the storks that are abundant in our little village of Holzen. We live next to a quaint church, whose roof is home to at least three different storks.
One of my Senior girls, Crystal, is helping me write this first blog note. She suggested that I write about our daily life in Storch.
Girls come down for breakfast between 7 and 7:30 AM. They do their morning chores between breakfast and leaving for school at 8:20AM. While they are in classes, the dorm staff works together to do grocery shopping, prepare snack, plan for the week, and pray for our students. Then, we get a "4-hour" break, which we're still trying to actually make possible. :) Storch is known for being a pretty athletic dorm, so many of our girls stay after school for sports (or just to spend time with friends). Others come home and get a wonderful snack from their fantastic and loving dorm staff. ;-) Between snack and supper, we can go out to the Eis Cafe (Ice cream), or go for hikes, or go shopping (briefly), or play some games on the field nearby. After dinner, which is prepared by a central BFA kitchen, which in my opinion is not nearly as bad as some say. In fact, I kind of like it. After dinner, many girls can either hang out or do their evening chores until about 7:15, when we begin 2 hours of study time. While the girls may not love that time, I do. It's great to be able to wonder around and help out with some tutoring, and it's a fantastic time to pop into people's rooms to chat with them. Lights out is at 10:30 for everyone except Seniors. They set their own bed times (and are pretty responsible about it).
Wednesday nights are Senior Snack. Candy, my C0-RA, hosts this in her room. Our first Snack was last week, and it was a fantastic time to get to know the girls and to have a good time. They even helped put some very-- CREATIVE -- outfits together for RA Olympics.
I'll try to post some pictures soon!
Blessings to you all!
