Friends and Faces of Berlin

I thought it was time you all get a little snapshot of the people and places I see on a regular basis. These are just a few of images of the things that surround my life in Berlin. I only have a few now, but I promise to make a part 2 (or 3...or 4... if necessary). I want to much sure you get to see all the wonderful people on this very large team!

 "We're so excited for UniMAT!" We really were. I think these faces more expressed our feelings about being in the 8 passenger van. L-R Me, Hannah K, Maureen, Kayla, and Mamie.

Behold. The Doner. A common delicacy available on almost every street corner in the city.

Kayla. A most spirited and hilarious individual. This is Kayla in her natural habitat- taking a quick selfie of herself and her gluten-free soup. It's hard not to love her, although you never know what she's going to do or say next!

So technically this one isn't in Berlin. This is a picture of what my Mom's office at work looks like. Two clocks- Chicago time and Berlin time. I think that says it all. You can be praying for my Momma too. And if you see her regularly, you can give her a hug for me. Berlin is great but I still miss my Mom :)

The faces of success at the Burgeramt! We had to register with the city in order to get bank accounts, visas, and follow the law. We woke up at 5:45 to beat the crowds and were pretty excited to be out by 9:00. And so was Mackey. Up top you'll see Nicole, Hannah K, and Maureen. The animal licking my face is our lovable team dog, Mackey (really Adam and Lauren's, but we all like her).

 The Queens of the Castle (roomies), minus Maureen. We were in desperate need for anything closely related to Mexican, and then found some taco seasoning in our cabinet. So we made chicken nachos loaded with veggies and mozzarella (because cheddar is quite hard to find!). Here you've got Nicole, Hannah K, myself, and Mamie. Maureen got home shortly after we took this pic so...

...Maureen now gets her own picture. We accidentally matched completely. And if you know me, my face is the opposite of how I was feeling inside. But Maureen was pretty stoked about it so I guess it was okay.

The Tor. All lit up with moving projections and music for the Festival of Lights. I wish I could describe the Festival better but I think it's just one of those things you have to experience!

 Top- Steph and Hannah K. Bottom- Maureen, Nicole, and I. Enjoying the Festival of Lights together with our hot chocolate and gluhwein. 

This one is so cool. "Let there be light" in the projection onto the Berliner Dom and the TV Tower in the background.

If you are a Heinen or you've had brunch with the Heinens you know what this is. Eggs Benedict on a Saturday morning to celebrate our first full week of work. Just initiating the roommates into the Heinen family!

 Two wonderful things- Sam and a Belgian waffle. Sam and I went to church together, caught up at Starbucks afterward, and took a prayer walk around Alexander Platz. We prayed that God would lead us to the cafe with these waffles that I went to on my spring break trip (I couldn't remember where it was) and bam! 10 minutes later we found it. And then we celebrated by sharing this incredible waffle. So thankful for this beautiful woman, Belgian waffles, and for a God who shows us that he loves us- even in waffles.