Crazy Adventures in the Life of a Redhead

Every time I leave Germany, I know that I will be back. I always enjoy being there discovering new elements I had not previously experienced. Even though I love Germany and was a little despondent in leaving, I was really looking forward to exploring a new country. Poland was my 27th country. (I am keeping a chronological list of all the countries I have visited in hopes that I will reach 50 by the time I am 30. We shall see; that means I have 23 countries to see in the next six years.) For many years and a couple of reasons, Poland has been on my list of countries to visit: one, I have a Polish friend from college who absolutely adores her Polish heritage and two, Chicago has a huge Polish community, so I had been intrigued by the Polish culture, mostly Polish food for quite some time ☺ When planning my trip, I knew I had to start in Germany and I wanted to get to Ukraine to visit my college friend who is in the Peace Corps, so Poland seemed like a logical interim place and the perfec...

Sometimes you must take a chance on friendship, even when it is expensive or a little untimely. When my friend from Germany, who I met in 2008 in Washington, D.C. through the Washington Semester Program, invited me to come to Germany for a wedding celebration for her recent marriage, I knew I could not pass up the invitation. Although quite impractical considering I had just returned from a 13-week-around-the-world excursion, I knew something special awaited me. While planning the three-week trip, I was working as a nursing assistant, returning to the job that had kept me financially stable throughout college. Even though the job market is volatile at best, even for part-time jobs, I was confident in procuring a job. Not only did I get hired for one job in the home-health field, but also I was hired as a nursing assistant at the local nursing home, which is one of the nicest I have ever seen. These two jobs were keeping me busy and helping me to fund the trip, so much so that when I le...