Experiencing the American Dream!

I can hardly believe that it´s only been a little less than 2 weeks, that I left home and loved ones behind to head out for a little adventure, so many wonderful things have I experienced over here in the land of the free and the land of dreams. It has been an immensely enriching and unbelievably terrific experience for me because of so many great people and good friends. Thank you so much for making this possible!



In front of the Timpanogos Temple



So after my brief visit in Miami, I left sun, beach and palm trees behind, to head northwest towards the eternal snow-covered mountains of Utah, with its splendid capital Salt Lake City and many many old friends to visit. This time the flight was rather uneventful (over Dallas to Salt Lake) and I was awaited and picked up at the airport by our former Institute couple in Munich, the Coverstons, that took me in, as if I was one of their own. We spend a couple of really nice days together, had lot´s of tasty Mexican food, laughed and talked a lot and got to know most of the temples around their domicile, as the first 2 we approached were closed, but I got some nice pictures (Draper Temple, Oquirrah Mountain Temple, Jordan River Temple).

From there I went to explore downtown Salt Lake City (with public transportation!!! progressive America ^^), including the beautiful temple square, where I spent almost 3 hours looking for Alica Klemm (a good friend from my home ward serving her mission at temple square) getting to know almost all the sisters (including 2 French sisters I knew from Bordeaux^^) and we had such a great time catching up and I was really happy that I found her!

For Lunch I got invited by my mission friend and travel companion^^ Jenny and it is just such a blast to see your old mission friends again, it is as if it was yesterday and nothing has changed!!

The next stop was at the Woods (a former mission couple that served their entire mission in my ward) they are so great, you can only love them! We went out for dinner and I had the biggest rack of ribs I´ve ever seen, and probably the best tasting too. In the morning classic American Breakfast with waffles, bacon, maple syrup, berries and whip cream! (really tasty, although probably not recommended for weightwatchers^^) And they even lent me their car, however this term is at least to some extent misleading, as this Chevy Suburban, was definitely the biggest SUV I´ve ever seen (at eye level with the real trucks + ca 20 l/100km). However without this cute little monster it would have been difficult to get around, as not only fries, burgers, and tips are bigger in the states, but also streets, buildings, distances and people =)

From there on I spent most of the time with my favorite adopted little brother aka Daniel Rellaford in and around Provo and on BYU campus. I moved into his apartment with his 2 awesome appt. mates Mike and Austin; I must say again you guys are a blast!!! They welcomed me like brothers, inasmuch as they even wanted to keep me as a fourth roommate ;) We visited Daniel´s family in American Fork and had a terrific evening together eating (enchiladas), chatting (vive la France) and laughing (Chuck Norris) at their house! A really nice family =) I met his stunning girlfriend (and I hope future Ms. Rellaford^^), had my first Jdawg (best Hot Dog I ever had, and if a German says so ...), we played Ultimate Frisbee with 25 others for over 2 hours (greets from the sore muscles) and together we celebrated a Mauritian mission revival tradition at probably my favorite food place in the States (followed by Café Rio, the best Mexican food I had): Tucanos, alias all you can eat Brazilian grill with buffet, and a constant supply of any kind of yummy meet and fish, served on spears and cut right on your plate!!! Delicious, but almost as filling as Mauritian hospitality ...

We also had a small local Provo mission reunion with Jenny, Caitlin, and of course D. and me where they made me cook Rougaille Saucisse for us, a very traditional dish from our mission (La Reunion) and again it felt so great to see everyone again, like in the good old times!!! I was also able to see Bernier (sorry for making you cry! we had some way delish, however spicy buffalo wild wings^^) and also Mathis Farbsworbs^^ who came down all the way from Logan to hang out with us. I randomly ran into people I know like LeStarge (missionary from Mada) or Melissa Günther (once in the street and then again at Music & the Spoken word, which by the way was simply amazing and a real treat for the ears + they had a special performance of a really crazy guest director and the in-laws of Melissa invited me to have lunch with them!)

Oh, and I finally got to watch Les Miserables and of course the original English version and I just loved it! It is such a great book, probably the best Musical and the movie too, must not be ashamed to bear the name of the master piece. The beautiful story is so rich and so deep, that many books have been written about it, but I just love how Hugo points out that even the most miserable creature can be helped and changed by a sublime act of kindness and mercy, prompting repentance and restoring joy and sense in life. The movie conveys these messages wonderfully and sticks very close to the musical, as even the entire film is being sung. The performance in singing was only to be exceeded by the performance of the acting (especially Fantine and Jean Valjean), a must watch for anybody, who likes music or good stories!

It was also really nice to see Jamie again and we had a great time together catching up (by the way she got called to the Brazil, Florianopolis Mission!), having fun at the Nickel Arcades (super cheap fun gaming facility) and getting beaten in Laser Tag by a bunch of semi-professional missionaries on their pday! It was great fun anyway =)

During my stay in Utah I visited 7 temples and went inside of 4 (including my first live session at the Salt Lake Temple!!!), I was stunned by the awesomeness of the on-campus YSA-wards in Provo, the many many steeples that pop up basically around every corner and driving in the US can also be considered a very unique experience (I guess I was missing the German Autobahn, I got hold up by a police officer for speeding on the freeway, but I was able to talk myself out of it playing the GERMAN card :P )

Also spiritually this was a really great trip, not only because of the many temple visits and the Singles-Wards, but also because of a very special tour around temple square, where I was able to watch a film, explaining beautifully God´s purpose for us as families. Maybe like never before I felt and understood the sublime perfection and beauty of God´s plan applying directly to a family, it´s really hard to explain, but may it suffice to say, that I know with all my heart that God lives, loves us and wants us to be happy in the family unit and wants us to return in the very same unit into his presence. Families can be forever!

At the end I just want so say thank you soooo much to all those who made this trip not only possible but also such a great experience! It was one of the best times I´ve had and I will always remember you, your kindness and your hospitality! Especially the Coverstons, the Woods and my homie Daniel. But I love all of you & I am really grateful and feel very blessed to have such good friends!

May the force be with you!

 

 

 

 

 

Bienvenidos a Miami!

Over Miami ...

Or in other words, the unexpected somehow is always pretty unexpected! But we will get to that later … So after having said good bye to almost everybody and after a night of last minute packing my luggage, with not too much sleep I headed to Munich airport. My first destination: Miami, Florida. The flight to London Heathrow was without any problems, except that I was amazed by the huge airport, but in London itself things started to get pretty tricky. At arrival I checked the board with all the departing flights and found a flight to Miami which wasn´t to be announced for boarding for another 2 hours … So after 2 hours I went to the now announced gate and presented my ticket … and it was not my flight: At first startled, then shocked I realized: destination Miami, but with Virgin Atlantic and my flight was with American Airlines!!! Long story short … I missed my connecting flight on to Miami and on top of it, it was my fault! Feelings of shock and unbelief almost turned into despair and devastation, and I already started praying on my way to the transfer desk. However I was not only lucky, but also beneficiary of some sort of divine assistance, as this nice lady found me another flight to Miami a few hours later with another airline without even charging an (mandatory) transfer fees!!! 

Malcolm & I at Hollywood Beach (Miami, Florida)

Now I had to change terminal again and go through security again, unfortunately after having bought a 200ml bottle of perfume in the duty free shop! I felt like the stupidest idiot in the world!!! But again, putting everything on one card, I started to pray that they would let me pass, and miraculously after having talked to the guy about my problem he forgot about it and let me through with my perfume! I felt like a little kid on Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter together!!!

In my effort to get in contact with my friend in Miami (Malcolm) to tell him about the flight change I met a famous DJ and musician named Adam Clay (Babylonia), who was very kind to me and of great help!!! Pretty cool =)

Well and finally I made it to Miami in one piece with a different flight and three hours late, but Malcolm was my best man, picked me up and had my stay in Miami already planned out! By the way he is the man!!! And this is basically my first real USA experience as before I´ve only been to the MTC, and that does not really count. So we went out and spent a really nice evening having dinner with two amazing girls (one of them almost proposed to me, Schnitzel :P), I got to know his family, he showed me around in Miami, downtown and the different districts, we had the best donut ever at ????, enjoyed Miami at night, went to have breakfast at the beach, took a quick swim in the ocean and had real Mexican tortillas, that were almost worth missing my flight! That´s what I would consider to be a good day!

Miami itself reminds me a lot of my Mission climate wise and with its beautiful vegetation (so many palm trees!!), the nice beaches and it´s flair for diversity. However it is a lot bigger, roads are huge, we encounter tall and modern buildings mixed with Hispanic haciendas and nice mansions or villas and the diversity is foremost spiced up by Hispanics and Afro-Americans. It´s really pretty and probably el Paraiso Americano. It´s a place where dreams are made, can come true and really easy to fall in love with: for me it took less than 24 hours . . All this was possible because of Malcolm Torino. Thank you so much, you are amazing and we will definitely meet again … Hasta pronto!

A backward glance at my life

Hallo my dear friends and family & welcome to my personal blog!

I hope you will enjoy this as much as I do, because you are the very reason why I write this blog. My life is about to take quite some interesting turns, not only because I will start my semester abroad in Uruguay, but also in more general terms and I wanted you to be able to know what´s going on in my life despite the distance that will separate us. So feel free to read, comment, follow and share my blog ... Enjoy!!!

Mauritius, the giant turtles & ME

The changing point in my life has been my mission, that I had the honor and pleasure to serve on the beautiful Mascareigne Islands of the Indian Ocean off the shore of Africa (Madagascar, Mauritius, La Reunion). I spent 2 years of my life in dedicated service to my Savior Jesus Christ and the wonderful people of these three islands, which I grew to love with all my heart. I served 2 months in Madagascar (Tamatave), around 6 months on La Reunion and 14 months on Mauritius (for those of you who paid attention: the missing 2 months were spent in a missionary training center in the States to learn the language and how to be a good missionary). During this time God blessed me greatly inasmuch as I am now fluent in French and Kreol and was able to get by in Malagasy. I met many interesting and great people over there and am honored to call some of them my friends now.
But all this would have been vain without the many lifes that I´ve seen touched and changed by the love of God and the power of his Gospel, starting with my own ... Now I can say that I know he lives, loves us and cares about us, because I have felt it and experienced his influence in my life. I could probably write an entire book about the lessons, experiences, people, countires and stories of my mission, but that would probably be a little too much for this blog. (for more pictures of my mission check out my facebook page)

Daily life in Tamatave (Madagascar)

So after I got back from my best 2 years, my view of the world was changed and as I had discovered a genuine love for people, languages and cultures I decided to study International Management at Deggendorf University, with a complete program in English, an additional foreign language (Spanish) and two compulsory semesters abroad. The Lord continued to bless me and I got accepted in the program, was able to find  a cheap car and an appartment in Deggendorf and was granted financial aid by the state. I must admit that it was not easy, after 2 years of unequalled awsomeness, to get used to "normal" life or even student life (and to be honest it still isn´t :P ) So I passed these last three Semesters sometimes better and sometimes not that great, and spent lots of my time travelling to different countries in Europe and visiting and catching up with some good old friends.
I also really loved my two church callings as a Primary teacher every sunday for the kids and as President of the YSAs (young single adults) of the Munich stake. Both callings helped me and also many of the concerned to grow and to love each other more fully, and I was able to attend various YSA conventions in a couple of countries, which were a blast!!!
I also fell in love a few times over the last year and a half, and sometimes it worked out for a while and sometimes not at all ... but I will keep on trying and one day she will be right there :)

La Reunion - Piton de la Fournaise (Vulcano)

During all this time my family was of great support to me and I love them! Especially my mother, who is simply the best you could possibly get! I am also greatful to all my friends, but especially to my LA gang, who welcomed me back after 2 years of absence and who are still the best! And of course all my YSA friends allover the world but especially here in Munich ... I will miss all of you!

So, there it is ... in less than 4 days, I will get on an airplane and leave you all behind with a tearing eye, but the other one is looking ahead and facing new adventures to come, in my wayfarer´s life ...


"The future is only as bright as your faith." - Thomas S. Monson (and yes I´m an incurable optimist)