Hi! Well I will admit the July 4th in Germany is somewhat underwhelming. My brother Tim and his girlfriend Amy are in town and we spent the holiday eating pork chops and potato salad with no fireworks. If it wasn't for out sling box tv advertising fantastic sales at JCPenny and Old Navy we might have missed the holiday altogether. This is the week that I submitted the last of my working visa paperwork and will officially be able to legally work in a few weeks!! This visa has been such an enormous amount of work/hassle/source of pride that I plan on hanging it on our wall next to our diplomas and marriage license once I no longer have to carry it in my wallet and randomly gaze at it with smug satisfaction throughout the day. There has been a change in my work plans in that I will no longer be teaching kindergarten but rather 4th grade!! You can freak ou if you want, I know I am. The fact is that the school i will be working at ( the one with the 4th grade) has about 10 other American girl teachers that I could see myself being friends with so that's awesome. What's not awesome and incredibly frightening is that I a) have never been a classroom teacher and b) don't know the first thing about 4th grade. Wish me luck. But thar doesn't start until august and I plan on living in sweet denial until then. The next couple of days will be spent playing tour guide to Tim and Amy and then vacation:). Woohoo- if you are reading this please sign in and comment- I need followers people!! I miss you all back home especially since it's July 4th and I should be in long island eating toasted almond ice cream bars and kicking ass and taking names in cranium. Happy 4th of July!!