So, there are live cameras in Coburg. At least one of which are in the markplatz. At some point, I at least will stand before them. To find them:

Go to coburg.de

Click: Leben in Coburg

Go to: coburg live

And click: Ubersichtsseite zu allen Webcams

Then: Markplatz

Further updates will happen as to when I will stand there.

P.S. we are waiting for the rest of our friends to arrive. And we have eaten Coburg Wurste, which are great, and nothing like hotdogs.

I am now in Amsterdam, having come through Luxemborg and Brussels. I stayed a couple of days in Trier with a friend from the camps, and we saw the Porta Negro, an ampitheature, and went through a very disappointing history museum with a few artifacts, but little history. Then I went on alone to Luxemborg, spent the night there, and walked around in the morning, and randomly met my fellow traveller by the train station. But lost her again, as I went south to the bushes where I had stowed my bag the night before, and  missed her train by about a minute. Went on to Amsterdam, wrote an email for to meet at Anne Franks house, and slept under my Austrian Poncho to defy the rain.

I have discovered, that no one thinks you are a gutter rat if you have a travelling companion like I do, you may be second class, but not a bum. However, when she is not around, and I live like I do, people avoid eye contact, and take to evasive maneuvers.  Sam laughs at the world.

I have finished with my three weeks of camp, which were very hectic, and included much stumbling around not knowing exactly what to do, but I think my students got better, and I managed to finish everything I had to. Now we are in Bonn, having gone to, and fallen asleep in, the House of History Museum, (We were very tired, having slept about four hours last night).  In less than an hour, we will travel to Trier, and sleep at a friend’s house, who we met at camp. Stay in Trier a day and half or so, then to Luxemborg, Belgium, etc. Then to Coburg on the 16th or 17th.

If you dont know me on facebook, you won’t understand. But that is of no consequence. I am in Cochem on the Mosel, and this is the second day of the second week. Yesterday, I arose early and departed for Bonn in order to meet with sixteen kids and escort them back to Cochem — which was pretty exciting, as several had bags bigger than themselves, and the trains were full, and we had to switch from platform 4 to platform 9 in about seven minutes. But I got them informed and organized on the first train, and we all made it to the second train and crammed into a very small space directly behind the first class section. Fortunately, there was only one woman in first class, and she was kind enough to allow us in. So, eight went in, and eight stayed out, and it was a fairly comfortable ride. And, no one checked our tickets, so we had no trouble with some being in first class!

The first week ended, and the second week began yesterday. And those who did not travel to Bonn to drop off or pick up children had about an hour of break in between. But at the end of this week, we will have a day and a half. I think. So that will be great. There is some sort of medieval festival at the castle, so I think we will end up going there. It looks like a lot of fun.

I have climbed both sides of the valley, and thoroughly enjoyed them both. Teaching the English class is somewhat challenging, but more time consuming than anything. Must stay up quite late every night talking with the other counselors and the director, mainly I think because of disorganization. I have a hard time planning out my lessons, but ideas gradually come to me, and I usually am able to get things done, and kids to have learned at least something. There are two experienced counselors here who are fun to work with and quite supportive. We have two workshops/sports in the afternoons, and I have been playing a lot of soccer. Unfortunately, (playing keeper, and watching a boy to make sure he was all right after a fall) I got my right pinky bent back too far. But with ice, I think it will do fine.

I am rather disappointed with Bank of America, because it looks like we dealt with a lady who managed only to look like she knew what she was talking about. Apparently they don’t have iban numbers, and so it will be tough to get paid. So we need to call them up and talk to them about how we can work this. Anyhow. I am sure we will get something worked out.

I have one more week of camp after this, and we are thinking of going to Trier (fairly important historical city) and after that we will see. Decided not to go to Hungary. Because of its similarity to the Eugene fairs.

Tonight, I believe we will tell ghost stories. *grins fiendishly*

Finished with my training. Leaving tomorrow for camp in Cochem. Thinking about trying for another camp instead of going to Budapest music festival. I’ll be in Cochem for the next three weeks. Cochem has wireless internet, apparently, but I am not sure I will be able to connect. Met plenty of great people at the training. It was fairly informative. I had to present a councilor lesson this morning, and didn’t really have much of an idea until a few minutes before we started. But, that is what I had expected. I am quite tired, but expect to have a good night sleep tonight. Don’t leave from Berlin Halptbahnhof until 11:48. Arrive in Cochem at 18:56, with two umsteigen (changes, connections).

   I have been around people with all kinds of English accents, and don’t much hear them anymore, and I think my own English is deteriorating, and has become unstable. But I am having a good time, and mentally disconnected. As one can tell from my writing.

Anyhow, Good bye!

So, I have been off of crutches for a few days, and am now in the Berlity appartments. I began training today, and still expect everything to go fine. Most of the people seem quite friendly, and I have been engaged in several very interesting conversations.  Not much else happened other than that.

We are thinking of going to a music festival in Hungary on the eleventh of August with the friends we have stayed with here in Berlin, but perhaps we will go elsewhere. But that is in mind.

You can find me by my school email address at flickr. shobbs@(thenameofmyschool).edu how is that for secrecy?

Yesterday. Went to the outdoor concerts which are happening in Berlin. Heard some fine music. Began the trip to my cellar. Climbed the graveyard fence,  and to avoid headlights, dropped to the otherside with my pack strapped on. Landed, heard/felt a pop in left ankle. Much pain. Climed back over the fence, (maybe eight foot?) and walked back to the transtation. Pain only when I walked. Called up some friends, who had offered me a place to stay, changed trains and busses, and arrived at their house around midnight. Decided to wait till next day. Took my first shower in more days than I care to relate. Became clean, slept the night, and awoke with a more swollen, much darker colored foot. Went to the hospital, waited several hours, was finally seen, X-rayed, etc. Bones were fine, tissue impacted, foot wrapped, lightly splinted, and so on. Walking around on German crutches for the next four or five days, taking it easy for the next couple of weeks. I don´t think it will interfere with my work for Berlitz. I am staying with my friends here currently. Feel kind of embarrased to go to the hospital for such a small thing. Hypocondriac.

On another note, I am hitting the Y when I want to, and not the Z every time. (which is  because German keyboards have those backwards, in case I haven’t said that)

So, I slept once under an Austrian army poncho in a thicket behind a bar on a Saterday night, as the rain and the music drummed. And decided that was not the best way I could have spent my night. I could have been partying!

Anyhow. Yesterday, warned by the excessive cloudiness,  and darkness of the weather I sought a drier place to sleep.  A couple of days ago, I had seen from a traincar what appeared to be an old board covered culvert. Which ran up the embankment, and I assumed went under the streets.  But when I went back yesterday, I realized it would be very difficult to get to directly without being seen.  I decided when dark came, that I would see if I could creep down the tracks to where it began, so as not to be seen by the platform master or passengers. And waiting for dark, I walked in a park and read Dostoyevsky and looked up German words. However, I got turned around in the park, and got back to the tracks a ways further north than I intended. But I didn´t know this. I crossed a couple of fences (they didn´t look very official, and one was only (I found out afterwards) to a graveyard) was worried by candles in the graveyard (I thought there were people) (it began to rain here) Crossed a concrete wall, and walked along the embankment, until the tracks went underground. That is when I knew something was wrong. I knew something was wrong before, but I didn´t realize how far off I was. But I continued in the same direction, saw some buildings, came to a very official looking fence with nice cars behind it, and decided not to cross that. ( see, I have my limits, I don´t do anything that will get me caught by someone in the System, ´cause the System has no mercy) . So I back tracked to the building I had seen before, climbed into the pit behind, and through a gapping hole that looked like it had been blown in by a catapult. Put down my pack, got out my light, and listened very hard. (very hard) And thought about I am Legend, and The Cask of Amontiago (sp) and about abnormally quiet men with guns and kneedles. I didn´t explore the basement very thoroughly, because I found the stairs, and thought someone was up above. So I switched off my light, and waited, then very quietly (I thought he was at the top of the stairs crept up on all fours (so as to be lower than where he would think I would appear). But at the top there was no one, and I saw an open window in a bathroom through which I saw a parked car (it was a parking lot, and I realized someone had just gotten out) So, relieved but still cautious, I explored the remaining five above ground floors until I got to the roof. Would have taken pictures there (beautifully dark with a smattering of rain, the clouds, and steeple with clock face in the wind) but I had not brought my camera, and didn´t want to risk tramping back and forth from the cellar just for a few pictures in the dark. So I again decended. Now the basement was very dark ( for obvious reasons) and had a ceiling composed of three foot slightly crumbling brick arches, supported by rustingI-beams acting as joists. And this gave it a very old, cellarish feel, and was not at all conducive to my confidence *thinks of Underworld* (homeschool moms, forgive my references to movies which are… of quedstionable value Ü). As I finished exploring all of the cellar, (which was very large, and full of dark nitches, and was returning towards the hole where I had left my pack, I thought sure I had heard someone upstairs, inside the building. I could have sworn. Switched of my light, and stood in blackness. And waited, and listened and imagined strangly silent gunweilding owners, and alternately, drugridden gang members desperate for secrecy, carring more brutal, ferocious(I have no idea how to spell that) weapons. And completely dismissing vampires and werewolves (which I am sure don´t really exist… and which would have come from behind me, from the darkness, and not from the stairs which, was also darkness). But I knew that whoever was comming down the stairs would more than likely see my pack in the fading dusk from the hole (except that the back was to the stairs, and the back was black, so maybe they would, maybe they wouldn´t). AndI wasn´t sure which would be better. Cause I knew that if they saw it, they would look at it, and I knew I would hear that, unless they were like,    mYstically silent! I heard something more, like a boot scraping a piece of gravel against a stone floor. But nothing more. And I waited. Until I heard my heart beating, and my joints creaking, and my stomach making the most careless, heedless noises! And two trains passed (meaning about ten to twenty minutes). And I heard nothing more. Switched on my light, ready to dive to the side. But no one shot. Tried to walk silently (which was impossible) Stepped on a metal grate, which clanged and in the end gave me confidence. Got my pack and went back into one of the main rooms, which there was only one entrance (through another smaller room) and laid out my poncho and bag, behind a half wall. Then I went back, and laid an empty plastic water bottle in the entrance hoping someone would kick it (and awaken me) before they found me. Slept, didn´t think about all the other entrances I didn´t find, etc. And woke up alive!

Went to sleep with the sound of rain (really just leaves falling) awoke to the sound of rain, and the feel of it too. Luckly, my thicket is pretty thick, so I had time to pack up before getting drenched. Got the TV tower, without too much wetness, decided to try and make it to the Dom Cathedral, which was a bad idea, got much wetter. Changed clothes, (a little before nine) and set my things to drying, laughed at the people who frowned, got out The Idiot, and got less frowns (one doesn´t look so much like a bum when one has either a book or a girl). Rain lessened, Went to the Halptbahnhof, spred my map to dry, Figured out the public transport. I am out of time, and will now stop.