50 Adventures, 50 Weeks: October 2012

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Letters to Germany

One of the challenges that I was most looking forward to was getting a penpal. My friend Tamara requested to be my penpal, but I was really looking to meet someone new as a penpal. That being said, I compromised and got two penpals: Tamara and a new person.

I had looked on-line for how to find snail mail penpals, but most of the websites seemed to be more of a dating site than a site to meet a penpal. Then I found www.globalpenfriends.com. I posted a quick profile of myself and what I was looking for, and then pretty much forgot I had done so.

A few days later, I received a message from a woman in Germany. Her name is Kathi, she's about my age, and lives in the town of Kellmunz. I received my first letter from her a few weeks ago.

It turns out we have quite a bit in common. She's 31 and has been married to her husband for a few years. They have dogs but no kids, and her husband works for the army over there. She enjoys walking the dogs, cooking, and listening to music. She works as a police officer right now but is going to school to get an education degree.

I wrote her back before I left for Iowa. She and her husband are on vacation in Italy right now (how cool would it be to live in Europe and be able to easily visit all those different countries?), so my letter should be waiting for her when she gets back. She said she would send a letter from Italy, so I promised to send a postcard from Iowa. Haha, totally not the same, but it's the best I can do.

I think not only have I completed one of my goals, but I'm pretty sure my 10 year old self would be thrilled by the fact that I have a penpal in another country.

Two More Books Down

I am currently on Fall Break from school, and this has been a great time for me to catch up on reading. Within the first 5 days, I had already read 3 full books. I wish I could just get paid to read books all day. I would so love my job. Anyway, even though not all of the books I've read have been for the challenge, I have finished two more of the books off the recommended list, leaving me just 10 to go. I have two more of the books with me, so hopefully I'll knock out at least one more before I head back to work.

Guersney Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

This one was recommended by my aunt Liz, and she was so kind as to mail me her copy to borrow. I had mentioned this one at book club, and it was shot down. Another member of book club had attempted to read it and had quit because she thought it was boring, so I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. This book is set shortly after World War II, and follows the story of a woman who was a journalist during the war and is now struggling with writing her next novel. She receives a letter from a man on the channel island of Guernsey, leading to this woman's journey to the island, falling in love, and ending up caring for a small child. The entire book is told in letters and other communication, and I always enjoy books told in different formats like that. It was a simple story, but I absolutely loved. Thanks, Aunt Liz!

Digital Fortress

I have read and enjoyed all of the other Dan Brown books that I have read, so this one was an easy decision to read. Although all of the computer talk was a little over my head, the basic story was enthralling. A woman who works as a government code breaker is called in to work on a weekend, and she finds out that their code breaking machine has finally received a code it is unable to crack. It becomes a suspenseful thriller, full of secrets, murder, codes, and a little bit of love. Although some of it seems a little dated in terms of technology (one of the guys is a show-off because he has a carphone), it was an enjoyable read that I couldn't put down and finished in about 36 hours.