Of what seems
a really long time ago, we returned in January from our already traditional
Xmas vacation back in Switzerland where we visit with family, friends
and also enjoyed some fabulous skiing
and flying
in the Alps.
My final semester at the University of Minnesota was about to begin, but
first we picked up Anja's Xmas present from the humane society - our now
1.5 year old cat Sidi!
Anja started her new job at Minnesota
Dance Theater & School as a faculty member. She teaches ballet
to kids age 6 - 11.
Anja left for Switzerland in early May to visit her family and teach a summer dance intensive with two of her friends from the U of M. In the mean time I kept busy with gardening and other jobs around the house. In late May I left for my second trip to the Bahamas with two friends from Switzerland. This time around we rented a plane from Miami and flew further south to Turks and Caicos (UK). Shortly afterwards, I took my first American road trip with my best friend Justin and his cousin Kevin. We spent most of our time in the marvelous national parks of Utah (warning: lot's of pix :).
Returning to Minnesota, Anja and Sidi were anxiously awaiting my arrival. In June we spent a wonderful weekend camping at Wild River State Park with Laura, Heidi and Jake. Our next couple of weeks were consumed with our biggest home improvement project yet.
We decided to remodel our 3-season porch & kitchen. We tiled the floors and added paneling on the porch - all in all a four week project. We finished just in time for Anja's sister Eva and her boyfriend Christian to arrive from their trip to South America and spent a wonderful week with them - sightseeing and relaxing around the Twin Cities.
During the remaining part of summer break Anja taught dance classes at 5 different schools around the Metro area. I busied myself in trying to find a job in difficult economic times. All in all, I spent approximately 4 months of writing countless resumés before landing a database position with Navitaire. The company is an Application Service Provider for Airlines in direct competition to the company where my dad works:). Thanks go out to Justin and his coworkers for putting in a good word with the right people.
Anja performed for the Visionary Dance Company at the first non-"U of M" venue - the Southern Theatre in August. She started her last year at the U of M and was offered a Teaching Assistant (TA) position that entailed class preparation and substitute teaching. The end of September called for a cold but fun camping trip to Taylor's Falls on the Wisconsin/Minnesota border. Apparently, we hadn't done enough around the house yet - deciding that a little bit of landscaping was in order. 10 tons of river rock later, which I spread around the house and under our front and back porch, we finally called it quits on the projects around the house.
I joined the Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) in September and have been enjoying the daily readings in the scriptures along with Monday night discussions among a group of approximately 15 other men. While I was slowly getting used to a regulated schedule at work, Anja's rehearsals for the Fall performance of the UDT picked up. Along with academic classes and teaching at MDT she has been juggling a full schedule ever since. We enjoyed a wonderful Halloween party with U of M dancers at the end of October and in November Anja performed with UDT for the last time - *sniff*.
In the past couple of weeks I have started playing indoor tennis (doubles) with our friend Laura and Anja has been busy with Nutcracker rehearsals. Opening night was this past Thursday! Last weekend we enjoyed the company of our friends for the annual Xmas party - this year with 3 babies! Both of us are looking forward to flying back to Switzerland for the holidays and visiting our families. It will give Anja a well deserved break from dancing and time for me to catch up with my family which I haven't seen in a year.
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
love,
