Discovered a new hobby/ 👩🏼‍🌾 discovered a new hobby 👩🏼‍🌾

My dears, it's that time again. Today you get a new life update from me. 🤗 Hopefully I'll manage to do this every month again and not every other month….

It's already been 2 months since I've returned from Munich, and I'm nearing the halfway point of my 6th semester. Crazy, if you ask me. 🙈

In the meantime, I also know which exams I have to take this semester and how much is coming my way. There are 7 exams, which is roughly the same number I had in previous semesters. However, here’s a twist: 4 of them are written and only 3 are practical. This means I'll have to study a lot this semester. I'm already missing the video and audio contributions. 🥲

This time I'm writing exams in Media Law (make-up exam), PR & Public Relations, Empirical Social Research, and in the UAV Drone course (elective). I must say that both Media Law and the Drone course will be multiple-choice tests. Especially in Media Law, I'm glad that there are no open questions. 😁

Then I still have 3 papers to write, one in my specialization of Culture and Lifestyle and one in Project Management. In my specialization, I have to write a critique myself and create a paper on the transformation of cultural journalism. ✍🏼

In the Project Management course, we brainstorm in small groups about what good innovation we want to implement. We've come up with the idea of creating an app that helps us gather information and news about our environment by pointing our smartphones at buildings, animals, or events, and visual news popping up. This is also called 'augmented news'. Of course, we aren’t actually building this app; we are just outlining the steps we would take to reach the outcome. Collaboration in the group plays a huge role here. Reaching the goal together because everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. ☺️

Due to the many public holidays, a lot gets canceled or takes place online. I would say it's currently still the calm before the storm. I just need to prepare a few midterm exams for my courses. These are usually small presentations in small groups.

But enough for now about university stuff. My life isn't just about studying, as you know. I've returned to my job at the photo store and I have to say I really missed this small shop. Especially the conversations with customers and working with my colleagues, who are all committed to a family-like environment. 💝 I currently work 10 hours a week there but can imagine increasing it to 20 hours when I start my Master's and if it fits well with my university schedule. Yes, I'm indeed considering pursuing a Master's. My Bachelor's is coming to an end, and I don’t think it would hurt to continue. After all, it's only 1.5 years more. Then I would finish in my mid-20s. 😊

Now I’m back to university matters. 🫣 Let’s talk about my balance outside of university. This definitely includes excursions and road trips to beautiful places. Now that I have my own car, this has become more of a possibility. So let me tell you about three trips I took in March.

The first trip was to Dinkelsbühl with a friend from the mission church. Since there was a market at the time, we thought we’d check it out. You can see some pictures in the gallery. Unfortunately, not much was blooming at that time, so everything still looks a bit lifeless. 😅

A week later we went a bit further. We crossed the Baden-Württemberg border to Bad Mergentheim with the same friend to visit a wildlife park. 🐗🦌🌲 It’s about an hour away from Ansbach. A really beautiful park, and I also received some free food for the animals. This was fed to the goats first. 😄 You can see some pictures of that in the gallery. Afterward, we enjoyed some delicious homemade pizza. 🍕

I also took another trip by myself. Still in Baden-Württemberg. I mentioned in my last blog post that I’ve pretty much explored Bavaria well and now need something different. Since the Baden-Württemberg border isn’t far from us, I headed to the Eselsburg Valley this time. It’s about an hour from Ansbach, located near Heidenheim an der Brenz behind Aalen. Why did I want to go there? Because there are rock formations and two rocks that look like two virgins, named after them. I spent the whole day there and packed some snacks. 🍪🍫🍇🍎🍬 The view down into the valley was genuinely beautiful and it was nice to unwind…

Let’s move on to April. This month, I discovered a new hobby (thanks to my flatmate). We have some raised beds further back in the courtyard, and she started planting vegetables and fruits. When I helped her, I realized how much fun it is. So I ordered a small wooden raised bed and planted it with three different types of lettuce. I also sowed some chard seeds. Since chard has a sweet flavor, it's among my favorite vegetables. I'm genuinely amazed at how quickly everything grows, and I'll soon be able to harvest. 😍👩🏼‍🌾 I also have a tomato plant. It's no longer in the small pot, as you can see in the picture in the gallery. I've repotted it into a larger flower pot.

Besides that, I've really been enjoying cooking again since being back. You can see two of my recent dishes in the gallery. I genuinely love trying out new meals. ☺️🍽️

And speaking of being healthy, I can also share that I've started exercising again. So, doing floor exercises to stay fit and build muscle. Afterwards, you feel so good and light. So here's my encouragement to you to start (or start again). 👍🏻 Even if gyms aren't your thing, there are various ways to stay fit.

In April we also had evangelism again in our church. As I mentioned, my church is a mission church that emphasizes the missionary mandate, i.e., spreading the good news. Different topics were addressed, such as why God allows suffering, esotericism, and why certainty brings true joy. The lectures this week were genuinely interesting and were also aimed at non-believers. ✝️

Now here's a little preview of the next few weeks. At the beginning of May, that is this week, I’ll be going up to visit my siblings. I need to change my winter tires, which are still in my brother's cellar, so I need to go up there anyway. I'm also looking forward to seeing my little niece. I cherish every moment I can spend with her. Now she’s at an age where you can have fun together. 😄

At the end of May, I’ll be going on a retreat with a few young people from my church. Once again, we are heading to Baden-Württemberg. Pfullingen, to be specific. Afterwards, I want to visit some beautiful places with a friend before heading back. Like Liechtenstein Castle, for instance. More on that later. 🙃 Speaking of vacations: my summer vacation is already booked. I am genuinely looking forward to it. 🥰 I'll also keep you updated on Insta and later here. But well, it's still 121 days until then. 😄

But luckily not until the next blog post. So feel free to stop by again next time. It will likely be at the end of May, at the latest at the beginning/middle of June. I really need to set some fixed days to write here. 😉

I wish you a lovely day! 🫶🏻☀️