Recharge Weekend..........

June 28 - July 8, 2005
Hello All,

Work has been good...still no lab work but I did get a chance to visit a wastewater
treatment plant that is being built near Heidelberg. It is a one of a kind plant that will
test out new technology.

My Canadian friend, Allisha, and I went to a Modern dance performance in Ludwigsberg. The
dance company was from Montreal and the show was definitely very modern.....not really my
style. I did however find out that Allisha, who like me has absolutely no Irish blood, is
an avid Irish dancer. She actually could have competed at the worlds if she had had the
time or money.... I'll have to get her to show me a few steps.

2 weekends ago was the first weekend since I got here that I actually stayed in Stuttgart.
And it was my first time in a long time to really sleep in. On Friday night a German
friend of mine, who I sadly speak English to, took me to someone's graduation party. The
party was in a park on the outskirts of town, there was a big bonfire, music and tents set
up. We spent most of the night around the fire since it was a bit chilly - and I kept
wondering where the marshmallows were ;)

On Saturday I went downtown and there was a Bio Fair going on ... they were selling a
whole bunch of organic things and there were lots of activities and some live music.
There was even an acapella boy band performing really corny backstreet boys/n'sync song
but with a German accent.......really funny. That night Katie and I organized a pizza
party. One of our other friends made pizza dough and we all pitched in and made pizzas.

Sunday I actually did a little cleaning (don't think it was the first time I cleaned)
since our kitchen and bathrooms really needed it. Then Katie and I went to Esslingen, a
small town with buildings from the middle ages. Again there was some kind of fair going on
with live music, rides and lots of food. After some good Ethiopian food we rummaged
through the flea market, then headed home.

On July 8 I saw the Tour de France. A leg of the race was finishing in Karlsruhe, a 1.5
hour train ride away, so I and 3 other friends left work early and caught a little bit of
the race. When I say a little I really mean a little. All the bikers were bunched together
and they were going so fast that it was all over in a matter of seconds. It was still
great to see and the atmosphere was simply electric ;)

See ya,
Steph