Just a short update

Just thought I'd update you on my condition. The pills have started to work and I have been able to sleep through the night for a few nights in a row. I have been taking yeast pills to promote growth of bacteria in my intestines and silicon oxide pills, which taste like chalk.

Also, here some pictures. I've also added pictures to the previous entry, so scroll down to see more!

The dog's name is Riesling:


This is the courtyard. I live in the building on the right, third floor.


The views of the courtyard are from the entrance. The boxing/labeling room is on the left.


This is a big, old tower, where there is a bed and breakfast. It's not old inside.


I try to be artsy sometimes.

'Free Flowing' Possibilities

It all began in the Toronto Airport, at the Martinair check-in. I believe I was the second trainee in line and behind me were about five more. The son of one of the Dutch committee members had met us there and so our journey began. The flight was uneventful for the most part; I was sitting in my least favorite seat, which is the center seat. Upon landing at Amsterdam-Schipol Airport, clearing customs and getting our luggage, we were met by the leader of Intermenno, Johannes van der Meer:


We were then taken by bus to Mennorode, an absolutely gigantic place that none of us were expecting, especially in the middle of a huge forest in the Netherlands.



For those of you who don’t know, since June I have had an ongoing battle with what can best be described in as little detail as possible as Traveler’s Stomach. It’s not fun. Somehow I made it through all the flights unscathed. My roommate, Bryce from Bethel, somehow slept through all the times I awoke in the night. Nice guy.

Anyway, while at Mennorode, we had sessions as an entire group as well as split up as Dutch and German/Swiss trainees. We did most everything together and I can say that even though we had been together there for only three days, I have already made life-long friends from both the US and Canada. For the three days, we had language, culture, and traveling sessions. For some (not me) the traveling sessions were too much and many questions were asked while a lot of people sighed in disbelief. Much bonding was had though.



The first full day, I brought my condition to the attention of some of the committee members. I, however, was not the first casualty of the weekend as a certain individual felt a high amount of exhaustion. For a while, they believed that he had appendicitis, but after some sleep he was all right. Then it was my turn. This summer I had a knack for visiting doctors in such odd places as South Dakota. The Netherlands can be added to that list, and as of a few hours ago, so can Germany. The doctor in Holland listened to what I had to say and prescribed to me the very same thing I had already been taking, which wasn’t helping. Strike one. During this time, the committee members were always asking if I was improving, which I thought was good to hear even though my condition wasn’t improving.

On the night before we left for our placements, they had a coffeehouse where trainees shared their talents. I participated twice, both with my ukulele. First, Audra and I sang Beautiful Dawn by The Wailin’ Jennys. I think it went really well. Then Bryce and I played a song from A Mighty Wind. It didn’t go very well but it was fun nonetheless.

On Saturday, the time had come for us to board a train and head to our placements, mine being on the vineyard in Wintersheim. Aside from the many, many questions from the young first time travelers, this train ride was uneventful for me, much like the flight over. I was met in Alsheim by Heike and Daniel, age three.




Though I have no idea what Daniel is saying, he is the cutest and brightest little guy to be living with for six months. When we got to the house, I met the rest of the family, father Heiko, oldest son Lukas, and middle daughter Pauline. In my next post, I’ll show pictures of the house and surrounding area.

Today was my first day on the job. First, I watered the many potted plants spread throughout the courtyard. That took about an hour. Then Heiko showed me how to box the wine and I did that before lunch. After lunch, he showed me how to wash the wine bottles to get the dust off so labels will stick better. There will be a video of that process sometime.

I was told by Johannes that I need to see a doctor on Monday when I get to my placement. So I did today. I got a rather, umm… “thorough” examination by the doctor. Apparently that meant he could easily determine what medicine he needed to prescribe. Who knew? I now have two containers of medicine that I am taking. I haven’t been taking them long enough to see any results, but I hope I can finally have a restful night.

I feel like I’ve written enough. Guten nacht.
Jon

In the Air, Leaving, Arriving, Address

About 5 minutes west of our house on the highway out to Pleasantview is a grass field. The grass field normally plays host to powered parachutes and RC planes. One person who flies out there regularly goes to our church. So yesterday, I finally had the inkling to ask about the possibility of a ride before I leave for my time in Germany. So the time was set later in the afternoon to get out there at 6 pm. After preflight and starting, we were off! When I got down from my ride, Mom got to go up!







Here are a couple of movies of the fun we had:



Today is my last full day in the state of Kansas. Bright and early tomorrow morning at 5:30 am, Mom, Dad and I are leaving to go to Indiana and visit Jessica's family. She has been in Nicaragua since early May fulfilling her SST requirements for Goshen. Mom and Dad will stay for a few days and say goodbye to me on Friday and come back to Kansas. I then depart from South Bend on Tuesday morning, the 5th, with a stop in Chicago to meet up with the other trainees in Toronto, where we board a Martinair flight for Amsterdam. Outside of Amsterdam in Elspeet, we have three days of orientation at a Mennonite conference center and then on the 8th we are sent to our placements.

I will enjoy getting mail from anybody. My address in Wintersheim is:
Jon Huber
Haupt. 11
67587 Wintersheim
GERMANY

I will write you if you send me a letter!

Uncle Wally's Birthday and "Vacation"

Today is Uncle Wally's Birthday. We're also on vacation in Hot Springs, AR. Check out this video, taken at Bill Clinton's Favorite BBQ joint in his boyhood town.



And a partial family picture:
















And I'll update this with some more videos, taken earlier tonight.







-Jon

And now for some recent and big news...

For those of you religiously watching this blog, awaiting any update about anything, aviation or Intermenno related, I apologize. This blog hasn't been at the priority of my list. Perhaps that will change as the summer wears on. Anyway, I'll go in semi-chronological order.

On Wednesday last week, I went in for my aviation medical examination. I hadn't had this exam since 2005, so it had come time to renew. The exam covers everything from eyesight and hearing to past visits to the doctor. The biggest that happened was that my eyesight improved from 20/15 (better than perfect) to 20/12.5 (even better than 20/15). I emerged with a new Second Class Medical that doesn't expire until June 30, 2011.

That brings me to Friday of that week. I flew the Piper PA-30 over to Great Bend for my multi-engine checkride. While the flight instructor (who is required by insurance to accompany every flight) waited around the FBO, I was grilled on easy and semi-hard questions for about an hour. At the very beginning of the oral exam, he asked me to work a weight and balance for the airplane. I frantically searched through 'my' Pilots Operating Handbook (POH), not finding the W&B section. My POH has certain sections copied out of the actual POH. So I went out to the airplane, but it wasn't in any place that I looked. A POH specific to the airplane is required by the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) to be in the airplane. The examiner came back and I told him the predicament. He wanted to speak to my flight instructor (not the one who accompanied me). So I called him up and first told him about the ongoing ordeal. He then asked if I had looked underneath the front right seat. I didn't know there was a place under there so I hadn't looked. Fortunately it was there and I emerged from that unscathed, ready for any question he had. Then we flew the plane, and aside from one of the engines not wanting to start on the ground or the other engine not wanting to re-start in the air, it was pretty painless. Both engines, by the way, decided to start. On the ground, I proudly awaited the return of the examiner, who hasn't technologically evolved as other examiners have, with my typewriter typed new Airplane Multi-Engine Land Commercial License!

Updated Flight Info:
Total Time - 216.3
Total Landings - 4__
Last instrument approach: ILS 35 @ GBD, single-engine


That brings me to today. In the mail, with a sticker that said "LUFTPOST," was an envelope from the German/Swiss Intermenno Committees. Today was the day that I had been anxiously awaiting. I knew my first half placement would be on one of the papers inside that envelope. Would I be placed on a farm shoveling the fecal matter of pigs or would I be placed where I had hoped: somewhere, within a train ride or two of Tim, Heidi, and Gustav, on a vineyard? So I opened up the envelope and read the contents. Here's the placement information for me:

Hosts: Heike und Heiko Dettweiler
Place: Wintersheim, Germany
Work: Together, they own a grape farm and keep horses. On the weekends they have a bed and breakfast. Your responsibilities will involve helping in the vineyards, on the yard, label wine, wash empty wine bottles, fill new ones, some childcare with the youngest child and household chores. If you know how to drive stick, it will be helpful.

The Dettweilers have three children. Lukas, 13. Pauline, 9. Daniel, 4.

Here's a map of where I'll be, in relation to both Phillip and Tim, Heidi, and Gustav:
Phil and his family are from Rudesheim (the 'C' marker). Tim, Heidi and Gustav live in Bammental (the 'B' marker). Wintersheim is the 'A' marker.


View Larger Map

So, I look forward to being able to travel all over. I am relatively close to Luxembourg and, unfortunately, the stinky neighbor of France. Hopefully a wind from the east prevails. So, if you're planning a trip to go see Tim, Heidi and Gustav, think about stopping by to see me!