I'm going to gentle you in a minute!

Last week was chocked full of excitement. Tuesday I cleaned some veggies and then made my way to Oldenburg.  I spent a pretty penny on the train tickets to the airports for my holiday trip, but was super glad to have them in my possession. (That trip is going to be mind-blowingly amazing).  Afterwards I went to class, excited that we'd be spending it in a restaurant.  My excitement was curbed after learning that we were going to have an hour long grammatic lesson beforehand, but it wasn't too bad and the restaurant experience was delightful.  I found the Italian on my right me to be hilarious, the American across from me to be typical, and the Dominican on my left to be pretty immature.  These are individual assessments, not neccessarily a reflection of their respective countries.  We all spoke English, which defeated the point of the outing, but it was quite fun.  It's hard to be motivated to learn German when most everybody I've met speaks English, so I just try to pick up random words here and there and make people laugh as I try to pronounce them. 

Wednesday morning Piet and I discovered a new common bond, silly music.  I made a cd a while back for us, but only Wednesday did he actually listen to it well enough to realize how good my music taste really is. And by that I mean how good Tad's music taste is.  I think Kelsey, Madi, and I have to give him credit for the majority of our favorite tunes.  Anyhow, Piet and I started dancing around the living room and it made for a delightful morning.  The evening was also lovely because it ushered in the arrival of Hannah, the former au pair we had visited in Berlin.  It was a delight to have her in the house.  Both nights she and I stayed up and talked as if we'd known each other for years.  I hope she's somebody I can run into again in the future.  She's planning to go to Africa for two months but then she'll be making her way back to the U.S., so there's a good chance for a rendezvous. 

Piet was super excited to see Hannah too, but he had a rough time sorting out his feelings.  You can tell they have a lot of history between them since she was his au pair for a year and a half, but he seemed very aware that she'd be leaving him again after a few days.   He was also pretty sick last week and didn't go to kindergarten so his mood was insanely up and down.  He seems to catch every little bug that goes through his school.  So, we had fun but I think Hannah saw a fussier side of Piet than she'd seen before.  He's beginning to test all authoritative boundaries and I think he's pretty confused about the role of the au pair, and when there's two of us he's all out of sorts.  I'm just trying to be consistent and let him know that even au pair's have rules.  He's been rough with his mom lately too, so I think it's just a phase.  She's handling it well and he's learning what he can and can't do, so he'll be fine.

With Hannah we mostly just hung out around the house, played the infamous cd a thousand times, and made a trip to Oldenburg.  On Friday we had a lot of fun building a gingerbread house that turned out quite lovely.  Piet was super helpful and kept saying "You guys are doing great."  Ah, this reminds me of another cute Piet story.  A while back I taught Piet how to link arms with me and walk me around as if he were a gentleman. We hadn't done it in a while so when he tried it the other day it really surprised me.  Well, after we had linked arms he remembered he wanted to get something so he ran away and yelled, "Hold on Katie, I'm going to gentle you in a minute."  So, that's the new phrase in the house.  Hilarious. We also have a new game of hiding under my bed sheets which have tree branches and flowers and pretend we're climbing a tree with our imaginary friend Dinosoar Minosoar Ginosoar.  It's a large name for an imaginary friend, but we have fun with it. Piet insisted that Hannah join our magic land, which happens to take place in a twin sized bed.  We were both squeezing in, but Piet was delighted, fully enjoying having two au pairs.  Spoiled and adorable...

Hannah left Friday evening and I took the bus to Oldenburg to meet with some friends I had met through the other past au pair.  We had a nice dinner together at one girl's apartment and spent the rest of the evening sharing au pair stories.  After hearing several horror stories, I realized once again how lucky I am to be with this family.  After a while at the apartment we decided to go out, but after about an hour we decided we'd just like to sleep.  I type that a lot in my weekend stories.  Obviously my sleep patterns get in the way of the crazy European night life; I'm okay with that.  I spent the night at my friend's apartment so I wouldn't have to mess with the late night busses all alone, and the next morning she and her boyfriend were kind enough to provide a tasty breakfast for us.  So, this is where my weekend got crazy.  Ready?  They served raw ground pork to be spread on bread rolls. Yes, raw spiced meat called "Mett" that they spread and then cover in chopped fresh onions and sprinkle salt and pepper on top.  I agreed to try a little taste, and admittedly, it tasted alright, but I couldn't handle the idea of any more raw meat in my stomach than that.  My friend and her boyfriend ate three slices apiece!  After years of hearing my mom's preaching on the risks of food borne illnesses, I'm confident in saying that this is not a cultural difference I aim to pick up.  No mett for me.

After abstaining from the crazy food, I went home and felt super good so I decided to go for a run.  I think it's at the top of the list of runs I've taken here, mostly because I discovered a gorgeous lake with great running trails beside it.  It's unbelievable to just spend an hour discovering new things on my own, all by foot.  I'm constantly surprised that my body can just go and go here.  I think it has a lot to do with my mind set; I've got time to just leave everything and everybody and keep going, and my legs and heart can easily keep up.  I don't think I've ever trusted my body enough to push it, but I'm learning that it can do much more than I expect it can.  It's cool to learn more about myself everyday I'm here. 

The rest of Saturday I just rented a movie and watched it with my host parents.  Sunday we all went to Oldenburg again and saw workers putting up Christmas decorations.  Nothing was lit or pretty yet because apparently that Sunday was a day the church reserves for respecting the dead.  I'm pretty glad we don't have that holiday at home.  My host family doesn't do anything for it because they don't like having an organized holiday when they're supposed to think about the people they've lost.  I'm with them, I think about the people I've known who have died plenty enough without being reminded to do so.  My host mom does like that it prevents stores from putting up Christmas decorations too early though.  Only after the holiday has passed can the city and decorate, and now it's on!  I'm super excited to go to Oldenburg for class tomorrow to see the lights and Christmas trees.  I'll do my best to take pictures, but lately I haven't been able to upload pictures from my camera onto my blog.  I think my host mom will let me borrow hers though. 

Big week ahead because it's Catrin's birthday and I'm hoping to have a shin dig for Thanksgiving. I keep planning but it doesn't look like many people are going to make it, so I really don't know what will happen.  I'm nervous about my cooking skills, so maybe it's best we don't draw a crowd.  I hope everyone is happy back home. This year I'm  thankful that I have such an unbelievable support system at home that seems even stronger now than before.  It's amazing to hear that so many of you read my silly stories, but it means a great deal to me. Just know that although I write about all the neat and fun things happening over here, during the down time I think of you all and get pretty bummed that I'm missing being with you for the holidays.  It's reaffirming though, it just reminds me how much I love and appreciate all of you.  I'll be thinking of everybody on Thursday especially.  I guess you'll be sitting down to Turkey as I take a seat in my German course....sigh.  I'll do my best to skype home that day and maybe it won't be so harsh.  Everyone, and I do mean everyone, who sees my mom between now and Christmas please give her a super big hug.  I know that she's happy that I'm here, but it's hard on her too. Actually, same goes for my Daddy, he's a softie.  Thanks for all the love and prayers you send my way, it's really unbelievable.  Now, let the holidays begin!