Only wonderful things to say about Germany once again. So, as you probably know, last week was Thanksgiving...in America. Europeans aren't so keen on the holiday because the Pilgrims abandoned them and began what we like to call the greatest country in the world. Well, they should be jealous; being away from home only reinforces my belief that Thanksgiving is un-stinking-believable. As planned, I did my best to bring our wonderful culture to this cold, cold land, and I must say, it was quite a success. However, I'm going to describe the week day by day, so as to avoid any confusion.
So, Tuesday was normal but pleasant. Shopped around Oldenburg before class and found a pretty card for my host mom's birthday, which we celebrated on Wednesday. For me, this felt a ton like our Thanksgiving. Both her parents and Jorn's parents came over and we had a huuuuge lunch of the infamous meat roll ups we have for most fancy occasions. Everybody was in high spirits and the weather was lovely. This house has lots of big windows (I know your jealous, Mamma) so when it's sunny the whole house feels warm and pretty. Piet was thrilled to have all his Omas and Oppas in one place bearing gifts, mind you. One gift was a toy that shoots five small discs into the air. A delightful toy until you spend over an hour on the floor looking for the dern things...Anyways, we had a lovely time and Catrin seemed really happy to have everyone with her. Later that night I made my way to Oldenburg to meet the girls who were friends with the past au pair, Mallory. On this night I was introduced to the wonder that is Weihnnachts Markt, or the Christmas Market. Oh heavens, it's amazing. Lights and trees galore, hot chocolate and spiced wine at every turn, all surrounded by cute trinket stands with ornaments, jewelry, scarves and what not. It's glorious, the most Christmasy place I've ever been, aside from Rock City : ) It's open every night until Christmas, so next time I'll do my best to take a picture or two, but I doubt my camera can capture the beauty (it's not so good with the night time thing). After the market we went to our old stand by, the Irish Pub as we waited for my friend's mom to drive us home. It turned out to be quite crowded for a Wednesday because they were playing trivia. Although I didn't know that Hulk Hogan's real name is Terry (I chose Terrance, assuming they shortened it, but no, it's Terry), the perfect question was posed to me. Who were the lead characters in Gone with the Wind? Are you kidding me? Did they know I was coming? So, we got a few right and had a lovely time together. We also met a few new friends, per usual in the Irish Pub. I like it there.
Thursday, our beloved day of Turkey, was blah and rainy. Other than searching the internet for the Macy's Day Parade with no luck due to the time difference, I didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Just Piet time and class. I called home and got to talk to Mamma and Daddy, which always makes me feel loved. I was bummed not to be home, but I think I handled it pretty well. The homesickness hasn't struck too heavily yet. My life is so comfortable here that it feels normal and I forget just how far I am from home. Good grief, I'm lucky to say that.
So Friday and Saturday I put my Turkey face on and got serious about some Thanksgiving. (Imagining me with a turkey face is funny...to me). Friday Elisa and I made it to the grocery store and loaded up. It was quite tricky to fit all our groceries on bicycles, but we were determined to make a delicious meal. That night I made the dressing in her kitchen and we had a dandy of a time. Her host sister is 14 and is cool to hang around, so we had a girls night in the kitchen. Ah, I did bike home for dinner though and had a delicious meal of smoked eel. Oh dear, it was amazing...quite possibly the best fish I've had. Catrin's parents always give it to her on her birthday and after eating it the whole family calls them and says this cute little diddy about how great it tastes. They're adorable.
Now we've made it to Saturday, the magic turkey day. First off, I didn't think this day was going to pan out at all. I initially wanted to cook for my host family and invite some friends, but after the big lunch on Wednesday and all the other stuff moms have to do this time of year, Catrin rightfully asserted that it would be a huge stresser, and that's not the point of Thanksgiving. I was bummed at first, but totally understood that it would be bad timing for such an event. Well, the Lord loves me and made everything better than I could have planned. During trivia on Wednesday the girls asked if I'd be doing Thanksgiving and I explained why it wouldn't work out. Low and behold, my friend Liska piped up and revealed that she'd be going out of town and would be happy to offer her apartment in Oldenburg for our dinner. Because of her kindness Elisa and I were able to spend a relaxed afternoon together and take a short vacation from family life. We cooked and watched "Love Actually" until our friends Daniele from Italy and Dylan from California joined us to feast. And my oh my, what a feast. My dressing turned out well and was accompanied by Elisa's gorgeous turkey. Although her host mom doubted her, she is an amazing cook. The other American made some stellar mashed pototoes, the Italian brought cheese and wine, and I bought some apple sauce from a jar and corn from a can....such is my way. We listened to a praise worthy mix of Christmas music and chowed down. After we were able to move again we headed into town and frequented the Irish Pub once more. This time we managed to meet a young couple who were just recently engaged. The girl, whose names translates to "Little Swan" in English, but I can't spell it in German, was quite nice. Her fiance was quite charming, but pretty quirky. I mention them to tell a fantastic story and explain the title of this blog. I learned that they were engaged because I noticed she had a pretty pearl ring and I asked about it. She said it was her grandmother's and then her fiance piped in and told us to ask about the other ring on her finger. She rolled her eyes and said that he made it for her, but promised that we wouldn't believe how he did it. Turns out, he's a dentist so he collected the gold fillings he removed from his patient's teeth, melted them down, and made an engagement ring!!! It's a hard story to swallow, but they sold it convincingly. She wore a hopeless, "Yep, he actually did this" look on her face while his beemed with pride. Loved it : )
Sunday I did very little aside from a very long run. The weather was dry and warm(ish) so I happily ran for over an hour, listening to my ipod and discovering new trails. I was exceptionally tired the rest of the day, but it was worth it. Thus far, this week has been routine, but good. The rain has finally subsided but the crisp winter air abounds. It's nice though, really feels like Christmas is a comin'. Lights are going up on the houses and I just can't get enough of them. Piet started his advent calendar activities today so he's super pumped for the holiday. He opens a bag with a toy in it for the morning, and then gets a little piece of chocolate in the afternoon while his mom reads a special story from his advent calendar book. He still hasn't finished tweaking his Christmas list because each toy must be well researched before any decisions are made. We listen to German Christmas music everyday; I chime in when "Oh Tenenbaum" comes on, and then we listen to my English favorites together. It's really lovely to spend Christmas around a kid, everything is magical again. I'm really excited that the Dotsons will have a darling girl around quite soon to restore energy to the holidays! The pictures from Thanksgiving at Uncle Lendon's were lovely and I hope everyone had a good time. I'll be thinking of you all as you put up Christmas trees and eat those yummy shortbread cookies with red and green sugar. Oh Christmas, how wonderful you are. Send any special German Christmas present requests my way soon! Love ya!
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