Frohe Weihnachten!

Warm clothes and plenty of socks....check
Passport....check
Train snacks...check
Updated Ipod....check
Traveling Butterflys in my tummy....check

Gracious, it's here!  Today is the big day when the potentially coolest trip of my life begins.  I'll leave Edewecht around lunch, make several switches and arrive in Frankfurt around 5, and leave for Ireland around 8, arriving by 9.  There, my lovely friend Denise will collect me and we'll grab Kelsey in the morning and commence an Irish Countryside Christmas.  Oh good lord, I'm excited.  After we've had our fun with the leprechauns, we'll head out to Paris on the 31st.  Yeah, it's really much too amazing to wrap my mind around.  These are two places I've always dreamed of visiting and I get to experience them during the holidays with two of my favorite people.  Because it's so magical, I've actually refused until this point to truly believe it will happen.  So, I'm going to continue mentally preparing myself for disaster, so if it strikes, I won't be totally heart broken.  Who am I kidding, I'd be totally heart broken.  Prayers and concern are appreciated during this time, especially considering the crazy weather everywhere.

Okay, so I must apologize for the lack of blogging lately, but because I've been saving my money for this trip, I've only left the house on a few occasions for anything other than class.  But, Thursday I finally had something to do.  First off, it snowed Thursday, like real, lasts longer than 3 hours, snow. I was simultaneously thrilled and unnerved because I had to drive and pick up Piet and Catrin from school.  My driving was pretty good for a Southern girl and everyone was fine.  Later that evening, Elisa joined my host family and me in Oldenburg to listen to a children's Christmas concert.  All and all it was nice.  They sang a lot of German songs but a few good English songs including  "Oh Happy Day."  They didn't have quite the amount of soul that song needs, but the lead singer was good and pulled it off.  Afterward Elisa and I met up with our Italian buddy Daniele and after we'd grabbed some crepes (thin pancakes) with nutella, we traipsed off to the opera house.  I'd been looking forward to seeing Madame Butterfly for a while, but I have to say flat out, it wasn't so good.  The singing was fine, even though it was in Italian with a German accent, but the costumes and the set were tacky tacky tacky.  They used astro turf on the floor, had a creepy puppet that looked like an old man to play the kid, and the clothes were present day, which always irks me. Town and Gown puts this crew to shame.  Speaking of crew, I could see the tennis shoe of one crew member from the wings during the entire last act!  So, sorry to be a negative nancy, but this wasn't my cup of tea.  Still, the company was lovely and we had a blast singing songs on the snowy drive home.

Friday Piet and I made a snowman with Elisa that looked pretty awkward with no arms and a duck-billed cap, but it was quite fun.  When we came inside Catrin had a warm fire blazing in the furnace and was making some thin waffles with powdered sugar for a snack.  D-licious.  That night I joined the folks with whom I clean veggies at a private restaurant up the road for a Christmas dinner.  I accurately predicted that I'd be the only person under 40 there, but it was wonderful none the less.  We ate veggie soup, corn, potatoes, pork, and steak followed by raspberries and cream for dessert.  My goodness, it was tasty.  From the dining room there was a huge window that displayed another room with two bowling lanes.  After the food had settled, several people had a go.  It was an old fashioned set up and the balls were smaller than ours and had no holes.  Also, the pins are attached to strings at the top and are just pulled up and neatly placed back down after each turn.  I tried my luck and did so-so.  I expected much worse, so I was pleased.  Everyone seemed to have a great time and were very welcoming of me.  I hate that I can't communicate with them better because most don't speak much English, but we've all gotten pretty good with body language.  Hopefully my German will continue to pick up over the next few months.

Saturday was completely uneventful but Sunday was nice.  Piet came in my room at early thirty to wake me up for breakfast.  After we'd had our usual weekend breakfast of croissants and boiled egg, we lugged the Christmas tree in from the garage.  I put on the Charlie Brown Christmas music and we happily decorated the tree as the snow fell outside.  Germans do trees a little different than us.  They use fake lights, but not as many as most of us.  They don't get crazy with the garland and ribbon, and have fewer ornaments.  But, the trees are beautified with real candles that sit in these sturdy little holders.  We lit the tree that night and it was simply gorgeous.  I indulged in my guilty pleasure Christmas movie, "The Family Stone," and felt all fuzzy and sentimental. Catrin, Jorn, and Piet have managed to make it feel like Christmas for me over here, and that's the biggest gift they could have given me.  Now I'll spend the real deal with my baby sister, ahhh, so excited.

Yesterday was devoted to errands and packing.  Speaking of which, I should attend to the final details of preparation before I leave the house in a couple hours.  Keep us all in your thoughts and prayers! I'll do my best to blog throughout the trip if Denise has internet, but if not I'll keep a journal and write it all for you when I get back.  Dotsons, welcome the new kid for me and eat an extra piece of Aunt Shelia's peanut butter pie.  Harris crowd, be extra nice to my mom and compliment all of her food, because it's always insanely delicious.  Love you, Merry Christmas!!