Back in the U.S.A. (Feb 12th-28th)

February 12th

    Since it is finally my semester break here, I am going home for two weeks.  I brought so much stuff over here, I am using this chance to take back a suitcase-full of stuff that I don't need anymore. It's mainly big coats and winter stuff that I hope I won't need for too much longer. I had an uneventful flight home, with no missed connections or hissy fits at the check-in counter. Mom and Dad picked me up at the airport and we went straight to Chic-Fil-A for some good old American grease. I was super-tired by the time we got home and tried to stay up past 6 pm but didn't make it. 

I slept most of the next day, which was Valentine's day. I lounged around in bed most of the day and watched some movies, which isn't a big change from most Valentine's days for me haha.

 The next day, we celebrated Daddy's birthday. I made him an Italian creme cake that actually tasted okay. It had two sticks of butter and 6 eggs in it, so I hope the calories were worth it. We shared it with our neighbors, Jeff and Jennifer. Also gave my Dad the offset spatula all the way from Germany that he has been mentioning that he would like to have for the past two years or so.

I left after our birthday lunch and drove to Columbia. I got to Mag's room and was happily surprised by a greeting party of her,  Sarah, Lydia, Teri, and Ana. We had a little party where we celebrated all the holidays I had missed while abroad. It was super sweet of them to put it all together and I really enjoyed catching up with all of them. The next day, I went to meet with President Dinndorf and discuss the study abroad program. She was really nice and welcoming and got to meet Cinnamon, her boxer mutt. She reminded me a lot of Zelda. She was not a very good listener and kept coming over while we were talking to get some pats from me. We discussed the Keukenhof tulip gardens in detail and she said I should make a point of going there when we visit Amsterdam in March. Later, I went out to dinner with Mag at CC's, where we hogged down some pizza. We got back and watched Pocahontas in Shannon's room and all enjoyed singing along.

Sunday, February 17^th

 I had dinner at Mellow Mushroom with my cousins, Mike and Drew. It was great to see them and catch up. When they ordered beer, they teased me about still being under 21. However, I got to tell them about all the great German beer and that quieted them down a lot. Afterward, I took some of Chris's stuff to Dr. Ute's house, and I even got a piece of Linzer torte which was amazing. Before leaving for Pageland, I got breakfast at Ihop with Caitlyn. I hadn't seen her in so long, it was great to talk to her. We made plans for her to come visit me in Germany.

Monday, February 18^th 

On the road to Pageland. I went straight to Pizza Hut and ordered a personal pan pizza for Ma-Ma. Then went to Food Lion and got all of her favorites: Lays, Goldfish, and Fig Newtons. I went over to visit her and sat and talked for a long time. I also fixed her bird feeders that mom sent with me so she would have something to watch. I also gave her a box of Whitman's Sampler for Valentine's Day, and she told me to put it with the rest. I said "What do you mean the rest?" She literally had a whole bookcase of unopened chocolate, plus some more unopened stuff from Christmas stashed in her dresser. I thought it was hilarious, and told her she better get to eating. While I was visiting her, my uncle Paul dropped by and invited me to supper at my cousin Kendall's house. Funnily enough, they were planning on having bratwurst, so couldn't really say no. I said goodbye to Ma-ma and gave her a big hug. I went to Kendall's house and had a great meal with everyone. I missed seeing my cousin Ashley, but she was working. I will have to bring her back some Kinder Eggs to make up for it.

Tuesday 19^th Rock Hill was the next stop on my visitation trip, so I got up the next morning to drive there. Leslie was at work when I got there, so I just drove to El Cancun and met her. I even got a specially made nutella dessert thing that Gil made. It was muy delicioso. Afterward, we drove to Leslie's house. We went out to a new pizza place that was decent, but not my favorite. Then we went home and watched a movie. I had to leave the next morning to get back home, but it was a short and sweet visit with my sister.

After I got home, Amber came over and we ordered pizza from Pizza Inn and got junk food from Bi-lo. We watched Haywire just because it had Michael Fassbender in it. It wasn't that great, so I guess there's a lesson in there somewhere. Amber gave me my belated Christmas present as well as an early birthday present. It was so much fun getting to catch up with her, and I gave her the things I had bought for her at the Christmas market in Dortmund.

The next day, I got to have dinner with Jon, Elizabeth and their twin girls, Maggie and Abby. We went out for frozen yogurt afterward. I wish I had had more time to spend with them, but it was nice catching up either way.

On Sunday, I got to see Christen and we exchanged gifts and watched a movie. She got engaged back in October and it was the first time I had seen her since then. We talked about her wedding plans and graduation. She's the first close friend I have that has gotten engaged, and now I'm starting to feel old. Better get used to it, I suppose. 

Tuesday, February 26^th Too soon, I had to pack my things to go back. It was a nice visit home, but I was also excited to get back to Germany. However, I wouldn't be alone in my return. Mom, Dad, and two of their friends, Gail and Martha would be coming back with me. However, we were all separated on different flights.

 It turns out that Martha and I drew the short end of the stick because our flight left last. We arrived at the airport on time but then the FAA inspector showed up and screwed up everything. Our flight from Myrtle Beach to Charlotte was delayed, and then we missed our connection from Charlotte to Düsseldorf. There were no more flights after that, so the agents basically told us to go home and try again tomorrow. Okay fine. I got home around 11 and went straight to bed. I wish I had texted Jeff, who was watching the house for us. I nearly had a heart attack the next morning when I heard someone coming up the stairs. He thought someone had broken in and was checking on the house, and I thought someone had broken in and was coming to murder me. It all turned out okay, but he said "Next time, no matter how late, just text me when you are home." I wish I wouldn't have had to do that, but alas, Martha and I hauled our luggage back to the airport only to be told our flight was delayed again due to maintenance issues. They paid a cab to take us to the Florence airport to try and catch the flight to Charlotte from there. Unfortunatley, their planes were also experiencing maintenance issues. Waiting in line there for the agent to tell us if we could make it on time, I was about ready to cry. I felt so bad for Martha, who was only spending a week in Germany. She would have to make do with four days. So we got back in the cab and drove back to Myrtle Beach with Chuck, the talkative Chicagoan who had invented some sort of water osmosis device or something. At that point I was kind of zoned out in the back and left Martha to do all the talking, or listening, in this case.

We finally got back home and I rememberd to text Jeff. The next morning, I said goodbye to him for the third time and drove once again to the airport. This time, the plane was on time and we made it to Charlotte. We got on the Lufthansa plane for the trip over the Atlantic. We asked to be seated together, but as luck would have it, my entertainment screen thingy was broken. So I was moved toward the back where I watched The Godfather and The Sound of Music. The stewardess was very apologetic and I even got a complimentary business class toiletry case AND two bars of delicious chocolate. A fair trade, I'd say. We made it to Frankfurt and had to wait for our connection to Düsseldorf. Finally there, we were greeted by Gail and Daddy. He had rented a really nice Audi with all the bells and whistles. We got to the hotel, unpacked and got Dönur for dinner. It was nice to be back with everyone, but we were both really tired and hit the sack. I am going to end this post for now, Schüss!!

German Word of the Post: Unglücklich- "unlucky" We were really unglücklich with our flight over, it was canceled twice! 

February 1st-11th

Friday February 1st
 After a long week, I had a girls night with Laura. We drank some champagne and had a bunch of junk food and then watched Sex and the City and some of the sequel. I had never seen it before, but it was really funny and we had a fun time.

On Saturday, I went to Kriztina's birthday party at her house. It was really sweet of her to invite me, and I got to meet all of her friends and see some of her old ones as well. Markus, Joana, and Crissy all came to the party and it was fun to catch up with them, as I hadn't seen them since we went to Münster. We played a few games and looked through their old yearbooks. Her mom had also made an awesome spread of snacks and finger foods that I got to try. It was a really fun party and I got to sing in both German and English. Alles Gut Zum Geburtstag just doesn't have the same ring to Happy Birthday, but  it was still fun singing it.

Sunday, Anni invited me to Iserlohn to attend her choir concert. I got to see her family again as well as go to another Sunday school lesson, and really enjoyed both. Plus, she is an amazing singer and had two solos, and it was really impressive. I know how nervous I used to get before piano recitals, but at least with that, you can make it seem like you know how to play. If you can't sing, then it's immediately obvious and there is no way to cover it up. However, Anni doesn't have to do this, because she knocked the socks off of her songs. Afterward, we went back to her house in Iserlohn and Dieter and Carl came over. We had planned on staying up, ordering some burgers, and watching the Superbowl, but we were all really tired by 10 pm. Unfortunately, kickoff doesn't even start until midnight over here, and there was no way I was going to make it through. Plus, Carl told me they don't even show the American commercials, which is one of the reasons I watch, so it was just a bust all around. Oh well. It was still fun to see Carl and Dieter.

Monday was Opi's birthday. I now have the privilege of having attending both Omi AND Opi's birthdays. Now it's just Anni's and Maike's and I'll have collected the whole set! Jokes aside, it was a really sweet day, with cake (yesssss!!) and Käsesuppe (cheese soup) that is basically the best thing I've ever tasted. I really want to the recipe, even though whatever I try to recreate will be a complete failure compared to Omis. Later, we went upstairs and played MarioKart with Maike. It was really sweet of Anni to invite me to both events, and I enjoyed seeing everyone again.

The rest of the week was spent trudging through more snow, taking my last final, shopping for souvenirs for when I go home, and packing my bags for my visit home.  I am trying to get take home some of the stuff I brought over here so I won't as much in July. That's it for now, Schüss!!

German Word of the Week: das Gepäck-"baggage" I really hope that my Gepäck is not lost on the flight over. 

First Day Back and The Rest of January (7th-31st)

January 7th-11th

    It was a fun winter break, but now I have to go back to school. I am used to starting a new semester in January, but here, it is just a continuation of the previous semester. It's kind of odd, but I guess I won't have worry about new classes for a while.

The silver lining is that I got a ton of candy over Christmas break that will tide me over until at least March. It truly was Halloween in December:

On Friday, the 11th, I went to the Folkwang Museum in Essen with Carl's mom, Desi, and Anni. We had talked about the museum over Christmas break and she had already been to the Expressionist exhibit and said it was really worth a trip to see. I am glad we went, as it was one of the last weekends that the exhibit was open. We had to wait in line for a while before we got in, as everyone else seemed to have gotten the memo about the exhibit leaving soon. Once we got in, we got the audio guide and made our way through the museum  It was a really great collection, with a lot of Picassos, Van Goghs, Monets, and the like. Unfortunately, you couldn't take pictures in there, so I had to commit all my favorite ones to memory. My favorite was a sunrise portrait by Edvard Munch, but I couldn't find a print of it anywhere in the giftshop. It would have been a really pretty desktop background.

14th-19th

   This week, I think everyone has caught the same cold. Mike, Chris, Brittney, and a lot of other people are all sniffling. I am trying to drink a lot of orange juice to ward it off, but I don't know if I will inevitably catch it. It also doesn't help that it has snowed once again. It's not really a novelty anymore for me. It's more like a hazard for me to slip on the way to school. But I did make a mini-snowman from the stuff outside my window, and got a really pretty picture of it underneath the moonlight.

On Friday, Chris and I cooked an "American" breakfast for his double, Laura. It involved French toast... so I guess that's a misnomer but it was good all the same. We had syrup and powdered sugar to go on it and also had eggs, bacon, and fruit salad. Laura is from Nürnberg and told us about the city and what she did for Christmas. I'd really like to try and visit it someday, the way she talked about it seemed like it's a fun town.

Saturday, Laura and I (not Nürnberg Laura, Prague Laura) went to see the ballet Swan Lake. Beforehand, we went to eat at Vapianos, the same Italian restaurant that Anni and I tried in Iserlohn. I got the carbonara this time and it was delicious. We made our way to the Opera house and were hoping to get last minute tickets, as they were all sold out online. We happened to get one front row ticket and one in the 12th row. Obviously, we didn't get to sit together, but Laura told me it was okay if I sat up front since I'd never seen it. It really was a great performance and since I was so close,  I could actually see all the muscles in the ballerinas' legs. I never realized how ripped they are. It was intense. Afterward, we went out for a few drinks and then went home. I had to walk through the field to get home, but I forgot that it was covered in snow. I was wearing silver dangly earrings for the theater and I thought that they were going to freeze into my ears since it was so cold. It was really windy as well, so by the time I got home, I had tears pouring down my face and frozen earlobes. Not a fun time, but all worth it for some top notch ballet.

20th-27th

  This week, we had a goodbye party for Gery. He has to go back to Hungary to finish his Master's thesis and leaves in a few days. Chris, Brittney, Mike and I all pitched in for some beers and we watched one of his favorite movies, The Expendables 2. It was a really fun night, but also kind of sad since he's leaving. He told us to come visit Budapest before we go back to the states. We will have to try and plan a trip.

On Friday, I had my internship as usual and also got to meet Hans Breder. It was really exciting, as I've been working in the Hans Breder Archiv for the past 4 months. He was very gracious and answered all of my questions about his work and the archive. I can't wait for the exhibit opening next week, it's really been a fun and exciting experience to see what goes on behind the scenes. Later, I had a girls night with Britney. We painted our nails and watched a few cheesy Gerard Butler romantic comedies. She also has an appreciation for his accent.

28th-31st

On Tuesday, Mike and I went to go see Django Unchained in Bochum. They were showing it in English and it was super-Kino Tuesday as well, so tickets were half price. I though the movie was great, especially Leonardo Dicaprio's Calvin Candie.

Also this week, we had the exhibit opening that everyone has been working on for the past few months. It is called "Kollisions Felder" (collision fields) and features the artwork of the aforementioned Hans Breder. I was really excited to go to the opening, I even had a special invitation to get in! There were a lot of speeches beforehand (all in German of course). I caught the gist of what was going on, but was happy when they released us into the exhibit. Afterward, my boss invited me to get drinks with our colleagues, Hans, and some members of the press. It felt nice to be included, and I had a really nice time with everyone. I got to sit next to Katja, one of the girls I work with and she made me laugh so hard I nearly spilled my beer everywhere. The reason was that she refused to believe I am Southern. We somehow got on the topic of Gone With the Wind and she talked about how much she loved it and went to the museum in Atlanta. I told her I always wanted to go since it's so close and her eyes got all big and she said "But you're not from the South." She just kept shaking her head and saying she didn't believe me because I didn't have an accent. I then put on the countriest back-woods Swamp People accent I could manage. We laughed for a long time after that, and the rest of dinner, she would keep asking me to say words in the accent. I was happy to oblige because I remembered Carl and Anni enjoying it as well. Whatever I can do to make my fans happy haha. That's it for this month, Schüss!!

German Word of the Post:Die Ballettänzerin- "Ballerina" When I was little, I wanted to be a Ballettänzerin, but my calves weren't strong enough. 

A Tour of Prague (January 2nd-6th)

January 2nd

       We had to get up super-early in order to catch our flight from Düsseldorf to Prague. I'm talking, leave the house at 2 am. I decided to not sleep at all and stayed up packing and watching movies. I was super excited about this trip. It would be me, Chris, Mike, and Mike's doubles, Robin and Laura touring around Prague for four days. First we had to get to the airport and wait in line for an hour. The counter wasn't even open and when a representative finally came out, we had to re-queue for no reason. We got through and found our plane, something my parents call a "puddle-jumper." It's a tiny plane with propellers. Like this:

We made it there fine, despite a lot of rattling. After a quick cab ride through the city, we found our way to the hotel. We dropped off of our bags since our room wasn't ready yet and went exploring. We went to the Charles Bridge, one of the most famous sites in Prague. It's a foot bridge over the Vltava River. Usually it's really crowded, but since we were there early in the morning, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Plus the sun was rising and it was really beautiful.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the city. We went by one of Prague's major churches with a really cool clock on the side that's been in use since the 17th century:

Laura and I also went shopping in one of the swankier parts of the city. It was more like window-shopping, as some of the stuff was really pricey. We still had a great time. That night we went down to our hotel's bar/restaurant. It was decorated kind of oddly. It reminded me a lot of TGI Friday's at home. Just random stuff nailed up on the wall. We sat next to a suit of armor and on the other side of the table, there was a portrait of Bill Gates. Go figure. The food was good, a even better, the beer was cheap, so we spent most of the night there.

January 3rd

     We got up early to to go the castle in Prague. It's one of the largest castles in the world and we spent most of the day going through it. There were a lot of stairs to actually get to the castle, I felt like Rocky once we got to the top. It provided a really nice view of the city too.

They also had guards at this castle, and we caught the changing of the guard and snapped some photos with them as well.

He looks happy

Afterward, we ate at a little cafe. I tried the goulash, as apparently that's the thing to eat while in Prague. No offense to Praguians (Pragonians? Praguvillians?) but it was not my favorite. Maybe it was just a mixture of the spices, but I couldn't finish the dish. Oh well, at least I tried it. We also went to the spa in our hotel. We had it all to ourselves and tried out the sauna. I'd never been in one, but it was a lot of fun and refreshing. We also had a hot tub to marinate in. All in all, a relaxing end to a busy day.

January 4th

     Today we made our way down to the Frank Gehry building in Prague. I've posted earlier about his building in Düsseldorf and how he's kind of like the Dr. Seuss of architecture. This building was no different. They call it the "Fred and Ginger" because it looks like the two buildings are dancing together. Unfortunately it wasn't open for touring, because they actually use if for offices, but it was still fun to see.

We also went to the National Gallery. Unfortunately it was under a major restoration, so only part of it was open, but the part that we did see was impressive. After we were through with that, we went to the Alfons Mucha museum. He was from the Czech Republic and produced a lot of really beautiful advertisements for plays as well as illustrations. His stuff is really recognizable and popular. While there, we learned that when his posters would be put up around town to advertise something, within the next day, they would all be taken down by people who wanted to display them in their own houses. Here is one of his more famous pieces:

The prettiest cigarette ad I've seen

Later that night, we went to the largest club in central Europe. I know this because they had it in neon lights on the side of the building. I don't know if it was true or not, but the club was pretty big. It had five floors of different music. It was really interesting because if you got bored with the music on one floor, you could just move somewhere else. We tried out all of them, including the 70s/oldies floor that had a light-up checkerboard floor. There weren't a whole lot of people our age there, so we went to the pop/club songs floor and stayed there. I really enjoyed it there, because there was a glass ceiling so you could look up and see people dancing above you. It was an awesome night, and I really wish there were more clubs like this where I live. Oh well. The beer there was also interesting, my favorite had a goat on the front of it:

January 5th 

     Today we went to a performance of The Nutcracker and the National Operahouse. It was a lot of fun and the building was very pretty as well. 

The performers were very impressive, but it was a different version of The Nutcracker than I've seen before. It was like they combined it with A Christmas Story because there was definitely and Ebeneezer Scrooge character who was transported to the land of the sugar plum fairies. There were very few nutcrackers to be seen, but the music was recognizable, so I guess it wasn't a total loss. 

Afterward, we went back to the bar in the hotel. We had to leave early the next morning, so we didn't stay up too late. It was a really fun trip, and I would love to go back sometime. That's all for now. Schüss!!

German Word of the Week: Die Brücke- "bridge" Die Brücke across the Vlata River has a lot of statues on it. 

Christmas and New Years!! December 24th-January 1st

Christmas Eve

 It has finally arrived! Anni and I went into the city for some last minute shopping. We went to H&M, where I got some cute boots on clearance. I really should consider my luggage space when I'm shopping... I will seriously need a suitcase just for shoes.

Afterward, we visited her mom's boutique. She has some really neat stuff and delicious looking cupcakes as well. We also went for some ice cream. Ice cream in December, I know, but it was seriously 65 degrees outside. In any case, I got a banana chocolate concotion that was delicious. (See below)

After shopping, we went home to get ready for the Christmas Eve service at Anni's church. I got to see Rila again, and even got to meet some more of Anni's friends. Both of them were singing in the choir, so it was really fun to watch and hear them. Anni's grandpa also sang as well. After the singing, there was a Christmas play put on by the children. It was really sweet and I got to see some of my friends from the service on Sunday. After church, we went home to open presents. That's another benefit of Germany-you don't have to wait until the 25th to open presents! First, we had to wait outside the living room while Anni's grandparents decorated the tree and set out the presents. Then, a bell rang and that was our signal to go in. It was really beautiful.

Then it was time to open presents. I wasn't really expecting all that much, just because it was nice enough to be invited to spend Christmas with Anni and her family. However, I got a cute bracelet and CD from Maike, a scarf and earrings from Omi and Opi, and a trip to see the new Twilight movie from Anni. Oh, and a whole plate of candy. I really appreciated all of these gifts, but it was even nicer to sit and enjoy Christmas with everyone. I even got to Skype for a few minutes with my parents and family back home.

After all of the presents were opened, we had fondue. I only knew the kind with melted cheese or chocolate. However, this was hot oil and you could stick all sorts of meats into it to cook. It was really delicious. I seriously ate too much, especially as there was leftover cake for dessert. It was a fun and different Christmas tradition that I think I will suggest to my family for next year.

On Christmas Day, Anni and I went over to Carl's house. It was really fun seeing his family again and we played more Skip-Bo and Triominoes. We also got to open more presents, which is always a bonus. I got a book and painted picture of the museum where I work from Carl. I also got a pretty pair of purple earrings from Hanna and a trip to Bonn from Carl's parents. They were all such sweet and thoughtful gifts, and all I had to give was my container of chocolate chip cookies. However, they ended up getting eaten, so I suppose that is a good sign.

After we opened presents, we had raclette and fondue for lunch. I had never heard of raclette, so it was another fun tradition to try. It's basically a mini cooktop where you can sear different types of meats. Everyone also got these cute little frying pans where you mix in cheese, vegetables, sauces, basically whatever you want, and then add that on top of whatever meat you are cooking. It's kind of hard to describe, but luckily I took some pictures:

You can see the frying pans cooking underneath

The fondue!!! 

There were also tons of sauces to put on everything. Carl and his parents kept telling me if I didn't like something to just say so, but I wanted to try all of them, so I basically took whatever came my way. I think my favorite was this aioli sauce that Carl had made. I absolutely love garlic, so I slathered it on just about everything. Once again, I ate entirely too much and had to loosen my belt after the meal. However, I would just have to make more room because there was this giant bowl of candy on the table that we kept passing around. It was like Halloween. There was so much candy and all of it chocolate. I found a new favorite chocolate, "Duplo" which is kind of like a Kit Kat. Hanna had also made this delicious tiramisu for dessert, and even sent us home with a container of it.

The bowl of dreams

After lunch, we played a few more games and then went back to Iserlohn. We lounged around for the rest of the day watching movies, and I also got to Skype with my family again.

On the 26th, Anni and I got up early to have breakfast at Carl's house. His family had prepared this huge spread of all sorts of meats, cheeses, jellies, and breads. I also really liked the waffles and nutella.

Something that was also really sweet was that Carl's parents had specially bought peanut butter just for me. I guess they had heard that I am kind of a fanatic about it and had both the crunchy and creamy kind. They are both really nice and made me feel welcome. After we got done with breakfast, we went back to Iserlohn to prepare for more gift giving with Anni's family. Her aunt and uncle came over again and we all opened more presents. We also had more cake (yay!!) and a dish called Sauerbraten. I was so excited to try this ever since Anni had told me about it the week before. It's similar to pot roast, in that you let the meat stew in its own juices for a day or two.

I know that Anni was happy to finally have it as well, since I had pestered her almost every day if it would be the night for Sauerbraten.  The meal did not disappoint, and it was my favorite dish that we had while there. It was tender and juicy and I had to refrain from drinking the delicious gravy that was poured over the top. Yum!


On Thursday, the 27th, Anni, Maike, and I went out to Bali, an Indonesian restaurant in town. They described it as one of their favorites, and I was excited to try it. I really liked the decor of the place. They had these huge wooden chairs made into interesting shapes. They must have weighed at least 90 pounds each.

The food was, of course, delicious. We paid for the all you can eat buffet, but I think I only went up there three times. There was just too much to try: Shish kebabs, sushi, soups, mixed rices, and a lot more. I just loaded up on whatever looked good (which was all of it) and tried my best to make my way through all of it. Anni told me to save room for dessert, because they had this fried pineapple stuff that was heavenly.

After we got done eating, we went back up to Maike's apartment and watched more movies. I found out one of her favorites is The Wedding Date, just like me!

On the 28th, Anni and I went over to Carl's house for a movie night. We stopped at McDonald's on the way and purchased dinner for the night. I actually like the McDonald's over here. They seem a lot cleaner and nicer than the ones back home. We watched Crank and Crank 2 which were both really action-packed and violent. It was fun watching them with Carl, because he knows a lot about guns and knives and would tell us the type of pistol that was being used in the movie. He also showed me this website that is basically a Wikipedia for guns and can tell you what guns have been used in movies.

Saturday, the 29th, Anni and I went downtown to do some more shopping. This time, I managed to refrain from buying any more shoes, but I did end up in a bookstore, like a nerd. I found Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in German and was actually able to understand most of the first chapter. I think that would be another good way to learn German is read a book that you know by heart. I went ahead and bought the book and have already made my way through the first three chapters. Not too shabby! While shopping, I wasn't completely thinking about myself. I was still getting some last minute gifts for friends back home. I am going home in February and wanted to make sure I had something for everyone on my list.

On Sunday, the 30th, Anni and I went to go see the final Twilight film. It was a really sweet present from her, and I really enjoyed it. I also learned a lot about how the movie theaters over here work. Apparently, it isn't a free for all like in the U.S. when it comes to picking seats. In Germany, when you buy tickets, it's like buying tickets for a play or baseball game; You have an assigned seat. I thought it made a lot more sense and was much more orderly than the random way we do it in the U.S. Anni also bought us snacks for the theater that were a little different than I'm used to. She told me that the popcorn is sweet instead of salty. It's more like kettle corn that you can get at the fair. I liked it, but I much prefer the butter-drenched fatty stuff you can get back home. We also got some nachos to share, but the "salsa" was more sweet than I'm used to. It reminded me of sweet and sour sauce from the Chinese restaurant.

Once we got into the theater, we watched a few previews for some upcoming German films. After that, they turned on the lights again, and a man came in selling ice cream. It really was like a baseball game. The movie was in German, but I was able to follow along and Anni was right next to me if I had any questions. It was a really fun night, and I thoroughly enjoyed our night out at the movies.


On New Year's Eve, Anni and I went over to Carl's house to celebrate. We had more raclette, and I had actually gotten better at not burning any meat or tablecloths. I felt really bad, as the first night we had raclette, I put my hot frying pan down on the tablecloth, and it burned a hole right through it. Luckily, it wasn't a family heirloom linen one, and more like a birthday party one that you can ball up and throw away. However, Carl's dad told me the next day that when he was washing dishes he had one frying pan that was especially difficult to get clean, as it had something yellow melted to the bottom of it. Whoops! This time, I managed to avoid burning anything and really enjoyed doing the raclette again.

We also had a lot of champagne to ring in the new year. Carl even let me shoot his pistol, (blanks, of course) as New Year's is the perfect time to shoot a gun because the neighbors won't be disturbed.  At midnight, we all went out into the street and shot off fireworks. It was really crazy, as almost everyone in the neighborhood was outside shooting stuff. In my hometown, it is technically illegal to shoot fireworks within the city limit, and we usually have to go to a official fireworks show at the beach. Not so in Germany. I got to light a few bottle rockets, and Anni and I kept lighting firecrackers and trying to roll them into the sewer grate across the street. The church bells were also ringing, and all in all, it was an awesome New Years. I even took some video, but be warned that it looks like I have ADD because I can't focus on just one area.

We spent the night at Carl's house and got up in time for lasagna that Hanna had made for lunch. All too soon, we had to be on the way back to Dortmund, as I was leaving the next day to spend a few days in Prague. It was an amazing Christmas and New Years, and not one I will soon forget.

Side note: I feel like this blog has turned into a running list of all the food Joanna likes (read:just about everything), but I will try my best to include more content that doesn't involve me stuffing my face.

German Word of the Week: Der Tannenbaum- "Christmas tree" It is always fun to decorate Der Tannenbaum. 

Dec. 21st-23rd

Friday, Dec. 21st.

Freeedom!!!! I met up with Anni and we drove to her hometown of Iserlohn. I got to meet her grandparents again, both who were really gracious and gave me big hugs. Upon entering their apartment, I noticed all of the great decorations. There were candles and wreaths everywhere. It was really pretty.

 I also noticed her Omi's orchids. She had at least 15 all throughout the house and all were beautiful and in bloom. A green thumb indeed.

The several plates of Christmas cookies placed around the house did not go unnoticed either.

Don't mind if I do!

The sign says "Merry Christmas!"

 After we had unpacked and settled in, I got to meet Anni's aunt, Maike, who lives above her grandparents. We got to have dinner with her and a few of her friends and we watched a movie as well, Mirror, Mirror. It's another Snow White story (Schneewittchen in German), but it was fun nonetheless.

On Saturday, the 22nd, it was Omi's birthday! I got up and had breakfast with Anni. It was a proper German breakfast, with rolls, assorted sausages and meats, cheese, nutella, jam, and the like. I was in heaven. I usually am too impatient for breakfast and grab a yogurt or banana, so this was nice for a change. Around 3, Anni's uncle, Thorsten, and his wife and children came over to celebrate Omi's birthday. They have four children, including one really sweet 6 month old, Lukas. Her uncle teaches English at a high school near Iserlohn, so I had fun getting to know him and his family. Carl also came over for the celebration.

 However, I was unprepared for the epicness that is a German birthday. I am used to a single cake for a birthday. That cake usually comes after a family dinner. Here, however, we got to eat cake first. And not just one cake, there were at least 6 different kinds to choose from. Mind you, these were all homemade by Omi. No box cakes here! My brain could not compute all of this at first. Here are just two of them:

I think I managed to make it through three different slices, but had to give up after that. But there were leftovers, so another day I shall try again. Afterward, we all sat around the table and talked. It was fun trying to discern the different conversations going on at once. Anni and Carl were really kind and would translate for me if I didn't understand something. Something I did understand was when Anni's aunt said that it might snow for Christmas. All at once, everyone stopped and said "WAS?!" (in English: WHAT?!) It was really funny. I hope it will snow, but it doesn't look good. The temperature has been hovering around the 60s.

After the cake had time to settle, we had supper. It was spatzel with mushrooms. I really enjoyed this as well. What with the cake, cookies, and awesome meals, I am on track to gain at least 10 pounds by the end of break. Totally worth it.

Afterward, Carl, Anni, and I played Triominoes. I don't know what it was, but I hit a really lucky streak and won two games in a row. We talked about popular German movies like Sissi, which is a series of movies from the 50s about Elisabeth, the princess of Austria.

On Sunday, the 23rd, we got up to go to church. I got to help Anni with the children's service, which was a special one because it was Christmas. We spent the morning singing Christmas songs, eating cookies, and playing games. It was my kind of service. I even got to meet Anni's best friend, Rila. She was super-nice and we all took part in a game called "Blitz, Feuer, Wasser, Wind" (Lightning, Fire, Water, Wind). Basically, the object of the game is to wear the kids out. It involves a lot of running. For example, if Anni yelled out Blitz! the kids would have to lay on their stomachs to escape the lightning. If she yelled Wind! then they would have to run and touch a wall. It was hilarious, because Anni was really good at stirring the kids up. She would say stuff like "There's a tornado right behind you, you better run faster!" and "Only one can survive, who will it be?!" I don't think I've laughed that much in a long time. It was really good for me to hang out with kids as well, because I actually understood a majority of what they were saying! I am thinking about enrolling in a preschool close to university. That's a sure way to improve my German!

After church, we went home and had lunch. We also decorated the room we were staying in. Anni brought all of her ornaments and decorations from home, and we had fun hanging it all up.

Anni getting her swag on

After this, we went upstairs to see Maike and have a girl's day. We painted our nails, put on facial masks, and watched a reality TV show about weddings. The language was not too terribly difficult, and with a lot of help from Maike and Anni, I understood most of it. Plus, it was a really fun show as well. When the show was over, we decided to play some Wii bowling and Mario Kart. We stayed up pretty late, but it was a fun day overall. That's it for now, Christmas Eve is tomorrow, and I am super excited! Schüss!!

German Word of the Day: Die Glocken- "the bells" Die Glocken on Sunday morning are a nice sound to wake up to. 

The Week Before Christmas (Dec. 16th-22nd)

Dec. 16th-22nd

 I am so ready for break to be here. I am really jealous reading all the posts on Facebook from friends back home who are already on vacation. Oh well. On Sunday, my language class performed our production of Der Grüffelo. It's a popular children's book about a mouse who has to outsmart all of these other forest animals.

Yours truly accepted the role of der Fuchs (the fox) and is expecting accolades to come pouring in at any moment. Actually, a lot of people turned out to see us. It was tons of fun. We also sang a song at the end about Der Grüffelo, and I think video of it exists somewhere, but I won't be posting it on this blog. Here is a picture of all of us:

After the play, Chris and I met up with Uschi for a little Christmas shopping. We all exchanged presents and went for a cup of Glühwein as well. It was really nice, even though the freezing rain was less than ideal.

Here is a picture of the giant Dortmund Christmas tree, as promised:

On Wednesday, I baked chocolate chip cookies. Both Anni and Carl had invited me to come stay for Christmas and New Years, and I wanted to get their parents and grandparents something. Of course, I had no idea what to get them, but food seems like a safe option. Everybody likes chocolate chip cookies, right?

Thursday, we had an informal Christmas dinner. Chris and I cooked jambalaya for Gergei, Mike, and Brittney and we all exchanged gifts. I don't think jambalaya is a traditional Christmas food, but oddly enough, we couldn't find goose. So we settled on the next best thing. It actually turned out pretty well. We sat and talked for a long time about our personal Christmas traditions and plans for the break. I'm going to end this post early so I can combine my Christmas break adventures into one huge post. So goodbye for now!

German Word of the Week: Der Reis- "rice" Don't overcook der Reis, or your jambalaya will be a "der"saster.