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.