Arts and Crafts

Yesterday was an incredibly lazy Sunday because my Saturday lasted until after 4am. Remember the days of sleepovers when you'd try to stay up as late as possible? It's as though all of that childhood effort was practice for when I'd be living in Germany someday. They go out with the last train and come home with the first train. It's... exhausting. Due to my lack of Sunday motivation to go anywhere outside of a 40-step radius from my bed, my little home got a good cleaning, and I got a chance to have some arts-and-crafts time. My faaaaaaaavorite holiday for arts-and-crafts is just around the corner, and (nerd alert!) since I have to factor in the time it takes to send mail internationally, I allowed myself to indulge and let the fun begin even though it's still January!

Here are some sneak previews of what I've been crafting... (dear Emma and Rachel, I miss you and your craftiness)....

A disturbing lack of glitter, don't you agree?

Ein Schottischer Abend an der Uni Mainz

Suffice it to say, I just got home from a most magical 7 hours of volunteer work. I mean it. There was this Scottish evening tonight held at the University, and last week I'd received an email looking for volunteers. "Well, heck!" I thought. "Sign me up!" And, so, volunteer at this cultural evening in Mainz I did.

This evening was "The 253rd Burns Night"-- "ein Schottischer Abend an der Uni Mainz". Yep, I'd never heard of this either. Luckily, Wikipedia has an article about "Burns Supper" which is apparently also sometimes referred to as, you guessed it, Burns Night! It is a celebration of the life of poetry of Robert Burns and traditionally is celebrated around his birthday, which was January 25th. Wikipedia notes that you can celebrate the poet really whenever you please, however. You eat haggis, drink whisky, and make general merriment. Wikipedia even said that the evening "occasionally ends with dancing when ladies are present". There were ladies present tonight, and I will be the first to say, whew! was there ever a lot of dancing. Take all of this info with a grain of salt because 1) I got it from the Wiki, and 2) I didn't read past the introduction paragraphs. However, that summary is pretty spot on with what I saw tonight.

I've never before celebrated anything Scottish using another language (the minister from my childhood is Scottish and wore a kilt every Sunday and to everything noteworthy, so let's agree that I've my fair share of celebrating the Scottish way). I was to begin by helping with the Garderobe-- coat check, or as the signs for the Garderobe also said-- "Cloack Room". Bless the dear heart of the person who made these signs, but it was killing me. And then, I couldn't think of the right way to spell that! I knew "Cloack" was wrong, but with my brain switched into German-mode, I couldn't correctly spell Cloak in my head! "Clock? No. Cloh.... Noooo... Cl. um. erg." Probably took me 10 minutes to remember "C-L-O-A-K". German, you are scrambling my brains!

I was also asked to please help set up the beamer. Uh huh! We had a beamer there! But what does a beamer have to do with Scotland? In Germany, where beamers come from, "beamer" does not mean BMW automobile. Nope, here it means projector! You know, you beam the light onto the wall! I'd have preferred to be in charge of a beamer as we Americans understand it, but I got the projector.

There was much haggis. Much haggis. What? I should reference Wikipedia for this, too? Ok. According to Wiki, haggis is a sheep's "pluck"-- heart, liver, and lungs. It is minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, and mixed with stock. Tradionally it's cooked in the animal's stomach as casing, but you really have no need to be grossed out anymore, because normally now it's cooked in just normal casing. Just your run-of-the-mill bodily organs Mischung. I have to say though, it doesn't taste bad. So when you are offered haggis at some point in your life, forget what you have read here about the contents, and just go for it. You probably maybe might be glad you did.

Oh gosh, and then there was whisky. I think they had 25 different kinds of Scotch, the oldest having aged 18 years. That's the only one I tried (c'mon... I was working!), but there was certainly plenty of whisky enjoyed by the evening's guests. And then came the dancing! Oooo we learned Scottish dances for groups of 6, groups of 2, groups of 50, one big group... and there is a lot of twirling and "swinging your partner", aber ich weiß nicht was "swing your partner" eigentlich auf deutsch heißt. I marched around to "eins-zwo-drei-vier-fünf-sechs-sieben-acht" like a really happy, kind of giggly soldier-dancer. Hilarious. And super fun. And we'd all learn the dance and then before we were allowed to start dancing we'd all have to be correctly and logically lined up because after all, Ordnung muss sein.

I was sure glad I didn't drink whisky and then spin around as many times as I did on that dance floor, or I probably would have tossed up some haggis, to be quite frank. Also, it started snowing! This is the second snowfall Mainz has had this year, and while it wasn't much, it was the good kind with big, fat, fluffy flakes that are ripe for snowman-construction. And that's just what happened on my walk home. 2 very miniature snowmen (one was a snowlady) were constructed and properly named (Roberto and Sofia), and then I mourned the fact that my German cell phone is camera-less. They were picture worthy. I hope they have a nice, snowy night together on the bench where they live.

And now I'm home. Soaking wet ballet flats, tights, socks, and pant-hems. But really loving my Scottish night in Germany.

Plus, I keep starting out the word "Scottish" by spelling it the German way-- "Schot...") and then I have to stop and correct myself. I'm telling you, I have scramble brain from German.

State of the Union 2012

One year ago, I was sitting on the steps in the Gallery of the House of Representatives. The room was filled with the members of both of the House and the Senate. All 9 judges from the Supreme Court were in attendance. The Secretary of State and other members of the President's Cabinet were there. The Vice President was there. All of those big-wigs were on the floor of the chamber. The First Lady was seated in the wing of the gallery to my right, and most others had seats in the gallery. I counted myself lucky to be seated on the stairs, fighting for space among camera men who flitted in and out. And there I was, watching the President give his State of the Union address. I could listen without anyone around me cracking jokes or arguing with the TV screen. No TV commentators. I sat, listened, and for the first time really ever, paid close attention to the contents of the speech in its entirety. It was one of those "DC moments" that I experienced now and then throughout my time in DC. Something I got to do that most people probably don't (or maybe that most people don't even want to do). But it was things like that which I consider to be a special part of my life in DC. It was through opportunities such as being live in attendance to the State of the Union which I will never forget and that I certainly grew from, in some small way.

This year, of course, I am in Germany-- approximately 6,000 miles away from the chamber of the House of Representatives. No helicopters will be buzzing over my house this year. I'll have to show no badge or ticket to anyone. I likely won't hear much about it tomorrow when I wake up (although, these Germans like to stay informed, so who knows) other than through my Facebook feed. But I'll be up. I'll be awake at 3am to watch it stream live over the internet. I will transport myself back to that chamber and listen to the words that will be spoken. I will do my best to come to my own conclusions about what will be said, and I'll remember how special it was to have been there.

Whether the President's policies are those you support or those with which you vehemently disagree, I encourage you to listen in tonight! I'm sure many networks will stream coverage, or certainly replay coverage tomorrow, but I know the White House link is also planning to show the charts, statistics, and other info that the President and his team have based some of this speech on tonight. Might be interesting to see.

Kaffee Stunde

Howdy, readers! I'm in Starbucks right now. That's right, I'm drinking coffee that is familiar to me, in a setting that is familiar to me, and I ordered from a menu that I can read (well, who can actually read a Starbucks menu though?). I'm home!

Ok, I'm not home at all. I'm in Germany still, so don't get too excited. It's funny to me how something as little as sitting in a Starbucks can transport me back to my homeland for an hour. Now, the whole point of travel, for me, is to leave my environment to see how other people live life-- not to go somewhere far away just to spend all my time and energy recreating homeland familiarities. However, I've come to appreciate what a simple cup of coffee does for my long-term stay abroad. It's rejuvenating. "Ein Tall Filterkaffee" and I almost don't even care about the fact that I don't remember the last time I was in the sun or how many potato-based things I've eaten in the last week.

And in 40 minutes, I'll step back through the door and into my German world. I'll go home where that German-language book is waiting for me (that's right! I'm reading in German!), flip on the radio and hear German commercials and weather reports, and review the applications that I've sent off in German to German companies. But you know, I'll feel a little more at ease while I do it, knowing that if I need it, a piece of my homeland is just a cup of coffee away.

I do stay away from the "finding-a-piece-of-home-in-a-mcdonalds-cheeseburger" thing though. I have to draw the line somewhere.

Happy Birthday, Gram!

2012 is a big year for birthdays in my family, with Gram, my mom, and my sister all stepping into new decades- gracefully, too, I might add. Today starts off the year of birthday shenanigans. So, I'd like to take the opportunity to say the following:

HAPPY 90th BIRTHDAY, GRAM!

I love you so very much, and I'm thinking of you all day and wishing I could be there to spend the time with you. It's not quite as easy to get to you with that big ol' ocean in the way. But we can celebrate this summer :)

Gram is my grandma from my dad's side, and unlike my mom's side of the family who are all, for the most part, conveniently bundled in one area of the globe, she lives on the East Coast. So, when I was a kid, we didn't see her quite as often, and it was more phone calls and letters and other nice ways to stay in touch. One really wonderful thing that came with my life in DC was that I was on the same side of the country as my Gram! I got spoiled, being able to visit over Thanksgivings and hoping on planes during other times of the year. She even came up to the DC area with my Uncle John and Aunt Pat for a less-than-happy occasion, but even still, it was time I otherwise wouldn't have gotten. And now I'm an ocean away again.

But I know her better now. I've sat with her and looked through family photo albums. I've gotten to hear stories of her childhood, of my dad's childhood, and of my childhood. My first visit back as an adult was jolting to me-- her house has pictures of my daddy and memories of my daddy. In the pictures, I can see my brother's resemblance to him. My dad had Gram's beautiful baby blue eyes. Spending time with Gram connects me to all of my family, and it's really something very special.

My Gram is an amazing woman. She is well traveled (I think I'm following in some of those footsteps). She has been faced with big challenges throughout life, and she shows her courage and strength with all of them. She is loving, can identify more birds from their calls than you can probably name, and can sbsolutely grow any plant (I did not inherit this green thumb-- keep your house plants away from me).

My dear Gram, I send you my wishes and love across the miles, and I hope you know that I love you- a bushel and a peck (and a hug around the neck).

Dear Diary the East: Part III

This is the final installment of my mini-series about traveling in the East over my Christmas holiday. It's three parts in total, so that means it's just as entertaining and well thought created as The Godfather! Am I right?! Except, The Godfather Part III kind of lacks, so hopefully this little adventure through my diary has been better than The Godfather, and all other things that have 3 parts, for that matter. Like Jurassic Park. Ok, Part III... ready, go!

It is now the 27^th in Germany. Christmas is officially over, and I have survived my first Christmas away from my family. We have celebrated Heiligabend, first Christmas, and second Christmas, and now today is like any other Tuesday. Except, of course, that I’m on another train. I’ve clocked about 10 hours of train travel, and I’m about to clock 7 more to end my trip. The Erzgebirge folks are serious about wood. Christmastime here means that everyone decorates with all of the wooden figurines that they have from over the years, which is a lot. I mean, a lot. The thing is, it’s not too much though. It just looks and feels like Christmas everywhere you go.

Anja, Michael, and I walked around Pfaffroda this morning. It is rural here in a way that reminds me of a hilly-er North Woods of Wisconsin. And it was cold outside so that the air was biting at my ears and I could feel them turning red, but it was really nice. It really felt like winter, like Christmastime. I like seeing where people grew up, meeting their old friends, seeing how their families communicate or how they pass the time. It’s interesting to see what each person takes pride in regarding their home town. Things an ordinary visitor might surpass become very important when a local can explain the history or the background. It got me thinking what would I point out from each of my “homes”. Chicago is easy. The tourist stops are abundant, there are huge museums, drinks at the top of the John Hancock, Michigan Avenue, sports venues, restaurants—you name it. Hawaii is easy, too. Anyone in their right mind can figure out how to enjoy Hawaii. DC is also easy. Monuments, museums, historical spots, nature walks (let’s be real- that’s Virginia), markets, restaurants… but what about Casper?

If any of my friends from here travel to visit Wyoming some day, what would I take pride in? If they come during the summer there might be a rodeo to attend. Then there is the mountain with the Braille Trail, Bridle Trail, Waterfall, Nordic Skiing, Hogadon, Camping or even lunch in Beartrap Meadow. We can drive out to places like Hell’s Half Acre, Independence Rock, or Hell’s Gate (is that what that one gap in those rocks is, or did I just make up a really scary name for that?). Something I take pride in is how much space there is in Wyoming, and I think it’s something that people don’t understand unless they experience it firsthand. We’d therefore have to do the reaaaaally boring drive from Casper to Thermopolis through Shoshoni (it's only boring until Shoshoni and then woah! Wind River Canyon! Gorgeous!). We could drive to and through Yellowstone and swing past the gorgeous Tetons. I guess I take pride in the State as a whole, and I’d most want to share its expansiveness with my visitors. That includes any visitor I'd have from either US Coast-- the middle is just as good, and you're crazy if you dismiss it before experiencing it. There is a lot to be said for life on either coast, but there is just as much to be said for the states holding you together in the middle.

Well, the ol’ computer is about to die—another downfall to electronic journaling. It’s my time to sign off from the East. I’m going through Chemnitz and Leipzig and can hopefully get a quick peek at both before sleeping on the train to Mainz. It’s been a good Christmas trip. Totally different, but I’ve met lovely families and had experiences that I may never have again. But next year, I’ll be home for Christmas, and not just in my dreams.

Until Mainz…

Seiffen

Dear Diary the East: Part II

I started yesterday in sharing a bit from my Word document diary about traveling between 2 very different towns in Germany over Christmas. Here is the next little bit about my time in the East.

Ok, so, woah. I am really in a completely different part of Germany. I mean, I bought chocolate wafers in the Czech Republic today, so yeah, different. We went to a town that maybe starts with an E and I’m sorry but it’s 4am, and I just can’t remember. Seiffen? Does that sound like it could be the German word for plural soap to anyone else? This is the tourist stop for any tourist in the Erzgebirge. Surprisingly, Erzgebirge is not a word that “spell check” thinks is wrong. Huh. Anyway, the town is full of shops that sell the hand-made woodwork that is sold in the Weihnachtsmärkte throughout Germany. The amount of nugat cookies I’m eating from my Lebkuchen box that I got for Christmas is nothing compared to how much hand carved and hand painted wood was in that town. And there were lights in every window, a pretty, octagonal church that inspires the woodworkers, and really I must say it just made me feel Christmasy. While it was absolutely wonderful being in Luckenwalde for Christmas, I wasn't totally 'in the spirit'. But checking out that town, where snow still laid and glowing wood adorned each window, put me in the spirit.

And then we went to Micha’s house and it felt like family. Like really distant relatives. But you know, I have Peter and Traudel. They are as distant a relative as one can have without losing track of someone, and they’re totally awesome.

Tonight I also learned, and this is important incase I ever refer to anyone this way, but “Spitze” means “dude, you’re top notch!” but “spitz” means horny. So, more sex from Germany. Surprise. Which, by the way, reminds me to talk about the fact that German TV makes me uncomfortable even though I come from a society that thinks of itself as open and free. Um, false. Swear words? Sex? Gimme a break. We are so censored, but I guess I don’t necessarily hate that. I also don’t own a TV and haven’t in a long time, so what do I know about censorship on TV.

I think I also have the loosest plans ever in the works that would take me to Prague. Yahoo! Lets goooo!

For future reference, nugat cookies do not get rid of hiccups, no matter how many (all of) from the bag you eat. Shoot. But in other news, I was tested tonight and can in fact name all 50 states, so I’ve got that going for me. Which is nice.

The land of wafers and, as seen behind me, gas stations!

Dear Diary the East: Part I

I might have mentioned on here, or perhaps I did not, that I spent Christmas away from Mainz. I visited 2 different friends. Christmas itself was spent with Bettina and her family in Luckenwalde, outside of Berlin. The day after, I journied nearly to the Czech Republic to spend time with Anja and her family. I visited Berlin for the first time in early December, and traveling to and from the city was my first time being in what was formerly East Germany. Berlin in itself was a great city. At least I think so, but I am a history dork. Beyond the national history of the land I visited over Christmas, it was also interesting to see what other places in Germany look like. Now I've officially visited everywhere but the middle, I think. Oh, and also have yet to get further Northeast of Berlin. It's like that for visitors to America, too, it seems. Everyone goes to one coast or the other. What about the middle?! As a Wyomingite, I ought to really pay more attention to the innards of Germany.

Anyway, I forgot to bring a journal with me (I didn't forget-- I had deemed it too heavy, actually) through my first real adventure over East, and my experiences there made me wish I had. So I journaled with Microsoft Word. Less romantic because it's my thoughts but not my handwriting. I thought over the next few days, I'd share some bits and pieces of my impressions as I traveled between the two towns where I spent Christmas. And so, Part I:

Here I am on a regional train, last leg of the journey from Luckenwalde to Olbernhau- or should I say last leg via train. I’ll be picked up at the Olberhau station and we’ll drive to Pfaffroda, since Pfaffroda is too small to have a train station. There are tell tale signs out the windows that I am in fact in the former East Germany. The architecture here was inspired by rectangles, and the speed in which things were built and the lack of real resources seems evident. I’m in the mountains; that’s for certain. This is where the woodworking is done for all of those little “Pyramide”, “Räuchermännchen”, and other wooden goodies that one finds in the Christmas markets. I looked up from my book to see quickly that we passed through a town called “Frankenstein”. I might never find out way out of here.

Before leaving for these few days away for Christmas, I looked at my journal sitting in its place on the shelves, longing to get some attention. “Oh gosh,” I thought. “Just one more heavy thing to lug around.” And with that, I left it behind, thinking that a couple days journey wasn’t worth having to tote it from place to place. But what was I thinking?! This is my first actual time being in the former DDR. I was lucky to visit Berlin just 2 short weeks ago, but Luckenwalde and Pffafroda—that’s the real deal! If ever there were a time appropriate for journaling, this is it. Of course, I am lugging with me my heavy Nikon camera, my heavy laptop (oh why oh why can’t I afford something airy-er?!), and bottles of wine for gifts. But my journal? Nah…

So I’ve put my computer to use for journaling. And I feel like a big, fat cheater. Here I am in what might possibly be middle-of-nowhere Germany, having a grand adventure, meeting new families, learning new things, struggling through conversations where many people talk at once and all I’m catching is the transition word “Na ja”, and training through these crazy mountains on a train that smells like incense, not even kidding. I should be handwriting this! Technology does not fit the experience I’m having right now.

Oh, an aside—The Dresden Bahnhof had a gorgeous, tall Christmas tree in its main hall. Noteworthy and appreciated, Dresden. Nice work.

Oh my gosh, I forgot until right now that I don’t like the smell of incense. I think I’m gonna be sick on this train.

I’m pretty nervous to visit Anja’s family. She has told me that their region has a pretty stark dialect. As in, some Germans can’t understand what these people are saying. And they’re speaking German. She has a “high school reunion” casually at a bar in a neighboring town tonight, so I get to meet a bunch of new people who all know each other really well and will be speaking fast, drunk, starkly accented German. Not an environment in which I will likely thrive. Sometimes having to be social makes me awkward, and sometimes I flourish. This situation kicks me so far out of my element that perhaps it’ll be a flourishing situation.

Christmas, complements of Dresden Hbf

Half way, dudes!

It's official. I am half way done with this year in Germany. Wait, what? What's that sound? Oh, that would be time flying.

I am pleased to announced that I still wear the same size pants, despite my new environment where the bratwurst grows on trees and everything tastes better with double the butter. I am also pleased to announce that while my verb vocabulary is still relatively small, I often feel quite at ease in the new language. I have made new friends and increased the number of countries I've visited from 3 to 9. That's an average of one new country a month, kids. Not bad for a budget traveler, huh? I think I could write a pretty funny book by now, but I probably won't.

So then, 6 more to go. More countries, more friends, more verbs to learn, and more surprises around the bend.

Don't worry, USA. You're still my #1 love.

2011 Highlight Reel: Part II

Woah! You guys- it's already mid-January. I was so good about posting my 2011 review (Part One) a few days early, and then BOOM- 2012 is here and I got too busy to remember to post about the second half of last year. Goodness gracious. If 2012 keeps up at this pace, then it might as well already be next Halloween.

Anyway, to round out the past year, here is the latter half of my 2011 in highlight form. Then we can move along to catching up on 2012.


Ok, I left you at the part where I made it back to Wyoming to spend 3 weeks with my family before heading back to DC and taking off for my new German life. There is something about those wide open Western skies that simply make life look even better than it is. I got lots of time with my family to catch up about things, laugh, swim with my brother, see a couple friends, play with my dear ol' dog, and stress out to my mom about the upcoming move (she is the world's best listener, advice giver, and hugger). I spent my favorite holiday, the 4th of July, at Alcova Lake with Eli and then watched the big fireworks display in town that night. It was so refreshing to not be driving across I-80 in Nebraska like I was for July 4th, 2010!

My birthday isn't until the end of August, but my family gathered to celebrate me a month early. We played games on the mountain and ate cake and had general merriment. While out West, I also had the opportunity to accompany my aunt Heidi and my Omi to Rapid City, South Dakota. Travel within travel within travel? It was fun to have the time just with them-- very rare! In Casper, I woke up early one morning to go watch a hot air balloon launch alongside my mom and aunt Marilyn. Whenever life offers you an opportunity to see or do something unique, wake up early and go do it! It was a beautiful sight. I even had time to drive with my dog, Wrigley, down to Medicine Bow to meet Becca for a sparkling grape juice and dessert day! Listen, there aren't many places halfway between Laramie and Casper that serve as a nice meeting spot, so we got silly and created our own picnic out there in the boonies. It was wonderful time with a wonderful friend. Plus, the drive back afforded me the opportunity to snap a few photos of that wild land.

I headed back to DC towards the end of July to see all of my people one last time before I was up and away. Luckily for me, COWPIE- the annual Wyoming State Society extravaganza- was scheduled for my very last night in the States. That's a mechanical bull-riding, whiskey drinking, heck of a farewell! It didn't feel like enough time, but then adventure was calling. It's not ever easy to leave the people, but I know I met great people in DC, and I'll see them all again.


And then, and THEN, I got on an airplane and when I woke up, I was in a land far away from the Stars and Stripes. I could only read some of the signs (Germany has lots of signs in English), and I had jet lag like WOAH. I met 75 unique people- all wonderful- and we were shuttled off to places we'd probably never been.

I spent 2 months in Radolfzell on beautiful Lake Constance learning the language, learning about my new friends, learning the ins and outs of German life including things like having to be a rapid-fire grocery-bagger in order to prevent a stress-related heart attack everytime I went shopping, and how to have a diet that consisted primarily of pork products and cheese- with extra butter, of course. I lived with a host family who did not speak English (well, I think my host sister did, but she's good at pretending like she doesn't!) and so I couldn't really communicate with them for basically the entire first month. Consequently, my charades abilities improved ten-fold!

escargot!

While there, I was blessed to have the opportunity to explore outside of the town as well. I made trips to: the Reichenau for a wine fest where we got poured on (rain, not wine. though, probably wine, too) and where I met some stellar Germans, Zürich, the Seenachtsfest in Konstanz/Kreuzlingen for fireworks, Paris to ring in my 25th year of life, Lindau and Bregenz with Mickey for a great day, connected with Peter and Traudel- my family in Switzerland, attended the Altstadtfest in Radolfzell, journied through Liechtenstein with Joe, Mickey, and Tyco, toured the Fürstenberg Beer Brewery, Strassbourg, France, Oktoberfest (THE Oktoberfest), and Ulm to climb the world's tallest church steeple. My fellow Radolfzellers and I ran a charity 5-k and celebrated Thanksgiving together in September. I think we were all a bit sad to leave one another at the end of September, but the time had come to seperate and spread out over Germany to see how we could each stand on our own two feet. And I moved to...

Mainz! Mainz is Germany's wine capital. Um, hello! Here I come! Upon arrival, it didn't take me long to realize that I actually had no idea what was going on with anything. German University functions seemingly far differently from that of University in the States, and I was caught way off guard. Plus, I missed all of the orientation by not getting there until October, so I was like a chicken running around with my head cut off. So much English was being used around me in school, that I made the decision to join an organization called "Fremde werden Freunde"- strangers become friends (yep, I'm the stranger- it's quite apparent, too). I was hoping it would give me the opportunity to use my German more. I hit it off with my non-Fremde, Anja, and I'm so glad because she is a dear friend now!

The rest I really will give to you in highlight form, or else you really will be reading forever (if you haven't already given up!). I went to Köln for a Bon Iver concert with Mickey and spent the night homeless in the Frankfurt airport. I happened upon a Greek restaurant in the mountains when trying, unsuccessfully, to stay in the town of Wiesbaden on Allerheiligen. I explored the fall colors with Ginny in the little towns along the Rhein like Oberwesel and Bacharach, which we walked between, but turns out they're like 9 kilometers apart. 9 km is more than a couple minutes walk like I had told Ginny they were. Oops.

11/11 here is the start of Karneval, the fifth season of pure silliness, but in the US it's Veteran's Day, and I celebrated in my new life but was reflective upon my old life and, I am happy to declare, future life as an American.

EMMA came for Thanksgiving and her birthday! We put 1500km on a brand new rental car in 3 days and experienced the start of the Christmas season in Germany! That girls knows how to adventure, lemme tell ya. We pranced through the Alps, sampled Glühwein from everywhere, toured Neuschwanstein, chatted, caught up with life, and reconnected. It was a gift to me to have such a close friend here when I was struggling to feel success in my everyday life, and I am forever thankful that she had the time and motivation to be here for a whirlwind 5 days!

My next visitor came only a few short days after Emma left and was here for 2 weeks! Including the time we spent in Mainz, we managed to make it to Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and France as well as some of Germany's bigger cities. We were hosted by Geoff and his host family in Munich, and drank beers in the famed Hofbräuhaus!

Before I knew it, Christmas was here, though really the whole month of December felt like Christmas. The Germans really know how to put some Christmas spirit into the air. They just open Christmas markets- Weihnachtsmärkte- eeevverrryywheerreee and then they drink Glühwein all month long, even in the pouring rain, and everyone is jolly and cheery and a little buzzed and it's really magical. I was thrilled to accept an invitation to Christmas with Bettina and her family in Luckenwalde. We listened to her dad's favorite traditional German Christmas CD repeatedly, had coffee and cookies, opened presents, set up the tree, made Christmas stars with her aunt and Oma, and went for a long Christmas day swim! It was really special to have a family to spend the holiday with, and I felt at home with Bettina's.

On second Christmas, a day we should really have in the States, I traveled to the Erzgebirge to visit Anja and her family. The area is mountainous and populated with small towns. It is famous for its hand-carved wooden goods, mostly Christmas pieces. If you ever come across something wooden, Christmasy, and made in Germany, it probably came from here. I was made to feel at home not only by her family but by her boyfriend's family. I met her childhood friends and went for a walk around the town before I left, with Anja and Michael as tourguides. The best tour guides. It is somewhere I maybe otherwise would never have gone, and I am SO glad I went.


Two days later, Katie came to visit me! We took off nearly immediately after she had landed for Belgium. After meeting a few of Belgium's least-savory people on a series of train rides to Antwerp, we were ready to ring in the new year! There are few ways better to end one year and start the next than in a country famous for beer and chocolate and with such a dear friend.

So now we see what 2012 brings. Or perhaps, if we don't like what the year brings, we make our own luck this year. Mine will certainly once more be full of moves and uncertainty, but what fun is life if we don't allow it to change us a bit? 2011 assuredly changed me, but it also showed me that my life is full of steadfast friends and great adventure.

Best wishes to all of you throughout this year!