Happy BirThanksThGiving Day!

Everyday it's important to find something to be thankful for, no matter how small that something might be or how not-in-the-mood you are to be thankful. But today, oh today! Today is Thanksgiving! Today is a day devoted to being thankful. Today also happens to be the birthday of my dear friend Emma, and she just so happens to be here in Germany visiting me! How's that for something to be thankful for?

Thankgiving will be celebrated this year in Frankfurt with other Americans living in Germany who are here with my same program, and with some employees of the organization who helps to implement our program, and with... I don't really know. People will bring dishes, and I have a hunch that the spread will look very similar to what a normal Thanksgiving table might look like, only a bit more... well, a bit more German, probably. It is also the official opening day of the Mainz Christmas market, so after Thanksgiving dinner, there will be much Glühwein drinking and holiday merriment and toasts to happy birthdays! What a day!

I am thankful for:

messages from friends

real marshmallows to top my süße Kartoffeln: Jet-Puffed holla! thanks, Emma.

Skype
my mom

my sister

my brother

the memories i have from my last couple of Thanksgivings with Gram and Uncle John in South Carolina

my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmas, and the friends who are my family

the men in my life who have loved and supported me throughout the years

to know my prayers are heard

coffee

germany: for making the most delectable treats readily accessible day and night (and Sundays if you know where to look)
airplanes
heated buildings in the cold of winter
laughter

love

This is a very small list considering all the things I'm truly thankful for. What are you thankful for this year?

Christmas Prep in Germany

Close your eyes and picture the North Pole. Do iiiiittt. Do you see tiny houses? Christmas cheer? Lights that twinkle? Me too. And from what I can gather, the entire nation of Germany is about to be full of perfectly (Germans and their precision) crafted Christmas Markets that will be nothing short of stereotypically kitschy and completely 100% magical, straight outta the ol' North Pole. I'm taking this as a personal challenge to not spend every cent I have on mulled wine and roasted almonds. But then again, I'm only living in Germany once, so why not?

Here are some still shots of Mainz in full set-up mode:

Schwimmen ab 11 Uhr

On Thursday, after a looong day of doing my best at remembering how to actually do schoolwork (but, ughhhh I could be eating cake instead!), I badly needed to move. I could not get myself to the pool fast enough. The only problem was that it was 9:45pm when I was done working, and the pool closes at 11. By the time I walked there and changed, it'd be 10:15pm, and I'd only have 30 minutes to swim before it was time to get out, rinse off, and make my way back. Not enough time. But then I remembered! It's Wednesday! On Wednesdays, the pool is open until midnight. "Hooray!", I declared, and I headed out the door.

Upon arriving to the pool, I remembered that it was in fact Thursday. With a sad face and disgruntled manner, I shuffled the mile back to my house. Ok, I didn't shuffle. I walked at my normal spritely pace. And I wasn't wearing a sad face. I was wearing an "I'm cold" face. But inside I was feeling grumbly, I tell you!

I had been really excited to swim during the 11 o'clock hour. Would I get a lane to myself?! Would I get the whole pool to myself?! Who knows, but I became really delighted at the idea of ending a day with a late night swim. Their website states that every Friday the pool is open till 2am. 2AM! "Well for Pete's sake, that's my night!", I thought. And so it was planned.

After school on Friday, turning down an invitation for drinks from some lovely fellow students, I made my way home to eat dinner, and anticipate my midnight swim. Oh boy, oh boy! Well, oh boy is right. Read on.

I got to the pool at 11:30pm, wondering what it was even like to sign in to go swimming so late. The lady at the desk looked at me as though surprised to see that I had entered the building with the intention of gaining access to the facilities. The following conversation went something like this, though keep in mind, this was all in German so I'm questioning everything that's happening the whole time- thinking something is really wrong with my listening comprehension skills.

"Hello" 

"Cool... the pool's empty! Here's my pass." 

"Only naked." 

"What? No I... what? I'm here to swim laps? Back and forth? You're open until 2." 

"Only if you're swimming naked." 

"I can only swim laps naked?"

"Fridays."

"Naked?"

She gestures a charade to imply without clothing. 

"You can swim laps but you have to do so naked."

I look in towards the pool to see that its only patron is a middle aged man. No offense to middle aged men, but you know... I'm good. 

 "What time makes everything naked?" 

(I used the verb "machen" because that's just what my language skills happened to spit out.)

"Starting at 11pm Fridays."

"Ok cool. Have a nice evening."

So, strike 2 on the swim. I guess I'm just meant to swim at the same time as everyone except for that one naked dude. Maybe I would have swam naked, but the thought of swimming laps with nothing but a cap and goggles just makes me want to die of laughter and also of awkwardness. This incident mostly just confirmed my theory that, when in Germany, one should expect nudity and sexual references to reveal themselves whenever, where ever.  More importantly, the lesson I learned is to never turn down the opportunity for a German beer. The alternative will be disappointing.

It's beginning to look a lot like Weihnacht

I just wanted to start this post out with a picture of cake. There must be something in the water here, like bagels from New York, that makes the cake just really stinkin' delicious. Seriously, you cannot go wrong with a piece of cake here. Unless you're working hard to keep your figure in which case you can probably go wrong. Do you see that piece of Frankfurt Kuchen with the ball of buttercream frosting and cherry on top? The side and layers are also thick with buttercream frosting. Not good. Yet so, so good at the same time.

In other news not related to my culinary adventures (wait, everything in Germany eventually relates back to the culinary world, I think), Mainz is getting decorated for Christmas! First, the Marktplatz (market square) started being strung with lights. Then, the bahnhof (train station) started setting up Christmas tree decorations on the front, and I'm told there are lights on the back of the building. Then last night, I spotted the first real Christmas tree. In the Altstadt ("old" part of town), not far from the Marktplatz. There it was: tall, so tall. haphazardly strung from the top and half way down the tree with big, white bulbs. That's going to be my Christmas tree, and I shall post pictures of it here once it's lighted.

Marktplatz getting decorated with lights

You guys, all of these things is that it's almost Christmas time in Germany! This means Christmas markets, Glüwein (mulled wine), and cookies. In my imagination, this also means constant merriment, softly falling snow enough so that everyone leaves footprints but not enough to get in the way of all the merriment, carols, rosy cheeks, and a magical month that is like living in a live Advent Calendar. Is that so much to ask? I didn't think so either.

Plus, yesterday I passed someone on the sidewalk humming Jingle Bells. This time last year I was in DC and I knew Christmas was around the corner because I heard a bum humming the Nutcracker. Humming is a tell-tale sign that the holidays are approaching, apparently.