After nearly 10 hours preparing our Thanksgiving meal for 24 people, I was very happy to be able to sit down and enjoy some good food with a group of really great people. Turkey, Stuffing, Biscuits, Green Bean Casserole, Mashed Potatoes, Gravey, Beer, Wine, and Spiced wine, everything is there everything was great! After eating we spent some time in the kitchen, digesting and drinking some beer to help, before heading to a bar to bring an amazing evening to a perfect end.
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| Sadly, he couldn't be saved |
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| So I took his heart out |
The Saturday after Thanksgiving I went with a friend to Munich to the Tollwood festival, which is kind of a culture and art festival in which you can try and buy food from all over the world, as well as buy all kids of different handmade things in multiple giant bazaar tents. I decided to be original and got Mexican food, it was expensive, small, and really it wasn't that great. Lesson learned. I was, however, successful in finding a few Christmas presents for both Heike and Andreas' moms. The both got a few 'Tee-flowers' (Click for picture) from me which I, and they, thought were really cool.
On December 6th, I, once again spontaneously, decided that I would take up a friend on the offer and headed back to Niedersachsen for the weekend, battling through the 'hurricane'/windstorm named Xaver. This was a little more planned than the last trip, I had consulted with my (former) host family about my coming and talked to some friends about possible things that we might do. Conveniently Lennart, a good friend of mine, had his birthday the day before so I was able to celebrate it with him and a few other friends. The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxed which was good.
Returning back in Regensburg on the 8th we headed to a bar as we had planned to "celebrate into my birthday". At midnight I was surprised when some friends came walking in with a cake with '20' on it. Everybody sang and the bar tender played Happy Birthday Mr. President (which fitting for my future political career). All in all it was a really fun night. On the 9th, I first of all slept in before making lunch with a few people (toast). In the evening we went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner where I received a book (Er ist Wieder da) (Click for info) as well as a University of Regensburg hoodie from my friends in my building. It was great. After eating a few of us headed back to the bar in which we had celebrated the night before.
On the 15th, I received mail from YFU-Deutschland, telling me that I would be part of a team facilitating a seminar for 23 exchange students (and some of their host siblings) from the U.S. in Possenhofen (by Munich) for a week in February. I am very much looking forward to this trip!
After two 'normal' weeks in Regensburg, including the occasional trip to the Christmas market it was time to head back to Niedersachsen for Christmas break. On the 21st it was finally time. After a long and (as always) not so enjoyable (or punctual) trip with the German Railways system, I finally arrived in Bremen where I was picked up by Christoph and his girlfriend. We then made the trip back to Easter-Egg-Town stopping on the way so that I could buy a toothbrush and a bottle of off-brand Bailey's (which has become my new favorite drink). After arriving it wasn't long (20 minutes?) before I was off with Johannes to a friends house to watch a soccer game before heading to the Disko for the evening. The next evening my dear brother Markus also "celebrated into his birthday". It was a good night with a few friends and some fun games.
On Christmas Eve I spent a good part of the morning in bed before waking up, getting ready, and making the final preparations for the evening. At 6 Pm it was time to head to church, where we saw the youth service which included a small play. Afterward we headed back home to eat dinner. Everybody else was happy about the traditional smoked salmon, but as a non-fish-eater, I was less excited, but I had ham and was more than happy with that! :D After dinner we played a bit of play station and waited while 'Santa' placed the presents under the tree. After three rings of the infamous bell we headed upstairs to begin with the opening of our gifts. All in all it was a great evening with many wonderful gifts. Highlights including tickets to a TV show, tickets to a play (Rocky), tickets to a museum, a gift certificate for dinner, and a key. After a glass of whiskey it was off to bed to prepare for round two.
On Christmas Day (#1) Andreas' sister and family came. Earlier in the day I made peanut blossoms as I finally and the appropriate chocolate pieces to do so. After Coffee and Cake we went for a walk to the cemetery and back before enjoying some wedding soup. After they had left I was lucky to Skype with my family, grandmother, and great aunt which, as always, proved to be a good time, with the people on both ends hectically switching. Instead of heading to the Disko, as originally planned, we then stayed in and played 'Ticket to Ride', which was probably more fun anyway. :D
On Christmas Day (#2) we left late morning to head to Heike's mom's house where we celebrated with her siblings and their families. After enjoying some great steaks prepared on the 'Ring of Fire' as Christoph has coined it we went for a stroll before coming back and once again playing Ticket to Ride. After gifts and a second round of dinner we headed home.
On the 28th we left around 1 PM on our way to Hamburg to see 'Rockey the Musical' (Click for info). It was awesome. I'm not really a fan of Rockey or of boxing in general but this was really cool and definitely worth seeing! After the play we ate dinner before heading back to Easter-Egg-Paradise.
After a few relaxing days of playing Ticket to Ride and Clue it came time to for New Years Eve. I went with a few friends to a 'larger' party in a 'very small' town which was a lot of fun. I saw a few old friends, some whom I hadn't seen in a number of years, and met a few new people too. After the fireworks were shot off at midnight I spent a bit of time by the fire before we headed home in the wee hours in the morning. I know that it was a great night, as the next day was not good. I was lucky enough to spend the entire day (until 11 pm) in my bed with a bucket. Yup, it was a great way to spend new years day. Side note: After returning to Regensburg one of my roommates gave me the bit of wisdom: "The way you spend New Years day, is the way that you will spend the rest of the year". Let's hope that, that isn't true. :D
After New Years I spent some time with Markus, playing some games, working on the infamous chicken coup, and redeeming my gift certificate for some dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Bremen. I also tried to do some stuff for school, but in the area I was somewhat less successful. I did, however, write and submit an application for an Internship at a hospital in February. After a few evenings with a few different friends, it was time (early) on the 5th to head back to Regensburg. Markus was nice enough to drive me to Bremen, as I seem to have a habbit of booking my trains at times, so that I cannot take a bus in time to catch them! After another exhausting day with the German Railways system I was happy to be back in my own room in Regensburg.
Since being back I've kept a pretty low profile. Wyatt's (U. NoDak) girlfriend was here to visit for a while so we went out to dinner with them and a few friends one night, which was really a lot of fun. Yesterday I had my interview at the hospital and am happy to report that I will be working there for 4 weeks in Feb/March. Other than that it's really just me struggling to motivate myself to start studying for my exams in February. But the time will come where I will want to study. I also submitted an application to be an RA at UND next semester so I will have a Skype interview with them after I take my last exam on the 7th of February. From now until.....the end of march really, I don't have much planned. The next few weeks will really just be getting ready for exams, then I'm in Munich for a week, four weeks of internship, then I'll be headed to Niedersachsen for two weeks before the second semester begins on April 7th. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to sneak in a trip to Vienna or
Amsterdam over break.
Questions and comments are always welcome. As always thank you for reading.
Bis demnächst
Well you finally did it. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your adventures in Germany. You are one lucky guy to be able to attend so many interesting and fun places. Now remember, when you blog you have a record of everything. At least everything you are willing to put in print. We really enjoyed visiting with you on Christmas. It helps to see you so we know how you are doing. Of course we miss you and speak of you often, sharing your stories. Congratulations on getting the internship at the hospital. Way to go!! We are doing fine here in the cold Minnesota climate. Staying home a little more so we can stay healthy. Thanks again for the blog. Stay safe even when having fun. Greet the Meyer gang when you talk to them. Love, Grandma Sue and the "Z"...P.S. Your dad is still hanging on to the candy from Germany,
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