Thanksgiving!

So we celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday. It was a LOT of work; I can now really appreciate what my parents went through every year to put it together. So on Friday, we picked up our 11 pound turkey from a Metzgerei (meat shop). Often my host family just buys fresh meat from the market, so going to this little shop in the next town over was really cool to visit. They have all these sorts of meats that look really good, and they know their business. The guy who gave us our turkey also gave us a tip to keep the meat juicy, by putting a pan of water underneath the cooking turkey to keep the air moist. We also went to a Hofladen, because Birgit thought that would be cool for me to visit. It’s basically a local farmer’s shop, so there were fresh apples, eggs, cheeses, and baked goods from local farms or shops. Once we bought everything we needed on my long list of supplies, I began the preparations by making my family’s 7 Layer Salad and JellO Salad. And the substitutes for the things you can’t buy in Germany, like canned cream of mushroom soup, or creamed corn. Basically all the things that normally come in a can.

Saturday morning I had a painting class from the Volkshochschule, so I woke up a bit earlier to prepare a few things. I finished the JellO stuff, and put the turkey in the brine. The bowl was too small to totally dunk the turkey, but we just flipped it after a few hours once I got back, and I don’t think it made a difference. I was very fortunate to have help throughout the day from 2 girls in my school, and a little from my host family. I would have gone nuts without them. We made pumpkin pie, mini-apple pies in a muffin tin (cute!), cornbread casserole, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, a pastry thingy called Red Plum Tasty, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, dinner rolls, and turkey (naturally). It was a lot of fun, but a lot of work. I was standing the entire day, and the oven ran non-stop. But it was soooooo worth it. Between the brine, intensive-butter-rub-down, the water tip, and a meat thermometer, the turkey came out PERFECT. I’m so pleased.

They said it tasted really good, better than they expected; even the dog couldn’t resist and stole a bone from the carcass while we weren’t looking. Oops! Everything was interesting and new to them. They found the sweet potato casserole with marshmallows especially weird, and not much was eaten, which I can understand. I don’t like it either. I just thought I should make it for tradition’s sake. And I didn’t particularly like the way the pumpkin pie tasted, because I used a pre-spiced pumpkin can. But otherwise, everything was great, I’m so so so pleased, and it was a good experience for everyone. My host family said I’ll have to come back every year to make a turkey for them, haha. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Happy Fall!

Things here are going good, and getting better and better. I’m learning lots of German and, as it is getting into the Christmas season, I’ve started to experience the loveliness that is German Christmas desserts and pastries. Like Lebkuchen. And Vanillekipferl. Yummm. And we baked our Christstollen, which I’m excited to try out in 4 weeks.

Halloween was a lot of fun. It’s relatively new in Germany, so there aren’t too many kids out and about, but there are enough, and it was so cute. I think they are far more inventive with their little “Trick or Treat” begging. Here they say “Süßes oder Saueres” which means sweet or sour, and oft they make up a little rhyme to go with it. Really cute. To celebrate, my host siblings went out for candy, I baked some banana bread and roasted some pumpkin seeds (which they found yummy) and went to a family friend’s house to eat dinner and chill.

Since then, I’ve just been going to school and all that jazz. We’ve taken some tests, which are different than American ones. They’re always written, no multiple choice or fill in the blanks. The questions themselves aren’t really that hard, it being in German is hard. It takes me so long to read through a text and be certain that I understand it, and then formulate what I want to say and make sure it’s grammatically correct. I have only gotten back my math, German, religion, and art tests back. On a scale of 0-15, with 0 being worst and 15 being best, I got a 5 in math and religion, a 7 in art, and in German the teacher didn’t give me a grade. I had hoped to do better in math, but that wasn’t too bad (and it was actually better than some others). I’m quite proud of my art grade. I’ve taken physics, history, and English tests, but haven’t gotten them back yet. I expect to get maybe a 1 in physics; that test was so bad. I just made stuff up. Good thing I don’t care that much. And in English, I had better get a good grade! Otherwise I’ll feel really stupid. But everything is getting better, and I don’t constantly feel lost in class. Huzzah! And I’ve even participated a bit in class.

It’s getting colder here, but I got a new jacket that keeps me warm, even when I’m riding my bike to school. Winter is definitely on its way (or here already). And because Germany is further north, the sun is setting by 4 and it is dark by 5 or 6 o’clock. Which is weird for me. Things are going good with my host family, we get along really well. My host mom had her birthday recently, which was fun. I gave her some Yankee Candles I brought from America, which she seems to like and think are really cool. We went to a restaurant in Wiesloch called Schmidts, which used to be a slaughterhouse. It was really cool, and even had some American foods (hamburger, fries, milkshakes, banana splits) but I went for something I hadn’t tried before. I forget what it was called, but it was really yummy. I’m finding that instead of comfortably sticking to things I know (as I did before I came here), I often choose the thing I know the least. My taste buds have gotten really quite adventurous. My host siblings are as cute and süß as ever. We all go on walks quite often. That’s a typical pastime in Germany, which I like, even if it’s really cold. Preparations for Thanksgiving have begun already. My host family is excited, I think. Haha, they’ll probably think Americans are crazy when they see the “weird” stuff we have for Thanksgiving, like those sweet potato casseroles with marshmallows, and stuffing, and cranberry sauce. We are going to get a fresh turkey (because Birgit was totally repulsed by the idea of a frozen one), which I think is about 11 pounds. For what I’m used to, that’s small, but it should be enough for the people we’ll have there. On one hand, I’m super excited to share with them American Thanksgiving, but on the other, I’m totally scared that I’m going to mess it up or they’ll think it’s disgusting. Either way, it’ll make a fun story or something one day.

Anyways, things are going great here!

I.Love.Germany.

The good

So now I have been with my host family for over a month. It has been really interesting and I’ve really enjoyed it. In fact, love it. Ha. The food is delicious and I’m in love with the bakeries. I could eat bread all day… But I try not to. Usually. I find the architecture so cute and quaint! I probably only like it so much because it’s different from what I’m used to in America, but still. I think it’s beautiful. I really like the public transportation here. If I know where I want to go, I can just hop on a bus or train or tram and TA-DA! There. It’s so simple and convenient and works so well. I love it. I have used it several times already. Alone, I might add, which is so liberating. It makes me feel so independent or whatever. Ha! Who needs cars. I love the general atmosphere of the shops and culture. The markets are so interesting for me. I’ve walked through 2 small ones briefly with my host family so far. A lot of it was food that looks sooo delicious, but there are also stands with other things, perhaps. I find the small ones so cool, so I’m excited for the Weihnachtsmarkts, which I hear are awesome :). Wiesloch has a farmers market every Friday, and my host mom goes there to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, cheeses, and perhaps a special meat for my host dad to make into a delicious Goulash or some such. Yum. Though that leads me into the “not so good” part :P

And the sort-of-not good

With all the good, it hasn’t always been sunshine and daisies. I’ve definitely gained weight, which doesn’t make me too happy. I do what I can to exercise, but the food is SO.GOOD. Can’t resist. Must.not.eat.more.bread….. And with as much as I love the food here, I find myself CRAVING American food.  Aaah. I suppose that’s part of the missing home part? Because I do, a bit. But it’s not like the “I’m so homesick!” sort of missing; I just miss familiarity, being able to express myself clearly, to understand what people are saying, and having friends. Because I am tired; oh, so tired. Concentrating in school on German all day is draining. Though my German has improved a lot, I still make plenty of mistakes or don’t know how to phrase something, and I don’t always understand what people are saying. Which is frustrating. And that doesn’t help with making friends. For example, I’d like to say something to someone, start a conversation, but I don’t know how or what to say. It’s a work in progress, this language-learning and friend-making business. Which sometimes stinks.

So anyways, school is going better and better, though some classes I think I’m going to straight up FAIL no matter how hard I try. Like physics. And chemistry. Good thing I don’t need the credits. I’ve been enjoying it overall though. English is my favorite, not because it’s in English (though that is a bonus), but because it’s the most amusing and interesting and interactive, I think. Things are going good with my host family. I’ve really enjoyed cooking things for them, like pancakes, apple pie, mac’ and cheese, and omelets. Haha, they really liked the pancakes. The differences in how their family functions is interesting, because it’s different from what I grew up in (obviously, I suppose). If you’re not Mormon, then this part is probably not very exciting for you, BUT I went to the Frankfurt temple, which I really enjoyed, and there was a conference with Monson in Germany that I got to go to which was SWEET. I’ve been taking art classes at the Volkshochschule (offers a bunch of courses, like art, theater, languages, crafts, reading groups, etc.). Ha, it’s funny, because I’m DEFINITELY the youngest there, but whatevs. I enjoy art for art, not the company. The teacher is an amusing, old, Italian guy, but he really knows his business, so it’s cool.

Overall, as the title states, I’ve loved being here, and can’t wait for more experiences!