December 23rd:
-Went to the hardware store to do some last-minute shopping with the Körte children (for lack of a better term) and Fabian's girlfriend, who spent Christmas with the family, as well.
-Realized that, though I knew it in Spanish, I did not know the word for "hardware store" in German. Also realized I had never been to a hardware store in German. Perhaps the two points are related.**
-Ate Grünkohl, which looks a lot like spinach but tastes very different. Really good, especially with potatoes!
-Decorated the Christmas tree, which was real. I get the feeling real trees are still quite popular here (whereas they seem to be quickly losing ground to plastic in the US). All the ones I've seen are a little funny-looking, though: skinnier branches providing more sparse coverage. If I knew something about botany, I could probably tell you what kind of trees they are. However, I do not.
Dec. 24th:
-Slept late and woke up to Sarah doing some Christmas baking--amazing Portuguese custard things. Yum.
-Christmas Eve service in the late afternoon. There was a brass choir and a sermon and some hymns and lots of hand-shaking and "Frohe Weihnachten"-wishing afterwards. No candle-lit "Silent Night," but other than that, pretty much like at home.
-Grandparents came over for the present-opening (typically done on Christmas Eve)! - --German Christmas carol sing-along with the family, followed by a reading of the Christmas Story (from Luke) and another Christmas story that was a Christmas story, but not the Christmas Story.
--The opening of the presents. Pretty much just like at home. Only so many ways you could do this, I guess.
-Dinner! Amazing. Best of all was the lobster-cream-sauce appetizer. So good...
Dec. 25th:
-Christmas Day service. I went with the parents. The other family members were all either sick or were still sleeping, having stayed out late at the neighborhood disco's Christmas Eve party.
-Lunch with the family. My host mom's brother came with his wife and family. Food was great. People were nice.
-Long nap!
-Grandparents came to give me a present: a towel and some candy. Seriously, how nice is that? I'm impressed every time I meet them at how pleasant and welcoming they are.
-Watched some movie with Brad Pitt in it. The one where he plays Death. Not a quality film, in my opinion, but interesting, because there's this character who speaks in Dutch. It's enough like German that Sarah said she could pretty much understand it. And with the German subtitles running at the bottom, it was interesting/possible to make the connections. Preview of my Benelux adventure to come.
Dec. 26th:
-Went to Quackenbrück (eventually, after first boarding the wrong train--this was not a good trip for me and train travel!).
-Soon after I arrived, other guests started arriving. I think we got up to 23 in all. Drank coffee and ate really amazing cake. Then we had supper. Then we sat around and talked until nearly midnight.
Dec. 27th:
-Woke up in aller Ruhe (one thing I like about Germans is that--though they work hard--they seem to have a pretty relaxed attitude when it comes to things like vacations and celebrations. I set schedules and pack things tight--probably something I should work to change.)
-Went to the city museum in Quakenbrück. Saw old stuff, and (including?) a calculator just like that one that Dad used to have!***
-Talked to the old ladies volunteering at the museum. They seemed interested to meet the visiting American. "Bye bye," they said when I left. Then this guy came in and talked to me in English. I'm always confused when they do that. Answer in German to show that I speak it, or in English because that's how they started the conversation? Then I just hesitate and end up looking silly.
-Left for Amsterdam, which I guess will be where I pick up in MCVIII*** (woah! the acronym could be a roman numeral...). I'll try to make it not too long, and interesting... :)
---------------------------
*I spent Dec. 23rd through 25th in Leer with the Körte family, who hosted me in high school. Sarah, in turn, stayed with us. The Quakenbrück people are distant relatives on my dad's side. I was at their house on the 26th and 27th.
**Not that I've been to a hardware store in Spanish.
***Rolf informed me that this was a very popular model in its day.
****MCVIII = My Christmas Vacation, Part III, if this really just confused you.
Hah, I love how your second footnote implies that Spanish is the name of a country. And yes, Jost thinks it's really odd to have a fake christmas tree as well, that's what my family has always had. - Sarah.
AntwortenLöschen