Happy 2015! Sorry for another extremely late blog post. Hopefully I'll start to write shorter updates more often from now on. Here's a basic update of what I've been doing during the past few months in Germany.
November
In November I celebrated my birthday - German style. Luckily I didn't get a bag of flour dumped on my head (a common tradition for a 16th birthday in Northern Germany). Instead, many of my friends brought me birthday presents - including lots of chocolate. All of my classes were eager to sing Happy Birthday in both English and German for me. Very interesting to hear with German accents! I had a long day at school as well as badminton, so I didn't get home until 7 pm. My host mom surprised me by baking a cherry Black Forest cake.
I also celebrated with some friends by going to see the German premier of the third Hunger Games movie. It was interesting to watch the German dubbed movie. The voices were extremely different from the original ones and I only understood about half of what was being said, but it was still a great movie.
They were also starting to set up the Christmas market in Paderborn, Germany. Entertainers were out in the street and there were many booths being set up with food, handmade decorations, clothes, etc.
One of the many booths in the downtown area
Street performers - playing the piano and dancing
December
I visited a few other Christmas markets this month, including one in Münster. It was pretty cold during December, but still no snow here. It seems like this winter is going to be mild with little to no snow at all. No snow days here!
The Rathaus (town hall) of Paderborn, Germany
Christmas market & the Lamberti Cathedral in Münster.
At the Paderborn mall - where I saw St. Nikolaus
With a few of my friends shopping - Paul, Julia, and Safia (Awesome Germans!)
Went out to eat with Paul and Safia - they also had an English menu, haha
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| An old man was drawing portraits for only 50 cents each, hahaha |
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| With my Australian friend Belinda, who is unfortunately leaving Germany next week because she is only here for the semester |
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| Kinderpunsch! |
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| Christmas market food is good! |
Winter break began on the same day as it did in Petoskey. Christmas is celebrated here on the 24th through the 26th, with presents being opened on the 24th. I celebrated with my host family and had a traditional German dinner: Rouladen, Potatoes, and Sauerkraut. And of course lots of chocolate and Plätzchen (homemade cookies) for dessert. For my host family, I wrapped up some Michigan themed books and foods - including maple syrup, which they've never tried before.
Then on the 26th of December I took a train in the morning to the Frankfurt international airport and boarded a flight to Stockholm, Sweden to visit some of my relatives. The city was stunning and I toured the Royal Palace as well as some older parts of the city. After seeing the capital I traveled north by train to a smaller town where my uncle and aunt live. The weather was cold (in the negatives) and the sun was only up for a few hours before it set around 2 pm. It made me get really tired in the afternoon and was an interesting experience. While I was there, I tried Swedish pizza. Swedes have some pretty bizarre toppings. I tried a flat-bread pizza with peanuts, banana, pineapple, chicken, and Bearnaise sauce (clarified butter, egg yolks, vinegar, and herbs). It's better than it sounds. I celebrated New Year's Eve there and also toured a graphite mine and saw the world's largest chair/skis.
A little bit later than three o’clock in the afternoon in Stockholm, Sweden
-5 Degrees in front of the Swedish Royal Palace, with one of the guards
A few artifacts from Medieval Sweden
Pop culture: Many of the costumes from The Game of Thrones were designed from fashions in Sweden
More costumes from the Game of Thrones series
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| A neat display of flowers made to look like edible sweets |
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| Waterfall Table Display |
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| Boysenberry Gel Cheesecake |
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| American food in Sweden. :P |
In Edsbyn, Sweden
As you can see, it's been a busy but amazing couple of months in Europe. My year here is nearly at the halfway point, which is a bit scary. I still have a lot of things to do in the upcoming weeks and months. A group of students from my school and a partner-school in Lithuania have been writing a novel during the past few months, and I have been offered the chance to translate it into English. I'm excited to work on that during the next few months as a side-project while making connections and friends in Lithuania. In the beginning of Spring I'll also have a week-long orientation in Dresden, Germany - where I'll have the chance to see the city which was completely destroyed and rebuilt after World War II. As for my other plans: I'm not quite sure yet, but I hope to continue traveling and seeing as many places as I can.
Since my year here in Germany has been such a wonderful experience, my family (in Petoskey) is also applying to host an exchange student next year. Hopefully we can find somebody that would enjoy living in Michigan and attending PHS.
Hope that 2015 is off to a good start for everyone back home!
-Joey
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