A Not So White Christmas!

Christmas Market

snow

SANTA

say cheeeese

Christmas!!  Yahhooo!!!

Nevertheless I guess I should bad track a bit first! After St. Nicholas came to the house the week was pretty normal.  On the weekend we set up the Christmas Market with the fire department and on the Saturday we ran a booth in the market as well. That was interesting for me because it gave me a little preview what it will be like when I come home...not that when I come home I think I am going to work in a booth selling bratwurst and french-fries but that when someone tries to speak English with me my brain will automatically turn to mush and I will not be able to speak English or German for that matter. No words will be able to be formed...  only a weird giggle of embarrassment will come out... and I am speaking out of experience and it happened more than once on this evening... why people kept trying to speak English I have no idea. However that is how it went, and to top off the wonderful start to December we got our first real good dump of snow!(it didn’t last long but was snow just the same) so when we were taking down our booth the next morning we had a snow ball fight!! Well it was really only Carola, Genor and I, but still so much fun!!!

Then life was back to normal!!!(which for me even though it is almost a year... normal is awesome!) oh but all the snow was gone!

On the 14^th we then met with Papa’s side of the family for a pre-Christmas get together at this wickedly awesome Greek restaurant and got to dress up a little nice so that was also good:  )

The kids started their school holidays just before Christmas and the 2 days before Christmas were pure relaxation!!! (That isn’t even sarcasm for some strange reason the kids were super calm). Then on the 24th we had breakfast together and then at 3 went to the church to watch Ronja in a play which was super cute but very hard for me to sing along to all the German Christmas songs! When we came back to the house SANTA HAD BEEN HERE!! But the sneaky guy left a note saying he would be back!!(Cause in Germany you don’t have to go to sleep before Santa comes he comes during the day.. which is logical if you think about it... cause he has to go to every house all over the world so he must get an early start!!) So Santa (or the German name der Weihnachtsmann) came back to the house. And man was he HUGE. He told the kids what they did well during the year and what they did not so good then gave them each a present! it was super cute to see the 2 boys talk to der Weihnachtsmann and Ronja played along pretty good considering this year she came home from school saying he isn’t real!

On the 25^th we then went to Oma’s all day for Christmas Dinner but at lunchtime and coffee and cakes at 4. Then back to the house with very full bellys to relax and even more relaxing on the 26th.. now life is normal again and time is going by way to quickly considering tuesday is new years and then I only have 23 short days left!!

IM NOT READY TO GO HOME!!!

Xo

-B

Oh and Ruben split red wine on my keyboard and all my keys are messed up. So this took a really long time to type out! Enjoy!  (below is an example)

oh alnd ruben spalit red wine     on my keyb        oalrd alnd alalal my keys alre messed upq.           o this t  o             o al realaly al              ong time t           o type   out!( enj              oy(!

Saint Nicholas

On the night of December 5th you must leave your boots all shiny and clean by the door, then while you are asleep Saint Nicholas comes and fills your boots with goodies... and if you are bad you get a Rute (a bunch of sticks bundled together. that you are suppose to then get hit on the bum with).  Well he came last night and the kids got a bunch of candy and chocolate and a couple toys (Robin also had a Rute)... and it turns out i got something too!! I got new boots! and then those boots were filled with chocolate and a new bra and a scarf... oh and also a Rute... so i guess i wasn't the best behaved all year either!

cant wait to see what other German traditions will unfold as the month progresses!
xo -B

November and being a Weichei

Currently life has been speeding by… as I am into my second to last month I can honestly say it feels like September was yesterday. Within my waves of over emotional emotions about leave/coming home I am still having a wonderful time… Nothing to new and exciting happened: Ruben turned 3 (and we are still struggling with potty training… yahoo!) but on the absolutely adorable side…. We caught him singing happy birthday to himself….IN ENGLISH! Umm what else…  My German classes came to an end. And of course I went and watched the new twilight movie (in german) and I must say Kristen Stewart’s german voice over is WAY better! I also had a full night alone with the kids it went really well (I was kind of surprised) however during the night Ruben kept waking up and saying “Mama, Papa” it got funny after a while cause it happened about 5 or 6 times… and then the last time… just as I fell back asleep. WHAM! Rubens hand smacks me full in the face! Haha talk about a rude awaking… from then on I realized I wouldn’t get any more sleep… and sure enough in came Ronja and Robin to cuddle and watch some Sunday morning cartoons!

Then I ventured to Kathi on the 30^th. For what might possibly be our last time seeing each other before I come back home, but like always we picked up exactly where we left off on Friday night and chatted about nothing till we realized it was 2 in the morning and we were going on a little adventure in the morning so we should probably get to sleep. Saturday we met up with a bunch of people from this board that Kathi is on with the university (Kathi and some others planned this day of “fun”) we took a train to a neighbouring town in the Netherlands and started the day out with a breakfast buffet and sparkling wine in a cave restaurant. (during this time I met a guy that worked in Oyama  and travelled Canada for 6 months when he was 19, all the talk about the Okanagan sure did make me home sick!) As we were finishing up breakfast this crazy, creepy little old man came in and told us all to go pee and get our coats on… then we must meet him outside where he made us all stand in a circle ( with him in the middle) and told us this super weird story about his mom and aunt not letting him go outside because all women outside were sluts and now that his mom and aunt are dead he goes to therapy and is trying to find the right women (all this time he is going around to the girls in the group and touching our jackets or scarfs or checking us up and down… supper funny but super creepy) from there he takes us over to his cave across the way and tells us that back in the day the town locked some lord in the caves to die cause he did something bad… (the story doesn’t really stick when you are with a crazy old man and standing in a huge dark room only lit by a candle) then he tells us he wants to make it into a disco and leaves us in the COMPLETE darkness to turn on these disco lights…. As all of this is happening another man comes in and starts yelling and telling leo (our creepy old man) that he isn’t allowed to be in here and leo runs away. Now this man tells us more a creepy story and makes us all line up (in the dark) and hold onto a rope. This rope will lead us through the caves… most of the time you cannot see your own hand in front of your face.. which is scary enough… and for me… well if any of you know me… you know how much of a chicken shit I am, so needless to say this was not my cup of tea. As we continue around this cave people start to touch your legs or make creepy noise or whisper into your ear… you can feel them all around you but can’t see a thing! SO SCARY! At one point I actually thought I was going to cry I was so afraid.  Once that was over… we headed to a Christmas market in… surprise surprise… another cave!! But this time we just sat around and drank gluhwein (mulled wine) and looked at all the Christmas stuff… really puts you in the Christmas spirit… which I was not in at all…. I am finding it quite hard when there is no snow!! After that we trained back to Maastrich where Kathi goes to school and checked out the Christmas market there and then IT STARTED SNOWING! I got wayyyy to excited. Sunday we just hung out and said our goodbye… which I hope wasn’t the last for the year but very well could be. ):

Now for another train story… cause what is Brenna’s travels without something happening on a train… thankfully this time I did not get on the wrong one.. or it break down… this is just a small embarrassing story! To go along the theme of me being a complete Weichei (german word for wimp.. which I get called a lot) so I was finishing off my book. (The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling) and because the train from Koln to Hamburg is always soooo full I was sitting in the hallway kind of thing… and there was a younger guy beside me, across from me and another younger guy beside him. And low and behold I started to cry… not wanting to put the book down I just kept reading till I finished the book and boom… still crying… looked up and all 3 were staring at me, so I just closed my book and laughed cause I didn’t know what else to do.

Well that is that.... for now…we have some Christmas fests coming up and some things with the fire department so I am sure I will be able to fill you in a little later…

1 month and 20 days!
xo -B