Snow and Sun

You should see the amount of drafts that I have awaiting me to finish them for this blog!

You see, Christmas break happened and it apparently happened with my blogging as well.

A final exam and then a recent sickness have both kept me from doing anything productive, as well.

Excuse the excuses! I promise, more posts will come.

But for today:

The weather has been very glum and grey since I have returned to Germany. We have had our rare sunny days and some pretty nice temperatures, especially compared to the second wave of the polar vortex that is happening back at home.

Today in particular, the weather has been exceptionally strange.

This morning I looked to see what the temperatures were doing to be for the day and it showed right around freezing and only cloudy and grey. I made my way to work (still sick, albeit a bit better than recently!) and the day began normally. I have been working with international student's International Programs transcripts for the last week or so. Both Brigitte and Karin are out of the office, so I was also on phone duty. I have finally figured out how to transfer calls back to Herr Veit. The phone was blissfully silent for most of the day.

I had my lunch break, during which I found out it was snowing outside! As I left my room to head back to the office after lunch, I actually pulled out my umbrella, as it looked like rain. I soon found it was barely frozen snow falling from the sky: a weird slushy mixture.

I headed over to Frau Böhning's office to go over a translation that I had done for her. A group of Reutlingen students completed a really neat collaboration to design the exterior and interior of a car with a group of students in Sweden. It was only a one-page translation of a speech from German to English and I really enjoyed learning more about the project. While I was in Frau Böhning's office, the weather turned from light snow to blizzard.

As I walked out of her office to return to the RIO, the snow had stopped and the sun was peeking out. Throughout the afternoon, the weather changed between sunny and snowy.

I finished up more transcripts and, as I meandered home, the precipitation had stopped completely and it was only sunny.

On my walk home from the office, I recalled summer mornings at home when I was younger, where the sun shined in a similar fashion onto our kitchen table as my family ate breakfast together.

Tonight will be an early night - I hope to get to bed early and beat this cold once and for all!

I will soon be leaving to tutor a new tutee and later I will focus once again on a Master's thesis that I am editing for a student.

Never a dull moment!

"But for now, I am satisfied with living in the moment." - An apology and explanation for skipping a few weeks of blogging.

What an emotional roller coaster the past few weeks have been. It is the beginning of the end, and I have already said goodbye to the Valpo students, some of whom have helped mold me more into the person that I am today. I am preparing to go home (which is happening in only 5 1/2 days!), see my family, and be back in the warm embraces of my friends and sisters.

My life feels like it is once again about to be uprooted - my life is not changing much - I am staying in the same room, will continue to be at work at 9 a.m. each weekday (or perhaps a few mintues later...), go to the same bars, and eat the same meals. But the people I now view as my family, the people who have made my experience what it has been here at Reutlingen University are moving on. They're getting internships all throughout Germany or returning home to continue their studies or graduate. 

But, tis the life of one who becomes the best of friends with people who are only in a place for a few months.

I can't imagine Reutlingen without these faces that I have come to know. A few months ago, everything was just beginning and it felt like the three or four months we had together would last forever. We lived for the nights that we could hang out, go out, and truly live with each other.

It's not all bad, of course. I have made some of the best friends of my life and will have these friends for years to come. I have new places to visit in the next 8 months to see these wonderful friends of mine, and I wouldn't have traded these three or four months with these people for anything in the world.

It is because of this that I have been slacking on my blog for the past few weeks - I have been caught up in making the most of my time here. Soon, I will update what has been the last few weeks of my life with all of my grand adventures, but for now, I am satisfied with living in the moment.

Secret Santa

A big, American breakfast was in order this morning. I made scrambled eggs with some veggies and cheese, bacon, and pancakes and it was just what I needed!

 My beautiful American breakfast!

I spent my day relaxing - for some reason, this weekend felt like a long weekend (most likely because of the Thanksgiving celebration) and I was not dreading going to work tomorrow.

I ended up watching some movies. The first up was Now You See Me, one of my favorite movies. I sat, drank some coffee and ate my breakfast to it.

While I was watching my movie, I had the chance to finally do something I haven't had time to do in a very long time - write letters! I spent about an hour writing and addressing letters to family and friends back home. Despite my being home in only 20 days, I am hoping it will be appreciated. They're going to be a surprise to those who get them. :)

A bit later, I began The Notebook, but wasn't able to finish the whole thing tonight.

Tonight was Lineke's small Christmas gathering! We went up to her room for some tomato soup and sekt, as well as Christmas music, and just chatting and enjoying everyone's company. We did a Secret Santa exchange. I had Lineke! I ended up doing a craft I found on Pinterest - I decorated a mug and gave her some Lebkuchen (gingerbread cookies) and a Daim Milka bar.

The mug I decorated for Lineke

The mug craft is something that I have pinned a few times with different designs because it is so simple to do and such a nice idea. It turned outlooking great! I was very happy with it. :)

Once the party was done, I went back to my room and, a bit later, Dawn came down for some tea before we headed to bed.

A Market and Christmas Party Preparation!

Today we searched for a Christmas tree.

Lineke is holding a small Christmas party tomorrow and she is looking for a little tree to decorate - we thought that the market, which happens every Tuesday and Saturday, would have one.

Despite not finding a tree at the market, I found some beautiful roses that I wanted to have to brighten up my room.

The beautiful roses I found at the market :)

Once the early part of my morning was over, I searched then for something to make for my secret santa for tomorrow. We have a 4€ limit and I wanted my gift to be something special.

When I got home, I put my flowers in some water and ended up sleeping for a really long time - I didn't have too much to do, so a lazy Saturday was just what the doctor ordered!

Lineke and I made dinner tonight. I found this GREAT taco casserole dish on Pinterest and it ended up being really delicious.

Later, I ended up hanging out with some friends on the third floor and while many of them went on to the dasding party that was happening all around town, I went with Chris, Tammi, Lineke, Mirka, and Anatoly to the Irish Pub for a drink. It was a good way to end the night.

Regionalkompetenz USA, Weihnachtsmarkt, and Some Brownies

Having to go to work the day after Thanksgiving was such a strange feeling! After our Thanksgiving dinner, it felt NOT like a Friday and more like a Monday or Tuesday.

I went to work and everything was normal. In the afternoon, beginning at 1:45 p.m., I sat in on a U.S.A. regional competence course for students interested in going abroad, or actually going abroad this coming semester.

It was such an interesting experience to hear about my country from a non-native. I couldn't help but laugh at some of her observations because they were so true. My favorite was her description of Americans:

"They're just very indirect. Where we (Germans) would say 'Nope! You're crazy!' the Americans would say 'Oh, well maybe!' or 'You could be right...'"

 The students also asked me all kinds of questions about being from the States. I had discussions about classes (homework COUNTS in the States), alcohol (no, you can't carry open bottles of alcohol in public and most likely can't drink in the dorms), and about traveling while in America.

I had to leave early to tutor one of my tuttees, but I actually wish I could have stayed longer. I was fascinated! I also love talking about my Valpo/American experiences.

I tutored my tuttee for our normal hour, and then I met a few friends downtown. The Christmas market is up and running and we walked through it for the first time.

Reutlingen Weihnachtsmarkt

The market was nice! I got a rotwurst, tried some of the Glühwein, and ate a delicious waffle with Nutella.

The food was great, and I cannot wait to get a closer look at some of the other products that they're selling in the market.

Later in the evening, I ha gotten into my pjs a bit early and was watching a movie when I got a call from Chris - I ended up heading upstairs with some tea to hang out with Julia, Chris, and Joe for a little bit. Julia made her fantastic brownies :) Overall, a fantastic and relaxing night with friends.

An Evening to Be Thankful For

Thanksgiving. Was. Fantastic.

Everything came together wonderfully and my other thirds (Claire and Tony) were so helpful and organized. Tony and one other person picked up the plates and silverware on time around 12:30 p.m.

While the boys were doing that, I went to Penny to pick up a few ingredients to make a cheesey spinach dish - it turned out pretty good!

Then a few of us met at 1:30 p.m. to get the room all set up - we moved around tables, put up decorations, set the tables, and grabbed the drinks for later. There were just enough of us to get the job done.

I ended up at Reichwein Haus for about an hour before the dinner to hang out with Tammi and Allie. I had to head over a bit earlier in order to make sure everything was in order. People slowly started arriving and, around 7:45 p.m., there were so many people in line for food that it was crazy! There were way more than the 100 that had signed up to attend.

We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, and then the side dishes and desserts were all a pot luck situation where, if you attended the dinner, you brought something to share.

We had everything from veggies to bread to soup and everything inbetween. The desserts were just as varied and just as delicious.

Rachel, me, and Chelsea at Thanksgiving dinner. Photo Cred: Chris Ferguson

I ended up picking up what I could with half of the people still around in order to help a bit with the clean up. I then got the chance to Skype my whole family over at my aunt and grandma's house! It was so good to see them all. :)

This year, I am thankful for the opportunity that has been given to me to participate in this German co-op, for my health, the health of my family, and the happiness that I have found in the last few months.

I am so lucky to have found the friends that I have here in Reutlingen. I look forward to many more shared experiences with them, as well as for all of the new students I will meet beginning in February.

I think this quote most aptly describes what the last six months of my life:

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I've ended up where I needed to be."
-Douglas Adams

Despite not going where I expected to go, I know that everything in my life happens for a reason; this experience, and everything that has happened thus far, has all happened to shape my future in the way that my life is supposed to go.

I love college... But not when I'm woken up at 3 a.m.!

There are times during my internship that I am very much reminded that I am still in a college setting.

Today, I was woken up around 3:00 a.m. to someone knocking on my window and yelling my name. This, of course, is not ideal, as I was already asleep for a few hours.

After a grateful thank you and some excessive chattering (on his part), I was able to go back to bed in peace. 

I'm feeling a little bit like all of these tired GIFs today... I have to power through, though and help put on the best Thanksgiving dinner that these internationals have never seen!

After getting a taste of some homemade biscuits that an American brought into the office for me to bring tonight, though... I don't think we're going to have a problem.