Angie's Odyssey: Weihnachtszeit

-Conversation 1-

Me: –sigh- My grammar is crap.

German Friend: No, it’s not.

Me: You’re just saying that because you’re a good friend.

German Friend: No, it’s not good, but it’s not crap!

-Conversation 2-

Me: "Next year I will make you cookies in California and send them you you because we have different type…”

Host-Brother: *interrupts* What’s with your German?

Me: What about it?

Host-Brother: It’s not crap!

German may be a seemingly impossible language at times, but I’m finally starting to get the hang of it. INSTANT IMMERSION REALLY WORKS! I think all the exchange students should get together and we should make an infomercial for “Instant Immersion,” because it is truly that successful. I remember sitting on the plane coming to Germany and looking up how to say “please” in my dictionary, and then not believing my dictionary because the word was to close to “bitter” (bitte by the way, is please in German); but now I’m almost fluent.

Christmas time is supposed to be one of the times where exchange students are the most homesick, but here it does not feel like Christmas simply because everything is celebrated so differently. We open our gifts and say “Frohe Weihnachten” on the 24th, not the 25th. The “Christkind” (or baby Jesus) brings our gifts and the Christmas tree, not Santa; and the day is not filled with nearly as much chaos as an “American Christmas.” On December 25th, we didn’t even stay home, instead we went to an ice arena and a snow park where I went sledding and it surprised me how many people were out skiing despite it being Christmas, then I remembered "Christmas is celebrated here the day before.

With my host family, it feels like we had three Christmases because I had one with my host-parents, one with my host-sister and her boyfriend the following day, and than another with my host-brother and his girlfriend three days after that because for Christmas my host-siblings were at their boyfriend/girlfriend’s house, but for New Years, everyone is here. I have no idea how we have been managing for all seven us with only one shower, but so far it hasn’t been too difficult.

I’d have to say one of my favorite Christmas presents this year was from my host-brother. Despite being 18-years-old, I absolutely love Elmo (from Sesame Street) and I always have, so for Christmas he got me an Elmo necklace and it’s amazing.

We have spent a majority of the past week with my host-parents friends, whether it be for dinner, lunch, or simply to stop by, but thankfully all my host-parents friends are actually quite interesting.

As part of my host-brothers Christmas gift, I made him “American Cookies” (they don’t exist here! Surprised smile ) and I put M and Ms in the dough because I could not find chocolate chips in the store. My host-sister (who is 19 mind you) went around telling everyone she could, “Angie is making really weird dough with M and Ms!”