...When the Snow Comes to Cover the Ground.

I thought this title was very appropriate for this blog because I am currently sitting the PC Raum an der Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität and watching snow fall on the other side of the windows. True, that means I'm not getting much work done, but I love it. I decided to not take any classes an der LMU this semester because I was afraid that my level of German wasn't up to parr with the speed of the classes. It's okay though, I like having the extra time to spend exploring new parts of my life, and find a lot of my JYM (my program) classes very helpful and enjoyable. So sometimes after my classes at JYM I'll come do my work here at the University...just because I can.

It's only been a week since my last blog for my birthday, but still a lot has happened. There is always something to do, or something going on, and if there's not that, there is always my room to clean or miles to run. A friend of mine and I decided that we want to run a marathon next year before we leave Germany and have been running together. There is a really interesting on in Hamburg on April 29th and then a half-marathon in Munich some time in May. I'm not sure if we've decided yet. I'd love to go to Hamburg because we'd get to see a beautiful city and participate in a very well-known marathon, but it's also expensive after you look for a hotel, buy your plane ticket, and register for the race. Aber trotzdem, this is the link for the marathon in Hamburg if you'd like to take a look at it.

http://www.haspa-marathon-hamburg.de/

Thursday my program threw a Christmas Party for us. We had lots of food, dressed up, had Christmas decorations everywhere, our own paper stockings with our names (Germany doesn't do stockings), a White elephant gift exchange, Glühwein, and a "cookie exchange", which basically consisted of people bringing cookies and creating a huge cookie table. I invited Marie, who is a teen in the Munich church, to join me so that we could spend more time together and also practice her English. She's my Sprachpartnerin, and I love it because I feel like her English is around the same level as my German. So sometimes we are really forced to try to explain to the other person what on earth we are actually trying to say. Oddly enough, a lot of Germans that I know are already super close to fluency in English (if not already), so they generally just tell me the English word when I don't know how to say something. However, I find that when the word isn't immediately given me to me I remember it so much better, plus having to explain something to someone in a different language is really hard. I generally shy away from it because it makes me nervous and feel super awkward, but Marie is very patient and makes me feel very comfortable.

There is another reason that I love hanging out with Marie that I'm so excited to write about. I thought it would be so awkward/hard/insert negative emotion here trying to build a friendship with someone who doesn't speak my language fluently and vice versa. And then when you add cultural differences on top of that, it seems near impossible. However, after having spent time with her I have learned that that does not have to be the case at all. If anything, there is a part of me that loves when we have no idea what the other person is talking about... because when that happens, we either have to play charades to figure it out, or give up and just start laughing because there's really no other choice. For example, at church on Sunday, Marie was showing me some of the pages in this crazy book a lot of the teens got for Christmas, and there was a word I didn't know (verschlucken) on one of the pages. I asked her what it meant, and when she didn't know the English word she swallowed and pointed to her neck. I just laughed because I completely understood even through our childish ways of communicating.

I've realized since spending time with her that I worry wayyy too much about what I say, in English and in German. And sometimes I think I just talk too much. Yes it's definitely important to know how to eloquently speak your native language, however, it's honestly not needed the majority of the time. I feel like part of me has lost sight in the value of a smile, or a hug, or just having a friend sit there with you, even if you are struggling to communicate (because of a Sprachemauer or you just can't seem to understand where the other person is coming from). You know that the person doesn't have to be there with you and go through the mess of fighting a language, but that they do it regardless, not only to verbessern the language they are learning, but because they enjoy spending time with you. And instead of getting really frustrated and insecure around her, I smile, and I laugh, because at the end of the year the majority of our friendship will be built on the way I spent with her and the little ways that I show her love, as opposed to just what I say and have said to her. Wisdom and opinions and topics are nice, but showing love is greater. I really hope that makes sense.

It reminds me a lot of this scripture. I'll write it in English and German :)

"Deshalb, meine Kinder, lasst uns einander lieben: nicht mit leeren Worten, sondern mit tatkräftiger Liebe und in aller Aufrichtigkeit." 1 Johannes 3,18

"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:18

Here are some pictures from the Christmas Party:

 Marie and I

After the White Elephant Gift Exchange. I got chocolates and she got penguins. She gave me one. I named hers David and she named mine Maria :)

Sarah, Heather, and I

Her White Elephant surprise.

Sami and I

Hannah, Sarah, me, Marie, Heather, Sami, and Jess

This past Friday, a few friends in my program and I went to Nürnberg to see the Weihnachtsmärkte. We used a Bayern Ticket to get there. The Bayern Ticket is amazing because you can go anywhere in Bavaria from 9.00 bis 3.00 (the next morning) for only 30 €. And what makes it better is that you can split the ticket between 5 people. So if you have a full ticket, you only have to pay 6 € per person to travel somewhere in Bavaria for the whole day. Bavaria is an incredibly beautiful country, so the Bayern Ticket has been a wonderful help in seeing everything so far. When we got to Nürnburg it was really windy and rainy. It was so windy that it actually broke one of my friend's umbrellas, which wasn't funny to her at the time, but I think it was kind of funny. We decided to sit in a Bäckerei until the rain slowed down or stop. Some of us ordered food, others ordered just drinks, and then we sat, talked, and played some trivia game on Caroline's iPod. Eventually the rain passed and we got to go to the markets.

I really do like the markets, but I feel like once you've seen one market, you've kind of seen every market. I bought gebrannte Mandeln (because they are the best thing that Germany has introduced me to), Glühwein, and even got to keep the mug that I bought the Glühwein in. Germany works on a Pfand system, where almost everything that you buy can be brought back and then you can be given money for it. Of course that means that you paid extra beforehand because of the Pfand. However, I find the system really smart. If you pay 5 € for something and have a 2 € Pfand, of course you're going to want to take the mug or whatever back so that you only end up paying 3 €. Plus it's an excellent idea to encourage recycling. Instead of giving my Pfand back I kept the mug because it was super cute.

http://www.christkindlesmarkt.de/index.php?navi=1&rid=1

Here are some pictures from the market:

After going through the markets, we met up with Jess and Steff, who came later, and went to the castle in Nürnberg. It was super cute and teensy (compared to castles like Neuschwanstein) and we got to take really fun pictures with everything.

Pictures from the castle:

 1562.

 Bavarian Flag on the left and German flag to the right.

Later that night Heather, Sami, and I went to go get waxed. It was my first time and I was terrified. However, even though my lady spoke no English, it really wasn't that bad. She was really sweet and really patient every time I freaked out. And it was cheap. Anyone who has never tried waxing before should. After waxing we went to go get dinner at a cute, laidback restaurant in der nähe von dem Münchner Freiheit Haltestelle. We ordered pizzas, beers, and sat back, discussing how grateful we were that the waxing was over. Ha, good times.

Saturday morning a friend and I ran in the snow! We ran a little over 7 miles and it felt wonderful. Germany has seriously made me so hardcore. I would have never ran in the snow at home. I probably would have even gone as far as throwing a fit. And yes, I'm 21 years old. After the run, a group of us met at Hofbräuhaus because Heather's boyfriend, Dave, had just flown in from Pittsburgh a few hours before. It was actually a lot of fun because I hadn't eaten at Hofbräuhaus until then. Heather reserved a table and we all sat on the top floor of the restaurant and just chilled for a few hours. I really like Hofbräuhaus. There's a reason it's so popular, and it's because it tastes sooo good. Well, the beer (Münchner Weiße) I drank did. I'm assuming the rest of the food was incredible as well.

More pictures:

 Dave and Heather

Sami and Hannah

 Becca haha

Julia and I

 I think this blog is long enough for now. I'm sure I forgot to write about something, but that's okay. Until next time, I wish you all a Fröhliche Weihnachten and Happy New Years!

Zum Geburtstag viel Glück, Spaß, und (natürlich) Deutschland

Hi again!

First off, I’ve been looking back over through some of my blogs and noticed that my English is really poorly written in some areas. For that, I apologize. I have even said things like “hear” instead of “here” when talking about location. My brain seems to be getting more and more confused the longer I live here. Part of me is considering taking an introductory Spanish class next semester, because I have always wanted to learn it (and it is super useful in America), but the more I struggle through immersion with German, the more I think that my brain might actually choose to strike back on me one day for trying to take on too many languages. I just cannot see that having a very happy ending.

One thing I have decided that I want to do this year while in Germany is read all of the English classics like Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Mark Twain, Sherlock Holmes, Daniel Defoe, Emily Bronte, C.S. Lewis, Thomas Hardy, Edgar Allen Poe, and George Eliot, just to name a few. I actually have a lot of extra time that I can read books for fun. I always hated English in school because I hated being forced to “appreciate” classic English literature. However, now I have a really good opportunity to take my time with it, at a more mature age, and see if I actually do like it, instead of saying I hate everything and every teacher that taught it. I was not a very happy English student. So far, I have read “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, and I’ve also been reading "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway, “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis, which I’ve been working on since living with the Krater’s. TCoN a very large book with seven different books. I have read “The Magician’s Nephew” and “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”, and now I am reading “The Horse and His Boy”. It has really been a positive fulfilling experience to leisurely read. I forgot how much I used to love it. It kind of makes me sad how little time we have in college to do everything we have always loved growing up. It is extremely hard to enjoy things outside of what you are studying because college is designed to give you not a lot of time to do so. I understand the reason why with only four years to complete your degree, but those four years are also so critical in the growing up process.

Anyway, I celebrated my 21^st birthday on Sunday December 11 here in Munich! I had church early in the morning (10.30), and was so confused when my alarm went off at 8.30. I have not been so confused about waking up early and where I was since I first got here. PS Normally, we have church at 16.30 because ICOC and the mainline share the same building, which I also love that they act like a big family rather than two separate churches. Once a month, both congregations will join together to have service and plan activities together. They may be the most treasured possession that God has blessed me with since I have been in Munich. Actually, they are. I would be miserable without God’s family. 

So after I realized I was up early because church was early that day, I then remembered that it was birthday. That was a strange feeling because normally my mom never even waits for me to wake up on my birthdays. She practically comes in at an atrociously early time of the morning, jumps on me, and showers with me kisses, which then usually ends with me being cranky and trying to roll over so that I can sleep longer (since Finals Week has usually just finished). I turned on my computer, and got onto Facebook and Skype cause that is a habit I have formed every morning. I saw that some of my friends from home had already sent me birthday messages on Facebook for me to wake up to, which was so encouraging. I then sat on my bed and prayed because I felt so homesick and scared that I would feel so alone on my birthday. But then I saw my best friend send me a message on Facebook (even though it was 3.30 in America at this point), and he said he had tried to sign on to Skype to wish me Happy Birthday before he went to bed. I was able to answer quickly enough so that we could Skype for about thirty minutes before I left for church, which may have been the absolute best way to start my birthday. God is incredible with encouragement. I love how he helps the hearts of those who love Him learn to have an outward focus so that everyone feels encouragement, and love. There should be no one in this world that feels lost or alone or unloved.

I ran into Tanja, who is a single in the church and one of my really good friends here, on the U-Bahn and she immediately wished me Happy Birthday, which was so encouraging that she remembered. We ran into Laura (in campus here)’s mom and all walked into church together. When we have the combined services, they always have so many cakes, cookies, and other baked goods in the front with coffee and tea of every flavor and variety. I love Germany so much more for their wonderful appreciation of baked goods and teas and coffees. We had service, which was beautiful, and then after all went to the middle level with the food. Alisa was running around telling people to go downstairs to the Teen Room, but told me to stay there by myself. I had no idea what she was doing, so I sat on stairs eating Apfelkuchen and drinking hot tea. Kraeuter, PS, is the best herb thing I have ever had. They have it in cream cheese here as well and I am seriously and dangerously verliebt. That sentence is relevant because that was the kind of tea I was drinking at the time.

Alisa then came back upstairs and sat with me, and I asked what was going on. She and others had planned something for me for my birthday, and I got so excited, because I wasn’t really expecting a lot. I went downstairs a little later, and then into the teen room, where everyone was standing and starting singing me Happy Birthday, but in German.

everyone when I walked in:

This is the birthday song auf Deutsch:

“Zum Geburstag viel Glück,

Zum Geburstag viel Glück,

Zum Geburstag Liebe(r) [person’s name],

Zum Geburstag viel Glück.”

Not so hard haha. They had made me a birthday cake (pound cake—Nana Sandy, you would have been so proud), with three candles, apple crisp from the Krater’s because it is one of my favorites, a Hungarian treat specialty consisting of rolled up pancakes and some kind of sweet sauce, and chips and snacks. They had decorated the Teen Room with streamers and balloons and had games planned that would be normally be played for a German child’s birthday.

 I was soooo excited that I got a birthday cake :)) und besonders mit drei Kerzen ;)

After eating for a little bit and blowing out the three candles (so cute), we played the first German game. You take a large chocolate bar, wrap it up very well in newspaper and twine, and the goal is to be the person that eats it all first. In order to have the chance to open it up (with a knife and fork, like cutting steak) you had to roll a six with the di. To add more difficulty, when you rolled a six, you had to put on really complicated ear muffs, gloves, and a scarf, and then you could start cutting into the chocolate bar. You could keep trying to get to the chocolate until someone else rolls a six, then you have to stop cutting, take off all of the winter accessories, and throw it all to the person who rolled the six so that they can try to cut into the chocolate bar, eat it and win. It was so much and hilarious to watch everyone try to do that. Nicole was a boss though, and I am pretty sure she left a couple of marks with the knife on the ping pong table we were playing on.

 Dorian with his adorable attire.

Erik doesn't like losing.

Nicole was a BOSS at this game. I think she may have ended up winning.

 Me trying to put everything on and eat the chocolate while Dorian was rolling the dice.

The second game was where a metal pot was hidden somewhere in the room, and someone who was wearing a blindfold and holding a wooden spoon, had to try to find it with the help of everyone around you saying hot or cold (oder “heiss” und “kalt”). I thought it was going to be really embarrassing because you had to crawl around aimlessly, but everyone did it which made it so fun. Then once you found the pot with your wooden spoon, you beat on the pot, take your blindfold off, and und the pot is a bunch of candy! How awesome is that.

 Trying to find the pot haha.

I distinctly remember telling Dorian to be nice to Attila here.

Meine Süße Marie :)

Dorian was so sneaky in this game.

 About the start the game.

Another game was played with these really good treats that are like huge marshmallows covered in dark, milk, or white chocolate. Two people go against each other and have to eat their two marshmallow chocolates before the other one. The trick is that they have to keep their hands behind their backs, keep their eyes closed, and figure out where the two chocolates actually are. They can be put anywhere on the table, which was really funny to watch. I played against Marie, who I absolutely adore. She and I have been helping each other a lot with learning each other’s languages. I can always count on her to speak German, and I love her desire to want to learn the language I love and grew up with. And more importantly, I love her heart for God. She is a beautiful person, and I am encouraged to have learned with her that sometimes, you don’t need to be able to talk about every single detail of life. Sometimes just a smile, an embrace, or a laugh can be just as valuable (if not more) than words.

Alisa completely missed hahah. She went up against Attila I think.

 Erik vs. Dorian. That was fun to watch.

After we finished the games, they took the time to share about me, which was very, very sweet. I did not expect that at all, but it gave me a lot of confidence to hear their kind words (in both languages :) ) to know that the time I am spending with them actually means a lot to the them too. To those of you who came and spent time with me and are reading this, thank you. Danke. Merci. Gracias. Grazie.  There are not enough words or languages to express how grateful I am for the love you showed me on a very important birthday celebrated back home. I will never forget what you did for me, and I love you all.

After church, I came home and skyped my adorable parents, my Nana Carolyn, and worked on some Christmas presents. Becca came over to my room after she got back to Berlin because we were going out to dinner for my birthday. While we were waiting on Heather to get home, someone had buzzed my doorbell (if you can call it a doorbell). Becca answered it for me because I was wrapping something, and she came back in with a very confused look and something large and wrapped up in burgundy tissue. We opened it together (but slowly because part of me was terrified it would be something not good). It was a beautiful bouquet of flowers, orange sunflowers and purple roses. There were others mixed in but I have no idea what they are. They were so beautiful. There was a card stuck into the rolled up flowers. I opened it to find a girls handwriting saying how sorry they were that they could not be there for my birthday, but for now Bluehmchen would have to do. I could not believe that this person had worked out getting me flowers from another country. I was so so so so excited, there are literally no words to describe how happy I was. I came to find out later that Heather and my friend had planned via Facebook to find the flowers and leave them as a surprise in front of my door. Heather was not too happy about her secret being given away, but I am so glad to know that it was her. I am going to miss her a lot when she leaves.

 The flowers :)

We all then went to eat at the Hard Rock Café in Munich near Marienplatz. It was Heather and mine’s second time, and Becca’s first. I ordered my first alcoholic drink (Tropical Rock, I think) as a 21 year old and Heather took my picture. I was fun to pretend, even though it has been legal to drink since I got to Germany in September. I ordered a big cheeseburger and fries, which was an ungodly amount of food, but I ate all of it, and was completely elated to have American food for my birthday. The waitress then brought out a sundae with a sparkler for my birthday treat.

 I really could not have asked for a better birthday in Munich. Between my parents and Nana surprising me with a birthday package, friends from church surprising me with a party, birthday cake, and gifts, starting and ending the day talking to my best friend who managed to send flowers from America, and going out to dinner with Becca and Heather, it was perfect. Thank youuuu.

PS This blog was actually written the day after my birthday (12th), which is why it is so close to the next blog.

It's a Marshmallow World in the Winter...

This past week in Germany has probably been the hardest time I’ve had since I’ve been here. Nothing in particular happened, it was more of an emotional and physical tiredness that I couldn’t shake. It affected my responses to friendships, my relationship with God, and myself. I’ve also probably been the most reflective that I’ve been since I’ve been here. I’ve been thinking about where my life has gone up to this point, why, what could have been, what it actually is, where it could go, and where it seems to go. Incase you hadn’t picked up on the fact that I am a thinker, well, I am.

October was Halloween, November was Thanksgiving, December is my birthday, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve, and January will bring a lot of work to finish out my classes, a trip to Amsterdam with my friends, especially a good one that will be leaving in February, and then closing out the first semester on February 13. There is so much going on to the point where I forget to breathe at times. It’s incredible how much free time I have outside of school, but how exhausted I always feel. Each night that I’ve gone to bed I’ll sleep a minimum of 10 hours when I can. And when I have to get up earlier, I usually come home and pass out for 3 hours or so. I am tired. And I’m missing home. I miss my Mom and my stepdad, I miss David, I miss my friends in Clemson, I miss Missy…I miss the little things like going to Clemson games, watching football games on TV, tailgating with my family and friends, Thanksgiving break, Christmas Break and feeling like I’ve imploded my brain from finals week (well, maybe not that part as much). The point I’m trying to make is that I miss the little things in my life that I’ve grown so accustomed to, that I hardly appreciate them anymore. And the longer I go without the little things, the harder it gets to be here and keep my heart here instead of letting it drift toward the desire of going home.

Last night my friend Heather and I were extremely exhausted and trying to get laundry done before heading out with Becca, David, and Sara to go get dinner and ice skate. I was really excited to go, but after trying to get laundry started for two hours, my patience was worn thin. Heather and I didn’t want to throw finished clothes out of the washer, so we waited to see if the people would come back. Then a German girl with her boyfriend comes in, sees us, takes out the clothes, throws them onto one of the machines, and starts doing her laundry. This may not seem like a big deal, but it was super discouraging to us because we were trying to wait and be patient, and she disregarded us being there. Not all Germans are discouraging, but the personalities of a lot make you feel really lonely sometimes. I feel like it’s even harder to make friendships with them when you’re not into partying and drinking as much. If it weren’t for church, I don’t think I would really have any other than a couple. And that’s kind of hard to grasp after having been here for 3 months.

I’ve been thinking a lot about relationships recently as well. Becca and I have been having some really interesting conversations discussing philosophy, God, Germany vs. America, and relationships. I’ve been thinking a lot about the change in mindset I’ve had about relationships and dating relationships since I’ve been here and just in general for the past year or so.

1)      I don’t think a relationship is about having to sacrifice something you want to be with the other person. I think it should always come down to some form of compromise.

2)      I don’t agree with people trying to make relationships work that don’t have the same ideals, morals, and belief systems. It seems like the relationship is destined to fall apart at some point.

3)      I hate how watered down dating relationships are. And I don’t like the “Prince Charming” influence our society puts on us. Not every man can be such a perfect ideal guy. And if he was, how could you ever grow together as a couple? You’d be the only one having to “grow”; eventually making yourself feel like you could never measure up. Or worse, making you feel more dependent on him than ever.

4)      It’s interesting to me how women will never find men who are viewed as “weaker” than them attractive. What defines someone as being weak? As strong? Is it something we come up with individually on our own or something we’ve been taught to think?

5)      I think you should be with someone who you can tell everything to, in the sense that when you do something stupid that might actually hurt them, that you can tell him regardless. I’ve noticed that when people make decisions here that aren’t the most respectful to the people they’re dating they won’t say anything because they don’t see the point in them getting worked up because it’s “not a big deal”. But I don’t want to be with someone who I would be scared to tell. I don’t want to have a relationship anymore where everything I do could possibly make them angry and want to break up with me. I’ve already done that and it sucks.

There’s a lot more that I’ve thought about, but those are just a few things. And here are some more things that I’ve picked up on recently that is different from back home.

1)      You have to ask for salted popcorn here when going to the movies. Otherwise you will be receiving kettlecorn sweet tasting popcorn.

2)      Whenever you go to a theather/ballet/whatever type of performance, the applause literally lasts forEVER. Like 5 minutes of clapping minimum.

3)      PDA is huge here. It’s not uncommon for people to be making out on the U-Bahn or just wherever they feel like it. No one really cares.

4)      American credit cards NEVER work here. You always have to withdraw money from the Geldautomats and it’s so frustrating sometimes because you always have to have money dabei.

5)      People are extremely judgmental about fashion here. I’ve have never been so stressed out in picking out outfits every day when doing out. Unless you are a guy, do not wear sweatshirts, do not wear sweatpants ever, and a T-shirt for a girl is pushing it. One time I wore my bright orange Clemson sweater and people actually pointed at me. I couldn’t believe how embarrassed I was over something that’s so chill back home.

6)      American Cheesecake and German Cheesecake are 100% different!! American Cheesecake is creamy, while German cheesecake has more of a cottage cheese texture that I don’t personally care for.

7)     The McDonald’s here actually has a real café for their McCafe. It’s not just a menu. They have a bakery with cake, cookies, coffees, and so much more. It’s incredible and so much better.

As I’m finishing this blog up, it’s actually my birthday today, which is so weird. I’ve never not celebrated my birthday at home. And I’m officially 21. But it doesn’t matter here! I don’t know what I’m doing today, but I’m sure it will be good regardless.

Here’s some pictures from recent adventures.

 After ice skating, we were waiting in the Muenchner Freiheit U-Bahn and took a fun mirror picture.

 Hermannsdorfer..or something like that. They make their own everything, especially cheese, bread, meat, and herbs. Really cool place. Really cold time of year to go.

.

 Becca, me, and Heather at Tollwood with our friend, David.

 I think this is called Feuerzangenbowle. Basically it's sweetened  red wine that is set on fire. It's a very popular Christmas (Weihnachten) drink alone with Glühwein.

Really cute area dressed up with lights for Christmas.

With Becca, Heather, Sara, and David at ice skating at Olympiazentrum.

Weihnachtsbaum at Marienplatz. Every year a different country donates an unbelievably gigantic tree that will be decorated and displayed in the center of Marienplatz in front of the Rathaus, the most well known area of Munich. I think this one says it's from Tirol this year. The waiting list to donate a tree is longer than 2 years.

Caroline, Jess, Heather, Steven, Genny, and Amy at dinner in Augsburg before the theater play.

@ Schwabinger 7. HP and JK :) A night out. It's cool, it wasn't illegal or anything.

My newly decorated birthday room thanks to the lovely birthday package from Mama and John.There is also balloons on the floor that you can't see.

Rathaus with the Weihnachtsmärkte. It's gorgeous and there's so many stands of things to look at and buy. Also they have out the gebrannte Mandeln (burned almonds covered in sugar--SO GOOD), chocolate covered fruit, Glühwein, Feuerzangenbowle, classic Bavarian food, American food, and everything else you can possibly think of. I love it. I love Munich.