Week #11 and #12 in Germany

A lot has happened in the past two weeks. I went to Strasbourg for the first time, I celebrated Thanksgiving and we had our first snow. But the longer I'm here, the more challenging it is to write new posts. Life here is becoming more ordinary, which could be a good or a bad thing. It's good that I'm feeling more acclimated everyday. It's bad that I'm beginning to take my experiences for granted. I don't want to get homesick, but I also don't want to lose the ability to find the beauty in my experiences. So, even though inspiration is becoming harder to find, I decided that I should force myself to write a post, because if I don't, I'll regret in the future that I didn't document my experiences.


Last Saturday we went to Strasbourg. It's only thirty minutes away by train. It was a completely spontaneous idea, so we really had no idea where to go. We just walked around for a few hours, and it was quite beautiful. Back home when I was bored, I would go to the mall or see a movie. Here, I can go to a different country. It's really quite amazing when it's put in that perspective.

This past Thursday was Thanksgiving. I had to work all day, which was really strange for me. What was more strange though, was that I didn't eat turkey when I got home. Instead, I baked some chicken and we had mashed potatoes and gravy and corn and applesauce and a chocolate raspberry cake. Definitely not the traditional Thanksgiving, but at least I got to spend it with someone I love...and it snowed! I can't remember it ever snowing on Thanksgiving in Arkansas, so it was really exciting for me. And apparently it snowed in Arkansas, too. It seems that the most exciting things happen when I'm gone.


Friday Mehmet and I went to the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) here in Offenburg. It's so wonderful to see all the Christmas decorations, and watch the people ice skate, and drink Glühwein. Something I miss is having my personal Christmas tree with an angel on top. Growing up, I always remember having an angel topper. It was so comforting for me to have an angel watching over us. I suppose there's still time for a tree and angel, even if it's just a drawing.