Week #16 in Germany

This was the last week of school before the Christmas break. We had our last official classes on Tuesday, then on Wednesday there was an Advent mass followed by classroom parties and then the teacher's party. The teachers had a bit of a feast, with all sorts of finger food, desserts, beer and wine. Afterward, a large group of us went to the Christmas market and after that I went to Gengenbach with Mehmet to see the beautiful Christmas market there. Thursday we enjoyed the last day of the Offenburger Weihnachtsmarkt and did shopping for Christmas lunch and Friday we finished up the shopping in the snow. I had forgot Mehmet's gift at my home, so I hiked about 5 miles in the snow, just to make sure he had a gift to open the night of Christmas Eve. If that ain't love then I don't know what love is :).


I was so excited to make Christmas lunch. Unfortunately, I couldn't find everything I wanted. For one, I couldn't find any sweet potatoes. I've been craving sweet potatoes since Thanksgiving, so I was really excited about making some, and really disappointed that I couldn't find any. Another very important thing was shortening. I needed shortening for the crust of my famous apple pie. The German translation is Backfett, but when I asked the supermarket employee where I could find some, she looked at me like I was an alien, and pointed me to the aisle where all the baking ingredients were. I couldn't find any, and instead I used regular cooking oil. The good news is, the crust turned out really good. It was soft and tasty. Thus, this misadventure taught me a little lesson: Improvisation creates progress (sometimes). 


Overall, I had a good Christmas. I was able to watch "A Christmas Story", which brought some normalcy and tradition to my day. I was also very excited to get to talk to some family back home. The joys of Skype :). However, there was also news from home that put a damper on the evening. A friend of mine and her husband were tragically killed in a car accident on Christmas Eve. When you receive such sad news, it reminds you of the importance of friends and family, love and hope, and the message of the holiday season. 


I hope all my friends and family who are reading this are feeling full of love, happiness, peace, comfort and joy. Be safe and enjoy the rest of 2010. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!