Twas the Night Before Christmas

Back (L-R): Zach, Brock, Jenny, Levi / Front (L-R): Me, Tate, Jennifer, Teagan, Mom, Addison, Dad, Tycelee, Cami, Jackson

Twas the night before christmas and everyone made it home, through the 10 below weather and to the Scobey snow dome. 14 Stockings were hung by the chimney with care, since the family is growing no space will be bare. The house was once again full and hectic but fun, next year we’ll have more cause in Jenny’s oven there’s a bun. We played at the gym, avoiding the cold weather; at home we cooked and we visited, just enjoying being together. We all prettied up and off to church we went, we thanked God for his love and the son that he sent. After church we ate, relaxed and watched our christmas tree shine, then I shared a little piece of Germany with Baumkuchen and Gluewein. The kiddos were too excited to snuggle up in their beds, so when it came time to sleep we had to bring in the FEDS. I love my big family and could not ask for better, I’ve gotten all that I asked Santa for this year in my letter. Merry Christmas to all; to all a good eve; sending love overseas and hoping peace they receive.

Final Destination for a little while – Scobey

Tyce

Tate

THE GIRLS

Friday was a 24hour train and airport excursion from Germany to Bozeman, Montana. It was pretty exhausting but surprisingly went by pretty fast. It was a bit confusing with all the time zone changes. My brother, Zach and nephew, Tate picked me up at the airport and my lil pregnant sis, Jenny and her husband Brock arrived at the house from Boise later that night. On Saturday, my 5 yr old niece, Tycelee, and 7 yr old nephew, Tate, had their last basketball games of the season so I got back home just in time. Tyce made her first two baskets and the shocked look on her face was pretty priceless. That was after she informed me that girls can play basketball and asked me if I had ever seen a girl play basketball before :) Tato is a pretty good athlete himself and had 5 or 6 baskets to count for. I was a pretty proud auntie! The remainder of the day was spent relaxing and forcing myself to stay awake in order to fight the jet leg. I was successful at the task until 9:30 when I could no longer take it and had to go to bed. At 4am Sunday morning I once again was wide awake. It might be a few days before I get on a better schedule again. Later that morning we loaded up and went to church. After church and some lunch, Tycelee, Tate, Jenny, Brock and I squeezed into their SUV for the 8 hour drive up to Scobey. As I sat in back in the middle of the two car seats, with my knees stuck together, and sweat dripping down my face, I was able to watch the in-service movies (my favorite was Barbie and the Diamond Castle), attend to the kids’ every need, and visit with Jenny and Brock when the kiddos finally fell asleep. We made it to Scobey through the flurrying snow at about 9:30 Sunday night. My final destination for the next 5-6 weeks. It is so great to see my family. This is our year to all be together for Christmas so I’m pretty excited. It only happens every other year so these times are very treasured. All 14 of us pile into our family home and spend a few days eating good food, playing games, visiting, watching movies, running around at the gym, laughing over memorable stories and just hanging out. Pretty soon mom and dad are going to have to add on to the house to hold all of us. Right now it is nice and cozy and we don’t mind just as long as we are all together.

Goodbye Heidelberg….Just for now

After my last evening in Heidelberg hanging out with Caro and a few hours of light sleep, I caught the train to the Frankfurt airport at 5:45am, marking the end of my originally intended 3 ½ month stay in Europe. After a very sad goodbye, I packed myself and my 4 bags into a couple of seats on the train and fought back the tears but lost. For the next hour, I didn’t read, I didn’t sleep, nor did I pull out my computer and write. I sat there with tears gently rolling down my face and reflected on my Germany experience. I remember flying into Frankfurt not so long ago after a spontaneous decision to sell all that I own and travel to Europe. I didn’t have a clue of how much of a culture shock it would be, how much I would personally grow, and hard it would be for me to leave in the end. I remember seeing Carolin’s mom for the first time coming to pick me up at the airport and meeting her family before she arrived. They were all so welcoming. But everything was so new, I was soooo overwhelmed with the language and had no idea what to expect. I couldn’t read the signs and couldn’t understand anything except a few words such as, “Hallo”, “Danke”, “Bitte” and “Tchuess”. The jumbled words of the German language and so many people around me speaking it made me dizzy and caused my brain to go a little crazy. It was actually pretty tiring. I wondered what the heck I was doing in this strange world. But my, how things have changed. The German speaking I hear all around me on a daily basis no longer even really phases me. It’s when I hear English that I get a little thrown off. I can read many of the signs, understand at least 50% of a conversation and I can even ask questions and converse a little bit myself. It was so hard to believe that it has already been 3 ½ months and in that time I have learned so much, not only educationally such as German history, language, foods and traditions but also a lot about myself. I became a little bit of a changed person in just three short months, for the better, of course. Hey, I even became strangely and surprisingly attached to a cat. Yep, you heard that right, still kinda weirds me out. Overall, the difference between my first steps in Frankfurt to my steps upon my departure today is pretty amazing and almost too difficult to explain. I actually think it will be a bit of a culture shock back in the States. I can already tell I will be speaking a few German phrases without even meaning too. I found myself answering and asking questions in German on the flights and even almost doing it in the airport or at least preparing in my head how to say it just like I would in Heidelberg. I’ll actually miss hearing the language all around me because of it’s effects on my learning experience. Good thing I got an awesome Christmas present of a language training computer program so I can keep it up on my own while I am back in the States. I have some work to do :) I must admit though that it will be nice to fully understand conversations around me and fully participate again at least for a little while. Although I am very excited to see my family and friends again, the sadness of leaving Germany and more importantly my dear friend Caro is in this moment overpowering the excitement a little bit. I can’t even begin to explain the influence she has made in my life this past 6 months I have known her. It still amazes me that it has only been 6 months. Like many of my amazing friends, God definitely brings people into our lives at just the right moment to help in our formation, to encourage, to comfort, to give advice, and to affect our identity and our character and for that I am eternally grateful. So today I left Heidelberg, a cool apartment, a crazy cat, a best friend, and a part of my life on the other side of the world. Due to the language barrier, visa requirements and job qualification issues, I unfortunately was unable to secure a job before leaving, so I am faced with a decision of staying back in the states or returning for another try. I’m pretty sure the decision is already made but like everything else in my life, it is never ultimately up to me. For now, I will very much miss the beautiful city of Heidelberg, Brazen, my “host” family and most of all my therapist, workout partner, personal fashion advisor, and dear friend, Caro. I’m looking forward to some much needed loving time with my incredible family back in Montana, some Deutsch learning, Heidelberg job hunting from afar and being present in each moment cause before I know it I will be on the road again. In the middle of my 8 hour trip over the ocean something clicked and I suddenly truly realized one thing: I am only going back “home” for an extended Christmas visit; Heidelberg is my new home and it is only goodbye for now. I’ll be back even if it isn’t for a couple months.

Weihnachtsmarkt

On Sunday, the first large flakes of snow floated down on the streets of Heidelberg. It was an awesome addition to the Christmas season. It is so cool to be in Germany during this time but because I grew up in Montana, Christmas just isn’t complete without a little snow. This week I periodically walked the beautiful cobble stone streets in the center of town, crossed the old bridges, ran the gardens of the castle and roamed the Weinnachts Markts, taking in all that Heidelberg had to offer. It is so beautiful and I only wish I could really capture it on camera. During December the Christmas Markets (Weihnachtsmarkt) are put up all around the country. Booths are set up all along the main street filled with roasted chestnuts, homemade crepes, lebkuchen and other treats, handcrafted items and other Christmas gifts, and people are traditionally walking around eating the German specialties and drinking Gluewein, hot spiced red wine, any time from 10am to 10pm. If you ever have a chance to be in Germany at Christmas, I would definitely recommend it.

Meet the Heindel Family

Meet the Heindel family: Gerhard, Anke, Janis, and Caro. I have spoken so much about the them but never posted a picture or description of just how wonderful they are. When Caro and I first arrived we stayed at her parent’s home until we found an apartment. They were generous enough to take me in and allow me to be a guest at their home for a little over a month. I am so thankful for their hospitality not only then but the entire time I have lived here. Even though we don’t live there anymore, we are still treated to delicious family dinners on most Sunday nights. Caro’s mother, Anke, and I periodically meet for a walk, coffee drinking, and some German conversation on some afternoons. She is very helpful with my language learning and we always have a very nice time. We definitely have our alternative medicine and food preferences in common and she has been very helpful with my grocery shopping and ingredient choice making. Caro’s father, Gerhard, is a pastry chef and teaches at a university once a week. His new project is as a chocolatier, making very coveted praline. So needless to say, we are often spoiled with delicious cakes and specialty chocolates quite often. Although his English isn’t as good as Anke’s he always tries and he continues to make me laugh with his little jokes. Some of his best are “All is gut in Hollywood”, “Mister and Mississippi”, saying Duff instead of Dough when speaking about making cakes or bread (I couldn’t bring myself to correct him cause I thought it was sooo cute), and my personal favorite “Bill V Gates” (“Wie gehts” pronounced “vee gates” is a very common question basically asking “how’s it going?). Apparently back in the day he was a very good basketball player which would explain the skills of Caro’s little “big” brother, Janis. He plays basketball for a professional team a few hours away and has been “helpful” with my German vocabulary ;) I didn’t know that Gutey Wasched and Mopsfidel weren’t actually in the dictionary. He is a few years younger than Caro and is very kind hearted. From the very beginning he definitely helped to make me feel very welcomed. Since coming to Germany, they have become my family from across the ocean and I couldn’t ask for better.

New Roommate

So after a crazy three months of Caro’s stressful hard work and determination, our new roommate finally arrived a couple weeks ago. It just so happens he is a four legged furry guy who races around the apartment, slides across the hard wood floor, is fascinated with little red lights, scratches himself and licks his body on a regular bases and seems to think the dining room chairs are a scratching post. He apparently likes them as much as we do J His name is Brazen and he is Caro’s 9 month old cat but one might think he is actually a dog. I must say he is pretty special cool cat. This past spring she came across him while on a road trip to California. Her nurturing nature couldn’t resist his need for a new caretaker and she became a proud owner of her new “puppy”. He became the Wellspring Camp cat where we worked this last summer but upon the end of camp Caro had trouble getting him over the ocean due to customs regulations and flight restrictions. But on December 6th, he made it and now is a permanent, unpredictable fixture in our home. Never have I had a pet nor have I ever wanted one, especially a cat but I must say he is definitely growing on me and has won my heart despite his sometimes unruly but often comical behavior.

Raclette Dinner

Last night was another new dinner experience. Caro's friend Fay came over and we prepared a very social meal of Raclette mit Kartoffeln. Raclette is a semi-firm salted cow's milk cheese. It comes from the French word, racler meaning "to scrape". Traditionally it is heated and served with potatoed, gherkins, pickled onions, dried meats, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and sliced peppers. When done properly you prep all the toppings you want to include with the cheese and boil the potatoes while an electric grill called a Raclette grill is heated up. The cheese is brought to the table sliced, along with the potatoes and other prepped toppings. Each person gets their own little pan to create a variety of little combination of packages to be placed on/in the grill/oven and heated. Alternately, you can just melt more cheese to "scrape" out of the little pan and pour over the food. You can see from the picture, the cute little pans and the electric "heater-upper". The unique part about Raclette dining is that it is meant as a relaxed and social eating and drinking experience and a meal can last for hour while you take time to make your many little dishes. Many European Super Markets stock the grill apparatus and ready sliced cheese for this social dining experience. Very good!

Once again I really need a food photographer.

Studentenkarzer Heidelberg

Well the week before I leave Heidelberg I am doing all my Christmas shopping and doing a little Heidelberg sight seeing while packing up and getting ready to fly back to the states on Friday. On Monday, I visited the Studentenkarzer. It is Heidelberg University's student prison. Of course it was shut down in 1914 and is now just a tiny little museum of sorts. Back as far as the 16th century, citizen complaints of carousing students lead to the opening of the Studentenkarzer where academic misfits were kept off the streets for three days to four weeks. It is about the size of a large apartment and had a door connected to the Old University so the prisoners could go to school during their confinement. There is student graffiti all over the walls, floor and ceiling and it actually became a right of passage at the University to spend a little time behind bars. Didn't seem like it could have been too bad. Back in that time before World War I, you may have been sent to the "prison" for disturbing the peace, womanizing, unruly drunkenness, and setting the townspeoples pigs free. Just image what they would have done for the types of misconduct students do now. Overall, a pretty interesting place. Cool find.

Nikolaustag

The 6th of December is St. Nikolaus` Day in Germany. It starts the night before when kiddos shine up their boots and set them outside their bedroom door to see what St. Nikolaus will put inside by morning. There is also an alternative to shoe shining: red "Nikolausstiefel" (St. Nikolaus` boots) made out of plastic, which are sold in all major German grocery stores. (Some of my fellow Scobeyites may remember putting our shoes outside in the hall at Scobey elementary and waited for Mr. Wahl to put a few softies inside or one of the high school kids was cruel enough to steal the candy and replace it with a few sticks.) According to folklore, St. Nikolaus will appear over night and if the kids were good throughout the year they get candy and gifts but if they were bad they receive a bunch of twigs. Traditional St. Nikolaus gifts include apples, oranges, Christmas cookies, specially wrapped candy, and small toys. Not sure if the twig gifting ever really occurs but I’m sure some kids could build themselves a tree house if tradition and truth followed through. (I still wonder where Caro got the cute wicker basket in her room ;) )My gift this year from St. Nikolaus (Anke) was a new box of tea and a super cute clear bottle filled with special Olive Oil purchased from Italy. I was informed it also comes with refills :) Loving German Christmas season tradition and celebration!

From creepy “psych-ward” room to modern kitchen

Just want you to see our mostly finished kitchen completed by Flo, Caro and myself. I know it may seem very subtle, but can you see the difference?

The “mostly” finished product party

Our "Carpenter" and good buddy Flo!

Saturday was a crazy day of trying to finish up the apartment in time for the housewarming party we scheduled for that evening. It actually proved to be a pretty smart scheme to kick us in the butt to finish the place. The kitchen still needed many finishing touches, the lights needed to attached to the ceiling, some shelves needed to be hung up, the entry way was strewn with the millions of tools we had been using to create the space and of course the entire place needed a deeper clean. Anke and Gerhard brought over a bunch of food for us to serve and we hit up the store for the beverages. After a long day of work we finally toasted at 9:00 to our super cute pad. The party was to start at 10:00 so we had a little time to sit before our guests arrived. Of course you never know how many people will really show up and there are always those last minute drop outs so we were left with enough food and alcohol for another couple parties. Overall it was good conversation, good music, good snacks and drinks, and the best part about it was to actually admire and chill out in the “mostly” finished product. We were thinking about and wishing our friends from the states and other parts of Europe could have joined us and know that they would have it they could have been “beamed” from one place to another within seconds.

TLC: Episode 3: Painting your home

Last weekend was a two day paint-fest in our apartment. I think TLC should have hired us for an episode on home-design. Caro could probably recommend the proper painting attire and how to paint in German and I could give tips on how to make the paint run under the tape and get in places it shouldn’t while cooking a hot lunch with only a microwave and water boiler. Overall we actually had a pretty successful paint-athon. It’s always nice to make a place more colorful, characteristic and homey by accenting some walls. I must say we definitely made it colorful: bright green in the kitchen, a little darker green in my room, purple in the livingroom, and blue-turquoise in Caro’s room. If our place was on “Willy Wonka” you might actually be able to taste the rainbow after stepping through the front door. Right now they are just colored walls and I know it may sound a bit crazy but it really looks pretty good and will look “hot” as soon as we tie-in everything else around to balance the space and environment. Now it is time to finally get things cleaned up and get the kitchen finished in time for our housewarming party on Saturday! You are all, of course, invited. Germany is awaiting your presence and I’ll treat you to a mug or two of gluewein!

Baumkuchen

Yes this is another post about food but what do you expect from a “foodie.” I wanted to share with you another German specialty – Baumkuchen. I had the pleasure of my first experience of the real thing, homemade by Carolin’s Pastry Chef Papa. You can purchase it at the store as well but apparently doesn’t even compare. Baumkuchen (“tree cake”) is a kind of layered cake and when it is cut open it reveals golden rings like that of a tree. To get the ring effect a thin layer of batter is brushed evenly on a spit and allowed to bake, after which the process is then repeated many times. It then may be covered in a sugar or chocolate glaze. Apparently it is a somewhat pretty time-consuming task that requires a bit of skill to make correctly. They can be created very tall representing a tree trunk or just in one ring. The picture is an example of one ring and then I tried to take a pic of the inside so you could maybe see the rings. Very delicious, especially when it is made by a pro!