Hello, everyone! People say that the holidays are the busiest time of the year, and I couldn't agree more. So many things have happened, and my goal with this blog post is to fill you in! Bear with me...it's been a while and there's so much to share with you. :)
Advent
Celebrating advent is a tradition here in Germany, and I was excited to take part in it. My town decorated the fountain in the Marktplatz as a giant advent wreath, and each Sunday another candle would shine it's light in the center of town. I hadn't really celebrated advent before, and it was wonderful to count down the weeks to Christmas, preparing my heart and mind for the true meaning of the day and the reason why we celebrate. Every Sunday a woman at
church (who also works at BFA) gave an advent presentation for the children in the main service, and she also came to my classroom and gave the same presentation to my students. We also celebrated the days of advent in class with secret gifts! Each student had to bring a small present wrapped for a boy or girl, and each day we would choose a student's name from a box and they would get to choose and open a present! It was fun to see their excited faces when their name was called, and I was proud of their patience-especially those whose names were chosen towards the end.
St. Nikolas Tag
On December 6th, we celebrated St. Nikolaus Tag (day) at our school. All our students put their shoes in rows outside our classroom for St. Nikolaus to come put treats in them as a reward for being good! This was a new tradition for me, and it was so much fun to see how excited the kids were! We had to keep them in the classroom (not always an easy task) while their shoes were filled, and then a bell rang and we ran to the window to see St. Nikolaus waving to them as he walked down the street.
Christmas Markets
The weather has since warmed up (it's funny that I now consider the low 40s to be a heat wave), but for a few weeks in December it snowed every day and everything was covered in beautiful, glistening magic. I absolutely love snow, and honestly, it makes the cold weather worth it. Otherwise it's just cold. One thing that I love about Christmas in Germany is the way things are decorated-many of the decorations are simple and natural and reflect the season. A great way to see/purchase some of these decorations is to go to a Christmas market! Most of the bigger towns/cities have these markets, and the bigger cities like Basel and Freiburg leave them up for several weeks. I was so lucky to go to four different markets (Basel, Lörrach, Freiburg, and Colmar)! The markets consist of booths that sell food, warm drinks, decorations, and other lovely things. It definitely put me in the Christmas mood.
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| Beautiful view of a canal in Colmar, France. |
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Santa doesn't come down the chimneys here-he comes in through the window! I can't decide
which is more creepy. :) |
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| Having some photography fun with the giant tree in the main square. |
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| Market in Freiburg at night. This booth was selling alpaca fur! |
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| These little tea lights have a spinning mechanism above them that spins when the flame is burning. |
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| Beautiful paper stars. |
Christmas in the Classroom
Christmastime is one my favorite times to be a teacher. There are so many cute activities that I want to do with my kiddos, and this year I tried some new things. Since we were studying the different kinds of precipitation, it was the perfect opportunity to make some paper snowflakes, learn about Wilson Bentley, and see some snowflakes up close. I loved the fact that the town outside our windows was actually covered in snow while our paper snowflakes decorated the windows.
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| We wrote about when we like to drink hot chocolate, or heiße Schokolade. |
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| We made melting snowmen. |
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We also made snowmen looking up to watch the snow.
I was having some fun with the different perspectives. |
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Snowflakes! If you've seen pictures of my classroom,
all the windows were covered with them. |
Christmas Day
Since I'm coming home for spring break for my best friend's wedding (yay!), I couldn't justify the cost of coming home for Christmas as well. This was my first Christmas away from home, and while it was difficult to be so far from family, I was so blessed by my friends here who took me in and made the day special. We spent a lovely Christmas Eve and day together, eating delicious food, watching movies, and laughing together. People in the community here say that not going home for Christmas can help with adjusting, and I feel that it did. It's a very bittersweet feeling, as I am truly loving it here, but miss friends and family back home. I miss a comfortable life that is familiar. I miss the independence that I had. But God is giving me a love for this area, a love for the German language, a love for the students I teach, and close friends to share this experience with.
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| Merry Christmas morning! |
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| I made cinnamon rolls-they weren't the same as Mom's, but they were still pretty delicious. |
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| CB made a delicious cherry coffee cake! |
Copenhagen
Since I didn't go home for Christmas, a close friend and I decided to look into inexpensive flights so that we could still get in some travel during our vacation. We found a cheap flight to Copenhagen, Denmark, and since neither of us had been before, we went for it! We stayed in a hostel, and had a wonderful time experiencing the city. What we didn't realize beforehand was the fact that we would be there over winter solstice...and that it would get completely dark by 4:30pm. :) Needless to say, we braved the cold weather and the darkness, and had a fantastic time!
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| The Rosenborg castle. This isn't where the royal family lives now, but it was filled with history. |
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| Hearts are a very traditional Danish decoration at Christmas time! They were everywhere. |
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| Nyhavn-the place that's on all the postcards. :) |
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Copenhagen is the home of Hans Christian Andersen, and the Little Mermaid statue.
She was difficult to find, and she was pretty far outside the city center, but so worth it. |
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| Reindeer! |
Time after Christmas
Since Christmas, I have been spending time with friends and enjoying the last days before school starts again on Monday. My friend Allison was house/cat sitting for a family in Switzerland, so we spent a few days there, I went ice skating with a family I've grown close to, and have gone to school a few times to prepare for the week ahead. It was truly a wonderful and much needed break, but I'm ready to go back. I miss my kids, and can't wait to see their little faces and hear about the things they did over their vacation. I am so thankful to be here, and so thankful for those of you who make it possible for me to stay. You are in my prayers, and if there is anything specific I can pray for, please email me!
One last note: My December newsletter is on its way to your house! If you are not on my mailing list, please let me know. I have some extra Christmas cards and would be more than happy to send you one.
I truly am looking forward to 2013 and all that God has planned for me here in Germany. He is good!
Much love,
Amy
