Punch on Rotestraße
Kate's first day in Germany
In Denmark!!
New Years
Hamburg Airport
Monday, January 6, 2014
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, KATE!!!!
So the holiday season has passed and my regular routine will soon be starting up again. Before I become too busy, I thought I would write another blog. Following the last entry, pictures will be put up separately. This is only because the wifi in my second house can be a little glitchy at times and I don't want to risk losing everything.
Fröhliche Weihnachten!!!!
Here in Germany, Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Eve, not Christmas day. This might seem strange to most Americans, but the Arneson family has been celebrating Christmas the German way for as long as I remember. We would always open our presents on Christmas Eve after going to church and eating a special family dinner. Then on Christmas day we would drive to Wisconsin to spend time with family. Besides none of my family members being present, my Christmas wasn't that different...
Christmas Eve morning was basically like a regular day. It was until about three things got more Christmas-y. We all got dressed up and a couple of family friends, Michael and Sonny came over (I'm not sure if I spelled their names correctly). We all enjoyed Kinder Punsch and almond cake and then headed off to church. The service was, of course, in German, but I recognized some of the hymns sung and prayers recited. After the service we returned home to open gifts. Just like home, we each were given a gift and then we all watched as one by one the gifts were opened. And just like home, the process slowly sped up until people opened their gifts simultaneously. After the excitement of new things, we made our way over to the dinner table. For dinner we enjoyed soup and lobster (?). It wasn't lobster exactly, but definitely in the family. When cooked it was a pinkish gray and it didn't have legs. It had soft, fish-like fins. This might be a special type of lobster, but all I know is Julia said it wasn't lobster. Anyone know what kind of shellfish I ate? For dessert we ended with a raspberry rhubarb ice. It was kind of like a slushy, but less watery. Wow, as I am typing this I am realizing how little I know about my Christmas dinner. Christmas Eve ended with a family viewing of Monty Python's Life of Bryan, in German. Christmas day was celebrated with Hermann's family with a nice dinner in a hotel restaurant. This restaurant is famous in the area for the wonderful cuisine. For dinner we enjoyed soup, Schnitzel, and then an assortment of desserts. To finish off Christmas day, Hermann, Julia, Carla, Hermann (Jr.) and I went to Heinrich's. The Max was having a Christmas party so Hermann and I went with some of his friends. They were all really nice and I had a lot of fun. In continuation of the Christmas festivities, on the 26th we drove to Hamburg to celebrate with Julia's family. We had the classically delicious German dinner of goose, red cabbage, potato dumplings(?), brussels sprouts, and gravy. The next day I accompanied Hermann and Hermann to Hamburg for some after-Christmas shopping. Directly after returning from our excursion I headed off with Julia, her sister Betina, and her three children. ( I'm not even going to attempt to spell their names, I know I would get them completely wrong. I'm not even sure if I spelled Julia's sister's name correctly.) We went to the movie theater and saw Der Medicus (The Physician). I can proudly state that I can understand movies in German. Of course I don't understand every single word, but I understand enough to follow everything going on in the movie. If you haven't seen this movie, I would seriously recommend it. We drove back to Flensburg that night after a bit of confusion about Kate's arrival date.
KATE!!!!
On the 29th Hermann and I drove to Hamburg to pick up Kate. She flew to Germany as an unaccompanied minor, so I was allowed to meet her at her gate. Her flight, however, arrived early and I didn't want to take the chance of missing her so we waited at baggage claim. Unfortunately there were a bunch of tall people standing in front of me and I missed Kate coming out of the exit. Luckily she found me and surprised me by covering my eyes with her hands. I felt so official when the flight attendant handed me all of Kate's documents because I was her over-18 guardian. WE drove back to Flensburg and she met my second host family and then took a two hour nap. On the 31st we traveled to the island Föhr to spend New Years with my first host family - Lorenz, Antje, Yoreme, Greta, Lily and Finn (Yoreme's boyfriend).
Frohes neues Jahr!!!!
Kate and I celebrated New Years with a delicious dinner, fireworks, and of course the cup song. We went to the beach to set off some small fireworks and firecrackers except it was too windy so we ended up setting them off in the parking lot. Antje prepared a delicious meal for us and of course, I overate. Kate, Greta and I went out into the street and set off firecrackers as the year changed from 2013 to 2014. We honored the new year with a performance of the Cup Song.
I wanted Kate to meet as many of my friends as possible. On her last day here we got together with almost all of my friends here and she got to meet them, and they got to meet her. Now whenever we speak she'll know the people I'm talking about. On the 3rd Kate flew back to Minnesota and I took pictures and videos until I couldn't see her plane anymore.
It was completely amazing to have Kate here, even for only four days. It was a whirlwind, but I hope she had fun here. I'll see you again in six months Kate!!
Fröhliche Weihnachten!!!!
Here in Germany, Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Eve, not Christmas day. This might seem strange to most Americans, but the Arneson family has been celebrating Christmas the German way for as long as I remember. We would always open our presents on Christmas Eve after going to church and eating a special family dinner. Then on Christmas day we would drive to Wisconsin to spend time with family. Besides none of my family members being present, my Christmas wasn't that different...
Christmas Eve morning was basically like a regular day. It was until about three things got more Christmas-y. We all got dressed up and a couple of family friends, Michael and Sonny came over (I'm not sure if I spelled their names correctly). We all enjoyed Kinder Punsch and almond cake and then headed off to church. The service was, of course, in German, but I recognized some of the hymns sung and prayers recited. After the service we returned home to open gifts. Just like home, we each were given a gift and then we all watched as one by one the gifts were opened. And just like home, the process slowly sped up until people opened their gifts simultaneously. After the excitement of new things, we made our way over to the dinner table. For dinner we enjoyed soup and lobster (?). It wasn't lobster exactly, but definitely in the family. When cooked it was a pinkish gray and it didn't have legs. It had soft, fish-like fins. This might be a special type of lobster, but all I know is Julia said it wasn't lobster. Anyone know what kind of shellfish I ate? For dessert we ended with a raspberry rhubarb ice. It was kind of like a slushy, but less watery. Wow, as I am typing this I am realizing how little I know about my Christmas dinner. Christmas Eve ended with a family viewing of Monty Python's Life of Bryan, in German. Christmas day was celebrated with Hermann's family with a nice dinner in a hotel restaurant. This restaurant is famous in the area for the wonderful cuisine. For dinner we enjoyed soup, Schnitzel, and then an assortment of desserts. To finish off Christmas day, Hermann, Julia, Carla, Hermann (Jr.) and I went to Heinrich's. The Max was having a Christmas party so Hermann and I went with some of his friends. They were all really nice and I had a lot of fun. In continuation of the Christmas festivities, on the 26th we drove to Hamburg to celebrate with Julia's family. We had the classically delicious German dinner of goose, red cabbage, potato dumplings(?), brussels sprouts, and gravy. The next day I accompanied Hermann and Hermann to Hamburg for some after-Christmas shopping. Directly after returning from our excursion I headed off with Julia, her sister Betina, and her three children. ( I'm not even going to attempt to spell their names, I know I would get them completely wrong. I'm not even sure if I spelled Julia's sister's name correctly.) We went to the movie theater and saw Der Medicus (The Physician). I can proudly state that I can understand movies in German. Of course I don't understand every single word, but I understand enough to follow everything going on in the movie. If you haven't seen this movie, I would seriously recommend it. We drove back to Flensburg that night after a bit of confusion about Kate's arrival date.
KATE!!!!
On the 29th Hermann and I drove to Hamburg to pick up Kate. She flew to Germany as an unaccompanied minor, so I was allowed to meet her at her gate. Her flight, however, arrived early and I didn't want to take the chance of missing her so we waited at baggage claim. Unfortunately there were a bunch of tall people standing in front of me and I missed Kate coming out of the exit. Luckily she found me and surprised me by covering my eyes with her hands. I felt so official when the flight attendant handed me all of Kate's documents because I was her over-18 guardian. WE drove back to Flensburg and she met my second host family and then took a two hour nap. On the 31st we traveled to the island Föhr to spend New Years with my first host family - Lorenz, Antje, Yoreme, Greta, Lily and Finn (Yoreme's boyfriend).
Frohes neues Jahr!!!!
Kate and I celebrated New Years with a delicious dinner, fireworks, and of course the cup song. We went to the beach to set off some small fireworks and firecrackers except it was too windy so we ended up setting them off in the parking lot. Antje prepared a delicious meal for us and of course, I overate. Kate, Greta and I went out into the street and set off firecrackers as the year changed from 2013 to 2014. We honored the new year with a performance of the Cup Song.
I wanted Kate to meet as many of my friends as possible. On her last day here we got together with almost all of my friends here and she got to meet them, and they got to meet her. Now whenever we speak she'll know the people I'm talking about. On the 3rd Kate flew back to Minnesota and I took pictures and videos until I couldn't see her plane anymore.
It was completely amazing to have Kate here, even for only four days. It was a whirlwind, but I hope she had fun here. I'll see you again in six months Kate!!
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