Erntedankfest

I hope everyone at home is having a wonderful Thanksgiving (as well as Black Friday tomorrow)!  So yes, I did have school this Thursday and Friday.  Germany has the celebration of Erntedankfest in Autumn, which is like our Thanksgiving. 

Two weeks ago, the 11th and 12th grade took a 2-night field trip to the city of Wuppertal (about a half-hour away from my town, Hilden).  For this year, 11th and 12th grades are combined into a single class because the 13th grade will be eliminated in two years.  In other words, they'll be graduating at the same time.  The purpose of this outing was to be a bonding experience to get to know everybody.  It was nice for me--this was a convenient way for me to get to know others. 

This past weekend, I visited my first host-family from Geilenkirchen (same province, North Rhine-Westphalia) and went to the Weinachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) in the city of Aachen.  Traditional German specialties include Glueh Wein ("glow wine" in English), nutcrackers, Gooses, and many other types of meat.  It was nice to see them again, especially during the wintery, snowy Christmas season. 

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

The sign reads, "Aachen Weinachtsmarkt."

Happy Halloween!

It's nice to settle in to a fun weekend since I'm still thinking about our vacation from the week prior.  I'm happy that Germany as well as the rest of Europe knows about the USA's Halloween!  Most people celebrate it and it's becoming more popular.  The same goes for the Trick-or-Treating aspect of it.  What Germany does that we don't do is in November on Saint Martin's Day.  On November 6th, children go door-to-door with special lanterns and bags and sing Saint Martin's Day songs.  Each house gives candy to them after they sing (typically kids in grades kindergarten - 4th).

Unser Haus                                                                

It was nice to have the Monday, November 1st off, in observance of All Saints Day; especially after  Halloween.  The next big break I have is for Christmas, and I'm in school until Christmas Eve.  December 23rd is our last day of school, and we go back on January 10th.