Before I recount Christmas and New Year's in calender form (may be a long-winded read), I'd like to preamble this post with the two dominant thoughts than ran through my head leading up to the break. They are very intertwined. The first is the following quote, and the second is the feeling of appreciation that comes right after:
A man travels in search of what he needs
and returns home to find it.
-George Moore
I am immensely thankful to have found a home during my travels, if one can call 2 going on 4 years in a foreign city 'travel.' Gratefulness characterized the start to Christmas for me and it is present at the end; it belongs in the beginning of this post, the body of it, and in the last words as well. With that in mind, here is my day by day account of Christmas and New Year's, just as much for my memory's sake as for the reader's pleasure.
Marina and I arrived at her home on Sunday, the 23rd, a day and a half before the Christmas celebration, which takes place on the evening of the 24th in Germany as opposed to the morning of the 25th. This Christmas will remain strong in my memory for many reasons, among others because it is the first Christmas I have spent in a family home in four years, and because it is the only Christmas I have had that involves the presentation of a full hand-written menu of the three and four course meals to be served for the duration of the holidays. Cooking preparations began full throttle on the 21st and continued without relent until dinner on the 24th. That's four days of cooking! They pursued thereafter as well, of course, but the bulk of the work had been done, leaving room for afternoon hikes and naps.
I spent the 24th crafting and packing gifts. In the evening we went to a service that resembled an undefined shade of mediocrity, but it was still a very pleasant experience. I enjoyed walking around the still city at midnight. I felt a peaceful appreciation for where I was and who I was with. Back at the house everyone fell asleep, postponing the gift opening to the 25th for the first time in household history. My American Influence seems to be stronger than I realized. Very good, very good...
The 25th set the blueprint pattern for most the vacation days; sleep in late, eat, go for a hike, relax, eat dinner, sit in front of the wood stove, enjoy each others company. Somewhere in the mix we opened gifts as well. (J'ai decouvert, que je suis un poisson!)
On the 26th we trained and bused to Marina's family in Switzerland in a small town somewhat near Lucerne. The day here also revolved around eating and hiking. We also listened to comedian records from a couple generations back, which spawned laughter from all present but for various reasons. Here is a picture from our walk that day.
Marina and I arrived at her home on Sunday, the 23rd, a day and a half before the Christmas celebration, which takes place on the evening of the 24th in Germany as opposed to the morning of the 25th. This Christmas will remain strong in my memory for many reasons, among others because it is the first Christmas I have spent in a family home in four years, and because it is the only Christmas I have had that involves the presentation of a full hand-written menu of the three and four course meals to be served for the duration of the holidays. Cooking preparations began full throttle on the 21st and continued without relent until dinner on the 24th. That's four days of cooking! They pursued thereafter as well, of course, but the bulk of the work had been done, leaving room for afternoon hikes and naps.
I spent the 24th crafting and packing gifts. In the evening we went to a service that resembled an undefined shade of mediocrity, but it was still a very pleasant experience. I enjoyed walking around the still city at midnight. I felt a peaceful appreciation for where I was and who I was with. Back at the house everyone fell asleep, postponing the gift opening to the 25th for the first time in household history. My American Influence seems to be stronger than I realized. Very good, very good...
The 25th set the blueprint pattern for most the vacation days; sleep in late, eat, go for a hike, relax, eat dinner, sit in front of the wood stove, enjoy each others company. Somewhere in the mix we opened gifts as well. (J'ai decouvert, que je suis un poisson!)
On the 26th we trained and bused to Marina's family in Switzerland in a small town somewhat near Lucerne. The day here also revolved around eating and hiking. We also listened to comedian records from a couple generations back, which spawned laughter from all present but for various reasons. Here is a picture from our walk that day.
On the next day, after sleep and food that knew nothing of diminishing returns, we played Dixit, the 2010 Game of the Year. The game works like this. Each player has a hand of six cards. All cards are different. Each card shows a fantastical, creativity-inspiring picture. On one's turn, one must choose a card from one's hand and give a prompt that corresponds to the card. This can be a word, a book title, a song, an idiom, as one wishes. The playing field is open. Then, each of the other players has to choose the card from their hand that they believe best correlates. They give their cards to the prompter, who mixes them all together (including his/hers) and lays them out for all to see. The players must then try to identify which card was the 'original.' Very fun. What's cool about this game is that you can create your own pictures, and that's really all you need to play. There were six of us playing at Marina's and I somehow managed to come in seventh. Perhaps my imagination was too complex for my adversaries.
On the 28th we took a mini bike-foot-combo tour up to Lörrach's castle ruins. I seem to have forgotten when they were built, sometime in the mid 15th century I believe. I do however remember the new word that I learned at the castle! 'Heraufziehend' in the sense of 'heraufziehendes Wetter.' 'Herauf' means up/upwards and 'ziehen' is to pull or draw. 'Heraufziehendes Wetter' is 'looming/gathering/worsening/(your own creative and appropriate English word...translation isn't black-and-white) weather.'
On the following morning we bid farewell to the house and family and returned to Freiburg. Just moments after we arrived Anja appeared and the reunion jubilee continued. In Freiburg we 'enjoyed,' although I was somewhat disconcerted, spring-like warmth and sunshine and took a mini-hike up Schlossberg.
Tomfoolery.
Holiday cooking moved forward with spreads, pumpkin bread, salads and casserole. After spiking their drinks so as to manipulate their will, I taught Anja and Marina how to play hearts! They are now, theoretically, prepared for any Morris Family reunion.
An evening of casual reading ensued.
On New Year's Eve Eve we spent 4+ hours in the climbing gym. We also spoke English, which was refreshing.
The 31st of December commenced with the five hour regional train network extravaganza leaving Germany and entering Bavaria, taking us (almost) to Anja's homeland. The train, unfortunately, doesn't take us all that close to Anja's home. Last time I visited Anja, we hiked the remaining 22 kilometers. This time Anja hitchhiked to her car, which was magically parked somewhere in the vicinity, swung back to pick us up, and drove us to her home.
After a raclette dinner, we- a friendly group of Anja's school friends and us from Freiburg- celebrated the New Year, in stark contrast to last year, in safety. On January 1st of 2012, I decided that I would spend this New Year's Eve as far away as possible from any significant concentration of German Volk, who bring in the year by setting off fireworks with such disregard for location and nearness-of-people that the newspapers biggest task the next day is tallying how many people lost thumbs and/or eyes. This year, we drank our champagne peacefully standing in a vast and unsettled field, watching distant skies faintly light, flash, and boom.
Back in the coziness of Anja's house we played Expression, also a game worth explaining because it is so easy to set up and play. A pile of index cards. On each card, one adjective (embarrassed, upset, happy, bored, annoyed, overjoyed, awkward, quirky, etc). Nine cards are taken from the pile and placed face up on the table. A player rolls a die for his/her own eyes only, and takes note of which adjective matches the die's number. He/she then takes a card from a second pile, which contains sentences/idioms (if such a pile is not available, he/she can also take a book and select a sentence). The player must then read that sentence with the given emotion. All other players have four chips or pieces of paper with the numbers one through four written on them. One is unsure, four is very confident. The players choose a number, based on confidence, and place it on the emotion that they think is correct. The 'actor' receives a point for every chip that is correctly placed. The 'guessers' receive however many points, positive and negative, that they bid. If I lay a four on the correct emotion, I get four points. If I lay a three on an incorrect emotion, I lose three points. During this game I learned the word 'eingeschnappt' which very literally means 'snapped in' but actually means 'sulky.'
So it goes.
On the 1st we relaxed. We had a nice breakfast, watched fish in a little garden pond (they were friendly fish. Or just very hungry. We put our fingers in the water and they sucked (nuckeln) at them.), took naps, and walked the neighboring fields. We went to a small stone quarry and I felt like we were in Garden State (the movie, not New Jersey). In the evening we created and played an English version of Expression. We read from Nick Hornby's Slam.
The next morning, after an old-fashioned adieu at the station with Anja running after the train, Marina and I headed back to Freiburg. We spent the next couple days in the same fashion as the last two weeks; sleeping, eating, going on mini hikes. We made soups, nutty and fruity salads, and stuffed baked-pumpkins. We watched Children of Men and walked around the Schönberg.
On Friday Marina was off and those academic loose ends on my desk puffed out their chests in hopes of being noticed. Tomorrow kicks-off the last six weeks of winter semester before the 'break,' when the work actually begins. I'm feeling refreshed and enthused. The break was a nonstop round of family, friends, love and gratefulness. It was a vacation that has given me a lasting and sustainable strength.
My New Year's Resolution is to work on my posture and relax; no hiked shoulders, clenched jaws or permanently scrunched foreheads. The break did so much good for my mental and physical health. I am grateful for these things and would like to carry them on; eating sufficiently and well, sharing kindness and interest with others, and interacting with people and time with peacefulness, precision, and patience.
A happy, healthy, loving start to the New Year, and, as they kind of say in French,
An affectionate embrace to you all,
Ben.
Holiday cooking moved forward with spreads, pumpkin bread, salads and casserole. After spiking their drinks so as to manipulate their will, I taught Anja and Marina how to play hearts! They are now, theoretically, prepared for any Morris Family reunion.
An evening of casual reading ensued.
On New Year's Eve Eve we spent 4+ hours in the climbing gym. We also spoke English, which was refreshing.
The 31st of December commenced with the five hour regional train network extravaganza leaving Germany and entering Bavaria, taking us (almost) to Anja's homeland. The train, unfortunately, doesn't take us all that close to Anja's home. Last time I visited Anja, we hiked the remaining 22 kilometers. This time Anja hitchhiked to her car, which was magically parked somewhere in the vicinity, swung back to pick us up, and drove us to her home.
After a raclette dinner, we- a friendly group of Anja's school friends and us from Freiburg- celebrated the New Year, in stark contrast to last year, in safety. On January 1st of 2012, I decided that I would spend this New Year's Eve as far away as possible from any significant concentration of German Volk, who bring in the year by setting off fireworks with such disregard for location and nearness-of-people that the newspapers biggest task the next day is tallying how many people lost thumbs and/or eyes. This year, we drank our champagne peacefully standing in a vast and unsettled field, watching distant skies faintly light, flash, and boom.
Back in the coziness of Anja's house we played Expression, also a game worth explaining because it is so easy to set up and play. A pile of index cards. On each card, one adjective (embarrassed, upset, happy, bored, annoyed, overjoyed, awkward, quirky, etc). Nine cards are taken from the pile and placed face up on the table. A player rolls a die for his/her own eyes only, and takes note of which adjective matches the die's number. He/she then takes a card from a second pile, which contains sentences/idioms (if such a pile is not available, he/she can also take a book and select a sentence). The player must then read that sentence with the given emotion. All other players have four chips or pieces of paper with the numbers one through four written on them. One is unsure, four is very confident. The players choose a number, based on confidence, and place it on the emotion that they think is correct. The 'actor' receives a point for every chip that is correctly placed. The 'guessers' receive however many points, positive and negative, that they bid. If I lay a four on the correct emotion, I get four points. If I lay a three on an incorrect emotion, I lose three points. During this game I learned the word 'eingeschnappt' which very literally means 'snapped in' but actually means 'sulky.'
So it goes.
On the 1st we relaxed. We had a nice breakfast, watched fish in a little garden pond (they were friendly fish. Or just very hungry. We put our fingers in the water and they sucked (nuckeln) at them.), took naps, and walked the neighboring fields. We went to a small stone quarry and I felt like we were in Garden State (the movie, not New Jersey). In the evening we created and played an English version of Expression. We read from Nick Hornby's Slam.
The next morning, after an old-fashioned adieu at the station with Anja running after the train, Marina and I headed back to Freiburg. We spent the next couple days in the same fashion as the last two weeks; sleeping, eating, going on mini hikes. We made soups, nutty and fruity salads, and stuffed baked-pumpkins. We watched Children of Men and walked around the Schönberg.
On Friday Marina was off and those academic loose ends on my desk puffed out their chests in hopes of being noticed. Tomorrow kicks-off the last six weeks of winter semester before the 'break,' when the work actually begins. I'm feeling refreshed and enthused. The break was a nonstop round of family, friends, love and gratefulness. It was a vacation that has given me a lasting and sustainable strength.
My New Year's Resolution is to work on my posture and relax; no hiked shoulders, clenched jaws or permanently scrunched foreheads. The break did so much good for my mental and physical health. I am grateful for these things and would like to carry them on; eating sufficiently and well, sharing kindness and interest with others, and interacting with people and time with peacefulness, precision, and patience.
A happy, healthy, loving start to the New Year, and, as they kind of say in French,
An affectionate embrace to you all,
Ben.
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