Three Thanksgivings

Tonight I embark on what will be three Thanksgivings in four days...the irony. In the US I usually only have one, but here I am in a foreign country about to have three times that many. Bring on the turkey!

Why such a superfluity? Tonight is the American Thanksgiving party for us Austauschers at the Uni Erfurt. Tomorrow I travel to Mainz to see my friend Chrissy and have some InWent-sponsored festing on Thursday in Frankfurt. And Friday I will at long last reunite with the Bremenites in Dortmund for yet another feast. Count em.

In other life news, yesterday it started snowing like...cats and dogs? (Northern people you need to help me with snow metaphors: I'm gonna need lots more.) The snow started coming down while I was in German class yesterday, and despite my teacher's attempts to claim that what we were seeing was not richtig snow, all eyes were glued to the windows. I'm still in the honeymoon period with snow, so I'm hoping it keeps on falling, bringing my visions of what a "winter wonderland" is to life.

I've signed up to volunteer Mondays and Tuesdays at a nursing home in the area. I go and sit with the residents during their afternoon activity. Yesterday was my first day, and when I arrived with freezing hands one of the ladies there took my hands and very nicely rubbed her hands over mine to warm them. That really struck me. I love working with kids, but it's an entirely different experience to spend time with people at the other end of life. I really think I will enjoy continuing to visit.

My time in Erfurt has been short recently with all traveling about and such, and tomorrow I yet again venture away. I won't be back for quite a while, because after Dortmund I will be in Bonn for a week for the Model United Nations conference. I'm curious to see what it will all be about - the MUN we SJA girls attended in high school was so unlegit our teacher wouldn't let us go back - but this one seems to be more so. There will be students in Bonn for all around the world, and we'll be simulating for five full days (hopefully five interesting days). I really need to learn more about Lithuania...

The conference is conducted completely in English, so my German is about to take another hit. I find that anytime I travel away for a bit it takes me a couple days to get comfortable speaking the lovely German sprache again...it is always so nice to take a break though, and to speak to people with complete mutual understanding.

Speaking of, update on last weekend's wunderschön trip to Prague to come shortly...