The Great Pumpkin Pie Adventure

For the last three months, my host mom and i have have been eagerly talking about and planning the little bit of American culture I had planned on sharing Thursday, November 24th--Thanksgiving! I'd compiled my recipes and decided on what dishes to prepare and which weren't even worth making in a house of picky eaters, and I'd even figured out where to get my turkey. Well, unlike in America, that third week in November is not reserved solely for a great turkey feast and as the day drew closer, more and more things were added to the week's schedule.

By the time Thanksgiving week arrived, it was quite obvious that to try and commit to a Thanksgiving dinner despite the chaotic schedules would only assure stress and disappointment. So, determined to not let Thanksgiving pass unnoticed, Mama and I took it upon ourselves to make an American pumpkin pie! Now, before you roll your eyes at the simplicity of our little task, let me tell you that in Germany, canned pumpkin doesn't exist and because baked goods are the pride of German cuisine, store bought pie crusts are a foreign concept.

 
That being said, we hauled the pumpkin upstairs and sat him on the kitchen counter...if only he knew what a noble cause he would be serving :-) I was disappointed that I wasn't able to help with the beginning on the task as I had school--yes, on Thanksgiving--but I left the recipe and instructions with Mama and hurried home after school. The pumpkin was baked, but I took up the task of scooping the flesh from the skin and blending the pumpkin into a bowl of orange goo. I'll admit it didn't look so appetizing :-)

Mama wanted a picture of me with my mess

A beautiful crust is hard enough with a regular pie pan!

At one point I look around the kitchen to find pumpkin everywhere! In a good way though :-) I helped with what I could but at 4:00 had to leave for over and hour to be briefed on my upcoming babysitting job. I returned home ready to start the crust and get that sucker in the oven! But Mama beat me to it and in the oven was a perfectly American pumpkin pie baking on a perfectly Swiss pie crust. We called it our Swerican pumpkin pie. :-)

An hour later--we crossed out fingers and pulled him out of the oven--SUCCESS! The pumpkin flavor was even better than I'd remembered and the Swiss crust wasn't too different from what I was used to and definitely added a memorable touch to our little adventure. Mama was nervous it was going to be nothing like what I was used to, but I assured her that it was even better :-)

Now came the most difficult part of our task--convincing those that this creamy orange mess of sugar and a vegetable was actually worth trying. The adults reluctantly tried it to be polite and the response was the same among all, "wow, it's better than I thought." Only one of my siblings, Christian, was willing to try it, and not because he's the best eater, but because he has the biggest heart. It was very sweet and he actually said he liked it and wanted more :-)

The next day I made a second pumpkin pie and we stuck the remaining pumpkin in the freezer. Mama said she liked it but not for every week. I assured her it wasn't every week that Americans ate it but that sometime around December 25th I might just need to pull a little bit of that pumpkin out the freezer :-)

Why I'm so Thankful

Okay, I intended to post this on Thursday as a little "count your blessings" post from Germany. But, as you may have noticed, I didn't post on Thursday, Friday, or yesterday. So just pretend for a minute you're reading this on Thanksgiving day as that is when the idea came to me and i began mentally composing this post :-)

On Thanksgiving week, there are so many opportunities for me to dwell on things I'm missing and it's quite tempting to began longing for the familiar traditions and culture that make the American holiday so special every year. I'll even admit to forcing back tears as I day dreamed through classes that I couldn't understand on Wednesday while the majority of my American friends began their five day weekend. But then it struck me--I'm going to be in Germany for Thanksgiving. I'm not going to get a turkey and the family I'm surrounded by is one of German culture--not American. So, why not focus on the many blessings I've been endlessly raving on and on about instead of the few things I'm missing?

So that's exactly what I did. As soon as I felt my mind start drifting off across the Atlantic, I'd pick up my pen, and began adding to my list of why i am so thankful. So let me share with you the joys in my life and the reasons I am so thankful to be exactly where I am--even if that is Germany on Thanksgiving. (I'm only posting about things in Germany so don't be offended, I'm thankful for you too!)

*A host family that has accepted me as their daughter. The love me and they scold me; they care for me and they tease me. I wouldn't trade them for anything.

* Evening cups of chai with Mama while sitting on the warm stone fireplace. Talking about the ups, the downs, and everything in between.

* Friends who are more than nice--who genuinely care.

* The fact that I'm four months into my exchange and the number of pounds I've gained has a little minus sign before it.

* That Mama and I share a love of healthy food

* That my host sister who plainly told me she didn't have any desire to host an exchange student, has finally decided I'm worth getting to know. :-)

* That my teachers at school are so understanding when it comes to my lack of understanding

The list goes on and there are many things that really have impacted my exchange for the better....but as I kept thinking, I realized how many itty bitty little things I had to be grateful for so I'll also share a bit of that humorous list with you as well!

* I found a comforter in the closet that is longer than me so I can sprawl out on my bed without freezing!

* I don't have to sit through, or find out how to occupy myself, during the Thanksgiving football games :-)

* My host family could care less how often I straighten my room.

* That I've developed enough motivation to actually straighten and clean my room on multiple occasions.

* I live in a place where bread consists of more than just air and chocolate labels read "made in heaven".

* I have the excuse "I'm an exchange student" that can be used in nearly every situation.

* My German is finally good enough to know when people are talking about me.

* German teachers don't hand out tardies the way teachers in the U.S. would

So there you have it. I could expand many of these short little sentences into complete blog posts...but in case you haven't noticed, I've not been the most faithful blogger in the last few weeks and am going to try to get back into my 2-3 posts a week before I take on anything that big :-)

Orange Action!

I'm beginning to think that I should make a list of all the fundraisers I've taken part in. It may or may not be impressive, but I have no doubt it would be amusing! Last week I participated in yet another to add to my unique little list--Orange Action!

My morning went something like this:

The annoying beeping from my nemesis, the alarm clock, began at 8:00 sharp. The sparkling house tops and frosty white yards out my window told me that this day was going to require more than just a sweatshirt. I glanced at the thermometer--25 degrees. I got dressed and went downstairs for a quick breakfast and ran back upstairs to quickly (and pointlessly) straighten my hair before we set out.

At 10:00 it was still well below freezing outside but with my sweater, jacket, scarf, gloves, boots, and enthusiasm, I left the house! Selina ( my 11 year old sister) and I were in the same crew along with five or six other girls. We arrived at our meeting point just a little late--careful not to ruin our reputation--and were briefed on exactly what our morning of "orange action" involved. 

A giant wagon of oranges was pulled up and down the streets of Gomaringen as the girls ran up to every door trying to sell oranges--50 cents each. :-) I remained loyal to the wagon with the two other older girls and we bagged bag after bag of oranges as the girls continued to sell them at a rate that shocked me! It seemed like every house they went to purchased at least a few oranges but many bought 10, 15, or even 20! I was told that the fundraiser for "Mully's Children Home" in Kenya is very well known and supported in the community but I was still quite impressed.

Once noses started running and growing more and more numb, we paused for half an hour at the house of my friend, Hanna, who's mom was awaiting our arrival with cookies, Christmas music, and lots of hot punch! We hit the road again, after gaining a bit more energy, and sold the last of our third wagon load just before 1:00pm. Less than three hours and a total of over 300 Euros. We were proud, we were cold, and were ready to head home :-)

It started with a bike crash on Monday. Honestly--there usually isn't a car parked right there as I come tearing out of the driveway, but in an attempt to avoid a collision, I turned quickly and with a little too much speed but it was just a little too sharp. Next thing you know I'm laying on the ground with my bike. As if that wasn't embarrassing enough, that parked car I told you about--my neighbors were getting into it. Invisibility would have been so wonderful about then. I got up and took off again, only then realizing the tear in the knee of my Levis and I was half way to school before I realized my finger was bleeding. But although this wasn't exactly the way I'd planned on starting my week, I didn't let it faze me.

On Tuesday my bike ride to school went wonderfully and without incident. I got to school, parked, and went inside for classes. Around 4 o'clock, I was finally done with school and ready to come home. I hopped on my bike...but something wasn't right. I looked down and noticed that I had no air in my front tire. Even without the pressure of sitting on the bike, the tire was completely flat. I'm no genius, but I'm pretty sure tires don't usually go from perfect condition to perfectly flat by sitting in a parking lot. But I made it home and although one man who drove by rolled down his window and yelled "You have a flat tire" I didn't have any major problems getting the bike home.

Because I had no bike, Wednesday, I took the bus. I don't have to get up any earlier and the bus is warm and dry--but also very crowded so I usually go by bike. Once at school, I saw that my English class was cancelled for that day! For me, that meant as soon as I was done with my German class at 10:35, I got to go home. Once done with school, I went to go wait for the bus but saw it didn't come for another hour :( I decided, since it was such I nice day, I'd just walk the mile and a half home. So I did and I had a great walk. I got home and the door was locked. I rang the doorbell....twice. I looked in the windows but saw no movement. With not many options to choose from, I sat down outside the door and pulled out my journal which I was very glad I happened to have on hand. About half an hour later, Mama and Papa returned and let me into the warm and welcoming house!

Thursday I had my first geography test and I might have even gotten ten whole points!!! That sounds so much better when you don't mention the total number of possible point...something like 40...maybe 45. First I had to read and try to understand what the question was asking. I understood maybe half. Then I had to try and figure out the answers from what little I could recall from past Geography lessons and my little bit of studying. School in German is not my cup of tea. At least my teacher is great :)

So, I will admit this probably one of the more entertaining weeks I've had, but I'm happy to say these little frustrations were nothing more than funny little bumps along the road and didn't get under my skin. Now its Monday again. I wonder what will happen this week...

A Circle Of Friends

As those of you who've been in close contact with me have heard dozens of times, I am so surprised and overwhelmingly blessed by how welcoming, encouraging, and accepting my peers have been. Specifically my 11th grade class in which I feel like the girls have warmly welcomed me into their circles.

Most got to know who I was quite quickly between my always being lost or late and I've probably asked the majority where a classroom, bathroom, bus, or teacher was at some point. But to my delight and relief, I've never even seen a hint of annoyance at this helpless American and her questions :-) Now that I've been in school a while, I finally know who are the people are that added me on facebook two months ago and my language skills are finally allowing me to participate in conversations!!!! (A very exciting achievement I'll have you know)

I've also joined a Christian girls group that meets every Wednesday night. The group has about 15 girls on a full night and each night has a theme that I've found to be quite creative and always fun. :-)

Germany's Next Top Model night included a wardrobe exchange!

Germany's Next Top Model! Well, that was the theme and everyone was asked to bring at least two pieces of old clothing they didn't want --we ended up with sweaters, sweatshirts, jeans, scarves, and anything else you can think of. Unlike everyone else though, I didn't have 5 years of clothes just sitting in my closet as I did a wonderful job of packing lightly when I came, but it worked out and once all the clothes were displayed, the hounds were set loose to find something in the pile we wanted. I ended up with a pretty blue scarf :-) Afterwords, we talked about how beauty isn't everything.

Me and my AMAZING friend, Eva <3



Eva was one of two friends "assigned" by my dear Mama, to help me on my first day of school. Well, her assignment lasted far longer than one day, but now we hang out as friends and Eva is no longer my babysitter ;-) We have nearly every class at school together, go to the same church, play handball together, and also attend girls group so I'd say I've gotten to know her fairly well in the last two months and really come to love her :-)

The Fast and the Furious! ...We couldn't stop laughing!

I missunderstood the instructions for this night, and therefore am in shorts instead of jeans but it was in September and I didn't get too cold :-) We arrived as usual and then loaded up and went out into the middle of the woods to play what I'm used to calling "night cames". My legs came out of those woods a little scratched up and I had to go fishing in mud that was at least a foot deep for the flip flop it stole from me but not without having a blast! The evening turned out to be a lot of fun and after our "fast and furious" game, we sat down and talked with candlelight.

My awesome leaders, Anne and Francie--Africa night!

Set to a Jeopardy style gameboard, Africa night included tons of trivia regarding African food, geography, animals, and a few random topics. My team decided they loved the "action" category rather than the actual trivia so we ended up crushing walnuts by hand and drinking over a liter of water each--all to a timer of course :-) It was one of my favorite nights with a discussion I could barely follow on challenges women face in Africa.

We have always have lots of laughs and lots of fun :-)

And that picture is what I'll leave you with. A great representation the laughs and smiles that I've come to know and love so much in the last months. I'm really exciting to get to know my friends better as the language barrier slowly begans to decrease.

Thoughts I've Held Onto

So, when I was in Oman on exchange two years ago, my mom found this beautiful travel journal that had daily quotes as well as Bible verses. The journal was so cool, that she bought it for me with the intention of mailing it...well, we all know how that goes so let's not hold it against her ;-)

 Fast forward two years and I'm at it again--traveling that it :-) However, earlier this year...in February I think...I decided to start journaling again. I've filled up two journals since then and am now putting that beautiful travel journal to very good use. So, it actually worked out better that I have it with me now rather than in Oman where I'm sure I would've tried to journal faithfully and undoubtedly failed :-)

The quotes and Bible verses sometimes make my day as they are often encouraging, comforting, and often offer a little motivation which is always nice :-) So, since the majority of my reading audience are also travel junkies, I thought I'd share with you my ten favorites in no particular order :-)

1. Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail--T. S. Eliot

2. I am guiding you in the way of wisdom and I am leading you on the right path--Proverbs 4:11

3. There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is in having lots to do and not doing it--Mary Wilson Little

4. God will not send us out on any journey for which He does not equip us well.--Alexander Maclaren

5. Our days are identical suitcases--all the same size--but some people can pack more into them than others--Bits & Pieces

6.Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.--Proverbs 3:5-6

7. When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money--Susan Heller

8. At every crossroad, follow your dream. It is courageous to let your heart lead the way.--Thomas Leland

9. In the long run, the pessimist may be proved to be right, but the optimist has a better time on the trip--Daniel L. Reardon

10. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,--Hebrews 11:1

My Life in a German Gymnasium

Well, I'm now 8 weeks into the school year! Maybe I say this in every post, but time really is flying by!! Now that I've gotten into a routine and learned most of the ropes, I thought I'd share with you a little bit more about German school because as I learned quite quickly, it's very different from a high school in the U.S. :-)

First, for those of you who are interested and missed my first post about school, here's the link http://juliannesjourneys.blogspot.com/2011/09/guess-what-i-survived-my-first-week-of.html I also have my schedule posted there :-)

Well, where do I start? I guess I should mention with pride, that I haven't gotten lost in weeks now. Although I'm anything but self sufficient, it does feel good to not need a babysitter in between classes ;-) I've learned that although I'm taking Chemistry, Geography, History, and many others....those are all just code names for what the classes really are--German! German, German, German--everywhere and all the time I'm constantly hearing to words and trying to absorb as much as I can and I think I might even be learning a little :-) I've also discovered which teachers I like--and which teachers frustrate the--you know, I'm not even gonna go there :-)

I do have two favorite teachers though. One is my Geography teacher who is constantly making the class laugh with his over-enthusiasm and determination to help us not learn, but understand. He's the kind of teacher that really seems passionate about what he's teaching, and therefore the majority of the class (which is only 9 people) can handle listening to him teach. I personally appreciate his abundance of hands on examples--whether using books, chairs, desks, rocks or whatever else he can get his hands on, seeing what he's saying makes understanding a million times easier! From what German I could understand, he even got himself scolded once for bringing the class, who couldn't stop yawning, coffee from the teacher's lounge. :-)

Using two buckets, a desk, and some rocks, he showed us how different forces of water are capable of moving different sized stones :-)

Although I still only understand about 25% of the advanced vocabulary in my history class, I am happy that I have a wonderful teacher. Actually, he just happens to also be an English teacher and on more than one occasion has happily translated an assignment, or even discussion, for me. Right now, the class is studying early American history and I've enjoyed being able to offer my two cents and even reading excerpts from different documents like the Declaration of Independence. A few weeks ago, he'd started talking about how beautiful the American passport is and asked me if I could bring mine one day. When I did, he took it up to the front of the class, showed off what he found to be it's most impressive features, then passed it around the classroom! I was feeling pretty patriotic about then :-)



The class admiring my passport :-)

 As far as the system of school itself--hang on don't stop reading! I promise it won't get too boring :-) the differences are huge and more than I care to list (and you care to read) in one blog post. One of the biggest differences though, is Substitute teachers--or lack thereof. This just happens to be one of the differences I quite enjoy, actually. :-) When a teacher is sick, on vacation, or whatever the case may be, the class is simply canceled for that day and the students have a free period. This is fairly common and I usually get at least one unexpected free period a week. There is a big electronic board in the main part of the school that keeps track of what classes are cancelled and there is always a hopeful crowd gathered around it. Usually you can even hear disappointed groans as well and excited cheers.

One other difference I'll mention isn't one I love nearly as much. I knew coming here that school sports and school spirit are very American but experiencing difference for myself occasionally causes me to miss the halls of CHS decked out in red every Friday before the big game or the giant crowds that rooted on our girls to the state basketball tournament last year. In Germany, school is solely academic--which makes sense but isn't quite as fun :-) I guess I'm lucky to have been able to experience the best of both worlds. ;-P

Well, with posts about this size, hopefully by the end of the year I will be able to cover the main differences but for now I'll leave you with these few and a bit more of an idea of what my life is like at a German Gymnasium :-)

Rock Without Limits!

What's better than a two day Christian rock festival? Let me tell you :-) Germany's biggest Christian rock festival--and not only going, but getting in free as a helper and then finding out the festival was over-staffed. Since I was left with nothing to do, I had no other option but to sit there and watch concerts of bands from Germany, Finland, and the U.S.A. :-)

It was so much fun in so many ways! Several bands I'm familiar with in the states--including Thousand Foot Krutch, Everyday Sunday, and Paul Coleman--were there as well as a few I'd never heard of but thoroughly enjoyed. The festival was set up in three different venues--main stage, which was usually more of the pop/rock and the more famous bands, "the tent", which was the heavy metal that I usually avoided, and "the loft", which was smaller and usually bands or individuals with just a guitar or keyboard.

One of the highlights for me was listening to Paul Coleman and Steve Savage (from Nashville) in the loft. Their music was great...but what I enjoyed even more than their music was their humor. Both spoke soley in English and several times made jokes that the majority of German speakers in the room didn't understand. For me, the awkward silence where laughter is supposed to erupt made the jokes ten times as funny! Then, Steve Savage began cracking jokes about Americans and I just about died :-)

I had another memorable experience on the last night when the band that everyone was waiting for came out--Thousand Foot Krutch. The entire area designed for people to stand was packed as, were the bleachers behind, so I'm guess a total of 1000-1500 people were there. Of course, I squeezed my way right up to the front but I didn't exactly realize what I'd committed myself to by doing that. Within minutes the people behind those of us in the front had packed us in so tight that there was little room for any movement. Then all the big guys around me got all sweaty...I'll just say I'm glad that as the crowd surfers made their way up, I was able to secure a spot in the very front where a little fresh air could get to me!

I'm so glad that I was able to "help" because I really had a great time :-) something i didn't mention was that in addition to tons of fun music, I was able to hang out with some of my best friends in Germany <3 It really was a great weekend and a wonderful start to my week of fall vacation which you'll hear more about soon.

From Apples to Pears

Those of you faithful followers out there may remember my post several months back talking about apples and the crazy amount my family has. Well, have no fear, the hundreds of pounds of apples aren't sitting in a lonely shed somewhere--most were sold to make apple juice :-) But I'm getting off topic. Apple season is over. My first thought was that meant no more Saturday mornings spent bent over for hours gathering fruit--HA! I was quite wrong. Saturday morning, we put on our sweatshirts and grubby boots and headed out to gather--pears!


Those aren't leaves on the ground!




This one tree took us over an hour!

The job really isn't that bad although apples are easier than pears who like to hide among fallen tree leaves. I would actually imagine I'm somewhat entertaining to watch as I create an interesting variety of positions to kneel, squat, sit, and bend over in to try and avoid being to sore later on. However, try as I might, two hours of gathering pears off the ground amounts to an unavoidable amount of bending over and I can always tell on Sunday morning whether Saturday was spend gathering or not:-)

 

Unlike the warmer apple season, it is downright cold out most mornings! Although this isn't always pleasant as we begin gathering, I personally find it fun to find the pears the sun hasn't gotten to yet--the ones that have a shimmering frosty coat left over from a night that dipped below freezing.

Hopefully this post wasn't too boring :-) Pears may not seem that exciting....and don't worry, I haven't gone completely mad and am not arguing that my weekly pear gathering expeditions are the most exciting aspect of my exchange...but its definitely something I'll remember and definitely something new that I hope you have enjoyed hearing a little about :-)

Sweet Dreams

Let me start by apologizing for falling so far behind on my blog! Although the last 10 days have been extremely fun, they have also been packed full--giving me plenty to blog about but no time create a post! But now it's ferien, and with no school in the morning, I'm perfectly content with spending a while updating all of you on my German life :-)

So, one day last week, Mama and Papa ran to the store and took longer than expected--which really shouldn't come as a surprise anymore, but anyway, dinner is usually served between 7:00 and 7:30 so when 8:00 rolled around and the kids eyes began to grow heavy, I heated up left over spaghetti.

By the time the table was set and the spaghetti ready, Mama and Papa had returned and before long we were seated at the table...but not all of us. The two youngest--Samuel and Jonathon--had become so tired that they'd forgotten all about their hunger and curled up on the coach.They were fast asleep.

 Once we had finished eating, Papa picked up Jonathon and I took Sami :-) We carried them to bed and Mama commented that Sami looked dead, not asleep, as he didn't even stir as I carried him to his room. The two were soon under their covers and unaware of any change. However, for me, that was probably the cutest thing I have seen in a long time and thankfully my camera was nearby and Mama captured the precious moment so that now, I can share it with you :-)