DAAD and Thanksgiving

(Proving my application arrived in New York)

I applied for the DAAD this month, a scholarship to do my Masters in Germany starting next year. They would pay for EVERYTHING. Cross your fingers or press your thumbs (drück mir die Daumen), whatever you think is going to help. At least wish me luck!

And Thanksgiving was great! I made a pie! My first pie ever.

And then....!!!





I used this recipe for the crust and this recipe for the filling...

And that was a really good idea because I then didn't have to worry about conversions or not being able to find American products. I think it turned out pretty well! This was just another way way my German has helped create something wonderful.

And then some people ate it at my apartment among other things.

And I also went to Chemnitz with the Sagerts (I'll be calling them my German family from now on). We went to a Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market). Also great! And also more or less where I'll be for the next month (although not in Chemnitz)....(I mean at a Christmas market).
Christmas markets are amazing, there is no better way to prepare for Christmas. Since the middle of November Berlin as well as, I'll assume, most German cities, if not all, have been littered with Glühwein (warm wine with spices) and gebrannte Mandeln (roasted almonds) and Lebkuchen (gingerbread) and wooden toys and Räuchermännchen (figures that you put little triangle candle like things into that then smoke up through what is normally the mouth of a guy or girl) and so on and so forth. This is...I pretty sure...my favorite thing about Germany and I'm so happy to be here for it again.

And I got the present of meat from Frank, Father Sagert.



Germany's great.

I am, however, getting pretty bad Heimweh (homesickness) this year. When I was here for 10 months from 2007-2008 I don't remember having really any Heimweh at all. Maybe it's just not knowing when I'll be home again or what I'll be doing next year. Will I see my family in a year? 2 years? 3? 3???!!!! That would be far too many. 1 year is kind of pushing it.

They're doing a Christmas concert at the R.Fox elementary school and they were practicing yesterday. I teared up at "Swing low, sweet chariot" because of how many times they sung "home." I wondered why they're singing a song that was sung by slaves who wanted to die and be brought back "home" (read: to heaven) for a Christmas concert, but to each his own.

What's important, though, is that as an American I can now, with good conscience, start celebrating Christmas (now that Thanksgiving is over).

Übrigens, three Germans mentioned Black Friday to me when I mentioned Thanksgiving, but they didn't know why we celebrated Thanksgiving or what we did on this day. Hm.
(Disclaimer: I mean nothing bad about Germans with this, it's just..interesting)