Last weekend was Thanksgiving in the USA, and instead of watching the Macy's day parade, eating a Turkey feast, and spending the weekend with my family in Massachusetts as usual for the holiday, I found myself in school, learning German, with other exchange students here in Switzerland…while it was definitely not a normal Thanksgiving, it was still a weekend to remember.
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| Ice Skating <3 |
Starting Wednesday I went over to Maggie (a fellow USA exchange students house) for a few hours afterschool. We basically just hung out, ate much food, and talked about our lifes. I had language school with her and we live only minutes apart, but as she is not in my class in the school I hardly ever see her. Then around 5 we left for basel to meet up with other exchange students to go ice skating!! It was my first time this yeah, so I knew I was going to be horrible, but I actually surprised myself and only fell once! It helped that I was skating with mostly kids from latin america and asia (who had never been on ice before). We skated at a museam in the city, and it was surrounded, but open to the sky. It had just snowed two days before, and it was absolutely gorgeous! I had a great time just goofing around, and making up silly games with the other kids. There was about 20 of us, and we took up most of the place. =) Afterwards I skyped my family, who was down in Massachusets for thanksgiving. It was great to see everyone, and I got a chance to share my german skills, by speaking with my cousin who has been learning it for years in school. It was funny to watch my parents faces as they understood none of what we were saying. While its always hard to finish the call (you never want to hang up!!) It was great to talk to everyone and see them.
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| You can see France! |
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| My Thanksgiving Dinner! |
On thursday, Thanksgiving day, I had German class which was cool because the only people you could really say "Happy Thanksgiving!" too, were other americans, so we had a great time screaming it at each other. Afterwards I headed to meet my Liason, and then we went to Germany!!! My first time in Germany!! We took the tram from basel, and then walked about 7 minutes to the border (A strange thing being able to walk to germany!) It was amazing, because as Basel is on the corner of Switzerland, there is a point before you cross out of switzerland, where to your left is France, and your right it Germany! We only went about 5 minutes in, but even there there was suttle differences, that even I could see. The bildings were different styles, and the road and street signs and colors were all different. We ended up in a mall like place, and after doing a little shopping (because even just inside, everything in Germany is much cheeper! I am going there next time I go shopping!!), we headed for dinner (food court style...but with better food then a normal foodcourt!). I tried Lemon Coke, which was reallly good, and had a Donnerkabab for my thanksgiving dinner. For dessert a McDonalds Mcflurry with Caramel sause. Not your usual tukey and pumpkin pie, but it was great. We spent over an hour just talking and sharing stories of the past few weeks/thanksgiving in the USA.
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| Front Gate |
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| View from Herbert's House |
Friday is one of my long school days (until 4:30) which stunk knowing that while I was in school, my family and friends were back home taking part in the crazy black friday shopping (My cousins even brought around a photo of me with them so that I could be there!) but it went by pretty quick. I went home and had delicious fondue (Very Very traditional swiss winter meal...although they do eat it sometimes in the summer. This was only my second time having it) for dinner with my host parents, before heading out to what is known as Turnerabend in Gelterkinden (the town next to mine), which is where a sports-hall puts on a night to showcase all the talents in their club. Every group preforms (sort of like a dance recital only with sports). I went with the girls from my sports club, and while the show wasnt that good (although some acts were amazing with what they could do, and the little kids under 5 were adorable!), I had a great time talking and laughing with them. I saw a lot of people I knew there, and it still amazed me all the people I knew in the area. After the show (which ended at about 11) we headed to a local bar and spent two hours just laughing, talking, and dancing the night away. It was a great night, and so different from nights in the USA where everything is closed past 8. I got home at about 1, and headed straight to bed as I still have school on Saturday mornings.
Saturday, after waking up way to early, and making it through school (only until 11:30), which honestly wasnt that bad, I headed to my host siblings dad's house (where I sleep everyother weekend). It was a relaxing afternoon of just hanging out by the fire. The snow had been coming down non-stop for the past few days, so it was beautiful! Around 4 I went sledding for the first time here with Rahel (host sister) and her best friend Patricia. We put on all the gear, and made our way through the downpour of snow to the field behind her house (which you can see from my house as the town sits in the valley, and the houses slop upwards onto the surrounding hill). Unlike in the USA, once the kids are past 10 or so, they start using the old fashioned styled traditional sleds. The kind made out of wood, and are used more for decorations in the USA. At first I was very confused, and worried they wouldnt hold, or we would break them, but as we started sledding down I realized how great they actually are (plus they look really cool!). The hill was pretty steep so we got going really fast which was great until you get to the bottom, where a nice cold river is flowing and you have to bail! We then took a break to take pictures with the falling snow, and drink some tea which they had brought with us. It was about dusk, and the lights from the town were reflected in the snow. It was absolutely beautiful! We then headed back to Patricia's house to warm up and drink some hot chocolate before heading home. As she lives also in Ormalingen, it was about a 5 minute walk. We then quickly changed before heading to a neighbors house for a neighbors dinner. I was at first very nervous, (lots of people I dont know, all speaking swiss german, etc..) But it turned out to be a lot of fun! Everyone was really nice, and the food was amazing. Lots of fresh cookies and such. Rahel and I stayed for about an hour and in that I found myself laughing a lot, and really enjoying myself! We then headed back to her moms house where we met up with Patricia again to watch a film. By now however its was about 9:30, and with school we were all very tired. We made it through about half of Pirate of the Carribien (at worlds end) before finally giving up on fighting sleep and heading back to her dads for the night.
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| Adventz Calender |
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| My Gritima! (left) |
Sunday was great as I got to sleep in late =). The snow was coming down, and it was the first sunday of Adventz. As usual we had Zopf for breakfast, and overall just relaxed for the morning/ early afternoon. A big difference here is on weekends (or sunday as we have school on saturday) we dont eat lunch. As everyone sleeps in breakfast is eaten together at about 11 or so, so no one is really hungry for lunch. At about 1:30 we got picked up by my host mom (Rahel and me) and headed to liestal for an AFS baking event. Grittibänz or Gratima (depending on the dialect) are traditional men made out of a very sweet bread made around december. They are normally covered in sugar or chocolate, and are very very good. (very similar to the USA tradition of Gingerbread men). So with our host parents left downstairs to talk, we headed to the kitchen to make our version of the Grittibänz...which basically involved very colorful decorations, strange shapes, and as much sugar as possible! As seen in the pictures, mine was pretty amazing. Even had chocolate boots! However after baking he...well was not as handsom. While the bread baked we played cards, talked, and just joked around. It is always an amazing time when the AFS kids get together!!! Hard to explain in words how fun it is. Once all was finished we headed back downstairs to enjoy the delicious meal and talk. With in about 20 minutes all the bread was gone, and our stomachs were stuffed. A great surprise of the day was my liason Caroline, who's family here in switzerland celebrates Thanksgiving every year after her returning from the USA (only on friday night as they all have school here) brought me a piece of her Pumpkin Pie from the celebration. It ment so much, and made my day! I ended up sharing it with my host siblings Father, and although he found it to be a little too sweet, he also said it was great.
In the end it was an amazing weekend here in Switzerland. I had had a very bad week before after hearing my Grandfather back in the states was in the hospital from a heart attack, however by Thanksgiving weekend he was doing much better. It was truely a miracle, and made the week that much more amazing. Turns out Thanksgiving in the USA was my 100th day here. Coincidence? I think not. Spending it with new friends, fellow exchange students and my host family was so perfect. While it in no way resembled my normal Thanksgiving in the USA, I had a fantastic time, and know it is a weekend I will never forget. Is truely one of those weeks you count your blessings, and for me this year that list was very long. Hope all your holidays go just as well whereever you are in the world, and Happy late Thanksgiving!
An amazing thing about an exchange year is learning about the many different traditions that take place around Christmas time. There are so many I have learned about so far, but here is one…Unlike in the US, Santa Clause is not the man who brings presents to Children on Christmas Eve. He is a man that comes on the evening of the 6th of December, and talks to the children about whether they have been good or bad. When a child has been good, they receive Chocolate, an Orange, and a Grittibänz (a man made out of sweet bread, and covered with sugar or chocolate. The tradition is similar to our Gingerbread men). However, when the children have been bad, Santichlaus has the brush part of a broom which he uses to smack them with before taking them with him back to the Black Forest where he lives (in Germany) in his sack. The children also recite a poem/song for the Santichlaus.
Last Monday night, along with Maggie (another exchange student from the USA) and our host families, I met "Santichlaus". Normally this tradition ends as the kids are older, but as we had never participated, our host families thought it would be great for us. I couldn't agree more. However this meant that I too had to learn and memorize a traditional song/poem to recite for Santichlaus when he came. It was hilarious how nervous I was. I only had the weekend to learn, and to make it harder, all the poems I could choose from were in Swiss-German (of course). But everyone from my class, and sports club were very helpful in making sure I learned every word, and found it hilarious as I tried to recite it. For your enjoyment I have attached the poem below along with a rough translation…
We started with a dinner of various cheeses, meats, nuts, clementines, and chocolate (Traditional things for the holiday). There were eleven of us, and the whole thing was amazing. Lots of talking and laughing. We were about half way through dinner when the doorbell rang. Maggie and I were forced to answer alone, and found Samichlaus waiting for us with his bell, sack, etc. He came to the table to join us at the table, and after much small talk, opened his book and started reading from his list of the good things, and the bad things we have done. I found it quite hilarious listening to my family and friends all 15 and older, talking to Santa, "Why hello Samichlaus", "please sit here Samichlaus", "yeah you met me last year, have you already forgotten me?" etc. It was lots of fun! After reciting the poem and saying goodbye to Samichlaus we spent the rest of the night talking, and I found myself completely content. It was such a great night and I am so thankful that are host families put it together for us even though that is not normal past the age of 8. It is definitely a great tradition =)
