In Need of Some Christmas Miracles

Most Americans start getting ready for the holidays right after Thanksgiving. Germans follow a similar schedule. They start setting up their Christmas Markets in November. Alex and I visited were actually able to see this magical transformation in Osnabrück after the several times we visited in November. It was notably bigger than the one in Melle. Osnabrück gets points for a grand appearance. The giant nutcrackers and oversized nativity scene added to the festive stands which wrapped around a portion of the city.

Yesterday, we met up with some of the younger teachers we work with at the Osnabrück Christmas Market for some faculty bonding. To be honest, it’s not exactly what we wanted to do since these teachers weren’t that friendly, but we showed our face and had two glasses of Glühwein with them. Not to sound like a Scrooge, but the real reason why we stayed for two drinks was to collect the mugs from this market, too.

The Christmas show is on Friday, our student from Azerbaijan had to drop out of our show. Apparently, he is moving to Berlin because he is having problems with his host family. It’s a shame that he is having issues, but I can’t feel too bad for him since he’s moving to one of the coolest cities in the entire world.

Moving on to the bigger problem, this boy was our Santa, and what’s a Christmas show without a Santa? Things like this always seem to happen in theater right before a show. One of Alex’s students volunteered to take on the role, though. His English is better than most of his peers, so I think he will learn his lines by next week.

More sad news, my German lessons with Günther have been put on hold indefinitely. He left us a note in our mailbox that said he has cancer, and is going to the hospital for treatment. I dropped off a letter in in his mailbox during my jog thanking him for everything, but we haven’t heard anything.

This week brought on a few unexpected changes, but our apartment has enough holiday cheer to lift the Grinch’s spirits. My mom sent me a Christmas package with decorations, candy, and movies. It looks like Christmas threw up in here, but it makes me so happy to see the red and green all over our walls and to have our very own miniature tree. That woman knows how to spread holiday cheer better than anyone I know, even when she’s in another country! Six days until I go home!