Guten Rutsch!

Alright I know it is a little late with the Happy New Year greetings and I haven't posted in quite awhile, but I have been busy doing a little more travelling. I spent Christmas in Erfurt with a really nice family here, the Seidels. Their daughter, Anika, was an au pair in the states, in San Fransisco and my tutor assigned to me by the University of Erfurt. I signed up for a program that the City of Erfurt sponsors for all the international students at the University and the Fachhochschule, called Fremde werden Freunde (which literally means Strangers become Friends) and the Seidels became the "Friends". They are a great family and it was a really nice time. Germans celebrate their Christmas a little different in the States, namely giving of the giftson Christmas Eve (Heilige Abend or Weinachtsabend) rather than on Christmas Day. Germans also get the day after Christmas off as well as the the third day of Christmas (No huge blowout sales to move all the excess inventory like the States.) It was a modest and very fun evening. I baked the family an apple pie, which the family had not tried before. So it was a first for me too, as I have never even attempted to bake a pie on my own (and I made the crust too!) Ich bin Stolz! We attended a church service and afterwards we sung german christmas carols and then family exchanged gifts. The family was really nice and got me a gift of darjeeling tea and an Erfurt mug! I had merely burned a couple of cds, one of bluegrass music and Buena Vista. They really seemed to enjoy them. We then played a few games and soon it was quite late and I had to go home. It was great to spend the holiday with a real nice german family. I count myself lucky. Here is the apple pie I had just prepared and ready for baking. I don't get an A for presentation, but it was tasty.