Fall Break! -Week 2

This past week hasn’t been too exciting. I’ve been kind of sick -just a cold or something- so there’s been a lot of sleeping going on. 

Tuesday and Thursday were family birthday parties. I swear everyone in the family has a birthday in like a one month span. We have more next week. So most German birthday parties for older people (by this I really just mean not teenagers) start in the afternoon with coffee and cake. A few hours later there’s dinner. Then they bring out the schnapps. And then they set out snacks (most chips, small chocolates, and these things called flips that look and feel like the puffy Cheetos but they’re peanut butter flavored, I’m not a big fan). So basically it’s a lot of eating and drinking and sitting and talking and if you’re there the whole time it can last like 7 hours. It can be a little boring because I don’t know very many people and I’m still not able to just jump in on any conversation. It can also be overwhelming because everyone will start talking at once and it gets loud and there are so many conversations going and it all blurs together and I can’t understand anything. But the food is always really good and I really like the German cakes (probably a little too much.. :/). 

I’m starting to look forward to my birthday coming up in January. Unfortunately it’s on a Tuesday, but 18 is a really big deal here because that’s when you’re allowed to do everything (vote, drive, etc.) and even though I won’t be allowed to do any of those things here I’m still hoping to have a pretty big party. 

Last night was REfresh, which is basically like a really big youth group service. It was a lot of fun, but I couldn’t quite understand it all. After that there was a birthday party for a girl in our youth group which I didn’t actually know about but I still ended up there anyway. It was a little lame, but I was able to talk to so many people and I think I’m starting to form stronger friendships with the people in my youth group. I even told them about my Candy Crush addiction. It was some top notch bonding time. 

I found it a little weird that the girl was having her birthday party at the church and there was alcohol and secular music and everything, but no one else seemed to find it odd. It’s just a difference in cultures I guess. I still cringe when I hear the F-word in school or church, but it’s normal to them. 

I have to go back to school tomorrow, which I’m not looking forward to. But the clocks did go back an hour here today, so at least 5:30 won’t feel so early… Maybe..