Christmas Season. Take 2.

So I bet I don't have to remind anyone that this last week was Christmas. Which means that this last week was hectic and full of family, presents, and, of course, food. I know that beforehand I was super worried that that Christmas time would be a really hard time for me to be away from my family. I thought homesickness would hit me hard and that it would be really difficult for me to enjoy Christmas time here. Thankfully, that wasn't how it went down. I mean of course I missed my family back home and would have really liked to have been there to celebrate with them, but it was such an honor to get to experience what Christmas is like in Germany. 
Last weekend my host family drove down to Leipzig with another exchange student and his brother. I'm considering studying in Leipzig for a semester or two of college, so it was nice to get to walk around the city. They had a huge, christmas market and so many beautiful buildings. We also got to meet with some other Americans and it was such a wonderful day.

So in Germany Weihnachten begins right after church on December 24th and a lot of parents hire Santa Clauses to come to their house and deliver presents. I actually was in our church's play for the Christmas service, so I like said stuff in German in front of a lot of people. I was pretty nervous, but everyone said I did well. Afterwards we went to my host mom's parents' house to celebrate. We all ate together and then opened presents. The 25th we celebrate with my host dad's family. We went to a Christmas buffet for lunch and then had coffee and cake a few hours later and then had dinner a few hours later. I was able to skype with my parents for a little bit during the day, just long enough for them to watch me open my presents, but it wasn't until late that night that I was really able to skype my family back home, and man was that wonderful. I ended up staying up until 2am, but it was so worth it just to get to watch my sister open presents and play a few rounds of bingo with my family. 

I am luckier than I can express, and I have you all to thank! I hope everyone had a wonderfully Merry Christmas and has big plans to bring in the new year!