It's Christmas Time in the City

"City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style,
in the air there's a feeling of Christmas"

^Name that tune! If you are looking to get into the Christmas mood (Weihnachtsstimmung) give this song a listen! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0pgC68X6W8
It gives a fairly accurate description of what Christmas time in Munich has been like, except for its mentioning of snow. We have yet to receive snow, and with temperatures nearing around 50°F yesterday, I'm not even bothering to be dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know. It would just be setting myself up for disappointment.

I am done with classes until next year, and I am counting the days (three!) until my family arrives in Munich to visit for Christmas. We will stay in an apartment we are renting through Air BnB together, and I am so excited! Hard to believe it, but I have not seen them for over three months. Though I'm sure FaceTime and Skype calls helped me get through it, I would still say it's an accomplishment. Do I count as a real adult now?

This past month has been all about the holidays. Some main events and highlights were: helping to organize a Thanksgiving dinner for people in my program, taking a bus north to visit Maria, my Northeim exchange partner, and her family for St. Nikolaus Tag during the second weekend of Advent, and attending the lovely JYM Christmas party.

Everyone contributed a dish to the Thanksgiving celebration, and it was a great success. In keeping with my own personal tradition, I baked an apple pie that, despite not being baked in a traditional pie pan (they don't exist in Germany) and being baked in a homemade pie crust (no pre-made pie dough here either... there's a first time for everything!), turned out! I'm starting to understand and appreciate that saying, "it's American as apple pie". As we ate, we took turns saying what we were thankful for. A common theme was being thankful that we had this JYM family to spend Thanksgiving with, since we couldn't be home with our families proper. What a tear-jerker.

Happy little JYM family around the Thanksgiving table

Apple Pie: Success 

St. Nikolaus came!  

The first weekend of December I took a bus north to Göttingen, and before being picked up by Maria and her mom, I got dinner with Jan, the German student we hosted a few years ago! So crazy how easy it is to reconnect with these people who used to be a long plane ride away. Now it's just a six-hour bus ride - not bad. Maria's family, the Rudniks, welcomed me so warmly into their family that weekend, and I am so grateful to have gotten the opportunity to see them again. I knew it was going to be a fun weekend when they pulled up to the curb to pick me up, honking the horn, shouting hello, and waving me into the car! I was told to leave my boots outside of my room on Friday night so that St. Nikolaus could fill them with goodies, and as promised, Saturday morning I awoke to them filled with little Christmas gifts. I am a lucky girl! They showed me how to do a real, slow German breakfast, which, being a breakfast fan, of course I loved, and after that we baked Christmas cookies (Plätzchen) all afternoon. After watching a movie, Maria and I went out to eat for Greek food, and that night we all watched the movie Feuerzangenbowle in our pjs (Maria's mom suggested the pj party theme, and of course, I was all for it). Maria's mom took me to the bus stop on Sunday, and graciously waited there with me not only until my bus arrived, but also until it left and I was safely on my way home. I waved at her through the window as we pulled away and will always treasure the wonderful weekend I had with The Rudnik family.

Maria and I at the Greek restaurant.
So great to see her again after four years!

My place at the German breakfast table.
Finding my name on a napkin ring was such a
 nice touch, and I really felt like part of the family.
When your're used to living alone, things like
 this mean so much!

This past  Wednesday, I attended the JYM Christmas party. It was such a wonderful way to end the week before Christmas vacation. We ate roasted chestnuts, drank Glühwein, were serenaded by some musical JYMers, did a Christmas carol sing-a-long, and just generally enjoyed each others company. Like on Thanksgiving, I couldn't help but be sentimental and overcome with thanks that that I have met such wonderful people this year. Just look at all these smiling faces in front of the Christmas tree at JYM - isn't it absolutely heartwarming (herzerwärmend)?

JYM's Christmas tree
. It's real - gotta love the smell of a real Christmas tree. 

We wish you a Merry Christmas! 

Christy, her visiting former exchange student, and I
enjoying Glühwein at the Christmas market in Marienplatz

It's not just these events that have been filled with joy and the holiday spirit though. The day-to-day routine here has been festive and you  really can't avoid it (not that I would want to), since there are Christmas markets in nearly every part of the city! As long as I can remember, I have always dreamed of going to a Christmas market in Germany, and finally that dream has come true, many times over! I have been to at least five different markets here in Munich so far, each with their own different character, and there are so many more to discover. Christmas markets are really everything they are talked up to be. Christmas lights are strung above the heads of rosy-cheeked, red-nosed and bundled-up market-goers, the unmistakable smell of Glühwein (spiced, hot wine) drifts through the air, groups of friends huddle around the tables and catch up with each other, and sometimes, above the din, Christmas songs can be heard.

 Entrance to the Christmas market at Marienplatz

Scene from another Christmas market in the
Residenz Hof

I am a fan of live music of any kind, and have gotten a good dose of that this past month as well. As I mentioned, there are sometimes musical performances at the markets, and one particular afternoon, I enjoyed listening to a gospel group sing Christmas tunes as I sipped a mug of Glühwein. I couldn't help but smile as I watched a few ladies, probably one or two mugs of Glühwein in, happily dance, clap, and sing along to the songs. That same evening, I attended a Händel Messiah concert, and though it was longer than I expected, it was still very enjoyable. I must confess, I really only went for the sake of hearing the Hallelujah Chorus, a favorite of mine, sung live. The choir did not fail to impress!
There's something about choirs that I really love, and I think it has to do with music's power to unite people, regardless of their cultural or language background. I like to think of music as a global language that everyone already knows - one that brings people together, instead of highlighting the differences between them, as "real" languages do.
I also managed to stumble upon a free a capella Advent concert last week put on by the University Chorus. It took place in a church near the University, and when the concert started and all the voices came together in the church as one; it was truly beautiful, and I think I got goosebumps. The church's acoustics combined with the power of a large human choir were stunning, and I really enjoyed the concert. A great find, indeed!

It's hard to believe I have been there three months already, and I have only recently come to the terms with the fact that I will be here until July next year. More importantly, and more exciting than that, I have decided that I am really glad that I still have a lot of time here! Life here doesn't feel as overwhelming any more, there's so much more to discover, and I feel I am only just beginning.

For a German assignment a few years ago I once had to explain what family was to me. I defined it as the people around you at any given time that care for you and with whom you feel "at home". This definition has never rung so true for me as it has this year.
I spent Thanksgiving with my JYM family, was welcomed into the Rudnik family during the second weekend of Advent, am surrounded by caring friends here, and will be seeing my silly, quirky, real family in a few days. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people.
So, whichever family you are spending the holidays with this year, be it your JYM family, your nuclear family, another family welcoming you into their home, or a close group of friends, take the time to treasure them  and know you are loved!

 May you take the time to slow down and enjoy quality time with family, however defined, over the holidays, and may this blog post leave you filled with holiday warm fuzzies (and not a pressing need to read something less sappy... I realize I can get a little carried away sometimes).

Liebe Grüße aus München!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!