Frohe Weihnachten
These past few days I've been fairly lucky that Jens has been home, and we've spent the past couple of evenings at his place chatting and eating Enchiladas (I know Gary, envious even now right?). We also got in a viewing of "The Fifth Element" in. It might not have been Bruce Willis' best known Christmas movie, but it worked for us. A good nap happened at one point during that film for us both, as there is simply something about December, the holidays, and getting more sleep that just seems to go hand in hand.
Today I was invited to join my coworker and her boyfriend for Raclette, a traditional German Christmas dinner (when Fish is not served, that is). It's basically a grill, with these little pans underneath that allow you to heat up cheese and veggies or meat of various kinds. On top you have a grill. It's fairly interactive, so you're busy setting up your own food, which makes it rather nice because in between conversation you have stuff to keep you busy.
My colleague is also an immigrant to Germany, and understood well how Christmas alone would be hard on me. I wasn't originally scheduled to have today free, but my boss at work said I had worked overtime this month and thus I was gifted an unexpected day off. I'm really glad she invited me, because when I found out yesterday that I was to have today off I was a bit worried. This is the first Christmas I would have ever spent alone. I've spent plenty at various different jobs, or by celebrating around the day of but not on Christmas. I did get a video call in with my family on Monday, and a brief phone call with my father, but honestly it was the first year not spending a good portion of my holidays up at my in laws house.
This holiday season so far has been rather rough, but I've been truly blessed that my new and old friends here in Germany have been doing their utmost to keep me busy, keep my company, and in general, be fantastic. I will be spending my birthday this year in a hut, somewhere outside of Frankfurt, staying safe from the war zone that Frankfurt will become when the fireworks show up.
My birthday plans are also something I have my new friends to thank for. I'm honestly, simply really thankful for the people I've met and gotten to know since my move to Germany. Life is rather easy, I enjoy this simple life. I have my bike, a small studio apartment, good speakers for my music, friends to chill with, and work that has meaning. But such a drastic change in my life was much more noticeable this holiday season. Recognizing just how different it will be from here on out...that definitely struck my heart strings.
On a side note, I am now on day 3 of getting decent sleep again. Wish me luck that I sleep through the night. Getting through my first REM cycle, only to wake up and then stay wide eyed until 8 am again, that's rough living there. I've never really suffered through this kind of insomnia. Although through this I have definitely learned that not being able to sleep when you have to opportunity to do so, that is more frustrating than simply not getting enough sleep. At least then you could sleep if you wanted to.
Without further ado I shall now advance, stalking my new life like a predator. Excitement coursing through my vines along with equal portions of nostalgia soaking my connective tissue. A tenseness akin to that of a new student at the beginning of a term settles in. So have I returned here to this familiar ground, new growth and learning on my horizon.
