Waiting, waiting, waiting...

It seems like this might be the time of year to be waiting. Waiting on a lot of things. Waiting on trains, rides, meals, people, doctors, and many other things.

On Friday, I finally hung out with people (near) my age. Unbeknownst to me, across the street at the rivaling (not really) Dettweiler Weingut, is a girl who is 21. I don't know how the plans started, but Heike got it set up so that I would go with the girl, who is a member of the Mennonite church, and I'd join the youth group to decorate cookies. (I'll get to what the cookies were for in a bit.)



It was fun being able to practice some German I'd been learning while slapping marmalade onto cookies. It was probably a much better night than I could have had. Honestly, aside from soccer, I haven't gotten to hang out or be with anybody my age for awhile and it was starting to get kind of depressing.

On Saturday, we...and by we, I mean myself...went to Worms to try and finish Christmas shopping. I was successful in finishing for the kids, but I haven't found anything yet for Mom and Heidi. [Question of randomness: have you ever tried to make a sentence without using the word "the"?] Don't worry, Mom and Heidi, something awesome will be found. I also went to Worms to test out my knee and tried to walk more than I usually do. However, after awhile I became good friends with benches throughout the day. I will see the orthopedic doctor tomorrow and keep everyone posted with how that goes. Back to Worms. There wasn't a lunch here in Wintersheim, so I was left to fend for myself in Worms. I attempted to go to the Doner stand that I enjoyed, but it had newspaper in the window and the door was locked. So I went to the stand next door and was happily greeted by the Turkish guy with a smile AND a fist bump. He's probably happy from all the extra business he's getting. Anyway, this stand has quickly became my favorite...and not just because of the fist bump. For one, the kebap tasted much better than the one from the other stand. And two, they have a stamp card where your tenth kebap is FREE! Oh yes.

Sunday was a generally lazy day. But in the evening, the kids in the church had a Christmas program with the usual speaking parts and songs...and all the entertainment of the combination of kids, speaking parts, singing, microphones, and costumes. Daniel was still too young to participate, but Paulina and Lukas are at that ripe age. Lukas (12) a group of the older crop of kids in the program, had some narration parts. Paulina (8 or 9) also had some speaking parts, but she also played recorder in the 'band' that led the singing. Afterwards, everyone crowded in the kitchen where the cookies were spread on the table. To drink, Heike had made a Kirch Kinderpunsch...hot, spiced, non-alcoholic, cherry drink. It was tasty, as were some of the cookies.

Today, Monday, was a normal day of work. Heiko got back yesterday from delivering wine and today he was walking hunched over, although nothing ever seems to slow him down. He said that he lifted over 4 tons (not at the same time...) this weekend with all the wine. Tonight was my last German class before the christmas break, although they're meeting on Thursday (when Mom and Dad come!) but I won't be there. We had a Christmas party, which we were told to bring music and food relative to our country. I brought the leftover Kirch Kinderpunsch...not American at all but enjoyed by all who drank it. There was baklava from Turkey, some disgusting looking cabbage rolls that were spicy and tasted soooo good (also from Turkey), some magical potato portions, sekt (champagne), and some other random things. Since I don't have any blank discs here, I couldn't bring any American music...unless I brought my ukulele. Which I did. First, I played chords to all the different versions of Silent Night (German, Albanish, Turkish, Polish). Then I played Old Crow's Wagon Wheel, introducing it, "Das ist 'bluegrass'...das ist NICHT 'country'!" Then a Turkish lady sang some songs and it came back to me, so I countered with Four Strong Winds. Then a Kosovoan lady sang something and it again came back to me, so I finished with Little Boxes, or as I introduced, "Kleine Pakete".

Instead of learning the German language tonight, we learned about each other's culture (Syrian, Thai, Polish, Turkish, Kosovoan and German) and got to share about our own (American). I enjoyed it immensely. Here are some pictures.

These are the two teacher, Barbara and Jens. Jens and I sometimes chatted during breaks, usually me asking something about Worms. Tonight I learned that we shared the same musical tastes...including ein bisschen (a little bit) of bluegrass! They take turns teaching.


The two ladies are the two Turks in class which usually made for interesting conversation. The man is Czarek, who is Polish. He and his wife are who I meet up with to get a ride to class.


The three people in back are Emilia (Czarek's wife), Monika, and Christoph...the other three Poles in the class. In the front is Beo (pronounced like actor Scott Baio's last name)(Thailand), me (America), and Fadi (Syria).


Together, we are Deutsche Sprechekurs A1.

Now, all I have to do is wait until Thursday morning at 9:37, when I'll catch a train to the Frankfurt Airport. There, I'll pick up Mom and Dad who come in at 11:05.

Until next time,
Jon