We have been very busy lately, but its all been pretty good. I am not sure if it is only because I am working in the church or if I have been lucky to find certain families, but the German people here have been as hospitable as most people think the South is. Last weekend the entire IMT went to with Claudi to her families house in a nearby town. It was her sisters birthday so there were lots of people there and lots of new for me, but good, food. Her family made us feel like we were part of them. They fed us very well and made sure we had everything we needed. Her younger brother slept somewhere else and let me have his room for the night. When I went to my room they had two towels and a chocolate bar on top, just like a fancy cruise or something. One of her granddads works with wood as a hobby. They had all kinds of different wooden figurines and pyramids (really they are little things with something like a fan on top that spins with the hot air from candles underneath) decorating their house. It was all very nice. Her granddad made all of them by hand. I was very interested in this as I would love to learn how to do that kind of thing for a hobby and so he took me down to his shop and made me two little star ornaments while I watched. It was really neat to see the process and all. He made it look very easy, but I dont know how easy it really is. Anyways, later after the birthday party we (IMT and her family and grandparents) sat around and talked about the different Christmas traditions from our different countries. They also gave us a present. Her granddad made each of us a pyramid. It was so nice of them and so cool to me. I was wanting to buy one in the Christmas market but they are 50 or 60 euro for even the smaller ones. The one he made for us is bigger than the ones I saw for that much. The week before I had also given Claudi a Christmas list as a joke because she had said she had money now and was going shopping for Christmas gifts, but I had put something made out of wood like that. It is very typical for this part of Germany to have these things made out of wood. I also learned at least one origin story of why people put candles in the windows during Christmas time. Im not sure if this was THE origin story or only one for this part of Germany, but it was interesting nonetheless. They said that the men that worked in the mines nearby would go to work early in the morning before the sun came up and then work until the sun went down. Once they got home they would go straight to bed because it was so late and not turn on any lights, or light a candle as I dont think they had electricity then. They were living the winter months mostly if not all in darkness. Because of this the women began to put candles in the windows so that the men could see them on their way home.
While we were there we also went on a walk around their town. It was a nice little town. The most interesting part for me was the church she showed us. She said it had also been bombed during the war. I had never really thought too much about all the little towns that must have been impacted during the war. You usually only hear about the big cities or sights where major battles occurred, but it was interesting to see a place where no one has probably heard of, and yet it was greatly impacted by the war. It was also on top of a little hill and the wind was blowing very hard. I was imagining being there during a war. The wind alone was so loud you could barely hear someone talking. Im sure with airplanes and bullets and bombs also buzzing around it would have been deafening and pretty frightening.
On Thursday we all got another gift from Claudis family. It is apparently a big thing here to have an Advent calendar and a big tradition for their family to make them. So, all of us got a different Advent calendar from her family. She said her younger brother made mine, which is 24 bags hanging on a line. The first three days have all had different kinds of cany inside them. Again, I found it very nice of them to include us in their traditions. Speaking of Advent calendars, I have seen some very interesting calendars in the stores here. Im not sure, but I think everyone has one here, whether they are Christian or not. I saw one in a store that was something like Playboy. Im not exactly sure how those go together, but I guess its something a little more commercialized here for some people.
We were also invited to another couples house from our congregation for dinner tonight. It was also a very pleasant time. The lady had baked fresh onion bread that was really delicious. With that it was a typical abendbrote, so various kinds of "lunchmeats" and cheeses and pickles. We had a very nice conversation and before we left they also gave us a little gift. They have one son that still lives with them and we all had a good time getting to know each other a little better. They speak very clear German so it was easier to understand them than Claudis family, which speaks Erzgebergisch, which my German tutor had said was kind of like the equivalent of a very southern US accent but for Germany. So, sometimes other Germans have a hard time understanding them too.
The rest of the week has been pretty busy, but good. I was able to get a haircut finally, but it was a little more expensive than I was hoping, and a little shorter than I was thinking. Last time I went to a nearby mall and found a place that did a good job for 15 euro plus 2 euro for a tip. Since then I found out I didnt have to tip hair cutters here so I tried to go back to that place but they were full for the day. I decided to try another place that a lady from our congregation owns. The girls had been there and recieved a hair cut and some other things for free before, so I figured I would at least get a discount there (normally it isnt the cheapest place in town). I even got Claudi and Sni to come in with me to see if they had time that day because I figured they would recognize the girls and realize I was also a part of the IMT. I thought they did. I went in and asked if they had time and one of the ladies came over while she had a customer and set up a time for me one hour later. Unfortunately, I assumed wrong. I went an hour later and had a very nice time. They washed my hair and she even brushed/scratched my scalp with some kind of metal comb I think(it felt awesome) until I was almost asleep. Then I told her a number six for the razer because Im pretty sure thats what I normally get, but it seemed a lot shorter than I thought it was supposed to be. It doesnt look terrible, but I think it is a little different with more of layers to the top and bottom, with the bottom part of my head being pretty short. Then it was over and I realized she wanted me to pay. It ended up being 21 euro with no tip. The lady that cut my hair didnt know any of us and the lady who owns the salon from the congregation wasnt there. I was kinda disappointed ha.
Thursday at Checkpoint was a pretty wild day. We had 19 kids and by the end of the day we were all worn out. This was also the day Barry (the pastor/our boss) decided to come by and see how everything was going. He came for the last hour or hour and half which is always the craziest time for us there. Something triggers in the kids to go crazy and we are all super tired by this point. Anyways, he saw some things he wasnt exactly happy with. He didnt seem mad with us, but he did talk to us about it and was saying that we had to do things differently our we were gonna have to close it down. Everything he said was true, for example, I was playing legos with two or three kids while some of the older boys there were kind of running around crazy with each other. But, I think it kind of got the girls down a little bit. Anyways, I think it was good for us to hear some criticism because it got us all thinking and today we came up with some new plans to have better control and save all of ours sanity. As we were talking, I felt like what we are doing here is exactly what I had done in Bighouse's afternoon programs. Well, I suggested several ideas that I took directly from Bighouse and we are gonna try them out. I have been thinking and seeing how interesting/cool/amazing it is that for the past year or year and half, everything that I have been doing (working at camp, the film, and Bighouse) God is using here in Germany. Before now I was so thankful that God kept giving me job after job and opportunity after opportunity this past year. When I graduated from Alabama I had no idea what kind of job I was going to be able to find. He gave me a job working in New York at a summer camp. While I was there I started looking for another job to do when that was finished with in August. I wasnt having much luck. Then he gave me a job working on a film. It wasnt even really something I was looking for, it was just my mom talking with a lady she works with and her son-in-law being one of the producers of a big Hollywood film shooting in Georgia. Not only did I get a chance to work on this film, but at one point I wasnt sure I was going to be able to do it because they didnt want to pay me for a place to stay, and then friends of my grandparents allowed me to stay in their lakehouse near to where we were shooting the film. After this I was given the chance to go and work for Bighouse. So many games, programs, and ideas that I learned from these three jobs have really prepared me for what I am doing now. I dont know if God wanted me at those three jobs or not. At different points I may could have pursued other options, and I dont know how in tune I was with where God wanted me or not, but whether or not that was exactly where God wanted me, he has used those experiences here, and I know that He wants me to be here right now.
Last night we went ice skating with the youth group. It was really a fun night and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I was very shaky at the beginning and fell three times, twice I caught myself with my hands and the other time I fell pretty good. That time some kids on the side saw me and were laughing pretty good, Im not sure why, because I was laughing at myself, but when I looked over at them they all got quiet ha. Im sure it was funny. By the end of the night I was able to pick up some pretty good speed and keep up with the kids from the youth group. I got to talk with several of them during the night much more than I have before. It was good to get to know them more. We skated at the home of Katarina Witt, one of the best figure skaters ever. We were also skating outside which was pretty neat. Afterwards we all went to Mcdonalds and ate ha. Im pretty sure that was only my third time to go ice skating ever, but I think I shouldve been better than I was ha. Either way it was a lot of fun and a good workout.
One very interesting thing I saw on the tv here is something like a public service announcement. Thats not so interesting, but what it was about is interesting. They had several famous people come on and talk about how great the German language is and how people should speak in German. I definitely have not run into any problem finding people that speak German, or rather anyone that speaks only English and no German. However, I guess that more people are learning English or another language and maybe the enthusiasm for the German language is not as high as it once was. I really dont know, but just thought it interesting that they needed a public service announcement to tell people to speak their mother language.
