Alexa turns one, and I go to Hamburg

Presents!

Well it’s time for another update from St. Ingbert.

I’ve been pretty busy over here since I last wrote. Classes are going fairly normally, I had one fabulous hour last week where my students successfully carried on a conversation entirely in English for the whole class period and announced they wanted stay at the end of the hour!!!! It was awesome, but if the results can be repeated is yet to be seen.

The 21^st was Alexa’s first birthday, so we spent almost the entire weekend celebrating. Nanette’s parents and Anne, a former exchange person from France, came for the festivities. We kicked the weekend off with an early Thanksgiving, which I cooked. It was fabulously delicious! We had the whole nine yards, I found a Turkey and due to my dear mother’s import services was even able to make Pumpkin pie, stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes and everything else. Unfortunately I forgot the pickles and Olives, but then again I think the Pilgrims probably did too.  Festivities continued the next day with the family (plus foreigners) cake coffee and gifts hour. Alexa got many fabulous toys that I’m sure she will enjoy greatly once Coralie is finished playing with them.  Between Hilde and Nanette we enjoyed five different cakes, all of which were to die for. The next day we enjoyed the cakes again, but this time with friends and Alexa, and by default Coralie, again got many wonderful things.   I also finished my novel on that Sunday night, which was pretty exciting as well. And yes I may allow people to read it, but it needs some serious editing first.

The rest of the week flew by since we left on Wednesday afternoon for Hamburg! It is a very very long drive to Hamburg accompanied by two small children, but we made it. It was COLD in Hamburg so the first two days we spent primarily running from warm spot to warm spot. We went on a short boat ride, stopped by the Christmas market and did a lot of shopping. The next two days I set off by myself to try and see a bit more of the city. I went to the Town hall, four or five Christmas markets, a variety of random cool looking streets, the international maritime Museum(very cool, ten floors of naval history) and at one point met the group at miniature world, which is pretty much like it sounds, a reconstruction of famous places in miniature, it is totally cool. Every person is hand done and I think no two people are the same, each and everyone is different and there is probably close to two million of these tiny people, the same thing for the buildings, and to top it off everything moves, lights up and changes seamlessly from day to night. It is one of those you have to see it to believe it sort of things. We left yesterday and it took the whole day to get back to St. Ingbert, luckily I had already planned for today so after a quick dinner and some wine with Hilde and Albert I went to bed, exhausted. It was a very cool trip and worth the many hours of driving. I’m not sure what this week has in store except for that I’m having dinner in France on Sunday, one of the perks of living on the border.

“Let them eat cake!”

Alexa loves Birthdays!