The sunset as I walked back from class last week.

I’ve recently caught a cold, which is part of the reason why I’m posting this update a day late. I’m just glad it hit me after I was done with the finals for my BCA classes. Being sick on a holiday isn’t fun, but it’s much better than being sick and having to do school work.

Singing in the Castle Chapel

It was surprisingly pink.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had joined the chorus group in the castle, and we finally had a chance to perform our set. There was an event to welcome the new person who acts as a go-between for the castle and the university, and it was held in the chapel of the main castle. I had never been inside the chapel there before, and I wish it had been light outside.

In between different speeches and parts of the ceremony, the chorus went to the front and would sing one of our songs. We sang a round song, Wach Auf Mein Herz, and a song called Herr Deine Liebe. Unfortuantely, we decided to cut the last song that we have been practicing, Look at the World, because we had not practiced it enough. I recorded us singing Wach Auf Mein Herz when we sang through the songs one more time before the ceremony.

Wortreich and Weinachtsmarkt

The last International Office event of the semester was one I didn’t sign up for fast enough to get a spot. However, I was put in the queue, and when a lot of people dropped out, I got an email with the time and date. I was excited, because not only were we going to another Christmas market, we were also going to a museum about language and communication.

It ended up being an all day trip, partly because it’s two hours away. If I’d known, I might not have gone, because it definitely made getting work done for my classes on time a lot more stressful. However, it was a fantastic trip and I made some new friends, too! There were only three other students on the trip, plus the two people leading the trip. They’d all been on earlier trips with the International Office, but we had never actually spoke to each other before. It was great getting to know them, and by the end of the trip we had exchanged contact information to try and meet up again in the future!

The Wortreich Museum was another interactive museum, like the Mathematikum I visited a few weeks ago. As we went through the museum, we looked at and played with exhibits that focused on different areas of communication and aspects of language. It included the basics of language, how we use language in stories, language barriers, the technology that helps us communicate, and more.

At one point, we all dressed up in costumes and followed a screen prompter to perform a play. One scene was from Romeo and Juliet, but with it being in old-timey German, I admittedly had a hard time following what was going on.

Afterwards, we walked to the Christmas Market in Bad Hersfeld. The International Office bought each of us a cup of Glühwein or Kinderpunsch. The mugs were frosted glass, with the skyline of Bad Hersfald in silver. Usually, you can return the mug and get two euros back. However, I decided to exchange my mug with a clean one to keep as a souvenir.

Wichtelfest

The castle has a yearly Christmas party called a Wichtelfest. There were lots of cookies and sweets, and oddly enough, peanuts, on the tables. There was a small Christmas tree set up, and there was a table where people put the Secret Santa gifts.

I actually didn’t sign up to do the Secret Santa gift exchange. They don’t just put the recipient’s name on the gift. Instead, everyone wrote a poem that described the person who would receive the gift. It’s something that I could enjoy, if it was with a group of close friends, but I was a little worried that I’d get someone that I didn’t know that well.

When a person dressed as Santa sat down at the table and read the poems, I had no regrets about not signing up. Many of the poems were sweet and funny, but almost all of them were pretty long and rhymed. I liked listening to them, but I probably would have had a lot of trouble writing one of my own.

In between sets of poem readings and gift givings, there were breaks for everyone to refill their drinks. Before Santa started reading more poems, everyone would sing a Christmas carol. We all had a sheet of paper at our seats with the lyrics and music for all the carols. Most of them were German Christmas carols, but we also sang Jingle Bells. Everyone sang loud and clear during the German carols, but with Jingle Bells everyone sang much quieter, less sure of the lyrics. Back home, Jingle Bells is one of those songs everyone knows. Dashing through the snow, on a one horse open sleigh…

Here, not so much. It’s not surprising, even though a lot of English songs are played here, too. I had a moment of realization, which was “Oh, this is probably how I sound when I try to sing along to German music.”

Goodbye, Dottie!

This weekend, my friend Dottie and the other BCA students who I spent this last semester with, all headed home. Dottie and I decided that we’d hang out on Friday one last time, before she left.

I’m just glad the swans didn’t attack her to be honest.

We did something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. A river flows outside of the university cafeteria, and ducks and a pair of swans hang out there. We bought a bag of frozen peas and then went to go feed them. (Why peas and not bread? Bread is actually bad for them, because it fills them up but doesn’t give them any nutrients.)

The swans were far more interested in our offerings than the ducks were, though they still didn’t eat out of Dottie’s hand like she wanted (thank goodness). Despite the light rain and the cold, we had a lot of fun.

It’s been a good semester with Dottie and I’m going to miss her around Marburg the next few months.

What I’m listening to this week: Christmas Eve/ Sarajevo by the Trans Siberian Orchestra. This is one of my favorite Christmas songs.