Skiing at Altenberg!

On Saturday my host dad and I went to see if I could ski! We went to Altenberg, a small mountain, and I relearned how to ski! It was really really pretty, and the mountain was all lit up because it was dark. I actually did pretty good for not having skied for 5 years!! I needed to practice for our Winter break in February. It was a lot of fun! Then Micheal and I stopped in a hotel and 9:45 for dinner. It was that good...well at least the salad was good. We were both exhausted by the time we got home. I came up and checked on my knee( I fell on it three times on the same spot) and saw it was nice, red, and fat! ...And I could barely walk on my leg, my calf hurt so bad...but that's what fun is...right?

Me lookin' super sexy...and fat! (But Warm)

Rockin' It!

Today was so funny! The kids have to sing for a grade in music class, and I chose We Will Rock You by Queen! It was short simple and I've known the words since I was in elementary school d: Everyone did the clapping part and sang along to the chorus! I was pretty much a Rock Star :D

Wendischbora!

Today my family took me to Wendischbora. What's in Wendischbora you ask? Not much, it was a small village, BUT my great great great grandfather lived there! We were able to see the church he was married in and his wife and children were baptized in! My grandpa Horn helped make this possible, without him, I wouldn't have known were my ancestors directly came from. And the crazy part is that it could have been anywhere in Germany, and it ends up being only 45 minutes from Dresden! It was so cool thinking that my ancestors were there. It was a little disappointing because the church was closed, but it was still amazing. Then we ate at a little restaurant there called "Zum heissen Stein" (to the hot stone). It was so cool. You were able to choose what dish you wanted, I choose steak, and then you got this big platter with a hot stone and you got to cook your own meat! It was so delicious!!  

Birthday Party!

Yesterday on the 18th I went to a friends birthday party. It was so much fun! I was only there for a couple hours but it was great! He rented this really small club called the Red Tree. I met a friends boyfriend from Russia and we talked about music for a little bit, then Lili, these two guys, and I played some foosball! Best two out of three and my partner and I won!! It was so funny, we had people cheering for us and everything. When it was about to hit midnight, everyone counted down from 10, then when it hit midnight four guys carried the friend in on a chair and he was holding a staff. It was great!

Opa's Birthday: Jan. 11th&12th

We went to Berlin for Opa Klaus' birthday! It was so much fun! There were so many generation's in that room. We had Opa's siblings then his kids their kids with uncles and grandchildren. It was crazy! He turned 81 on the 12th. We ate a nice dinner and talked until 11:00. I was so tired by the end with all the German!

Silvester: New Years Eve

For New Years Eve I went and hung out with some friends from school. It was so crazy! Their New Years is like our 4th of July. Everyone was out on the streets shooting off fireworks. On the sidewalks, in front of stores, in ally ways...Everywhere!! There were 4 girls that hung out before, then we met up with the guys downtown later. We went onto a bridge going over the Elbe river, and watched the fireworks. When it hit midnight it was like the "grand finale" of 4th of July fireworks. It was so beautiful and everyone was having an amazing time! Then we went back to one girls' house and watched this hilarious T.V. show for 2 hours! We were just hanging out enjoying the warmth of her home! Then we shot off some of our own fireworks and headed home. Some drunk jerk shot off a firework really close to us and it was just a loud one but it was super loud and we had some trouble hearing out of our left ears...THANK YOU. But we went back home it was super late and fell asleep watching Family Guy! Happy New Years! 

Christmas!

Then comes 24th! Merry Christmas Eve! We went to church and sang a little, then came home for some cake and coffee. We didn't have to wait till after dinner and all the dishes were clean to open presents! When we were eating Santa came and left to large sacks of presents by our front door. After eating then we opened presents. I got a lot of bath stuff for a spa day, a beautiful watch, and a Räuchermann. Its a small figure that you light these scented things in and the smoke comes out of his mouth. The direct translation is smoking man. I also had a small package from my grandparents, and they sent me my favorite lotion, some candy, a "map" of some of my ancestors that come from a town near Dresden, and a cute necklace charm. That was really nice! As my family was opening their present from their daughter, who is in the USA, I saw pictures on facebook my mom posted of the tree, and a video of my family saying I love you and miss you and thank you for the gifts, I got a blow of homesickness. It's really normal especially this time of year. But I got to skype with them the next day so it was good. In my American family we have a tradition that on the 24th we get new pj's and on the 25th we stay in our pj's the entire day. So my German family helped keep up that tradition. We got new pj's and had a lazy pj day! It was nice for me because I got sick on the 24th, and did not feel up to changing into real clothes. 

The rest of Christmas break was pretty relaxed. We didn't' do much, which was fine because I wasn't feeling up to do anything.