Travelin' Trick

There hasn't been much going on the past few days except for me working my butt off.  Well, the work really isn't any more than before, I'm just also dealing with issues going on at home.  While there's schoolwork and tutoring work to prepare, I'm calling over to Kentucky just about every day.  At least trying I'm trying to. 

There's also the roommates contingent.  We all love to cook, so just about every night we try to get together and make something.  What we make ranges from typical German to American, even experimenting with fusion foods.  That's like Mexican food with Chinese ingredients.  After we eat, we normally spend quite a bit of time quatschen about whatever we feel like.  It's easy to forget that I have to be in school 9 a.m. the next day.

The teachers at the school and I are also really starting to develop relationships.  Since the beginning of my time here in Germany, I've been spending time with my mentor teacher.  I'll never be able to stop repeating how amazing she is. I owe all of my positive experiences to her.  Now that quite a bit of time-- more than three months-- has passed, the teachers have started inviting me over for dinners (tonight I'm going over to a teachers for dinner and Glühwein) and I've even been returning the favor, even though our small Wohngemeinschaft doesn't compare to their large beautifully furnished apartments.  However, they seem to be even happier to have been invited and included in my life outside of school.  On the other hand, I feel like it's the least I can do.

It's nice to have three different kinds of age groups as friends.  The Lehrern satisfy my hunger for professionalism, the roommates and their friends for relaxation and student culture in Germany, and the students for new trends in the language.  You could say my bases are covered! 

But...

Even though one could argue that this is the best possible way to spend a time abroad, I'm getting oddly homesick.  In Vienna I didn't get nearly as homesick as I am now.  I just feel like I'm missing a lot going on at home, and it doesn't help the fact that my mom is having hardships AROUND CHRISTMAS.  I want to be there so much for them!  Everyone keeps reassuring me that this will past and eventually I will feel so at home that I won't want to come back.  That may come true, but I don't know if it's ever going to feel comfortable being out of reach with the persons I've loved for a long time now. 

I don't want anyone worrying about me, of course.  Everything will be fine.  I can't reiterate that enough.  Writing in this blog about it constantly just helps me put my thoughts into words which I can reflect upon.  Christmas is coming, and, even though I won't be spending it at home with family and friends, I will be in good company at my roommate's place outside of Karlsruhe, or K-town, as the Germans love to call it.  It's pretty exciting that I'll get to see how the people here spend Christmas while getting to know my roommates and their families better.  Oh! Forgot to tell you that Timo, the roomie from K-town, and I will be stopping by Kathrin's place in Mannheim, who also lives with us.  So there will be quite a bit of traveling this month, and I'm super stoked!  THEN! If that weren't enough, we're going skiing in the Alps sometime the beginning of January!  My Christmas break won't be bad at all :).

Alright, well I gotta head out!  I'll leave you with some new German words/phrases I've learned in the past few days or so.

fiese Socke - nasty sock! (used as a not-so-vulgar insult)
ätzend - god awful; corrosive; acidy;
Angeber! - Show off!
Ziegelstein - brick
einschätzen - to gauge; to assess; but also appreciate?
locker - lax; casual; "locker bleiben" - to stay cool
lahm Arsch - lame ass
scharfer Hund - like a teacher who's too hard/strict, some Amis may say "He's a Nazi!"