Onward

Well, it's hard to believe it but 2007 is on it's way out. After all of the planning, researching, moving, cursing, good-byes, hellos, laughs, and tears, we have survived our first 6 months in Berlin.

Our friends who moved overseas before us warned that it would take 6 months to begin to acclimate to a new culture. Perhaps, it speaks to the strength of our induction training courses that we have yet to be shocked by living in a foreign culture. That's not to say that it has been easy but it hasn't been hard either. So, I'm curious about what's around the next corner. What does 2008 have in store for us? What will our first full year in a foreign country be like? I don't have a crystal ball but I do have alot of hope.

I have hope that we will continue to discover things within ourselves that we never thought we had. I have hope that the summer will be a real summer packed with hot weather, sunny days, and long, lingering nights. (No mosquitos though, the national bird of Germany). I have hope that the German language will not, will not, will not get the best of us. That we'll look back and think--Oh, that silly language? I never doubted we'd catch on. I have hope we will eat strange food and exotic drink and discover that we like it, we really like it. I have hope that our small circle of friends will grow into a huge foster family and that our discomfort zones will shrink. I have hope that our little family will continue to grow closer in 2008 to the point that we will one day look back on this experience with tears.....of joy and nostalgia of what was.

The Most Wonderful Time

So, this is what we've been waiting for the past six months. Christmas. Beautiful, hopeful, Christmas.

One of John's friends invited us over for kaffee and kuchen yesterday and then took us to their favorite Christmasmarkts. It was as quaint and lovely as we imagined.

All of the typical grum-grumbling is put aside in favor of the festive spirit. Christmasmarkt's overflow with cheerful-yes, cheerful-Germans who want nothing more than to share a warm gluhwein, munch on a toasty bratwurst, and shop for holiday trinkets before the big guy arrives. You might even get an "Excuse me." should someone run into you in an effort to push through the crowds of wishful patrons standing in the Dresdener Stollen line. Like I said, it's down right festive in these parts. I've never seen so much civility in my life. The Ho-humbugs don't stand a chance.

I've not felt more jubilant or grateful to be part of the local scene since we arrived six months ago. Who knows, we might even miss Christmas Berlin while we're in Atlanta during the next month.

On the first day of Christmas...

Germany's known for their Christmasmarkts and it is obviously why that is having lived here. Every square inch of public space has now been filled to the brim with lights, food booths, huge Christmas scenes, and ornaments. They are one frosted tree away from gaudy but it's been alot of fun seeing the city come alive with the holiday spirit.

Today, we took these pictures in the main downtown mall, KaDeWe. Father Christmas, Frosty the Christmas tree (?), and his snow elfs paid us a visit. They were all on stilts--standing 12 feet tall. I'm not sure what the significance of that was other than to give children joy today and nightmares tonight. Notice the little boy in the last picture cowering away from the ice princess. I have a feeling we've only seen the beginning of Winter Madness in Berlin.