A very, very belated Happy New Year!!!

Hello lovely readers!

Even though I am very late in saying it, Happy New Year to you all! I have been meaning to write for a very long time now, but I got swept away with Christmas related activities in December and after Christmas I was just a little bit lazy and have only just got my blog-writing-bottom into gear! So, this post is dedicated to what I was up to before, during and just after Christmas, and a second one will follow shortly that is a lot more up to date!

I'll start at the beginning of December, when my parents visited and then Hannah visited a few days later. They really did pick the best time of year to come, as the Christmas markets were in full swing. Christmas in Germany is so intoxicating (in more ways than one!!!) The lights, the markets and the food and drink are all amazing. For those of you who have never experienced the delights of a German Christmas market, it is basically a lot of little wooden cabins selling ornaments, candles and other bits and bobs. And not forgetting the food and Glühwein (mulled wine) stalls! Some of my favourites included the white Glühwein (which is a nice twist on the tradition of red), Reibekuchen mit Apfelsoße (grated potato cakes with apple sauce), chocolate covered fruit kebabs and of course, the classic German Bratwurst! When my parents visited we just went to the one in Trier, but Hannah and I travelled up to Koblenz for the Christmas market there. Maybe I'm a bit biased, but I preferred the market in Trier. I must say though, that their Glühwein list was extensive and I sampled a divine concoction of white apple cinnamon Glühwein. Yummy!

[The Parents and I]

[Hannah and I]

The other Trier ELA's and I also participated in a lot of fun Christmas related activities around this time. We went ice-skating a couple of times on the open air rink in Trier, which was great fun! They have these plastic orange seals that children can sit on and be pushed around on the rink, so obviously we took full advantage of this facility and pushed each other around on them. I'm quite proud to say that I only fell over twice and both were in connection with an orange seal and not my general clumsiness! We also had a Pot-Luck Christmas meal at my flat, which Hannah was there for. The spread was epic and included a gorgeous savoury tart that Beth had made, rice crispie cakes, cake pops, pigs in blankets and courgette fritters. This was followed by watching the Muppet Christmas Carol, which was thoroughly enjoyed and sung along to.

[Ice Skating]

[Christmas Meal]

Going home for Christmas was a bit weird. I couldn't believe how quickly my time here had been going (and I still can't!) It was lovely to be home and to celebrate Christmas and my 21st birthday with my family. It was also so nice to catch up with my friends at home and it was especially good fun to chat to those who are also abroad this year and to compare experiences.

[Catching up with friends at home]

After Christmas, my Mum and I jetted off to New York for a few days (my 21st birthday present from my parents). We stayed in the Waldorf Astoria, which was absolutely beautiful and we had such a brilliant time shopping, taking in the sights and just soaking up the general atmosphere. Some of the highlights were seeing Mary Poppins on Broadway and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. We also went to see the new Les Miseables film as it was released earlier in America. Needless to say that I cried multiple times. I can't wait for it to come out in Germany so I can go and see it again. It was such an amazing trip and each time I go to New York, it makes me want to go again!

[Times Square, NYC]

After a jam-packed couple of weeks at home, it was time for me to head back to Germany. It was sad to leave home but I was also quite excited to go back. I could tell that my level of German had already got a lot better, but strangely enough, it seemed to be even better after Christmas, after speaking only English for a couple of weeks. I think I subconsciously thought that my level of German after Christmas would be the same as when I first started and it was quite disconcerting to just have an in-depth conversation with Steffi as soon as I got back, without even thinking too much. I've also started picking up little "filler" words and phrases that I never used before such as "auf jeden fall" and "gell?". I've heard that the latter is a bit of a regional thing, so I'd better not get into a habit of saying it too much!


A week or so after getting back, I had a bit of a surprise. One Saturday evening, I was invited to Hillary and Gunjan's for a movie night. I had to work that day, which meant a 6am start, so I was shattered and looked a mess. I met Hillary in town and we headed back to her's and Gunjan's, where I asked who else was coming (the reply was: "Maybe Marianne, I don't know") and whether I could order pizza when I get there ("Mmm, yeah...") As we walked through the door, all the lights were off (I'm sure that you can see where this is going, but I didn't at the time) and as we opened the door to Gunjan's room, I head a massive "Surprise!" I still didn't quite realise what was going on at that point, as I could only see Beth, but as I walked in, everyone was there! They bought me my favourite wine, as well as "Emergency Party Cutlery" (an in-joke that refers to me never having enough cutlery when everyone comes round.) Those sneaky devils even baked a cake! It was such a lovely surprise, and made even better when we played round two of the Harry Potter game that Hillary had created for the Halloween party!

So there you have it, you are almost up to date. I will definitely not be this lazy again, I promise!


Thanks for reading,



Bel xxx



P.S. I forgot to mention that we did a Secret Santa, where I gave Hillary a Downton Abbey mug and Tylor gave me a New York guide book in German. So here is a photo of me in New York with said guide book!