Frohe Nikolaustag! Und Thanksgiving und St. Martins Tag and all the other holidays I've missed...

Hey everybody! Yeah, I know I know I haven't updated in FOOOORRRREEEVVVEEERR and I DO have a reason...just not a very good one. Want to hear it anyways? It wasn't that I didn't have time (because I did) or computer access (because I have) or even because I didn't want to write in Englisch (because I have in the last month or however-long-it's-been) or even because I'm embarrassed about my bad english (you try talking with Brasiliens who can speak better english than you and who laugh at you every time you use german grammar and not english)...honestly, the reason I haven't been posting is because though everything is new still, I'm in a routine and had trouble thinking of something INTERESTING to write. I've become so used to the stuff around here that was so amazing at first that I don't even know what to tell you guys about it. I've forgotten what is here and what's not in Amerika. I've obviously also forgotten how to SPELL America...so anyways, I'm going to do something simple and easy instead: talk about my day. Isn't that what you're supposed to do when you blog anyways???

Today was St. Nikolaustag, or Saint Nicholas Day (or, to us Americans, Santa Day). Germans celebrate it every December sixth. On the evening of the fifth the children hang their stockings (like we do on Christmas Eve) and St. Nikolaus comes in the night to fill them with chocolate and nuts and fruit. Santa does NOT come on Christmas Eve--that's the Christ Child who brings the gifts. Today in my school we even got a visit from St. Nick (dressed up like a holy saint and not in a fat suit) who gave us all walnuts and clemintines and spoke to us. He also dragged to the front of the class those of our classmates who had done lots for the school and me (to welcome me and all that). It was really cute. Girls in my class were actually shocked to find out that we don't have a St. Nikolaustag in the US, just as we don't have Saint Martin's Day (they'd never heard of Thanksgiving, though, so that's ok). What is Saint Martin's Day? It's a day to celebrate St. Martin, natürlich! (Don't worry, I didn't know who he was either.) All the little kids get lanternswith candles in them and do this absolutely ADORABLE little dance and go door to door singing with their lanterns. It was sooo cute and pretty and of course I forgot my camera so you'll have to take my word for it.

The Christmas season pretty much officially kicked off here last weekend, with the first Advent. All of Germany the Weihnachtsmarkts are open. They are sooo beautiful. Think a summer fair minus the rides (though I have seen a few merry-go-rounds) with all the booths selling the food and things decorated with christmas lights and fake snow. Absolutely gorgeous. I DO have pictures of that and they'll be coming online soon. Just about every Stadt has a Weihnachtsmarkt and I am in love with them. They just make the whole city beautiful.

My school also had a Weichnachtsbasar, which just about every school also seems to have. Think a church christmas fair times about ten with plus or minus a hundred screaming children running around with Schokofrücht. Awesome fun.

Anyway, got to go now. Hope the update was worth it, though I'm sure the wait definitely wasn't.