Good Company and Good Fun

What a great week! Josh and I had a great time doing a variety of activities.

Thursday night we had a "British High Tea" with the Formans. This consisted of lots of yummy, traditional foods and good company and fellowship with the Formans. Josh and I also explored the town and enjoyed walking in the crisp, night air. I showed him the local dorms as well as the "terrifying golf course" and other local attractions.

Friday, Josh came to school with me and got the opportunity to see what my average day is like at BFA. It was quite fun watching the students' faces as they entered the classroom looking from Josh, to me, and then back. Some of them knew and word quickly spread that my boyfriend was at school. Many of the girls gave me big smiles. :) I had a little fun with 7th period and gave them the following multiple choice quiz:

Is Josh my A) brother B) cousin C) boyfriend or D) a visiting teaching considering teaching here. There was a resounding agreement on "C" to which I smiled broadly and continued with class. During the sixth period resource class, we decorated the room with Christmas details and cut out snowflakes. Josh and I made a 3-D snowflake that was so fun that we made 3 more at the Forman's later.

Saturday was probably my favorite day. After a relaxing morning, we went to the local dorm, Palmgarten, and I did formal updos for the girls there in preparation for the Christmas Banquet that night. It was a great opportunity for me to get to know the girls better outside of class, and I really enjoyed our conversations. It really was a dual-fold blessing because I loved doing the hair and making the connections, and they loved getting their hair done. You could tell by some of their smiles that they simply felt like princesses when they looked in the mirror. The dorm set up booths for manicures, make-up, and hair that several women volunteers ran according to their talents. I received so much joy from watching the girl's smiles widen in wonderment and awe as they surveyed their done-up hair and makeup. They could tell they looked like something special and lived in the glow of it the entire night. They all looked really beautiful

After my own fiasco with my hair, I got ready for the banquet as well and matched Josh in black and red. He brought me a bouquet of pink roses and we set off for banquet. It was chilly out, but the banquet was fun. The students performed different, prepared acts including singing, playing, rapping, and monologuing. Two teachers acted as hosts/MCs for the night. BFA has a tradition of granting several "Christmas wishes" that the students write before-hand. No one knows which ones will be answered on stage; this year's ranged from "seeing so-and-so eat an apple in 3 bites (which he then did on stage in two)," to "eating Korean rice at banquet" to "hearing a 'rap off' between teacher Bowen and student so-and-so." All of these were done on stage, most extemporaneously, but some pre-planned. It was great!

After we went to church on Sunday, Josh and I went to the Basel Christmas Market with some of my friends. The Germany Christmas Market is a big deal, and most towns host one. They consist of little stalls covered in pine branches and lights that sell various trinkets, foods, and drinks. It's fun to walk around and get into the spirit of Christmas.

Monday I took the day off school, and Josh and I went to Freiburg. It was nice to be back again since Julie and I went a while ago. We visited Heidi at Starbucks, looked at the local Christmas Market, walked around the town, and enjoyed Italian pizza. It was a full and rainy day, so we were glad to relax later that evening with the Formans at home.

Tuesday was my last day teaching! It was very bittersweet because while I am glad to not have to write lesson preps anymore, I'll miss teaching the students and interacting with them. I announced the news at the end of each class, and received lots of hugs from my students, which was very touching. I also had my final observation from Laird, which went very well. These observations have been very effectual in making me a better teacher and teaching me more about my strengths and weaknesses. I have grown a lot over the 3 months of observing/teaching. It'll be weird now to go back to sitting in the class and observing. A little boring, most likely, but it'll only be for 1.5 weeks. Tuesday night we went to a Kari and Mike's apartment for dinner. We ate Raclette. It's a really fun, social meal that involves cooking your own food over a table-centered grill. Mike and Josh then introduced Kari and I to Monty Python, which I was surprised to find that I quite enjoyed. I actually do really like that style of humor. But, it becomes wary after watching too many "Sketches."

Now, Wednesday, Alec and I dropped Josh off at the airport, and I returned to another school day. It's weird to think that I only have 1.5 weeks left. Transitioning back to the states will be quite different; it'll be hard to leave this community that I've grown to love so much. But, I do believe that the next stage and location of life is in God's will, so I will look forward to being back in the states and to see what lies ahead.

Thanks for reading!