Christmas, and a Li'l Homesickness

So the last time I posted, I was finishing my first weekend in Salzburg. The weekend after that on the 11th-13th, our last Rotary meeting with the oldies was held there. The exchange students from Croatia joined us, as well as some short-term exchangers from South Africa. We visited the Christmas markets some more, toured the Salzburg Schloss, ice skated, and were able to explore the city a bit on our own on Saturday before attending a nice dinner where we got to share our Christmas traditions. In true Christmas spirit, the American group shared a holiday carol, and when an encore was sarcastically requested we hit them with the very festive (and in this case, satirical) showcase of our national anthem. Then the oldies had a chance to speak, and the tears were flowing. They return home to Australia, New Zealand, and South America in early January.

The two weeks and weekend that followed were chill, and we stayed around Völkermarkt anticipating the holiday. My last day of school for the year was on Wednesday, and we took the day easy to eat a bunch of cookies and watch Home Alone. I brought peanut butter-less peanut butter blossoms for everyone, which they thought were delicious. That night I got to visit with my next host family! I move in on the first on January, and they live a little ways away from Völkermarkt in a town called Griffen. They have three daughters; two are studying in London, and their youngest is 12 and goes to school here. She dances in Klagenfurt, and so I have the opportunity to as well. I'm really excited for that. They also have two cats which I may even be more excited about.

Yesterday was the 24th, when Christmas is really celebrated here. Wednesday night we stayed up late getting ready for the day, and Peter's sister Babsi and her husband and their two daughters came to celebrate. Eva and I have been kept busy entertaining Nina and little Mia :) and on Thursday we waited around for what seemed like forever for church and the celebration. After a quick church service (if you've seen my obnoxious Snapchat stories, you'll know that the church is really old and has no heating system, so we had to bundle up like we were going skiing, even bringing hot water bottles and pillows) we waited upstairs to hear the bells that are rung to signal that the Christkind was there.

In Austria, there is no Santa Claus to come on Christmas Eve. Instead the Christkind comes during the evening of the 24th, traditionally bringing the tree and presents with. So upon hearing the bells, we all ran downstairs to see the tree. We sang Stille Nacht (Silent Night) and said a prayer. We then opened our presents, and dinner was to follow. There was a mini grill kind of thing on the table, and we cooked our wurst, chicken, and beef there along with eggs, bacon, peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes. It was delicious, although definitely not the kind of Christmas dinner that I'm used to. Today Peter and I went to the church service to listen to Omi and Opi sing in the church choir. It was really beautiful, but still very cold.

Honestly, spending Christmas abroad away from my family is one of the hardest things I've ever done. I see all of the kids I know coming back from their first semester of college posting how happy they are to be home to see all of their friends and family, and all I can say is I bet they are. I have to admit I'm a little jealous of them, not to mention the snow in Montana and my family celebrating today without me. A lot of adults that have struck up a conversation with me this time of the year, mostly teachers in school, are always asking if I get to go home for Christmas.
"Well, no. I stay here for the whole year. I don't get to go back to visit."
"Oh that's horrible, are you okay? I'm very sorry to hear that."
Yeah, man. It's pretty rough. Thanks for reminding me.
That's probably the no. 1 way to make me feel like crying. Christmas has turned me into a ball of feelings and sensitivity. I wasn't feeling even remotely homesick until this past week, and it hit me harder than I was expecting, all at once. I have eaten too many Christmas cookies trying to make myself feel better. Getting my Christmas package from home was the worst. When I opened the box and saw my stocking I cried and ate some more Christmas cookies.
But on the other end of the spectrum, I'm really happy I'm here, away from my family, and experiencing something so new on my own. I get double the presents; I have two families now. I'm going to be home for Christmas next year, and for many years after that. I knew what I signed up for last December, and even with a little homesickness I don't regret it at all. If this is the lowest point of my exchange, I have no doubts that I'm going to make it just fine the rest of the year.

And to close, here is a message from Mia who requested an opportunity to type on my computer:
ccvvvvvvbbbbb bnmmmmmxzaswq2rtyuioopsawwwwwwwerytuiokkjhgfdcxvbnmm,gfvcbnnmhmjuyyttrewwq3rttweeedddddddddddddddddccccccccccccccccccccccvfxdszassaweryuiouppp[ppyytrewsagggty6778u8uuiikjhggfdssqwwerrtyyuuizetrtyuiioppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp[[;;lkjkjhhggffddsaWWEEEERRTTTTTTTTTYYyyuuuuiioooooopp;;looiuuyyttrrrdffeewwwsffghhjjiiooppp[[]][ppoiyttrewqwwrttyuiioooppppppppppoppppooiuhhgbfcxxzzdgghujuiii9ooooooookkijbbvfgcdssddccccfddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Merry Christmas, Frohe Weihnachten :)