Europe or Bust: “Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.”

Christmas Markets.. are EVERYWHERE!

It snowed and kept on snowing.. :] yay! <3

On Friday the 26th I made a field trip with my Industrial Revolution tutor and Beth Kocina to the European Central Bank and we were given an insider view of how the Bank worked and some of their jobs. Also we learned about what the plan was for Ireland and Greece. It is quite interesting.. because basically they have a plan for Ireland but Ireland doesn't want help.. but they have no clue what to do for Greece, they are basically screwed in this situation. But all in all, its great for us exchange students representing the dollar, the exchange rate is going to our favor! That is amazing :) I'm not soo poor.. pahh.. who am I kidding.. I am still poor .. haha

Well anyway back to the story.. after the tour/lecture we went to the Christmas market in Frankfurt.. oo btw the ECB is in Frankfurt - i forgot to mention that .. lol well anyways we went to the market. and it was required we drink a Gluwein or take a test on the lecture.. so naturally we all drank a Gluwein, not that we minded it deff warms you up in the freezing weather, but let me just tell you it is STRONG- and deff not my favorite drink in the world, but the Germans, well most Germans, LOVE it and can not get enough of it <3

After that A couple of us left early and came back to Marburg because it was Marburg b(u)y Night! It was Freezing.. it was so cold that Beth and I decided to just get on the bus and ride around look at the lights.. granted then i didnt get the best pictures.. but it was either that or the loss of my toes.. i figured i would manage.. lol This was also the kickoff for the market in Marburg soo it was Packed and this was including the buses.. so after we made our way up to the oberstadt and took some pictures. It was really pretty :) as you can see from the pictures I'm sad that everyone who comes here will miss the markets :( oh well.. I can only express my experiences and you can experience then from me. :) but like I said it was extremely crowded so the buses were off schedule, sooo our bus did not come at the right time :( so we had to wait in the snowy coldness for the bus.. but luckly our friend nichola was nice enough to invite us over for a while. So we went over there and I had a piece of pumpkin pie :) the dessert i missed from Thanksgiving.. there will be pictures of Thanksgiving a the end of this Blog seeing as i didn't post them earlier it was sooo cute!! But anyways we then caught the bus eventually.. and I came home and unthawed :) and went to bed.

Then on Saturday the plan was to play football - however, Beth had to play a joke on our friend with the football Paul- and hide it from him.. soo unfortunately we could not play because the football was in someones room, who was away for the weekend.. it was a major bummer.. hopefully this weekend.. but who knows with all this snow that we have now! : ] Anyways instead I worked on my Industrial Revolution paper and pretty much finished it on that day ;) woot.. that was my last hw assignment of this semester.. Go me! Anyways that night I made dinner with Sarina.. it was rather fun and nice and we practice talking in German .. Always need the practice.. me not her haha.. ; ] Then I watched Harry Potter 6 to prepare for Harry Potter 7 on Sunday! Then yes on Sunday I say HP 7 with Lizzie, Bryant, Steph, & Chris. It was a lot of fun - I really enjoyed it. Fun note about seating in theaters in Germany - they are assigned so you don't have to rush into the theater to get a seat, its already picked out. It's kinda nice :) Oh and another thing.. the popcorn they normally have is the sweet kind and if you want salty you need to ask.. but they don't use butter.. it's amazing.. lol they are missing out.. ooh how i miss super buttery salty popcorn- haha.. artery clogger.. but soo GOOD!
Then later that night I went to Coelbe with Sarina to visit her friends and eat some Ghana food- Fufu - it didnt taste bad, but it didn't taste like anything according to Sarina it sucked.. lol she said I should try it made at a restuarant not by her out of a box. I think she deserves more credit than she is admitting . i would have no idea how to make it lol.. But then we also had auflauf.. which was extremely good..and I think I will attempt to make it for you guys at home some time. its kinda like a Casserole and it can't be that hard.. so I will try and all of you will feast some day.. lol.. yes mom you can quote me on that.. I will attempt and NO i don't want help haha.. :P I hope it turns out good granted i have quite a bit of time to practice making it :)

Anyways.. more snow.. it just kept on snowing.. all weekend and pretty much this entire week and here are some pictures from earlier this week :) I did not have class on Monday - because It was reading week for the particular field.. so I just laid around.. ik ik i have the life.. haha.. I did eventually get up and look up the laws in Wisconsin addressing the reproductive health policy for my class on Wednesday. Then I finished off my Industrial Revolution paper.. well at least I thought.. I found out later that I have to make more changes to make it more in the format on how to make it more the German Format for my Prof - frustrating! To take break I went out side I helped make a very sad Snow man.. but we made one to say the least :) then after that Kayte came over and ate some lovely food like usual.. noodles and salad haha.. and watched the movie Tangled.. soo cute.. we loved the iguana.. Pascal!! He's adorable :)

Then on Tuesday it was usual.. and then Beth came over and her kayte and I did yoga and made tacos and did some random dancing.. funness.. like pop lock and drop it, walk it out, soulja boi.. we tried to teach Sarina.. it was great :)

Then wednesday was tutoring.. and just chillin and then I went to Lecker Eck and had a Yufka Doener.. it was pretty good.. I could not eat it all.. but it was still good.. then i went to a meeting with the Dr. Stephen Kolison, Associate Vice President for Academic, Faculty, and Global Programs at the University of Wisconsin System He was was super nice and had some good insight onto the world and me along with 3 others had our voices heard for the Wisconsin - Hessen exchange program : ] and study abroad in General!

Also on Wednesday we booked our hostel for Budapest which is next week already.. cuz I can not believe it.. and since monday I have been here for 3 months.. that feels so short, but yes so long.. Its crazy!!!!

Then on Thursday I just hung out and chilled with kayte pretty much all night, we ate more than we should of and watched glee and talked and just enjoyed each others company... it was a rather fun night :)

However, I can't believe that people are leaving next week friday.. it's going to be so weird not seeing the same smiling faces every couple of days or being able to call them up and hang out. All I know is that I will miss them and they have touched my life and helped me in the search for who exactly is Carissa Mindt? It's been a great journey and I can not wait to continue it!

Further plans for today - go to the Marburg Market and then go with Kayte to pick up her friend in Frankfurt :) then who knows.. It will be a fun filled weekend tho :) Also here are some fun facts - Marburg has 39 libraries.. and some of them have monks in them :)

Also Sarina's Mom made us an advent Calendar for our Flat - it's so cute :)

Oh and here are the pictures of Thanksgiving :)