Where Treetops Glisten and Children Listen

As I sit at my desk, snowing is falling outside my window. What a winter I am experiencing! I have never lived in so much snow! It's been a fun week and a half since my birthday. Last Thursday night, we went to the "cinema" with Irmgart to see "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" It was fun to go to a German movie theater. Luckily, the movie was in English. We had assigned seats and were sitting behind a German woman who laughed hysterically about everything. It was pretty amusing to hear her reactions! After school on Friday, we went to the Grune Woche (Green Week)--an huge international food and drink exhibition. We spent four hours going through all the different halls--from Vietnam to Switzerland and everywhere in between--and sampling food from all over the world. My favorite was the Italian bruschetta and gelato, the Swiss cheese, and the Norwegian marmalades and waffles. We bought warm waffles and a jar of the raspberry marmalade. So delicious! We were exhausted when we got home from the Grune Woche, but it was so fun to experience an event that all the locals attended.



On Saturday, the sun shined for the first time since we have been here! Marianna and I decided to set out for Mitte on our own. We made it down to Potsdamer Platz and went shopping for a little bit. Then we went to the Ritter Sport Chocolate Store that recently opened. Ritter Sport is one of the most popular chocolate brands in Germany -- it really is some of the best chocolate you'll ever have. At the store, you can select your own mix-ins for a chocolate candy bar. I had a milk chocolate bar made with Smarties (Nestle's M&M's) and yogurt flakes. It was pretty good! The store also has a cafe upstairs and a little theater and display showing the history of Ritter Sport and how they make their chocolate bars. We had a really fun time visiting this new Berlin attraction! We went to church on Sunday--it was a nice service and the people are so welcoming. Marianna and I were invited by one of the pastor's wives for dinner on Tuesday. It was very nice of her--we enjoyed an American home-cooked meal and spending time with a family. What a blessing.








This week has been busy with school. I am in the midst of lots of planning for upcoming units -- Ancient Greece, Geometry, Literature Circles, and Art! The kids are starting to acknowledge me more. :) They greet me in the morning and say good-bye to me at the end of the day. It has been fun getting to know them and my teacher. We took the kids out for sledding again yesterday. No one asked me to sled down this time--My teacher Susan said, "Congratulations, you have know crossed the line from friend to teacher!" Haha.



Tomorrow morning, Marianna and I leave for Italy! I can't wait to see Sara Beth at the end of the trip! It is going to be wonderful! Ciao!