The First Thanksgiving

My greatest German success thus far was ordering a 16-pound (8 kilo) fresh turkey from the butcher. Even though the German freezer cases were willed this frozen turkeys I have to order a fresh one because there was no way I could put a turkey in my mini fridge. (It's smaller than the average dorm fridge in the US.)

Once home, the next challenge was getting that bad boy to fit into my mini oven. It just fit – but part for the drums sticks cooked to the side of the oven and I have to truss the bird up as tight as possible.

In the end though I was delicious! In addition to the turkey I made all of the fixin's: sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and apple and pumpkin pie. We invited Kevin's office and all of the Americans at the Goethe Institute (three). I think everyone enjoyed their first Thanksgiving.

My First Week of School

I don't know how much else I will be able to accomplish while attending German classes. They are super intense. Five days a week, five hours a day, plus home work and cultural activities. It's great though. I really love taking classes, I can't wait to learn German, and it's nice to meet other people who are new to the country.

On the first day of class I took a walking tour of Bad Godesburg. The picture here is the view of my new town from the Godesburg castle. The white L-shaped building is our apartment.