Überraschungen

‘A life in which you know all that is to come, can often be a boring one’ is probably not a real quote, but seems to be something my host mother lives by. In the month of January alone, I received three surprises from her, and a giant one is supposed to come in June. These surprises are activities I wish I could do or events I wish I could attend, but have no way in which I can organize them. They are cultural, interesting, exciting, and are shared together with people I love…

Überraschung eins consisted of a day in Erfurt with my host mom and my best German friend. We went to my friend’s favorite ice cream cafe, where we finally got a chance to exchange our Christmas gifts for one another. We also made sure to converse over many intellectual topics, before not so intellectually testing my appetite, as well as my bravery with strangers. Eventually, we reached the actual surprise, and I was pleased to have the chance to watch Cinderella as an alternative Italian opera. The acting and storyline was very interesting and creative, but my favorite part was the orchestra, which played pieces beautifully dominated by string instruments.

Überraschung zwei was the largest and most exciting one of all. In the two weeks we had been apart, my friends from New Years had been talking to my host mom about surprising me with a weekend together. Although the planning process was extremely complicated and drawn out, as it often is with the German people I have met thus far, I did not have to participate because of the whole ‘surprise’ aspect of the event. They made their journey on a Friday night, that I was expecting to do nothing with, and turned it into a great little house party. With the days we had together, we toured the great city of Jena, relaxed, played games, and, of course, all slept in the same room, as tradition states. 

Überraschung drei came at the end of an already eventful and fun-filled week. As I was already doing a bit of traveling, I met my host mom in the center of Leipzig on a Saturday afternoon. Almost immediately, I found out that we would be attending a Ballet Revolución performance. Although the music was a big too loud and chaotic, I found the dancing beautiful, creative, and fun to watch. Each dancer was strong and stunning, and you could see the dedication and love they had for the sport they were participating in. A great end to a already fantastic week!