Rachel's in Germany!: Didn't feel like Sunday, but today was awesome!

Today was odd because it was Sunday and instead of going to church, I went to class. Weird.

BUT my Mezzotint class went better today--I gave up on my one plate and did a new one from the same drawing. This time my girl thankfully did not look like Quasimodo. Took most of the day, but I ended up with a nice print at the end. Hooray!

Also trying to learn more German phrases so I can ask questions in class in German. Things like "Can I print it now?" or "Should I close the window?" or "How do I do it?" I could of course ask in English, because my teacher talks to me in English, but I'd rather ask in German if I can. The word order is just confusing, and I'm sort of shy about trying to construct a sentence because I'm afraid I will say it wrong. For example, the question "Should I close the window?" is "Soll ich der Fenster schließen?" which, if you literally translate the word order, is "Should I the window close?" So it's a tad tricky.

Tonight was SO fun! Marni, Indra, and I finished our marzipan and basically had a marzipan-and-chocolate party right in the kitchen. We shaped the marzipan into all kinds of random things: a nose, a mouse, a snowman. Indra even made one that was shaped like the Greek letter pi because she has a lot of math problems for her physics major that involve pi. We dipped them all in chocolate and then put them in the fridge to harden, and Marni used the leftover chocolate to make hot chocolate for us to drink. It was super rich, so she just made a small amount for each of us, like half a cup. While she was doing that, I made myself a salad, to have at least something healthy. But basically, we had hot chocolate and marzipan for dinner. It was awesome. We sat around listening to music, drawing, and indulging in our confectionary creations. The marzipan tasted good on its own, but it was even better with chocolate on it. And the hot chocolate was amazing too. Marni is probably the best connoisseur of chocolate I've ever met. She doesn't go for the cheap stuff--if she lived in the U.S., she would never eat Hershey's or Nestlé--and she likes the darker and less sweet kinds of chocolate, which I agree are the best kinds. Neither the hot chocolate nor the marzipan were super sweet, and we purposely made them that way. I even tried a piece of chocolate with a sliver of Parmesan cheese (it was a Ratatouille moment!), and it was really good too. At first we thought there was no way we could finish all the marzipan. But an hour or so went by, and just like that, it was gone! Every last piece!

So . . . definitely not the healthiest dinner I've ever had. And we all agreed that we could never eat that much marzipan or chocolate on a regular basis. But just for tonight, it was absolutely awesome.

Have to say, a couple of days this week were a bit rough. I had moments when I wished I could be home in California, and moments when I wasn't feeling great (my back was still out of whack and kind of sore, so I couldn't walk very well, and I'm still trying to get rid of the last of the crud from that cold I had in Kraków). But today was so good. I felt so blessed and so privileged to be living in Europe, in this apartment and this student house. I am definitely going to miss the fun times of hanging out in our cozy little kitchen when I go back home! Indra said tonight after Marni left, "I'm going to miss you so much when you're gone!" I'm going to miss her and Marni a lot too . . . trying not to think too much about that. I've got to do my best to enjoy their company while I have it!

Super excited for tomorrow night . . . we're going to make Marklößchensuppe (the marrow dumpling soup) again! Better make sure to get some exercise tomorrow to burn off all these fancy foods we're making . . . yesterday and today I walked to school and back, which is about 5 km round-trip, but still, I've got to make sure I stay active each day! Maybe a walk in the Stadtpark, or some kayaking on the canal . . .

Marzipan-Making Moments