Deutschland goes Spooooky!

Happy Belated Halloween from Germany! Turns out that Halloween is quite the trend here nowadays, so there was quite a bit of celebrating to do. My roomies had never carved pumpkins before, so I figured there was no time like the present. Hendrik and Crissi and I went to the big market and looked for some pumpkins. We didn't find much there but we did end up coming up with some good ones from a local store. We carved them on the Monday before Halloween and they held out till Friday. They all did a really good job and it was definitely a lot of fun.

On Halloween we went to a party. The people who live there had decorated their basement quite spookily and we all really enjoyed it. There was quite a bit of music and dancing and definitely a bunch of good costumes. I was impressed! It was nice that we all went out in a big group and everyone had a great time.

I made my radio debut last Tuesday. Two of my roommates work at the local campus radio station and they kindly invited me to come in and speak about Halloween. I, of course, also carved a pumpkin throughout the hour long show. My dad got a chance to listen in through the live stream online and I even had the chance to greet him on air. (from over 4,000 miles away!) Next week there will be an article in the Coesfeld newspaper about me. By the time I get back to the states, I'll be a celebrity...

We acquired two more roommates. Luckily these don't require the bathroom or refrigerator space. They're names are Clarence and Mr. Brown, two baby box turtles that Carsten got from his girlfriend's mother who seems to have a little turtle farm. They're really cool, even though they don't do much and what they do do is always done very, very slowly.

And now some pictures.

Four of the five roomies carving their first pumpkins in our kitchen. Hendrik, Cristina, Carsten and Katrin. (Left to right)


This is about half way through. (Carsten and Crissi)


The punpkins! I think they looked pretty good and my roomies were very proud of themselves.

Group photo before we headed to the party.


Our newest roomie Hendrik and myself at the Halloween party.



Katrin and Hannah! Katrin was an Italian widow and Hannah was her husband who "passed away". What a gold digger.


Katrin and myself at the party yet again.


A German delicacy.


It's been a while since I've published a list so here goes.

10 reasons to come to Germany

1. Open air markets on Saturday morning.
2. To acquire a new respect for cleanliness and organization.
3. Ocean, Hills, Mountains. In a descending southward order.
4. Driving your car as fast as it will go.
5. To learn about recycling.
6. Bread and Beer!
7. It's full of Germans!
8. A history that predates the written word.
9. I live here.
10. More kinds of sweets, candies and chocolates than you can imagine.

That's it for now. Bis bald!