Frohe Wiehnachten!

Meine Damen und Herrn-

Frohe Weihnachten! I wish you all a Merry Christmas! Today is the first day I've had time to write to you all- its been a buys two and a half days. Lets see...

Heilige Abend (Wensday, Dec. 24)-

In the German Christmas tradition, Christmas Eve plays a much bigger role than I've experienced in America. We prepared and so on all morning (actually, Philip and I played Santa Claus to one of the friends of the family while Heide did most of the preperation), then we went to the Kleine Kapelle (the local chapel) for a small service. Afterwards, we came home, had and amazing deer dinner and then, around nine o'clock, Christmas REALLY started. In order to get your gifts (which you recieve on Christmas Eve in Germany) here you must first read a poem (of your own selection) to the family. I read one entitled 'Heilige Nacht' and for it recieved:



Oreos, an electric picture frame, a normal picture frame, a case of Weizner beer, two Czech beers, a phone card (which I actually haven't seen), chocolates, a print of an American flag done by Keith Herring, and a book about Advent and Weihnachten in Niedersachsen.

Erste Weihnachts Tag (Thrusday, Dec. 25)-

Otherwise known as Christmas in America. On this day we all slept in until at least eleven, while myself and the rest of the children had stayed up until 2:30 playing German boardgames (which are actually very popular here). Then around three we shipped out of Heide's father's house, where we had a miniture Christmas with the extended family and had an extravagant and deliscious four-course dinner, provided by the family of Heide's brother. Then came more boardgames and an early bedtime.

Zweite Weihnachts Tag (Friday, Dec. 26)-

Early to bed, early to rise. More church today, this time in Stade. The service there was bigger and a little better organised than the one on Wensday, probably because the church itself was bigger. Then we went back home, ate a late breakfast, and then Warhammer 40,000 until around five. I loved spending the day with the guys and so on, but that evening the long days and strain of Christmas kind of caught up with me.

Anyway, I slept in till eleven today, too, and had a slow day around the house. Heide's father came to visit for tea at around six, and now here I am, well rested, relaxed, only slightly bored, and iching to watch the second Lord of the Rings movie with the family, which is airing for the first time on German television today. I hope your Christmas was as good as mine. Please, feel free to leave long comments or email me about what happened over there. I'm planning to use this break to answer some of the letters I've recieved, so if you sent me any, be looking for the post in about two weeks.



-Elliot P.

Schwer Weihnachten

Meine Damen und Herrn-

This was a difficult week, to be honest. More for the von Limburg family than for me personally, but the statement holds true. For those of you who don't know, Heide's mother died on Sunday evening. We had the funeral yesterday, along with the funeral for Tatze, the family dog. She died on Wensday. What a terrible way to meet the extended family for the first time, ya? Everything else this week was sort of over shadowed by these events, so as a result I don't really have much to say.

I managed to make it to the Baptist church last Sunday. I like it there. The people are warm and welcoming and the services are a little more relaxed (not a LOT more, just a little: The Catholic influence is still very evident). I took a German test in English (yeah, I don't know how you can do that, either) and I think I did pretty well. Tomorrow I will go back to the Baptist church and then to Tjark's house to (hopefully) finish this movie. Its supposed to premier the day before Christmas, so we're cutting it pretty close.

As for the videogame...oh wait. Did I mention that? I'm making a video game in my spare time, by the way, and its coming along very well. I finished my first extremly basic AI yesterday and progress should grow exponentially now that I've figured out the basics of Python coding. I went out with some AFS people today. We went swimming in Lüneburg and then on to the Lüneburg Christmas Market. Other than that there's not much to report. I hope things are going a little better for you guys back home.

Merry Christmas!
-Elliot P.

Computers and the Great Outdoors

Meine Damen und Herrn-

Once again, sorry for the tardiness of this post. I had not time on Thursday, as I am weighed down with requests for things involving my 3D modeling capabilities. Three videogames of varrying sizes and two animations. I don't know how I managed to get so many requests in a matter of weeks, but I guess its just as well. I have a lot of free time, and Blender is something I enjoy doing, so all is well. And don't worry, I'm getting out enough as well. I've got a meeting with Philip and Tjag tomorrow to study for a German test, and I'm gonna try to finally hit this Baptist Church. I hope its as different as they say it is. I really need some spiritual support right about now...

On a totally different note, I went hunting with Moritz this morning. Well, not just with Moritz. With most of the hunters in the area. And not just this morning. We were out there from about ten thirty to three. I didn't shoot anything. Partially because I had no gun, and partially because if I DID have a gun, AFS would probably have a hernea and a stroke at the same time. Speaking of AFS, it turns out that they might actually do something cool and send me and a group of other exchange students to Prague for two weeks. That would be awesome. All it will take is some sweet talking and a little negotiation with the school, and I should be home free. Or it could blow up in my face and result in dissapointment and AFS disliking me more than they already do.

I just took a look at my calendar (actually, I just thought of the next few weeks of my trip. Don't get your hopes up, mom. I still don't keep a calendar) and I realized that the next few weeks should go by pretty fast. Next week is the last week of school before Christmas Break. In this time I've got Christmas, a small outing with my Judo team, and a New Years Eve party that's supposed to be pretty cool. Then I've got two weeks of school, another party for all of the kids in my grade, then a Praktikum (miniture internship for all students in the 11th class), then on to Feburary, and with any luck, Prague. Well, not much else to report, other than a large tournament coming up in January, I believe. Wish me luck!

Oh yeah. Pictures-

Weihnachts Markt!




Cookie, a classmate, before class on Wensday


Afrika and Mini (To protect the safety of the innocent, all names posted here are actually nicknames)


One of the many halls of Pferd und Jagd


-Elliot P.

"Remember the old adage: Starve a cold, feed a fever, behead a zombie."

Shoehat Candy!

Meine Damen und Herrn-

I know, I know. This post is late. I apologize for all the distress and confusion I must have certainly caused you. I was at 'Pferd und Jagd' ('Horse and Hunting', a convention in Hannover) last Thursday and I just haven't gotten around to blogging since. This event is something of a von Limburg family tradition and they actually pulled me out of school four hours early in order to make it on time. The convention was interesting but somewhat pointless for me. I don't hunt, so anything I might buy there would be pointless for me to have.

We met up with some of the von Limburg's extended family and watched a miniture dog show (the show was miniture, not the dogs). I thought about buying a new backpack there, seeing as mine had finally fallen apart on the way out of school to the car, but everything there in regards to clothes was green. On the way back home we dropped Annebelle off at a train station (she was returning to Berlin). Heide and I were alone, in the car, for two hours solid. Talk about awkward pauses. Its alright though. By the end half hour or so we finally loosened up and had a very interesting conversation about the terrorist attacks in India, the history of violence in the name of Religion, and my future plans for school, work, ect.

Earlier on in the week I met up with my entire class and Herr Schuster (my German language teacher) in one of the rooms of a local fire department and watched 'Elliot die Schmutzel Monster'- a children's film that was chosen for viewing in my honor. It was a very interesting night. Then again, yesterday, I met up with some schoolmates on my way to Stade from school and they helped me look for a new backpack (to no avail). We later met Herr Schuster in the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) that takes place every weekend in December until Christmas in Stade. I'll have pictures of it up later. Anyway, Herr Schuster offered to help me find what I needed because the others had to head home. We searched until around five o'clock and found gloves, shaving razors, shaving cream and glühwein (a traditional Christmastime drink) but no backpack. I hate shopping.

Well anyway, I managed to bail on two parties last night and still end up sitting at home doing nothing. Discouraging. One was at a local disco that the girls in my class seem to like but all the guys say is a drag. This one I bailed on in favor of a party with some of my friends in a nearby town. Only too late did I realize that I had no ride and couldn't get there on my own, so it was just a long, lonely night for Elliot. Ugh. I hate that. Oh well. I have a meeting with Max planned for today and I'm gonna try to go to the Baptist Church in Stade tomorrow morning. Then I've got some Gears of War 2 (thank you, Alex) to play on Monday with its lucky recipient. Hopefully Elena will get on the ball and we can finally hang out this week, too. And finally, next weekend, I'm gonna meet with Tjag and Philip to study for an upcoming German test and figure out what we're gonna do in regards to this movie we're making. Tjag says it has to be finished by Christimas. Wish me luck!

-Elliot P.

PS- Oh yes, I woke up this morning and found this in the entry way to the house. Appearently its St. Nikolaus Tag today.


Yes, that is a hat, full of candy, stuffed inside my shoe. I love this place.