Holidays in Germany

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone is off to a good start.  Spain gives their students and teachers 18 days of vacation which I feel so lucky to have had.  There are some very nice Christmas celebrations and New Years traditions here that I missed unfortunately, however; I happily spent the holidays in Germany with my beloved family (and second home).  Now Andreas and I are both in Spain pursuing our little dream we stirred up sometime early last year.  At the moment we are living about six hours away from each other. He´s in Jerez and I am in Siles (still).  It's far but close enough to spend some weekends together from time to time.  And the Spanish language learning continues which has been very rewarding.  Today I met a landlord who has a cute little apartment for rent here in Siles.  I felt so comfortable communicating with him and even negotiating a lower price!  All I can say is language immersion works.  So the plan is for me to move into my own space from February until the end of May.  Though I will dearly miss being with my host family I think it's time for me to put on my big girl pants and face the real world.  I'm very eager and excited about the possibilities that having my own space will bring.  More to come on that.  For now I would like to share a few photos of where I was lucky to be for New Years.  I received a generous invitation from my mother-in-law, Gundi, to be with her and Andreas in the Swiss Alps.  It's a very special place for their whole family and it was a privilege to experience the nature there and hear all the stories of their wonderful memories.  Enjoy the photos!

here's the view looking up from the street onto the little village of Ferden...our place was somewhere off to the left.

we were very fortunate to have so much sun and its warmth.  despite all the snow it wasn't terribly cold so we decided to hike around near the ski resort on this day.  after the hike, andreas and i rode a wooden sled for about 30 minutes back home.  it was epic!

photo speaks for itself...i guess.  but this was our last day in Lötschental when we made our biggest hike together which was probably about 4 hours round trip.  the snow depth off the trail was hip deep.  pretty incredible!

last views with the shining sun before it set after only showing his face for about 4 1/2 hours.  unfortunately, this picture does not really capture the magic and beauty of the place.

group selfie with bitter sweet feelings about our last day together in the Alps. 

Well, getting back to life in Spain has been a little bit confusing because I felt like I spent my holidays in another world.  One thing is for sure, I'm going to cut back on the meat eating and partying.  What I would like to do with the rest of my time here, aside from speaking as much Spanish as possible, is travel to some other places in Spain including Jerez, Cadiz, and Sevilla (flamenco land), and perhaps some other parts of Spain in the north.  For sure I'll be in Mallorca with Gundi and Andreas for Easter and maybe in Barcelona for my birthday in February.  I realize this is a once and lifetime opportunity and I am completely aware that I must take full advantage of it.  More stories to come!   ¡Saludos a todos!

P.S. There is a student here who has a BIG wish to live in NYC for a month this summer to improve her English.  If you know anyone who is able to host her (ideally a family with children), please get in touch.  She is 16, quite fluent in English, and super eager to live out her dream.  Of course it would be fair to ask for a little rent money and possibly some Spanish lessons for the kids.