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| Hey! Jake the Poodle will be dropping by this week! Oh boy! |
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| "Ich bin kein Vegetarier. Ich bin Dessertarier." -Bill Watterson |
This blog began when I got the opportunity to live in Aachen, Germany, which happens to be 5000 miles away from my home state of Oregon. Although I am back in the US, I'm continuing the blog to keep friends and family all over the world updated on my life in America.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
O du fröhliche Dead Week
Der 1. Advent ist schon hier! And so is dead week! The beginning of Advent means it's finally socially acceptable to blast the holiday hits. Be it the hotties of Wham! on the radio or me tooting a little Tochter Zion on my trumpet, I'm definitely feeling the holiday spirit... and the finals spirit.
To clarify, dead week is a term used for the week before finals, especially in universities. I've never truly experienced a dead week before, but I've heard my fair share of stories. When I do a search of the phrase "dead week" in my mental Google, the words that pop up tend to be "stressful," "sleep deprivation," and "caffeine." There are several UO events to keep students sane, though, like bringing pooches in to cuddle with, providing acupuncture sessions, complimentary yoga classes, "TLC booths," and study breaks featuring cake, pie, and hot cocoa.
Christmastime always makes me nostalgic. This time last year I was getting ready to perform at the Aachen Weihnachtsmarkt with my host brother as a trumpet-trombone duo. I'm still playing trumpet, but instead of prepping for the beautiful and sparkly Weihnachtsmarkt, I'm looking forward to a (hopefully warm!) bowl game this December in likely California or Texas. This time four and a half months ago I was planning an entire Weihnachtsmarkt which involved baking 300 cookies for all of Waldsee. This morning I was still in the kitchen, but I was baking seven-layer bars for the Duck TV news team of fifteen people. Easy!
Starting Wednesday we'll have to turn the Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree down a notch since 24-hour quiet hours will be starting. It's only day one, but so far dead week hasn't been too bad. I'm looking forward to winter break and getting to be in dear ol' Salem for an extended period of time reconnecting and catching up with family and friends. The light at the end of this tunnel leading up to finals week has beautiful, sparkly, red-green-gold lights and I can faintly hear Bing Crosby's voice emitting at the end. But for now it's time to study!