Poultry and Communism

Hello to some of my very favorite people! It's been a while since I've written a mass email (sorry about that) but if you haven't heard from me it's because I haven't heard from you, so there! Anyway I can promise you that this will be a shorter email than the last one; hopefully that doesn't disappoint anyone.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Those of you I've talked to said it went well and--although it was kind of sad to spend the day without my family (boo!)--mine was good as well. A friend of Sam's cooked up a big traditional dinner with his wife and invited us and some other friends over for the meal, drinks, football, and all the traditional merriment. It was nice to get together with them and we had a good time (and got fat eating the turkey and all the other delicious food), and as always the day brought to mind all we have to be thankful for, which is a good thing to reflect on and give thanks for every so often. It was my first real holiday with Sam, too, so that made it speical.

Friday morning we got up early (well "early" according to my schedule but it was sleeping in for Sam) and headed off on a road trip to Berlin with another one of Sam's friends. We got there later on Friday afternoon after taking the "scenic route" to our hotel (finding your way around a foreign country is always a good time!) and spent that evening at the hotel, which was actually a very nice, very large cenference center consisting of a hotel, restaurant, bar, spa, bowling alley, tanning salon, etc...anyway we had a nice dinner there (a two-hour affair in Germany) and then decided to head over to the bowling alley for drinks and bowling for the remainder of the night. Sam is a very good bowler, in case anyone's wondering; I myself am not that good--and my scores kept getting worse all night--but it was fun and that's what counts. Maybe it should have told me something, though, when the german bartender/bowling alley attendant came over and offered to block the gutters for me.....

Saturday we headed to Berlin's City Central and spent the entire day sightseeing. Some of the highlights were the Berlin Cathedral, St Nicholas Church, Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandonburg Gate, going to the top of the famous TV Tower, and of course seeing remnants of the Berlin Wall. It was so amazing and I know that I myself expereinced a myraid of emotions as we saw so much beauty and also all the depressing evidence of the area's history. Another highlight was visiting the big museum where we got to see the Ishtar Gate (as well as hundreds of other awesome artifacts from that location and era). The Ishtar Gate stood at the opening to ancient Babylon and was excavated and moved to the museum in Germany by archeologists. A replica was resurrected in present-day Babylon, which Sam got to see when he went to visit the ruins while in Iraq. It was amazing enough in itself, but I think especially so for Sam who had visited the actual site and could put it all into perspective. Needless to say we saw and learned a LOT that day. That night (after a much-needed nap from all the walking we did) we went out for dinner and then expereinced the Berlin nightlife by going dancing at a club which advertised "Black Music"--I guess that's what they call rap/hiphop over here. So much for political correctness....Anyway, it was truly amazing and once again I have to say how great it is to be over here and to be able to travel so easily to places like Berlin.

We got back to our place in Echzell yesterday afternoon and then it was back to Real Life. Sam is still working hard and long, but either I am geting more used to it or his hours are getting a little better because it doesn't seem as bad as it did the first couple weeks I was here. The number one question people have been asking me is Do I have a job yet? (the answer is no) and then the second most popular question is Why not? Basically the deal is that I can't get a job until I have my new military "orders" stating that I am assigned to a unit over here, and the holdup with that is that my paperwork from the national guard back in Minnesota was lost in the mail enroute to Germany. Don't worry, though, I really, REALLY need and want a job so I am working on it.

Overall everything here is still fabulous. I find enough to do to occupy myself throughout the day and then dote on Sam (while trying not to be too overwhelming and lovey-dovey) when he's home. The weather has been pretty cold but we haven't had any lasting snow, which is good becasue it allows me to get off my bum and go running outside. The area we live in is so beautiful and I just love running and walking on the nature trail by our place.

Our place is coming along great as well. We've been loyal customers at IKEA and have furnished almost the entire house to our liking. The decorating is almost finished as and I promise we will send some pics soon, but you really can appreciate it better in person so feel free to visit any time! Anyway both Sam and I love our place and it really feels like "home" to us so that's what counts.

Ok well I promised this wouldn't be a book like the last time so I will let you go. Thank you so much to everyone who's been emailing, calling, and sending notes in the mail. It really means a lot a lot to both me and Sam. Please, please take care and continue to stay in touch because I miss you all! Hope to hear from you soon! Love, Jenna