This is a bit late by German time, but anyway…

I just spent a very enjoyable Christmas Eve with my parents, Chris and Tatjana. We had a yummy dinner together, unwrapped our presents, watched the movie Maria Full of Grace, and played Skip-Bo. We had a really good time, and I hope you had or will have a lovely Christmas as well!

Much love,
Viviane

I am only two nights from leaving Heidelberg for two weeks. I have started packing and I am actually as done as can be right now (with the exception of some things I use every day). I can not pack everything just yet, but I have gotten pretty far. As usual, I feel like I am taking way too much stuff, but it is winter, so clothes just take up more space, I guess. I bought my train ticket the other day, and made a reservation for the train at 1700, because that way I will definitely have plenty of time Friday, in case something comes up. Usually I don’t make a reservation and just decide spontaneously which train I take, but two days before Christmas Eve a reservation is a must.
This week classes have been quite laid back; actually we watched movies in like half of them. I have only one more class tomorrow, and work, and then I am done until January 8th. Except for that term paper that I need to write. I made copies of another book I will use for that paper today. I wish I could have just kept the book over the break but they do not do that at the department libraries. I had a break in between classes today for 1.5 hours and I spent most of it at the copy shop. I also picked up the last Christmas presents and wrapped them when I got home, and now I am 100% done with my Christmas shopping.

Well, I cannot wait to get home. This semester isn’t over, but after Christmas there will only be five more weeks, and the semester after that should not be near as stressful. I will probably take some extra classes, not just what I need to take, but even then I should not have more than maybe 16 hours of classes a week (as opposed to 24 this semester). (I only have four more mandatory classes to take after this semester, a total of 8 hours, but the requirements for graduating are really a joke; you cannot really pass if you only take the classes you have to take.)

I hope y’all are enjoying the holiday time and not getting too caught up in the stress that comes with it.