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Why I loooooooove Deutschland (so far)

A friend of mine recently sent me a copy of a Barranquillero's diary in Canada. (For those of you unfamiliar with the term Barranquillero, it refers to a person born in the Capital of the Republic of Atlántico, Colombia. Or, more simply, a person from Barranquilla.) It detailed his first experiences with first-worldliness and snow. After about a month of having nothing but beautiful things to say, he gets tired of all that stuff and yearns going back home. That happens to me every single time the temperature drops below 20°C... which is every day for the past 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 11 hours and 10 minutes ;-) But I have managed to find little things to make me happy... of course raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens are a few of my favorite things, but I have no rose garden and no kitty. So, I've managed to compile my own little list of reasons for WHY I LOOOOOOVE DEUTSCHLAND--so far.

1. Because I get to speak a language with almost no foreign influences. You see, although the Germans appreciate Latin and Greek roots, they are well aware that they have a very rich language, and choose to use their own words to describe their own things. Germans, for instance, don't watch "television", a device whose name is composed of the Greek "tele", meaning far, and "vision", meaning, well, to see. They watch Fernsehen, from the German Fern, meaning far, and sehen, meaning vision, or to see. The Germans don't have Craters, a word derived from the Latin term hole. The Germans have Erdloch, which means hole (Loch) in the earth (Erd). The Germans don't have dictionaries, which I think is derived from the Latin diction. They have Wörterbucher, or Books of Words.

2. Because I get to enjoy snow in November...


3. Because I get to wear ridiculous yet delicious warm clothes... like the following. In an effort to vindicate myself, I may have a wonderful mother, but MY SISTER is the one with the amazing ideas. Is this a coat? Is it a throw-blanket? Is it gloves with a cloak attached? I don't know... but it suuuuuuure feels good!


4. Because I get to go to Weihnachtsmarkts, and enjoy the beautiful German culture, and handcraftmanship (is that a word?).


5. Because I get to drink Glühwein... which I have discovered I don't enjoy much... but just the fact that I can drink it, makes it fun :-)


6. Because I get to wake up, every single day, beside the most amazing man in the universe... a man who loves me, takes care of me, spoils me rotten... and who puts up with me, every day.


7. Because I have a wonderful, and HUGE, German family!


8. Because I have friends... with whom I am forced to speak only in German!


9. Because I can use free, public internet service to write all these things, and be constantly connected, and send too many emails. And because I have friends and family all over the world who are often kind enough not only to read, but to reply.

10. Because I get to ride my bike--winter, spring, summer or fall... rain, snow or sleet... all the time... and that's good exercise!


11. And because I finally have enough TIME. Time to do all the things I have always wanted to do...

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