so, finally, it was christmas!
(i'll have to skip the fourth advent, which could be summed up in one sentence: i was sick and slept all day.)

i spent until the last second before dinner making a christmas gift for my host parents, a germany-thailand guidebook. 25 pages self-written with photos. and i managed to finish it within 4 days. (well, i was sick and couldn't start the project earlier.)

then i wrapped these presents with a matt gold paper and decorated with these little branches of pine tree with pine cones from the garden. the cutest gift i had ever wrapped.


so, in germany, we celebrate christmas for three days long. and the first day, the night of christmas eve or heilige abend, is the most important day and the time that we open our presents.

on the night of christmas eve, we went over to a good friend of my host parent, our neighbours and their kids, and they had the coziest apartment i had ever seen.

the kids were telling the story of christmas (related to christian religion) and we had a dinner, hirtenessen, together, siting on the mattress on the flour. after the meal we opened some presents, and opened some more when we got back home.

and the hirtenessen at the diehls was the loveliest part of my first christmas.