My last month of 2020

Hey guys,

a lot has happened in the last month: school, Corona, Christmas, seeing a bit of Ireland, New Year's...

I've been back with my support family for 9 weeks now and at school for 7 weeks. And I have to say, time flew by so fast. My host family here is always there for me. The kids are always ready to have some fun ;D I am very happy with my family here.

I have settled in at school and have even made some contact with a few Irish people - I wouldn't call them friends yet, but I have other contacts during break time besides the other exchange students. And I was able to switch from Chemistry to Biology.

Limerick

After we came out of lockdown at the beginning of December, I took the opportunity to meet a friend from Athlone. We met in Limerick because it's in the middle and easy for both of us to reach.

We met at 10 in the morning. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate at first... So we looked for a café instead. There was food and a 'gingerbread hot chocolate'. You have to try the hot chocolate, but in our opinion, there was too much gingerbread spice in it. As time went on, the weather got better and it was blue sky and sunshine. And we took advantage of that to explore Limerick a bit and take pictures. And there was a Ferris wheel too; we spontaneously decided to go on it. And I have to say, Limerick has some beautiful spots. And in a way, it reminded us a bit of Athlone.

All in all, the day flew by in a snap of a finger and we were both on our way home :(

Merry Christmas

Regarding Christmas, there was a little surprise. Here, on the 24th of December, it's only Christmas Eve and Christmas is celebrated and presents are exchanged on the 25th of December.

Christmas Eve

At my host family's house, we already had the so-called 'Christmas stockings' on that day. These are the stockings that hang over the fireplace and are filled with a few small things on Christmas.

We ordered food for dinner, which we had to put in the oven. The starter was a little disappointment for me because I don't like fish that much. And you can guess what there was mainly... fish. I even tried oysters. I struggled with myself for a minute, but in the end, I couldn't bring myself to do it. But in general, it wasn't a problem that I didn't have much of the starter - that way, I had enough space for the main course.

And that was really delicious. And for the first time in my life, I had duck; it tasted surprisingly good.

In the evening, before my little host siblings went to bed, we prepared various things for Santa:

- a plate of cookies and rum for Santa

- plates of carrots and milk for Rudolph

- scattered reindeer food in the garden

- and spread 'Magic Snow' in the garden.

And I have to say, I was really impressed by the Magic Snow. It was a powder that you sprinkled on your hand. You had to mix it with a little water and it turned into artificial snow. It was really cool!

Christmas Day

On the 25th of December, we opened the presents in the morning. The kids were naturally wide awake afterwards. But my double placement and I went back to bed. In the afternoon, we went to grandma's house. There was a huge Irish Christmas dinner with everything: potatoes in all possible variations, chicken, red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, a sausage platter, and various sauces. And I was already full after one plate... :(

Later, we watched 'Home Alone' and 'The Greatest Showman' on TV.

New Year's Eve

The original plan for New Year's Eve was to have a nice evening in a pub here in Mallow and for a friend of mine from Athlone to come and visit. But we made that plan without Corona...

On the 30th of December, Ireland went into full lockdown again; of course, you shouldn't meet up and have parties on New Year's Eve. So it turned out quite different, but still very nice.

I heard my host siblings at 7 o'clock in the morning, who were so excited when they saw that it was snowing. The snow was a total surprise for me because everyone always says 'Yes, it doesn't snow here in Co. Cork.' When I came down, the kids were just on their way outside. When I saw how much fun they were all having out there, I went out too. SNOWBALL FIGHT!!! I really didn't expect to have a snowball fight here.

We ordered food from a Thai restaurant so that no one has to cook. And I finally managed to eat with chopsticks. That was the success of the evening ;D. I had tried so many times before...

Even though I'm not in Germany, 'Dinner for One' is a must! So I showed it to my host parents. And my host mother burst out laughing :D

Afterwards, we watched a movie. Shortly before 12, we paused the movie and switched to a TV channel with a countdown. At 12, we all wished each other a Happy New Year. And then we finished watching the movie. Just a short break ;D. Strange but also good.

So it was quite unspectacular and relaxed but still nice.

Corona?!

We are now in another lockdown. This time for the whole month. That means the shops are closed again, you can't meet others at home, most hobbies are on hold, and you can't move more than 5 km away from home... And what annoys me is that our school, and therefore everyone I know so far, is 25 km away from Mallow... That means I can't meet anyone (whether it's outdoors or not). But always look on the bright side: our holidays have been extended until the 11th of January.

So that's it for now from me. I hope you found the post interesting - even with the Irish Christmas.

Now I wish you a Happy New Year and stay healthy.

See you soon,

yours Davina