We had a really nice family Christmas in England. It was great to meet the rest of Chris’ family, who seemed to like me, or, at the very least pretended to like me. I thought I would be dreadfully homesick for my family, but that wasn’t the case at all. It was just an extremely nice, warm experience.

Now we are back in Munich and it is January 2nd. We had the most fun on New Year’s Eve. We started at Lise and Richard’s with a few civilized glasses of Prosecco. Then we met Graham on the bridge to enjoy the fireworks and it was a ball! I normally am terrified of them, but I guess all the drinks I had helped me conquer my fear – if only for one night. Then we all wandered over to our favorite little bar and stayed till four a.m., during which Chris and I got into a drunken battle, not our speed at all, and utterly ridiculous. We made up though and spent all day yesterday in bed watching tv, dozing and laughing. Now we are up early and about to watch yesterday’s football highlights. Oh joy!

I am having problems getting the tsunami out of my mind. It is so terrible and seemingly all-encompassing. Beyond making a donation, I feel powerless. It is an awful thing and here, in our warm, cozy home, I feel lucky.