Happy Halloween!

Okay this is going to be in a kind of list-y format... I know I haven't written in ages but I'll catch up soon!
Halloween in Germany: stores have occasional Halloween-themed foods but no classic candy. People don't go trick-or-treating. Clara went to a Halloween party but didn't wear a costume. It was very weird for me. I went winter-coat shopping, successfully! and skyped home and then watched It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! on YouTube. I was pretty psyched about that.
November: HOW DID IT GET TO BE NOVEMBER ALREADY? This morning I went rowing. Yes, it was beyond freezing. No, I didn't know it was happening or I would have faked illness or something. But I am pretty much positive that it was the last outdoor practice we're having until spring! And now practices are indoors and only once a week. Cheers! Another November thing: for the last couple years I've participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and last year Mom and Olivia joined me. Last night while we were skyping Mom reminded me about it, so now I've got myself signed up yet again to write 50,000 words in 30 days. As if I don't already have enough to do... So this blog post will be short because I only have 409 words so far and I still have no idea what my novel is going to be about. I'll keep you updated.
Some things I've noticed recently:
-you have to pay to use public restrooms.
-sneezing is treated more like a cough is in America- not usually acknowledged. Sometimes there's a 'gesundheit', but more often than not there's just silence.
-Christmas is BIG here. Some places already have decorations up, and stores have had huge Christmas displays since mid-September. It's going to be exciting this year... really different but definitely exciting...
-People do laundry once a week and wear the same clothes for several days in a row.
-People lick their utensils and it's still acceptable to put them back into the main serving bowl.
-Candid pictures are weird. People always pose. Always.
Okay that's all I can think of for now... I'm back to school tomorrow (ugh) but hopefully that means I'll start finding more to do and hence more to write about. Have a wonderful beginning of your November!