Alright, enough time has passed that I can start updating my 31 Things list.  Ready?

4. Read a novel in German.

Okay, so I haven’t exactly started on this goal yet.  But.  I have two awesome German books that I am looking forward to starting (as soon as I can get in the mindset that reading in German in not homework).  The first one is Russendisko by Wladimir Kaminir, a Russian who moved to Berlin in 1990 and wrote this hilarious memoir about being a foreigner in Germany (also available in English as Russian Disco, if you’re interested).  The second is Damals war es Friedrich by Hans Peter Richter, a classic German novel about a boy during WWII (again, with the English verision: Friedrich). Sounds promising, right?

5. Spend Christmas with my nephew for the first time.

Another goal that is in progress: we have the plane tickets!  Believe me, that is more than half the battle.  Flying from Europe to the West Coast is no small feat — I had it so easy in living in New York: the West Coast several hours in one direction, Europe several hours in the other — and we were able to manage it with only one little layover (within Germany) and then direct to Seattle.  Can’t wait!

12. Integrate saunas into my cold weather routine.

Last Saturday was my first visit of the season, and I know there will be many more where that came from.  Warm!

13. Ride my bike to work everyday.

One week down, 51 to go.  So far, so good.  Work is only a five-minute ride away, along mostly quiet and empty streets.  Piece of cake.  It is when I am riding around traffic that I get nervous.

18. Continue taking German classes at the Goethe Institute in Hamburg.

Woohoo, after at least a year of being of being stuck at the B1 level, I have finally made it to B2!  And as I mentioned here, taking a German class in Germany is a lot more interesting than any of the classes I took in New York.

30. Participate in the 2008 U.S. presidential election thanks to VoteFromAbroad.org.

I mailed in that absentee ballot just the other day, thank you very much.  Now I am nervously crossing my fingers and hoping “that one” becomes our next president, so I do not have to spend the next year explaining his loss to disappointed Germans.  (Seriously, I think they might love him more than I do.)

Bis später!