Sarah in Germany

Doctor Lia

2012-01-29T09:09:00.002+01:00

Lia is obsessed with being a Doctor! Here she is in acton...

Yoga!!!

2011-12-20T18:11:00.002+01:00

Lia Reading

2011-12-18T09:38:00.002+01:00

Over the river and through the woods...

2011-12-09T13:02:00.002+01:00

Happy Birthday Carolyn!!!

2011-12-03T17:58:00.002+01:00

Christmas Mood

2011-11-27T17:40:00.002+01:00

Lia - on Sickness

2011-11-20T11:49:00.003+01:00

Bears!!

2011-11-15T17:58:00.002+01:00

Playing

2011-11-08T19:02:00.001+01:00

Wasabi Peanuts

2011-11-04T18:09:00.001+01:00

Sleepless Nights

2011-11-01T05:41:00.003+01:00

Lia was awake from 1-2:30. Kira woke up at 5. I don't always get a lot of sleep! At least Kira is cute and adorable and can entertain herself in the morning.

Halloween!

2011-10-31T13:01:00.002+01:00

Here is my attempt to document snip-its of my life!

Belated Birth Story - Kira Rose

2011-10-02T21:20:00.003+02:00

Dear Kira,

I have been meaning to write down your birth story ever since you were born. During my maternity leave, I was unfortunately too busy watching Gossip Girl and cuddling with you to do much at all. Now that you and Lia are peacefully sleeping and I am not also asleep (this is a rare event) I will see how accurate my memory is.

First your due date. According my calculations, your due date was April 23rd (at the earliest.) The doctor measure you for April 20th - 3 days early. As the 20th came and went it caused a bit of anxiety on my part. I did not want you to come on your sister's birthday (the 23rd). After that, we were ready for you, but you needed a bit more time. I told the doctor's that I did not want to be induced, only to learn that instead of a 10 day late before induction policy, it was now a 7 day late before induction policy.

On the morning of the 27th I went into a check up and there was evidence of some activity. The doctor wanted to increase the chance of you come, so removed the mucous plug (I know, gross) and stripped the membranes. Had I been asked if I was ok with this, I would have said no, but they really wanted you to come out, and did not ask my opinion (so not ok).

Over the course of the day I had worse and worse stomach cramps. You daddy really wanted to check out the new pool (Westbad) and I figured it would not hurt anything, so we went. There the cramping got even worse. Then we went home, and Aunt Jane made delicious pasta. (Her secret ingredient - add cream to the tomato sauce.) We went to bed, but I had a feeling something would happen.

And sure enough, the cramps woke me up around 2 and they were INTENSE. I sat around and tried to document the frequency on the Internet. But they rapidly became to painful for even that to work. I moaned to Aunt Jane for a while and then woke up your dad. At that point it was hard to even get dressed. The contractions were coming intensely and quickly. We called the taxi, which came quickly, and I sat on a towel.

When we got to the hospital, we were pretty quickly given a room - a big nice one with that elusive birthing pool.

I lay down, and said Ahhhh every time a contraction came. The only problem was that at that point they were fast with out any significant break in between (at the longest 20 seconds.) They checked and would not tell me how much I was dilated. (I guess it wasn't much.) Then they asked if I wanted anything for the pain. I said no. When they came back 5 minutes later and I was basically delirious with pain and having no pause at all between contractions, I said ok. So they drugged me (an opiate that they said would not affect the baby at all - which I don't really believe) and I became high and . I remember pretending I was floating down a river and tried visualizing the contractions bring you to me. Then it wasn't so bad but the contractions certainly did not slow down. After a little longer, they insisted on giving me something to slow down the contractions - which did not seem to have any effect. BECAUSE after 1.5 hours in the hospital, I was completely dialated. Apparently the amniotic sack was bulging and they popped it. (Also without asking.) Then they told me maybe I should stop moaning and focus the energy into pushing. So I did! And you came out. It was incredibly fast.

You were very sweet. You cried a bit and snuggled a lot and were absolutely perfect. I was amazed that you were so skinny with no fat on your legs and bottom. I think you could have used another few days inside of me, but you were completely healthy and perfect.

I fell deeply in love with you the second I saw you and have been enjoying you ever since.

Love,

Mommy

Back Again

2011-10-02T21:16:00.002+02:00

Recently I have been reflecting a lot on my up coming 30th birthday, which seems quite significant. I want to put my thoughts to paper and document the transition. Maybe even include a bit of video and some pictures. In general I am not a fan of birthdays (at least my birthday) and I like to mark the day with not much fuss and a bit of self indulgence. But blogging as a way to more actively and thoughtfully reflect sounds good. Let's see if I can do it (two small children do not leave me with much time or energy for much)!

Summer is Here

2010-06-11T16:25:00.003+02:00

After a month of mostly gray, rainy, cold weather - it is HOT. Time to break out the skirts and dresses. This is wonderful, because now, instead of just dressing myself - I have an adorable little child to dress in adorable little dresses and rompers. I didn´t think it could happen - but buying children´s clothes is even more exciting than buying clothes for myself. In fact, I think I have an AHEM - little clothes buying problem. But we all have our guilty pleasures.

With the nice weather comes eating on the balcony - great until Lia decides to eat the stones - going to the swimming pool/playground/park to relax (actually to chase Lia around, but it is still fun), eating real Italian ice cream, more trips to the city, and light until 9:30!

I only have 2 more weeks of school - 1 in the classroom - 1 week of movement week - where I will be playing wilderness games and hiking - and then 6 weeks off. I am soooooooooo ready. I just have the last hurdle of grading
2 classes worth of English tests
3 classes worth of writing assignments (blogs and book report writing activities)
3 classes of history test

In fact, this is what I should be doing during nap time, instead of surfing the Internet and writing here! Looks like I need to finish grading 3 sets of things per day.

Last Names

2010-05-18T18:59:00.001+02:00

An update on this - being a teacher is a great way to find out what your name rhymes with - or even loosely rhymes with. Mine happens to rhyme with the French word for cat and with shat. Luckily, very few students make this connection. However, when 17 year old boys decide to call you Mrs. Cat - that can quickly move from innocent fun and word play to pretty blatant disrespect. Add in hissing sounds - well - I nipped that in the bud VERY quickly. The only problem is after that I got declarations of love from said chastised student. I also had a discussion with him about how that was not OK or appropriate... The things I have to deal with. Which reminds me - one of my fellow teachers - who has been struggling - said to me the other day, "What have I done in my life to deserve this treatment." Sometimes that summarizes my feelings exactly.

Now and then I think it would be very helpful to have smaller boobs and a tougher exterior image. I may have to go back to buns and glasses next year.

Visit to the Orthopedist

2010-05-18T18:56:00.003+02:00

I visited the orthopedist because my back has been sore recently.

At the orthopedist we learned:
1. One leg is a centimeter shorter than the other (take that Mrs. Copeland, it wasn´t scoliosis, it was leg length)
2. My hip bone and socket do not fit together correctly - too big socket, and the bone isn´t correctly placed.
3. My vertebrae don´t stack up straight, they are somewhat crooked.
4. My pelvic floor isn´t what it should be.

I was chastised for not going to Ruckbuldung Gymnastic - post birth exercise class and I have to start working out. Hopefully this will end in a healthier, fitter me. But when am I going to exercise in the morning and the night! Crunches at 5am...yuck!

Lia Hits the Road

2010-05-08T10:37:00.000+02:00

Lia is 1 and spring is here

2010-05-08T10:22:00.003+02:00

Today on a sunny Saturday morning I have been reminiscing about this time last year. My tiny new born baby was spending most of her time sleeping on my chest. Now that tiny baby is a walking, hair pulling, talking!, cuddling, occaisonal tantrum throwing toddler. In the world of babies, a year is an eternity.

Lia is an incredible joy - she changes by bounds each week. Yesterday at the thermal bath she put her face into the water voluntarily and loved being thrown back and forth between mamma and dadda.

Lia points to her preferred destination, saying da or dat - (German for there, and English that). When her daddy is not paying attention to her, she yells DaDA. She knows that ducks quack. She can wave bye bye but she is most likely to do it after the other person is long gone.

We have spent hours watching our neighbors chickens, ducks, and rooster wander around the yard. Animal watching is the only time Lia sits still - otherwise she is a bundle of action and energy.

There is a box in the corner of the room that Lia has made her private island. She climbs up the box - then down. Puts a toy on the box, climbs up and throws it off. Stands on the box and claps while kneeling on the box. I tried to put the box in the basement and Lia was inconsolable. So the box stays for now.

Spring in Germany is a beautiful time. Flowers blooming, roses everywhere you turn, light and green. Of course that is interspersed with weeks of chilly rain. Lia is lucky to share her birthday with this time of renewal of life and energy.

Back to the theme of reminiscing, we have been missing Jane and Cheryl- The days we spent at an almost empty strandbad lazing around were so lovely. Strandbad is open, and hopefully more such days are ahead of us!

Time Flies and So Does Lia

2010-01-06T09:48:00.007+01:00

Happy New Year! We are back in Germany after a very relaxing holiday season in Reading. Lia continues to be an excellent traveler, but I imagine we will be increasingly uncomfortable sharing an airplane seat as she gets bigger and bigger. In fact, Lia fits into her 12-18 month clothes already. (I am a bit of a compulsive Baby Gap shopper - the clothes are so adorable.)

We have hit a lot of milestones including standing (using everything - walls, tables, legs, etc.) She is starting to explore the world and our apartment is as of yet decidedly not baby proofed. We have to get on that, because if you take your eyes off of Lia for more than 2 seconds, she is into something new. Lia is enjoying cheerios and more people foods - overcooked pasta yesterday! She babbles all the time, and we have heard: up, hallo, mama, and dada - although none necessarily were attached to real meaning.

Jan and I are both very busy with school and parenting, leaving little time for anything else. Despite the stresses of too much to do and too little time, we are truly enjoying the adventure of new life and working on taking one day at a time.

Once again - Happy New Year!!

6 Months Old

2009-11-06T19:49:00.005+01:00

Lia is half a year old.

Major accomplishments: eating "real" food Her favorite is rice cereal
sitting from lying down
jumping jumping and more jumping
screeching and blowing raspberries

Likes: baths
sleeping in on the weekend
whistling
flirting with men

Disklikes: getting dressed
diaper changing
relaxing or chilling

And here are some cute videos

Long Hiatus - Lia is 5 months old!

2009-09-29T15:07:00.003+02:00

But now I finally have a vacation from school. 7 weeks of work with a baby done! And they were tough. Hopefully after this two week break, life will get a little easier.

Lia is doing incredibly well. 5 months old, going on 12 :) She had her first meal last night, in her brand new tripp trapp chair, and ate like a pro. I am now waiting on the result of this meal - the dreaded first solid food poop.

Lia also can get up on her hands and knees, but isn´t quite crawling yet.

Here is an adorable baby slurping up her rice cereal :)

Before

Hey, this is pretty good!

Yum, yum, yum

On Breastfeeding

2009-07-19T02:56:00.002+02:00

Breastfeeding is a great joy, but also a great challenge. Little did I know, 3 months ago, that I would be able to squirt milk, out of my boob, clear across the room. This is quite a talent - and was a shock - the first time I did it.

Lia and I had little trouble getting started. Once she came out, my body was free territory, and the senior midwife stuck my boob in her mouth and off we went. Our midwife said that we were naturals and we should teach other woman. Great.

At that point, little did I know, that Lia would assert her own opinion about that whole thing, and torture me at will.

Here's what happens. Lia goes on a hunger strike. My boobs hurt. Lia gets hungry. Much awkward positioning and crying follows and ...

somehow I find myself sticking my boob in front of Lia's mouth, in the middle of a traffic jam, in a tunnel, not really caring when my sister points out the old man in the next car checking things out. Unfortunately, the body contortions and shamelessness did not pay off, and Lia gave me a look that said - what are you doing to me, get that thing out of my face, and punctuated it with some crying. That is the first in long string of what the hell moms.

Lia and I are living in the lap of luxury at my parents house, where we usually recline on the bed, and Lia can eat at her leisure. I think this is bad training, because next time we are jambed in an airplane bathroom, standing against a wall in a dark corner, or hiding in Lia's UV beach tent, Lia will turn her head in disdain as if to say, forget it, find me a double bed with 400 thread Egyptian cotton sheets, gently position me on my side, position yourself just so, allow me to ponder it for a while and then MAYBE, I will eat, stopping my hysterical crying and your chest pains.

Despite the challenges, breastfeeding is a bonding experience, and a joy, and a miracle of biology, and yes, I will really miss it when I am sitting in a cramped bathroom at work hooked to a pump, and of course, best of all, it is free.

Fast Approaching 3 Months

2009-07-19T02:23:00.004+02:00

Baby smiles!!!!!!!

My sweet little baby will be three months old in a few days. Time is moving far to quickly.

Lia is still a sweet and wonderful baby, turning baby haters to baby lovers in an instant.

Her likes include:
Staring at a hand of cards - completely mesmerizing
Blowing raspberries
Smiling and raising her eyebrows
Standing (with assistance)
Kicking vigorously
Doing shoulder bridges
Baths

Her dislikes include:
Being held like a baby - so undignified
Planes
Eating when overly hungry (this can be an issue)
Tummy time for longer then 2 minutes
Shirts that go over the head
Hooter Hiders
Going to bed early

Achievements
Lia has progressed to making angry noises to warn you that she is about it cry if you don't do something FAST!
She can roll over - but only by accident
Many noises - the favorite is oooo gaa
And Lia is a baby body builder - she is pure muscle

6 Weeks Old Already

2009-06-06T12:48:00.008+02:00

Wow...having a baby keeps you busy. Yes, there are long periods of sleeping, but those periods are being used to recover from the awake periods of constant baby interaction. When somebody asks me what I have been doing. The answer is often...well, hanging out with the baby.

Lia is a sweety. I think she is probably a relatively easy baby, but she does have her moments. Babies can really scream. And when they start up, they often don´t want to calm down. Luckily, the screaming does not even happen every day, just occasionally and afterward she passes out for hours. I still don´t understand the evolutionary purpose of the screaming - I mean, she has all of her needs taken care of and really, there is no point in screaming. But, she seems to get really pissed off at the world sometimes and ready to let go.

We have been making a lot of progress. I no longer am terrified to be alone in public with Lia (this resulted from the hard core screaming that happened the first time I took her for a walk alone). Nothing like a screaming baby to make you feel like the most negligent person ever. Here we are getting ready for an outing.

Since then we have mastered the stroller and the Moby wrap. Lia and I are becoming pros at leaving the house.

Every day, Lia is more alert and interactive. She coos and has conversations with us, and is more and more aware of the world around her.

Here she is checking out the patterns in her bassinet. (Thanks for the baby stimulating blanket Grandma!) Yes, babies like bright colors with sharp contrast - as they can actually see them.

Our neighbor knit Lia the cutest outfit. She very nicely slept through the fitting session.

She may have a future as a clothing model.

I will leave you with the cutest thing ever...a baby butt!!

Baby Sarah and Baby Lia

2009-05-02T11:00:00.004+02:00

Lia and I seem to have scowling and pinchably fat cheeks in common.

Letter to Lia - 1 Week Old Today!

2009-04-30T18:48:00.001+02:00

Dear Lia,

You are one week old today! I can’t believe it. Time has been flying by. I can already not imagine life without you. We were very lucky to have your grandma and my mom here to help us. She helped make the transition – me to being a mother, and you to being a baby (as the doctor kept saying, just over one week ago, you were still just a fetus) – smoothly.

You are an incredibly easy baby. You almost never cry. You look at everybody with your blue eyes and they fall in love with you. Evolution did a good job with making babies lovable, but you are especially lovable. The midwife says that we are doing an amazing job breast feeding and you easily gained back your weight. (I will tell you a secret though – I have no idea what I am doing, so you get all the credit.) She also says that you are already getting a bottom and developing your curves.

The nights have been long, but not even too hard. You wake up and want to eat, need to be changed, and like to be held. Today you were very alert during the day, so maybe you will go easy on me tonight!

I love holding you and watching your face change expressions. You are a master of facial expressions, smiling one moment, grimacing the next, then yawning (when you yawn you look like a turtle). You also move your arms all the time.

Your daddy also loves you very much. He thinks that you are so smart that you are ready to play catch. He is especially good at calming you down when you have indigestion. (I think this might be a family calamity.) We found out that the two of you have the same little indentation next to your ears.

It amazes me that you developed out of a microscopic sperm and egg. Then you grew in my stomach nine more months, and here you are. You are doing such a good job entering the world. (I know it must have been pretty traumatic.)

I love you forever and more than I could ever express Lia.

Your Mommy.

Birth Story (Warning - may be graphic)

2009-04-26T18:22:00.006+02:00

Here I am during labor - very attractive.

Here I am the same day after labor - I am totally out of it, but doing much better.

Lia Grace took her time coming to the world. She was due on April 15th but finally made an appearance on the morning of April 23rd. Here is the story.

April 22nd was a beautiful day. My mom and I spent the morning walking and eating delicious food. I took a few hours to paint "Red Fish" for Lia´s room and felt like I was having contractions most of the day. (The Braxton Hicks kind). Jan came home (exhausted) and we had lentil casserole for dinner.

Then mom and I decided to take a walk down to the ice cream shop. (at about 7:30pm) I had almond and she had Raffaello (named after a coconut flavored candy). As I was about to start on my latte machiatto (yes, I drank too much caffiene during my pregnancy), I felt a gush of warm fluid. My first thought was - did I just pee. My second thought was...there is a puddle of fluid forming under me, how embarrasing.

I called Jan and told him to bring me my emergency change of clothing (which I had been faithfully toating around with me, but left at home that night.) After a few attempts at standing up - more fluid came out every time, I managed to get to the bathroom and change. By the time I was out a taxi arrived and my mom and I headed to the hospital. Jan went to get the supplies.

I still thought that it may be a false alarm - but sure enough . it was the amniotic fluid and it was gushing. The contractions were coming - but the midwife thought that they "were not the the real thing" and told me that I should walk around. She checked Jan and I into a room where we could sleep and rest up for the labor. Jan decided to hang out there, while my mom and I met Cheryl and Jane to get some walking in.

We walked around the block and by then (very quickly) the contractions felt like "someone shoving a knife into my stomach." Basically they were horrendously painful. In between I was ok though. So I walked and then slumped against any available wall during the contractions. We got around the block and sat on the steps. Drunk people and students road their bikes by us, and the high light was being offered, in slurred English, a cigarette. I turned it down.

Then mom said good night, and Cheryl and Jane escorted me to my room. Jan was there and I told him that I didn´t think we were going to get much rest as I flung my self on the floor and moaned in pain. (really). Then a midwife came and measured my contractions some more. After maybe an hour and a check she determined that my cervix actually was closing with each contraction and that Lia was facing forward and jamming her forehead into my pelvic bone with each contraction. She recommended an epidural. We wanted to avoid all needles, so asked for a second opinion. The midwife didn ot appreciate this, but she did say we could try out the birthing tub. (that was the closest I got to my dream of a water birth) After writhing around in the water for a while, we decided that this really was not helping anything, and that we would go ahead and get the epidural.

This was pretty traumatic (think catheter in your spinal cord), although I agree that it was for the best.

As the epidural was being adminstered I started shaking uncontrallably - this continued for the next several hours. The midwife even tried to stop it by sticking a needle in my head (yes, accupunture - I was really not into the needle in the head thing)

Unfortunately, the epidural did not do much for the pain and in fact half of my body was totally uneffected. The other half did feel numb for a while, but the pain quickly came back. After another dosage of drugs, there was still no change.

Then, to continue the medication trend, they gave an IV pain killer. This was great, not because it got rid of any pain - but as I read somewhere - the pain mattered a bit less and in between contractions I could relax much more. This was also the most productive part of the labor (prob from 4am to 6).

Around 5 the midwife said she was getting a coffee and the shift would change soon - someone would check on us in 30 min. or so. This was a bit upsetting given the excrutiating pain and the fact that I felt like was dying - ok, enjoy your coffee while I lie here suffering.

Then the new team showed up, checked me, and I was 10 centimeters dilated. The baby was ready to come. They disconnected me from everything, and Jan and I tried out a variety of labor positions. Standing, hanging, sitting up, moving around. It worked, and after pushing very hard for what felt like a long time, Lia came out. It hurt a lot, but knowing the pushing actually would end the pain and that my baby was coming, but it much easily.

I am not (too) ashamed to say that I screamed a lot and made a ruckus. I had been training for months while pooping, so I was ready for it. (As Jane says, I need to eat more fiber).

At 8:13 am. Lia showed up, not very wrinkly, and incredibly alert. They laid her on my chest immediately - she looked and me and her daddy, and did not cry at all. After about 10 minutes she breast fed for the first time and was already a pro.

I was shocked to find that she was not a giant baby like I had been and the ultrasounds had forecasted, but actually fairly average sized. She weighed a bit over 8 pounds. All of the baby clothes we have are too big!

The new family

Lia Grace - Born April 23rd

2009-04-26T18:18:00.003+02:00

We waited

And waited

And a baby was born!

1 Day Past Due Date

2009-04-16T11:42:00.001+02:00

and still no baby.

Everything is well, the baby and I are both healthy, but it has decided to stay put for now. We are really hoping that it decides to make a move before Easter vacation is over and everybody has to go back to work (that is, everybody but me) but the baby is not being cooperative. So everyday we are hoping the baby decides to come (but I also am secretly happy that I did not have to go through labor!)

I am having a lot of contractions, but they are not really painful and obviously are not especially productive. The doctor tells me that I should come in every two days, and then in ten days things are out of her hands. I think this is a nice way to say, you will go to the hospital and be induced. VERY much hope it does not come to that.

We are very lucky to be having a spring baby, the trees have been blooming, there are tulips everywhere and the world looks very pretty. We have been able to grill and hang out on the balcony for about two weeks now, and it is great!

Verrrrrrry Pregnant - 38.5 weeks

2009-04-03T21:39:00.005+02:00

Belly at 38.5 weeks. I have been lucky as far as stretch marks go, but do have two lovely purple ones courtesy of my belly ring compromised derma in the belly button region.

So...there is my giant pregnant belly for those of you who have been eager to see it. I am fairly sure that the baby in there weighs over 10 pounds and I am looking forward to its exit from my body. Although I have been enjoying my new status as an obviously VERY pregnant woman (this means that people offer me seats, stare at me in wonder, and ask me what the hell I am doing still commuting to work), I am getting restless regarding sleepless nights, not being able to get off the couch, having trouble tying my shoes, constantly having to pee, being punched in the sides by the baby, etc.

That said, I don´t really want to give birth. I would rather just fall asleep and magically wake up to my baby, outside of my body. Ideally with no visible damage to my body and 25 extra pounds gone. Hey, I can dream.

When I am not busy dreaming, I am getting ready for a hopefully drugless, natural child birth. We will see how that goes in actual practice, but there is no way I am willingly letting anyone put a needle in my spine, nor do I want an IV, nor do I want to end up with a lethargic baby. I had an unfortunate Noro - virus incident a few weeks ago and the resulting hospitalization confirmed that doctors are not capable of putting IVs into my apparently oh so delicate veins. I was stuck a total of 6 times and had 3 veins give out (they stopped "working" resulting in massive bruising and pain.) Luckily the German midwives seem to be very pro natural childbirth and encourage birth without intervention, so I am in the right place. (Although my motives may not be so pure.)

Progress Towards Birth

For those of you who know technical words - I am partially effaced - 1cm left. The head is engaged in the pelvis, and all things point go. So the baby is ready to come anytime. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that it won´t decide to baste in the comfort of my womb for another 2.5 weeks.

Other big news is that today was my last day of work!!! Now I have no excuse not to do the laundry, clean the house, finish my Dr. Suess paintings, eat healthy food, go for walks, and basically become an improved person. Darn. But I will get a lot more sleep, be less stressed out, and take great pleasure in my "vacation."

Another wonderful thing is that the sun has been out, the flowers are blooming, and spring time has come. April is a wonderful month to have a baby. Hopefully the weather will hold for another few weeks and shortly the baby and I will be chilling on the balcony, drinking fruit smoothies together.

The Pie Maker

2009-03-06T20:21:00.004+01:00

Jane introduced me to a new (prob. not so new, but new to me) television show while she was visiting, called 'Pushing Daisies.' Although I found both the main characters annoying and way to goody goody and earnest - the show did grow on me. One of the main features of the show is the Pie Hole - where the main character works. Seeing pie after pie inspired me to make my own. I never was big on pies - but they definitely could grow on me. Jan warns me that I have to try to control my sweet tooth, so the pies come very rarely.

Here is the crust with the apple filling. I should have put more apples but I ran out.

A close up.

Finished product.

And yes it was delicious!

I am going to try 'muffin pies' next. Mini pies made in the muffin pan.

In other news I am still pregnant but I am about ready not to be. We are approaching the 35 week mark now. Ok, if I am honest, 34.5 weeks, but who is counting.

Cons of pregnancy
1. Being overly emotional. (yes, it has finally kicked in)
I did start sobbing in a train, and I definitely freaked out the old German women who were sitting across from me. Excessive displays of emotion are so not German.

2. Toating around all of that extra weight.
Most of which is sticking out in front of me in the form of a giant belly and giant, well, other parts.

3. Constantly being out of breath.
Walking up the stairs - asthma attack.

4. Three days of leg pain reminding you - no you shouldn´t run to catch the last train for the next hour or to make it to the library to return the dvds that will cost you 4 euros if you don´t return them.

5. Getting up in general.
I have mastered scooting, and rolling, and performing squats now that I cannot use my stomach muscles for anything.

Pros of pregnancy
1. You get a baby at the end.

Of course the pros grossly out-weight the cons. But that baby can come any time now! I am ready not to be pregnant!

Alien Worm

2009-02-10T16:39:00.002+01:00

As I was half asleep on the couch last night - Jan came home and the baby decided to suddenly wriggle in my stomach - startling me and waking me up. It felt exactly like a snake moving under my skin - so freaky. Don´t worry - I usually have more maternal feelings, but baby, stop the slithering motions - better to deliver a nice kick. I think I told Jan something like - there´s an alien worm in my stomach - I am clearly very good at this bonding thing.

Windy Freiburg

2009-02-10T16:33:00.003+01:00

Jan has been sucked into the student teaching world, so I have my afternoons at the apartment to myself these days. That means that I get sucked into the Internet - but I also get to try baking.

Tonight I am planning on making brownies for one of my classes after a day of much much much improved behavior. (Yes, I resort to bribery) But unsurprisingly my plans are on hold because they sell no peppermint extract or unsweetened chocolate at the supermarket I stopped by. There are surprisingly few baking supplies available in Germany (no brown sugar, no vanilla extract, no corn syrup, etc) at least at the more local chain stores. I will stop by Migros (giant Swiss store in the middle of the city) in hopes that the Information desk will help me out and I will be able to make these brownies tonight. Because they sound sooooooo good.

I would use creme de menthe but these are for my students - better not to give them alcohol regardless how small the quantitiy is. However valium...

In other news the wind is howling and a cold front is coming. Jane - bring your winter coat. Flurries and sub zero temperataures for the foreseeable future await you. Ok - not as bad as Boston, but you actually have to walk around and wait for trains and be outdoors around here :)

Week 31

2009-02-07T17:41:00.004+01:00

This is the baby´s head and foot...the baby performed amazing gymnastics the entire ultrasound.

This is my giant stomach on Feb. 7th. No - there definitely are not twins in there. Just one big baby.

So I am 31 weeks pregnant...

As you can see, the baby has grown quite a bit. It weighs in at 1800 grams or 4 pounds and it has another 9 weeks to go. I am hoping that it decides to come a week or two early...towards the beginning of April. I am not sure if it will happen but I will do my best to encourage it.

I had a fairly rough week of work - the kids are restless and don´t do any better with cold, dark weather than the rest of us. We have two more weeks and then a two week vacation, which is entirely bearable. I plan to try to clean - get ready for the baby, do some painting for the baby´s room and maybe the rest of the apartment, and go walking. I spend a lot of time huffing and puffing these days and I pretend that I get enough exercise by walking everywhere and going up and down the 5 flights of stairs at my school - but it prob. isn´t true.

Then after the vacation just four more weeks (maybe) of teaching for me and I get a loooooooong vacation. It will be very nice and I am glad the I will be able to get to know the baby (and still know that I can go back to work in August).

Other goals include cleaning the apartment - after this blog post in fact I will fold clothes, put them away, and then attack the bathroom. (which needs attacking) We had hired somebody to do basic floor and surface washing for us but she has exams she needs to study for - I think we should rehire! Contrary to the blog name, I am not much of a hausfrau and I am constantly exhausted when I am home - not so conducive to cleaning. I am waiting for the nesting adrenaline surge to kick in though and hopefully I will become a cleaning addict for a week or two.

Jan started his student teaching and spent his first week in the school. He likes the other teachers and the students and is having a very positive experience so far. Luckily for him, his school is 5 minutes from our apartment! Not much of a commute, so he has been finished before me most days.

All in all, everything is going well. We are preparing for the birth and look forward to meeting the baby in about 2 months! Wow.

January in Germany

2009-01-17T12:46:00.002+01:00

January in Germany (and Switzerland) has been very chilly. Nothing compared to weather in the US, but when you have to walk everywhere and constantly wait for trains, any below freezing temperature is unpleasant. WE also have had a covering of snow on the ground! Just a thin, often slushy layer, but at least it feels AND looks like winter.

The bad news is that I have a sore throat. A VERY sore throat. But otherwise no symptoms. Hopefully it will resolve itself. I am staying in for the rest of today and tomorrow to speed up the healing process. My schedule - which isn´t even that crazy - is enough to keep me on the edge of exhaustion most of the time - so I am evaluating what to do about it. I think after the jet lag is completely gone and I get into more of a rhythm it might be better. On the other hand I have a being inside me stealing my energy stores, so it may get worse.

I went to the doctor yesterday (canceled the appt. for the week before due to severe jet lag / exhaustion). Friday afternoons are for napping! But it was exciting because for the first time I was hooked up to the heart/contraction monitor. One sensor measures the hardness of your stomach and the other attempts to measure the baby´s heart rate. The baby was not cooperating and was more interested in kicking at the sensor, so it was hard to find its heart rate, but it was still really exciting to hear it every now and then.

Other big baby news is that now the doctor says it looks like a boy - but wait - that´s the umbilical cord, so who knows. Very noncommittal doctor. Jan says that he thinks he saw a "sack" but basically we have no idea what gender the baby is. I guess we will find out soon enough - but the suspense is killing me! I think it is prob. worse to want to know and then constantly not be told, then to just wait until the birth to find out.

I will now see the doctor in three weeks and then every other week after that. We are going into the home stretch!

I have developed a huge belly (Mostly due to the delicious American food I ate over Christmas. That´s what I get for feeling like I could eat whatever I wanted for ten days.) and am somewhat in disbelief that it could possibly get any bigger. The doctor basically said, eat more fruits and vegetables, but being in Germany and not in the land of foods I crave but I cannot get most of the time I will not be eating so much. (especially if I stop sneaking Starbucks chai lattes and espresso brownies)

No News!

2008-12-10T05:41:00.002+01:00

The bad news is that there is really not any news. No gender identifying happened yesterday, although the lack of certain obvious parts indicate that it probably is a girl. This is exciting - but we are cautioned not to go buy anything pink because the doctor really cannot confirm anything.

We did get to see our not so little baby yesterday. I ate a whole bag of marzipan Kartoffeln before the appointment and the sugar rush worked. The baby was wiggling everywhere. And was not so shy about showing us its bottom - just not really an unrestricted genital view.

To confirm my suspicions that this baby will be LARGE the computer projects a due date of April 7. This does not mean it will come on April 7 - it means the baby is as large as an average size baby would be if it were due on the day. So we are a little over a week ahead of growing schedule.

Now my stomach is very obvious and I am starting to look frumpy no matter what I wear.

I am told that I am looking "puffy" also. Nice.

Here is a picture of me looking frumpy and puffy :) Too early for a face shot.

Thanksgiving and Birthday Week !

2008-12-01T17:50:00.002+01:00

So I am a year older and another Thanksgiving fatter.

All in all, it was a nice week. I wanted a quiet Sunday birthday. I am pretty tired these days and need the weekends to recover from the weeks more than usual. So I was settled in for a quiet day when Jan surprised me with visitors - his parents and a few friends came over for the very German birthday tradition of cake eating. To understand why this is a German tradition - the cakes are bought by the birthday celebrant, come from a shop, and resemble fancy pies more than cake. But we had a sour cream cheese version, black forest cake, some yummy mocha flavored cake, and something that was orange which I didn't try.

I also made Funfetti cookies - and managed not to eat the dough! A small miracle.

After the guests left, Jan and I went out for dinner. On the way Jan said he wanted potatoes - I said, no thanks to potatoes.

Somehow we ended up with french fries, a bunch of grilled potatoes, and potato salad. And hummus. A very potatoey dinner.

The most special part of the day was that it snowed! A nice surprise. (last year we only had 1 day of slush in Freiburg) And there were roses blooming - which in fact are still blooming after a week in subzero (celsius) temperatures. Amazing.

Thanksgiving was saved by the fact that last years thanksgiving packet was delayed. (This years finally came today!) I had to work in Basel and work in Freiburg, so I didn´t get home until 7. But Jan and I threw together a feast of homemade pumpkin soup, Daddy´s stuffing, and not so home made corn pudding.

It was delicious!

I have a suspicion that my increased belly size is not only due to the growing baby!

Here is belly shot. (Between week 21 and 22)

Has it Been a Month?

2008-11-07T18:47:00.009+01:00

18 Weeks Belly

Baby Arm and Leg

Baby Profile

I am amazed that the month of October has passed by. Where did it go???

Well, I was hoping tonight to post the gender of our baby, but according to the doctor, the baby is shy and will reveal its parts when it is good and ready. I was quite frustrated and wanted her to poke at it until it moved into a genital viewing position, but no such luck.

The good news is that the baby is getting very big and actually looks human. Like you can see eyes and a nose and a mouth and feet and little baby hands. It was a bit disconcerting to be carrying around something that looked like a disembodied heart (chicken heart anyone) and then like an alien, so that is reassuring.

I of course forgot my glasses, so it looked like a blurry human to me, but Jan assured me that he saw a beating heart and a stomach as well. The bones show up as bright white - they are starting to harden.

My ´morning´sickness is basically over (despite that one popcorn gorging episode last week) although my sharpened senses do me no good when walking by a man hole connected to the sewage system. I repeatedly tell Jan that somebody has to do something about Freiburg smelling like shit - he does not agree! (By the way Freiburg is lovely and it only smells like shit in some places)

School was delightful for the last two days. I think the Obama high is contagious and somehow has infiltrated even the ranks of the children of Switzerland. At least they all were really excited and wanted to know what I thought about everything. Sometimes it is cool to be an American. I told them that now I would consider moving back to the US. :)

Well the spaghetti for the spaghetti pie is prob cooked so I better go look.

I will attempt to be a more faithful updater!

Home!!

2008-10-03T15:32:00.002+02:00

I am home and it is wonderful. I have been really enjoying catching up with my family and doing three of my favorite things: eating, sleeping, and shopping!

Unfortunately I do not have room in my stomach to eat everything I want, but I am doing a pretty good job of packing in the calories. Of course some of them come up again - but hey, that makes more room.

After careful consideration we may have to cancel the scheduled Fajitas and Ritas nacho stop because I think that just may not go over to well on the old stomach.

Yesterday I had quite an adventure buying maternity clothes. I am converted and I think Faith is too. Nice soft stretchy waist bands = heaven. Soft, stretchy materials...so wonderful. They do feel sort of like pajamas - but there is nothing wrong with that.

I felt somewhat like a fraud because I do not have much of an obvious bump - but the amazing thing is when you put on maternity clothes you automatically look 5X larger. Strange phenomenon. It will be wonderful not to have to undo my pants the moment I get home everyday.

Today is the trip to Boston day and I am waiting for my lovely but slow moving sisters to show up so that we can go. And yes - we will be stopping by Bagel World on the way out!

I´m Going to Boston!!!!!!!

2008-09-17T21:21:00.002+02:00

Yay!

On Saturday - after watching a very corny German show about a pregnant Brazilian model and her Italian German Searches a Super Star winner husband, I decided to take the plunge and buy a ticket to Boston for my fall break.

This is very exciting because I have not been stateside since Christmas! Too long.

Here are a list of reasons why I am excited to visit my home stomping grounds:

-I was feeling guilty because I told my grandpa I would be there for his 99th birthday party and I thought I couldn´t make it. Now I get to celebrate.

-I want to eat so many things that I cannot eat here - I will be chowing down. The restaurant list: Bertucci´s, Emperors Choice, Fajitas and Ritas, Bear Rock Cafe

The food list: Trader Joe´s everything, in particular French Onion Soup and mini quiches, Mrs. Maughn´s bean dip, lasagna (ok, I could make this here - but this is my mom´s lasagna!), black beans, and maple sugar candy if I can find it!

-Of course to see my wonderful family members, all of whom will be there!!!!

-I get to watch On Demand television endlessly (maybe they will have the whole season of Big Love!!!)

I also plan to go to the mall, go to Barnes and Noble, visit friends, maybe get a haircut, and walk around the lake.

Sounds like heaven to me.

Recovered - Sort of

2008-09-15T20:44:00.003+02:00

So my cold was short lived. I did the right thing, took two days off, slept, and Jan made sure that I wore socks the whole time.

But the bad news is that instead of just feeling like I am about to throw up, I am actually throwing up!! Very miserable.

I have a fear that I will throw up at some inopportune time. Like in the train, or in the middle of the crowded train station, or walking down the street. I mean, I am already gagging at these places...

Then I got to thinking about how people would react. It is pretty disgusting to see someone throwing up...

And why do I never see any women randomly throwing up. I mean you would think it would happen.

The mysteries of vomit.

Shaking Hands

2008-09-12T12:05:00.006+02:00

So, this year my first cold came two weeks earlier than last year.

A bit of background - I spend my days in schools. First to teach and then to learn. Schools are notorious for being sickness inducing places. So many people! So little hand washing! Such confined quarters! Such horrid air circulation!

I have a suspicion.

In my school, students and teachers shake hands. We shake hands quite often - when I get to a classroom. When the students leave the classroom. I have always found this habit a bit strange - I am not used to shaking hands so much. But if the students want to shake my hand, of course I let them. This is part of our relationship, and in its own way is nice.

However, I am pretty sure that there are many many Germs living on those little student hands. And one of those Germs made its way into my body and is causing a nasty cold.

When I start thinking about where those hands have been, the frequency of supposed hand washing, etc, well, I should not think about this.

P.S.

Thinking about this hand shaking stuff...it is actually quite interesting. Every handshake has a personality. Some are limp wrist-ed, I don´t really mean it hand shakes, some are nice firm confident handshakes, but, shockingly, 1 or 2 having been bone crushing, I am asserting my dominance hand shakes! From my students! My male students! This is not a good sign! Are they doing it on purpose? Is it just an overdone confident handshake? Once I actually had to tug my hand away and yelp because it hurt! Oh, the confusion of what is going on in the brains of adolescent boys. It is a strange and mysterious zone that baffles me every time.

Mrs. M, You´re Mean

2008-09-11T20:27:00.004+02:00

Ouch! One of my stuggles as a teacher has always been finding the balance between being strict and showing students that there are clear boundaries for behavior and being too nice and relaxed. This leads to the constant pushing of boundaries and for much less productivity than I would wish for.

So as time goes on, I have become more and more strict and much quicker to let my students know when they are crossing the line of acceptable classroom conduct. I am proud of myself about this.

However, the other day I was teaching my students about symbolism and theme - I typed notes up and they copied them off of the projection screen.

As I was walking around to check that the students had their notes - one girl - who I must say is a little less than focused, had about half of the info written down. I say, not in a mean way, "Make sure you get all of the information down, including the examples." The girl says, "But I have no more space." Half of her paper was blank! Clearly this was an excuse. I point to the paper and say (perhaps a bit sarcastically), "Look - what is that, lots of room!! Please write down the notes."

Thus eliciting a, "Mrs. M, you´re mean to kids!" OUCH!!

Do I want to be mean? No. Do I want my students to learn something? Yes. Someday the perfect balance will be reached.

Zetifikat Deutsch

2008-09-04T15:21:00.002+02:00

I have signed a paper committing to take the Zertifikat Deutsch on October 24 and 25! This is very exciting. It means that my year + long Integration Course is just about finished and I will have my Mon, Wed, and Friday nights back to myself.

I have the modest goal of getting a 1. I am fairly certain that I will. If not, perhaps a 1.5.

In other news, I am feeling much better, despite the fact that I must return to Basel in an hour for a dreaded Eltern Abend. I though I escaped parents nights after leaving the public school system. This time, I will not have hysterical parents crying about their children, but it is possible that the class teacher will speak for over 2 hours. (I hear this is what happened last year.) Then I can schmooze with the parents for a while, and maybe be home by 10:30. (Which is past my bed time.)

I Have Become a Shut In

2008-08-30T16:34:00.003+02:00

Because any time I change my body position I start gagging and have to practice deep breathing nausea control techniques. This is very miserable. That is all.

Now I´m a Librarian

2008-08-30T16:28:00.002+02:00

I have been put in charge of our school library - not exactly by my choice, but I don´t really mind.

This involved carrying maybe 200 books up two flights of stairs and then alphabetizing them. Not too bad.

Now I am responsible for ordering books appropriate for 10-18 year olds with varying levels of English proficiency. This is actually not so easy to do given my exposure with adolescent literature was severely limited during my own adolescence. I was much more likely to be reading A. a romance novel or B. some book by Stephen King or Michael Crichton. All of which don´t exactly fit into the adolescent lit category. However, I racked my mind and did come up with a few options. Then I searched the internet and found more.

Jane - I might have to order some Stephanie Meyers.

Really - we are married

2008-08-26T08:50:00.003+02:00

I have found that the default in Germany is to assume that Jan and I are not married, rather than that we are. This is especially surprising when it comes from doctors - who you would think would be more tactful.

It has happened twice so far, with two different doctors. (Jan accompanies me to the doctor to facilitate the communication)

Lesson learned - we have to introduce each other as my husband or my wife.

I think the reason for the mistake is that fewer and fewer Germans are getting married - especially at my age. The ripe age of 26 isn't exactly old - but it not shockingly young either as far as marriage goes.

Interesting statistics:
only 1 in 10 women having a baby in her 20s is married
only 1 in 4 women having a baby in her 30s is married

That is pretty drastic.

Of course Germans are having fewer and fewer children and I have read newspaper reports that the country is hitting the point of no return - when population can no longer sustain itself and in fact will continuously decrease. I believe the point of no return is .8 births per person. In fact, Germany has the lowest birthrate in Europe.

I have also put my foot in my mouth a few times assuming women in their thirties with children are married.

I just have to remind myself - the default expectation needs to be - no partner until tactfully proved otherwise.

Back to Work

2008-08-23T12:56:00.004+02:00

The temperature has dropped, the constant drizzle is back, and I have resumed my treks to Basel.

On one hand it is nice to have a little more purpose in my weeks - on the other - I miss lying around, reading as much as I want, and visiting beautiful lakes, the pool etc.

It was a good summer. 6 weeks, with a visit every other week. A perfect balance of alone time and visiting time. I also didn´t go to German class during the summer so as to complete de-stress.

I had a major shock when I found out - shortly before school started, that I would be working 5 days per week. After 3 days last year, I thought I would have 4 day weeks. No such luck. This is devastating as far as getting enough sleep goes, but it does have its benefits. My work is evenly distributed and most days I only have 5 classes. (Last year it got to be as many as 9!) So overall it has not been as bad as I thought it might.

German class is German class. Many familiar faces are missing - I am not sure if, like me, some students decided to take extended vacations or if they dropped out altogether. The atmosphere was certainly getting tense before the summer with fights between the teacher and students about her teaching methodology and the students' lack of learning. A lot of anger coming from both sides. Of course, I don't participate in any of this - but it still makes German class more unpleasant and stressful than it has to be. I did find out that I got a 1 on my last German test. Only 1 mistake!!

So...there it is. Back to the grind.

1st Anniversary

2008-07-10T21:28:00.002+02:00

Jan and I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary (our summer, or as I like to say 1/2 married anniversary) on Monday. Among other things, this means that I have been in Freiburg for almost exactly a year and Jan and I have been married for a year!

This is what we did:

I slept later than Jan as usual. He came home with roses (12 - 1 for each month), trashy magazines for me, and socks. The socks were pretty funny. We enjoyed a nice breakfast.

Later we went for a walk that included a stop for some cake at our neighborhood bakery.

Next, I tried swim practice and had my ass kicked by a bunch of 13 year olds. Very humbling, but it was good.

Then, Jan and I had a delicious Italian dinner at Bella Italia followed by cocktails.

A perfect day!!!

New Motorcycle

2008-05-17T21:04:00.001+02:00

Ok..so we already found a replacement motorcycle - we might even take it home tomorrow!! This is exactly what it looks like. Very stylish...and orange my least favorite color. But Jan is partial to orange, so at least one of us is satisfied :).

Visit to the German Dentist

2008-05-16T20:41:00.002+02:00

Yesterday Jan and I had our teach cleaned. I never loved the dentist, but I never faced it with great fear either. Now that has changed!!

The German dentist is much different from the American version.

Ok, so I don't have the best teeth technique. I brush with my electric tooth brush twice a day and rinse with Listerine, but flossing - er, not so much. After all both my tooth brush and Listerine tell me they are as good as flossing.... also, not so much.

First I walked in and the dentist asked me why my tooth in position 1 looked yellow. I of course, said, which tooth do you mean and attributed it to coffee. After a quick put freezing something on your teeth test - we learned that my tooth has no feeling. In fact, my tooth is dead!!!! And I need a root canal! And perhaps I can´t have root canal because the nerve might be calcified! And this is a big problem! This woman, after looking at me for 5 seconds, detected a problem and identified the cause after my American dentist said anything for years. I always was suspicious about that woman (something to do with almost paralyzing my face.)

She also told me that I got my implant at too young an age and that they did a shoddy job of bonding. Basically tsking and saying that it must be very different in the USA. Now excuse me, but my implant and bonding were done by very expensive dentists who have dental students observing them - so they must be good? Not so much.

This dentist also identified a cavity and filled it right then and there. Very convenient. And at 56 Euros, quite a bargain.

All well and good. Next the dental hygienist showed up and proceeded to do what can best be called torture. She told me, well, I´ll do my best but I can`t promise I can get everything else. Then she basically gouged out my gums. No pause, no does this hurt, no gum numbing gel!! It was incredibly painful and bloody. Horrible.

She sent me off with an admonishment that I better do something or it will only get worse. My mouth ached for the entire day. Needless to say, I flossed last night and I have already flossed today. Don´t want to mess with these German dentists.

Inspection

2008-05-16T18:56:00.002+02:00

Today my English class was unexpectedly visited by a state inspector from Switzerland!!! Very stressful with my precocious, loving to say inappropriate and shocking things, students. During the time that he was there one student asked what a virgin was and they also had a short lived discussion of suicide bombers blowing themselves up and being perceived as heroes. All from the simple question: In current society, who do we consider to be heroes. Nothing is ever an innocent avenue for discussion with these kids. At least the lighter incident happened before he showed up!

It actually wasn´t that bad. He was a nice guy and quite interested in how the school works - what we do.

And - in other news - our new Piaggio (don't worry - before we actually received or payed for it) was found mutilated on the bottom of the Dreisam River. Hence no new roller for us. Aw well. Jan still wants to buy one, but now I am a bit disheartened.

We won!!

2008-05-11T19:34:00.002+02:00

Jan and I are now proud owners of a 2000 Piaggo. I sort of can't believe it.

Vespa

2008-05-11T11:48:00.002+02:00

Jan and I are currently in the midsts of Ebay bidding on a Vespa (not really a Vespa but not quite a motorcycle either).

I have been having fantasies of riding off to a nearby lake in the sunset. Or of not having to power up the huge hill we live on top off with a backpack full of groceries whenever I want to go shopping.

So...

We even went and test drove it yesterday. This whole experience has shown me that I am not quite over the trauma of my jet ski accident when I was 15. The whole time I was on the bike (about 30 seconds in a garage), all I could think about was that having your face plow into concrete would be much less pleasant than falling into water.

We will see how the bidding goes...but maybe it is time to re evaluate and check out the cheap used cars market.

Or we can just keep walking and biking everywhere!

May Day

2008-05-04T19:42:00.002+02:00

Thursday, May 1st is Worker's Day in Europe - hence no work! I don't work on Thursdays anyway, but I had Friday off too...so it gives me a 5 day break.

May day originally looked like a day of helping Jan studying and hanging out on the balcony (we finally have nice weather). Around 5 I convinced Jan that we needed an ice cream break. There is an Italian gelateria about 10 minutes down the street. So we headed off. I had Rafaello (coconut) and Jan had yucky fruit flavors (lime and something peach like). Then we sat down at Zahringen Platz (a little square with benches) to enjoy.

After a while, we saw Jan's ex roomate and his girlfriend. It turns out that they were about to start a Geo Cache adventure and it started at Zahringen Platz. Of course we joined in.

Geo Caching is using GPS to move from one location to another. At each location there is a little riddle/puzzle to solve, and you use the information to get the coordinates for the next location. It is like a complicated scavenger hunt.

So 2 hours and a tour of Zahringen later, we found the cache and now we are hooked!

We are trying to find a cheap GPS machine.

Coffee and Cake

2008-04-16T15:25:00.002+02:00

Two weekends ago I spent a delightful afternoon having coffee, cake and talking to a family in Freiburg. The daughters had participated in an exchange at good old RMHS and met my wonderful mom - who sent me key necessities like Chai Tea, my sneakers, clothes, and SPLENDA, which I am thoroughly enjoying. Oh, and Eat, Pray, Love which makes me want to run away to Rome, the land of open and emotional people.

It was really wonderful to meet this couple who told me all about life in Freiburg, and even offered to work on my German with me once a week! What a great connection. The lent me books and movies too. They strongly recommended this big fat book about building a cathedral that I forget a name of (very flattering considering my German ability) and I have worked through 100 pages. Only 900 left to go.

Story about the book:

That other day I was reading the book in the train, and the man across me said, "That's a really long book." To which I replied, "Yes, that I am reading very slowly." That goes something like (forgive me for my buchered German). Das ist ein sehr lang Buch - Ja, und ich lese es sehr langsam. Notice the pun on the word lang! I think that is my first German play on language.

So, the moral of the story is that there are wonderful people everywhere and it is great to get to know new people in my city!

A Cultural Note

2008-04-16T14:59:00.002+02:00

Ever so slowly my coworkers are opening up to me, asking me about myself, and telling me about themselves. It is kind of amazing that it took me so long to find out that this colleague lives in Freiburg and that colleague's wife just had a baby.

I am glad that I will be working at my school for another year. After four years of new schools (sometimes more than 1 new school) and four years of having to figure out how to function, I am ready to see what it is like to get used to a place.

After my life has been in flux for so long, this is a chance to have a bit more normalcy in an environment where nothing is really normal.

I imagine it would take years to become habituated to all of the differences of life in Germany and Switzerland.

So far am focussing on adjusting to the following:

Married life - so far so good, although growing up with a full house still makes me jittery and uncomfortable when I am alone for too long. So I guess my major complaint is that Jan and I have somewhat conflicting schedules. If that is the biggest problem, I think we're doing well.

New language - slow going...although I do attend 9 hours of German class it is frusterating to be learning so slowly. My class moves at a snails pace. I keep saying that I will start working on my own during the classes - memorizing verbs etc., but by the time I crash into my chair after 8 hours of work, I have little motivation to do anything but try to stay awake.

I also spend my days teaching in English and speaking English with everybody I come across! This must change. I am thinking about getting a German tandem partner to meet with each week. I think that may be a summer project.

Work - As I said above, new school, new culture, new rules etc etc. I also started my other new job in Feb. Last week I taught over 40 lessons - which is lucrative, but I think that's the maximum.

Angst over my future - My dream is to go to graduate school and study psychology. How will I manage to do this? I'm not sure. I also am not sure how much I really like this teaching thing. I love the idea of teaching, and sometimes I love teaching, but dealing with teenagers wears on me.

Jan's big tests - This has been dominating our life to some degree. We've hit the two week mark. Hopefully he will pass, although even if he doesn't it is ok. He'd have another chance in the fall. It will be a tense few weeks up to the tests.

Teaching Adults

2008-04-08T22:34:00.002+02:00

I have now been teaching adult English courses at a language school for a little over a month.

What a luxury!!!!!!!!!! These people are motivated, want to learn, and are also a lot of fun. The teaching is easy because it is done from scripted materials. It is like teaching heaven.

Now I am sure it would get boring if this is all the teaching I did, but it sure does give me some perspective on dealing with my hormonal, angsty, and difficult adolescents.

I can actually teach effectively! People appreciate me! They tell me I am a good teacher! They thank me effusively. They tell me I am attractive and that they love it when I laugh. They ask if they are allowed to give me presents when I help them out with editing. (I received two entrances tickets to a nearby bath today and another woman wants to buy me an electronic dictionary)

What an ego boost.

I love it.

Meeting the Neighbors

2008-04-08T22:27:00.003+02:00

Getting to know people here seems to be a slow moving process, but after 8 months I finally met my neighbors.

I was walking home from the train and I saw an old man waving at me. I said hi, and he asked me if I lived next door (pointing). I said I did, and he told me he had been wondering about me. He knew that I moved in but had not seen me for 8 months. We kept talking (in broken English) and he told me that he had been in an American prisoner of war camp near Marseille from 1945 - 1947. That is where he learned English. It was quite impressive to see how much he remembered with basically no practice over the years. I filled in words from him now and then, but he had the basics.

His wife came out to say hi also. And we had a funny conversation. She asked me my name, I said Sarah. Then she said, no no, your last name. I replied, and she didn´t understand, so we agreed that they would just call me Sarah. Older Germans call each other by last name unless they are close friends. My downstairs neighbor calls me Frau blah blah and it always seems so strange to me.

The couple said that I had a wonderful husband and that I am lucky. (which is true) and invited us over for cake in the garden in spring.

I´m looking forward to it.

Authentic German Experience

2008-03-26T19:07:00.004+01:00

The other night I was at a bar (Schlappen for those who know) and I had an authentic German experience. One of the traveling apprentice carpenters - dressed in authentic apprentice carpenter clothing was going from table to table. Once he got to us, he recited a rhyme (apparently something about coming to Freiburg and driving the devil away with his carpentry tools) and asked for a donation. When I said I didn´t understand a word he said, he asked if he at least had a nice voice. (he did) Then he reminded us not to drink too much and was on his way.

Side note: These traveling apprentices live on the generosity of people they come across and payment for completing odd jobs. They´re not allowed to go within a certain distance of their hometowns. It is a funny sight to see men in what looks like 18th century clothes wandering around.

Here is a picture:

Let the Grilling Begin

2008-03-15T19:10:00.002+01:00

So excited!

Jan and I bought a beautiful copper colored brazier/grill (that´s what the Germans call it) and I am currently listening to the sizzling of embers.

Jan went off to get bread to accompany our favorite feta, veggie, sauce wrapped in foil and cooked in the coal combo. Today we were blessed with an unseasonable warm and sunny day. Such a relief after months and months of rain and gray skies. Unfortunately for us, snow is in the forecast for next week - but today we are seizing the day and initiating our brazier-grill.

In other news it is the beginning of easter vacation -that means no Basel for two weeks. But I have picked up quite a few private lessons through the language school I just started working at in Freiburg. This job is so easy and wonderful compared to the hardships of teaching adolescents. I like doing both though - it keeps everything in perspective.

After my vacation I have a 13 week vacationless stretch of teaching to do, which will be a challenge. So I am committed to relaxing and working up those energy reserves.

In Jan news, he finished the written test section of his big exams and is studying for the deadly oral. I will try and be helpful. Although linguistics is booooooring.

It´s Snowing

2008-03-04T21:29:00.002+01:00

Tonight we are having our first real snow storm of the season! In March none the less. This is following a storm that the Germans called Uricano Emma - but the English speakers refer to it as, a big storm. Because of course you can´t have a hurricane so far from the ocean, or can you?

Yesterday I had the wonderful task of taking 120 euros out of the bank to pay for my German course. 100 euros - 1 for each hour of class +20 for a new book. We are starting Berliner Platz 3 tomorrow! This is a big deal.

So I went to the bank (luckily my neighbor was about to go shopping so he gave me a ride - it was raining). By the way I happened to be wearing jeans, a Camp Nawaka sweatshirt, and a red vest. Not typical German wear. and my hair was a bit, shall we say 'wild' (this clothing description is to set the scene.) First I try the ATM outside of the bank. No Go. I assume something is wrong with the ATM, so I go inside. Mind you, this bank for inexplicable reasons has tv screens showing fashion shows built into the floor. Very random. So in the bank I go, still no money. I try again, this time clicking on something different. Finally, I go to the service desk and say that I can´t get my money out. The friendly bank women checked the account. There was money in it, check. Then she came over to show me how to use the ATM. The big problem was that I had been clicking Geld Karte, instead of the German word for withdrawal. Oops. So embarrassing. My incompetence was made all the more mortifying by my somewhat slovenly appearance. The shame.

Some people have to face situations like that everyday: not understanding what in the world is going on, and needing to ask for help. Usually I avoid these situations, thanks to my very sweet husband who does all the dirty work (setting up bank accounts, ordering pizza - the things that actually require much use of German). Of course, I must start doing more of it, but I hate it when I am in situations where I am not in control of what is going on.

It is also somewhat ironic that I needed the money for my integration course. Clearly I am well integrated when I can´t even figure out an ATM!! Arg.

Anyway, that was my humbling immigrant experience for the day. I usually feel like such a non - immigrant. I blend in very well with the Germans. The old women in the trains chat with me, people are fairly friendly (as far as friendly Germans go), I look fairly German. No problem! That is, until I open my mouth or have to use an ATM machine.

Night in the Tram

2008-02-06T14:57:00.001+01:00

So I have written that I am teaching Night. A few days after passing out the book. One of my students came to school with a pretty amazing anecdote. He said that he had been reading the book in the tram, and an old man approached him. The old man asked him if it was the first time he read the book. My student said yes. Then the old man said that everything in the book is true and that he had been in a concentration camp.

Wow.

Teaching Night

2008-02-06T14:47:00.001+01:00

I ordered the book Night by Elie Wiesel in the beginning of the school year. I have found that this book with a compelling message and a jarring exposure of not so distant history is enough to enrapture even the most resistant readers. I taught it during both my years of teaching in the US (it is fairly universally on the Freshman English curriculum) and I understood that my students would be at about that equivalent level. What I failed to consider is the protective nature of Swiss parents, especially when it comes to violence.

So I realized that I need to tread lightly. I talked to my students about the prospect of reading the book - I wanted to find out if any had a reaction against it, even personally talking to the younger and/or more sensitive of my students. I do not want to expose kids to something that they think they are not ready for. Then I discussed it with my principal - he supported me.

Another argument for teaching the book is the not so subtle undercurrent of intolerance that I find in my students. They can be quite nasty - as children can be- when it comes to issues nationality, race, religion, and sexuality. I am not usually one to be become so worked up - it takes a lot. But when I hear my students saying incredibly insensitive and disturbing things with the confidence that they are right, it does incense me. This is an the aftermath of a very anti immigrant election with undertones or racism. A popular image was a group of three white sheep then a black sheep being kicked out.

So, I see Night as a book that can be used to teach methods of tolerance, and help students become a bit self reflective. Hopefully, that will learn to question. What am I saying? Why am I saying it? How does it impact other people? Why is it dangerous?

We will see.

I´m Going to Egypt

2008-02-06T14:35:00.000+01:00

So, I have been a negligent blogger for the last few weeks due to being both very very busy, and being continuously sick and tired. I seem to pick up every cold, every stomach bug there is. Or to be fighting ongoing illness. However, I have not stopped thinking about blogging. Every few days, something happens and I think - hey, I should write about that. So now I will put a string of tidbits from my life for the last month up.

But before I look to the past, here´s to the future! I am going to Hurghada, Egypt on Friday for a week. I am very very excited for this adventure. It all started when a coworker mentioned that she found a last minute deal to the Canary Islands during our two week Feb. vacation. That got me thinking - maybe Jan and I can find a last minute deal. So I brought up to Jan, we looked at the possibilities, and then we decided - naw, not the right time. His big exams are 4 weeks away and he has to devote himself to studying. As for me - I do I have German class which I would miss. So we were good and decided at a future date and time we can travel.

Then , to my surprise, Sunday night, Jan said - ok, we need a vacation. At first we were into the Canary Islands, but it turns out that Egypt is cheaper and offers more for the money. So we are going! I have to admit I had some reservations going to an a potentially volatile region which the American Embassy recommends against traveling to. Let´s find a quote: U.S. citizens who still plan to visit the Sinai in spite of the persistent threat of terrorist attacks should exercise great caution. Ok, so I am not visiting the Sinai (Well, there is a slim possibility that we will check out the pyramids - I mean, they are the pyramids. But the prospect of 5 hours in a police escorted convoy across the desert is a bit off putting.) but after some research I found out that in 1996 60 tourists were killed in Hurghada - that is where I actually am going. So despite the allure of Ancient Egypt - and it is alluring, I have decided it may be best to stay in my hotel complex and enjoy the sun and the ocean. That prospect doesn't sound so bad.

December Update

2007-12-24T15:27:00.000+01:00

December was a busy month full of sickness, work, Christmas market and parties, and getting ready for the December 30 wedding.

I am currently in Boston for Christmas and the wedding festivities, but I heard a great cultural conversation in the airport:

Army guy 1: Yeah, I am looking forward to being back in the states
Army guy 2: Yeah, I want to be where everything makes sense.
Army guy 1: Yeah, it will be nice to be in a place where words have 7 letters instead of 24 and you can actually read the signs.

Very obnoxious guys swearing and speaking loudly - but pretty funny.

I also had the pleasure of being sent to Agricultural Customs because I said I had stolen in my bags. Luckily for me, the kids ahead of me had a full suitcase of wine and the nice customs man let me go without any searching.

So, my first six months in Germany have come to end!

End of Nov. Update

2007-11-30T20:04:00.000+01:00

Between seasonal angst, work, German class, and working out, I haven't had much free time. Things are going quite well, but not perfectly.

School-Some good days, some bad days. I often find myself asking how kids can be so cruel to each other! Middle school boys are not my favorite demographic. Of course some are wonderful, but the bad ones really can be tough. It will be nice to have a break. I am attempting to increase student interest with cool projects etc. We'll see!

The train - continues to be somewhat a hassle. These days I pass out in the morning so it is mostly a blur then try to read my German romance novels on the way home.

Birthday - Was lovely if low key. I feel old.

The gym - I have become obsessed with the gym-it's quite nice, never too crowded etc. But the best part is the spa. Three different rooms - sauna, steam room, and a sanarium (cross between a sauna and steam room.) After working out, it is very relaxing to lie around in the heat. In between spa sessions there are Roman style rooms with recliners to sit in. You can also put your feet in cold water or go outside (which many German people do but not me) I am still not entirely comfortable with the nudity (it doesn't help that our landlord attends the same gym - haven't met him yet.) Going from working out with people to seeing them naked is quite a jump. Of course I avert my eyes - But my goodness.

The only problem with the gym is getting there. By bus it takes 30 min each way, by bike 10 but not ideal in the dark at 0 degrees Celsius. Luckily are neighbors with a car drive me several times a week...but I would go more if it were easier to get there.

German class - I actually had Jan complain about my teacher. It helped, she no longer yells at me for no reason. I was starting to be quite angry during classes. I have never had anyone flip out at me for doodling during class or browsing through the text book. This is a very controlling woman. My German is getting better and better. My classmates are all very interesting and come from a huge range of countries and cultures. Sadly, we move quite slowly, but for 1 euro per hour I can't complain.

That's about it! Oh...and the weihnachtsmarkt opened on Monday! But that's another update.

More Train Adventures

2007-11-18T20:07:00.000+01:00

Two train incidents that were noteworthy:

1. As Jan and I were returning from the city the other night, (in honor of the first snow I skipped German class and we bought a Starbucks hot chocolate to share - a decadent but wonderful splurge) our stop was announced and the train slowed down. Then it stopped. I had been watching for the platform, but we weren't quite there yet, so I stood back assuming the train would pull up. Well it didn't. Jan took the lead and jumped about three feet down to the rocks below. Then the other passengers followed suit. Ridiculous.

2. The German trains were on strike again this week...Thursday and Friday. I checked ahead of time to see which trains would be running then headed out, certain that I would make it to Basel. Well, the train didn't come. And it didn't come. And it didn't come. Being a generally bad morning person, I had waited until the last minute to get out of bed and groom myself so I had soaking (as in not even towel dried) hair, that I had put in a chic side part low pony tail. Well, as I stood, the pony tail quickly saturated my shirt. It was about -2 Celsius - in other words...freezing. After waiting for an hour, the train arrived. And I did not thaw out the whole day.

Yes, the suggestions for tights is a good one. I am going to invest in some wool pants as soon as I am in the US were clothes actually look good on me. And due to the weak dollar don`t cost as much.

Friendly Germans

2007-11-07T16:58:00.001+01:00

I take it back. One of those non smiling, mono syllabic coworkers took it upon himself to introduce himself to me. A formal, hello I am so and so, including a hand shake. Then he started smiling and initiated a conversation. So strange. This is a man who I have seen three times a week for the last two months and was hesitant to speak with after he got very upset when my notebook was on his desk because I was using the computer (school computer) which was also on his desk. Anyway, it turns out that he is a fellow commuter and takes the cheap o trains like me. So maybe now I will have somebody to chat with on the train sometimes.

In other news it is freezing and I think my toes will fall off, but I have to go back into the drizzle for another fun and illuminating German class.

I Finished the Rose

2007-11-06T22:16:00.000+01:00

I have an obsession with roses and have been intending to paint one for about six months. Today, I finished. And it turned out quite well if I do say so myself. But now that I know how much trouble it is (also fun) but lots of trouble, I am not painting more Roses on my remaining canvases. I think I´ll move on to simpler shapes, or something else entirely. Like hearts.

That said, these paintings are going on the walls to decorate our apartment and it might be a little much to have hearts and roses everywhere.

The Whorf Hypothesis

2007-11-06T22:04:00.000+01:00

Recently I have been pondering the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis which: postulates a systematic relationship between the grammatical categories of the language a person speaks and how that person both understands the world and behaves in it (wikipedia says it better than I can!) This isn´t surprising given that I spend a large amount of time learning a new language and I am fairly immersed in a culture I wasn´t familiar with 4 months ago, and I still am not used to. My language is starting to develop to the point where I can over hear conversations, read things and get the general idea (I finished my second romance novel the other day) and sort of understand television.

My high contact with Germans time is during my commute, which takes over four hours of my day when I head out to Basel. What are these German´s saying to each other? Why doesn´t anybody smile? Why do they look so pissed off at the world? Why do the men at my work never smile at me, or make eye contact, or respond to me saying Hallo (the Germanized hello). Who knows. But I think I am starting to get an idea. When your language has over 12 ways to say the, who has time to respond to an innocuous Hello. When you have to think about declination all day, how can you look anything but pissed off.

Ok, that´s not where I was going originally, but these serious Germans undergo a miraculous transformation when they turn on the English. Suddenly they are smiling and animated and energetic. Jane made the observation that many German men go from sounding sort of manly and serious in German to becoming giggling and valley girl esque in English. I certainly noticed that with my trainer!

I am excited to find out what actually goes on when the Germans speak German because at this point all I know is they say genau (exactly) zum bespiel (for an example) and alles klar (everything is clear) way too often. Just thinking about those examples is a peak into the cultural window.

In Search of Kurbis

2007-11-03T18:39:00.000+01:00

It is the Kurbis - or pumpkin - time of year. Everywhere I look I see advertisements or signs of pumpkin soup. What are the cooking on tv? Pumpkin soup. What is that in the newspaper, oh, a recipe for pumpkin soup. I wrote about my attempt to make pumpkin soup with pickled pumpkin..today I was going to find some form of pumpkin and make the soup. So Jan and I got up and went into the city. We browsed the market, but the pumpkins looked hard to deal with, so we decided to try the specialty food shop. Finally, we asked for help. The women helpfully said, that there is no such thing as pumpkin puree, no such thing as cubed pumpkins in a jar. You have to make pumpkin anything out of a real live pumpkin. Great. Jan said there is probably a conspiracy with the pumpkin farmers guild to keep pumpkin puree off the market and I am starting to agree.

The 7:18 Strikes Again

2007-10-31T09:04:00.000+01:00

This morning was rough for a few reasons:

1. I had to wake up early to write a test. Not so horrible, but not exactly fun.

2. After washing my hair cut styled hair, Jan told me it was back to looking straw like. I guess that means frizzy - but I am on a quest to get rid of the straw hair.

3. The 7:18 train was crowded to the point of some guy leaning against me even though school is on vacation. But that extra hour in the morning is soooooo nice.

Strange Encounters with the Germans

2007-10-30T09:43:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I had a fitness evaluation at my new gym and a hair cut. Here are some highlights of the two experiences.

1. The guy in the gym and I spoke in a mixture of German and English. He continuously referred to the lower body as downstairs and the upper body as upstairs.

2. When I wasn't sitting far enough back he said something like, make sure your booty has contact with the seat.

3. The poor man was clearly flustered by my high percentage of body fat and low VO2 capacity so he continously reassured me that nothing was accurate, especially for women.

On to haircutting
4. She had me stand up for the entire hair cut. Soooo bizarre.

5. She asked if I wanted to blow dry my hair or have her do it. Unwittingly, I said she should do it. She proceeded to hang about 8 brushes from my head and took 30 minutes to dry the hair.

6. For said treatment I think she charged me an extra 20 euros. Great.

I promise a picture post soon. I've been taking a lot. I just need to get them uploaded.

Weinacht Already

2007-10-28T09:43:00.000+01:00

Those in the Clark family will be happy to know that Marzipan Kartoffels are already in the stores. Unfortunately, Jan decided to give away the last two packets to the guys who delivered our new table. (sure, they did it for free, but he should have given them a tip or something!) Jan is generally much more generous with anything marzipan than I am. All of the stores have Christmas displays and last night, the Munster - the Cathedral - in the center of the city was illuminated by lights. We decided that they must be testing them, but who knows, maybe it is already that time of year.

I am excited about the Christmas markets and Gluh wine and all of the fun of Christmas time, but it's not even Halloween yet. Or Thanksgiving... It all seems a little bit premature.

Pumpkin Soup

2007-10-28T09:39:00.001+01:00

In honor of fall, last week I decided to make pumpkin soup. Pumpkin soup is very popular in Germany and somehow I kept hearing about it. So I sent Jan off to the store to find some canned pumpkin or at least some form of pumpkin that is ready for cooking. Jan came home with two very nice looking class jars of cubed pumpkin. So one chilly night I picked up a can of coconut milk and set of to make Thai inspired pumpkin soup. This went well as I sauteed the onions, put in some spices and then poured in the pumpkin chunks. At this point I decided to taste the pumpkin and it tasted sort of funny. I looked at the jar and realized that it was PICKLED PUMPKIN. Gross. So not sure what to do, I kept on cooking the soup, hoping that you can cook out pickle flavor. I learned that no matter what you add, the pickle flavor goes nowhere. Soon there will be pumpkin soup take two.

A Wedding and A Class Reunion all in Two Days

2007-10-10T14:09:00.000+02:00

Last weekend was wonderful. Jan and I headed out for his former roommate's wedding and his 10th class reunion.

First we rented a car. For reasons that I still do not understand, Jan opted out of the exciting convertible mini cooper and instead went with some French car.

With our new car we spent a day doing as much shopping/stockpiling as possible.

Usually, Jan and I are carless, and any shopping is a production involving a bike, a backpack, and very strategic packing. We now have enough canned tomatoes, kidney beans, tomato sauce, olives, and condiments to last us through (I hope) much of the winter. Now instead of riding bikes up the steep hill, in the snow, with about 50 pounds on our backs, we can eat endless pots of chili.

The Wedding

We almost didn't make it to the wedding - we were late due to a detour and then could not find the town hall. After much searching and asking for directions, we found it, but it seemed to be abandoned. Just as we were about to give up hope, the wedding party came walking down the hill and we promptly jumped in our car to follow them to the reception.

The reception was at a resort/hotel/spa in the Black Forest. It was beautiful, if a little chili. We started with champagne on the deck, but quickly went inside to a long sit down dinner.

Jan's former roommate met his now wife when she studied abroad in Freiburg and lived next door. She is Australian, so Jan and I sat at the Australian table (so I could actually communicate). The Australians were pretty funny and good company.

Germans have a thing called Program at weddings - events that are planned. We were entertained by a very good a capella group who wore costumes and were very funny. The brides brothers sang some songs, and we saw a slide show of the groom growing up. All in all very sweet.

Jan and I stayed up until 2 and then hit the bed at our hotel.

The next day we had a delicious breakfast and checked out. We visited Jan's father and brother for lunch and then passed out for several hours.

Jan's class reunion was also fun and I found out some juicy info on Jan such as the story of Wilde Hilde. Many of Jan's classmates are still students, still live at home, etc. Germans don't seem to hurry to get to the financially independent, good job stage of life.

Now I have a week left of no teaching, and I am devoting myself to sleeping, reading, and trying to learn German. :)

Vacation

2007-09-28T20:36:00.001+02:00

I have a two week vacation, starting today. It feels strange because there have only been 1.5 months of school so far. The time is flying.

I am starting vacation with a nasty cold picked up from the lovely children that I babysit/teach English to. I knew I was doomed when their mother told me she was sick, as were three of the four kids. Great. I have 50 euros to show for it, but I´m not sure if it's a fair trade off.

The weather in Germany is cold, wet, and windy. Fall has very much started. The other day Jan and I heaped all the blankets we could find onto our bed, so at least we aren´t cold at night.

I am going to suggest a trip to the baths, maybe on Tuesday or Wednesday. We could use some pampering!

It´s great to get comments! Thanks!

The Kids Were Good

2007-09-25T13:14:00.000+02:00

I had a miraculous morning. The kids were actually good!!!!!!! For the whole class! And they were focussed and working and not throwing things, or being perverted or otherwise driving me crazy. I love it when the kids are good. Now how to keep them that way????

Scrunchies

2007-09-25T13:08:00.000+02:00

Scrunchies are big in the trams of Basel. This morning I saw two. A baby blue one to match a baby blue sweater. A black, chic, scrunchie on an otherwise tres chic woman. (this one had fringe) Somebody needs to send out a public service announcement that the scrunchie went out in the mid 90s for good reasons! They seem so prepubescent...

Nuns

2007-09-25T13:01:00.000+02:00

There are many nuns in Germany. I am not sure why, but I always feel vaguely uncomfortable around nuns. Maybe because I feel like my soul is not as white, and maybe because they won't leave me alone!!!!

Case 1. Sarah in train.

I was sitting at the train station, waiting for the train, minding my own business. A nun sits right next to me! Nevermind that every single other seat is open. She takes the seat next to me. Ok...being immersed in my book, I just continue reading. The train comes, I get in, get settled. I hear someone approaching. There the nun is, asking me a question. (So it wasn't, have you repented - she just wanted to know where the train was going.)

Case 2. Sarah in train take 2.

I am on the training, heading to Freiburg and this is in my slightly earlier days in Germany. Meaning my language skills are non existant. The nun sits next to me, says something to me...sounds like blah blah blah ch ch ch. I just smile and nod, keep reading. Then the nun talks more. I smile and nod. This continues the rest of the train trip.

Case 3. Walking done the street

I am usually in a hurry to get somewhere. Running late...so I jog and speed walk quite often. I was late for babysitting and who is in front of me, but a nun. This is a wide nun, walking very slowly, taking up the whole sidewalk. How do you get around a nun! Do you squeeze by, say excuse me please move over. Tough situation.

Case 4. Bike riding nun

So I didn't actually interact with this nun, but she was riding a bike, in her habit, going faster than me. Wow!

There must be a nun conspiracy to freak me out.

Small Spaces

2007-09-20T14:11:00.000+02:00

In Europe things are a little bit smaller. Seats on the Strassenbahn (tram), houses, apartments, cars, food portions, drinks, etc. To go along with the smaller spaces, your personal bubble also gets smaller. People come closer, sit right next to you so that your thighs touch, push around you etc.

Usually the small spaces are ok. But not on the 7:18 train. This is a new development. The children of Baden Wurtenburg headed back to school last week. Much to my surprise, many of them commute on the 7:18 train that takes me to the main train station on my way to Basel. So many of them in fact, that we do not all fit in the train.

I stood one morning, half a sleep and slightly out of breath after my brisk walk / jog down to the train station (I'm always running late, or think I'm running late.) The train pulls up. The first strange thing I notice is that the windows are all fogged up. Completely opaque. Why? I look a little closer and notice that the entire train is jam packed with people. Some are sitting, many are standing in between the aisles, and in the little entrance section, they are packed. I rush over to a train door along with the Germans. How will we get in the train? Apparently by shoving and pushing and wedging our bodies in. But on no...only one person can manage to shove their body in at this entrance. So we sprint to another one. The outlook is not much better, but we are more determined and desperate, because if we miss this train, there's not another one for 30 minutes and we will be late for work. So I get into the train followed by several other people. At the point my feet are at awkward angles and I am leaning to the side due to the large backpack pushing into me. It is hot and early morning breath is not the most pleasant of odors. Luckily, I only have to stay on the train for about 6 minutes, but they are a very uncomfortable 6 minutes.

After two experiences with the dreaded 7:18, I am never taking it again. Sadly, that means I must take the 6:01, but an hour less of sleep is a small sacrifice for a comfortable morning.

Haus Frau at Sea

2007-09-17T00:27:00.001+02:00

Here is an excerpt from my personal romance novel! Buy yours via the link from my blog today!!!!!!!!! If you do, I will earn a huge commission to add to the 51 cents my blog has earned thus far! This type of present would be wonderful as Christmas Eve reading material along with appropriate Medieval Princess / Damsel in Distress pyjamas.

Warning!!!!!!!! This is definitely PG13 material.

In Pirates of Desire, the promise of pirate lore kindles the dreams of our strong-willed heroine, Lady Haus Frau Maury's Cat, as she and her best friend Faith scheme for high seas adventure.

. . . Haus Frau slapped the coin from his outstretched hand, sending it flying into the shrubbery. “We don’t want your blood money!”
EDITED sighed, his eyes narrowing, then he suddenly reached out and grabbed Haus Frau by her bodice string that, unbeknownst to her, had become untied and hung loosely from her dress. The lace tightened immediately as he pulled her towards him like a dog on a tether. Haus Frau winced with surprise and embarrassment, her hazel eyes ablaze.
He leaned close to her, breathing softly in her ear, making Haus Frau almost lose her balance and certainly some sense. He paused just long enough to catch her off guard in anticipation, when he said, “You might want to keep the girls tied up,” and he tightened the lace and tied a knot.
Her face flushed and she slapped him hard on the cheek. Miso grabbed her by her light brown hair and planted a kiss on her lips, long and sensual. When he released his grip, she was reeling, wild eyed as a scurvy dog.
“Take them away!” he ordered with a wave of his hand.
The buccaneer escorts grabbed the women’s wrists and roughly pulled them towards the path. Haus Frau turned her head and caught the captain’s eye.
“Now I know why they call you Sea Wolf. I think you are despicable!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. She quickly looked to Faith, a look of terror in her eyes as they were dragged down the pathway.
Miso smiled, as he heard his crew laughing from afar; this was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. If circumstances were different, he would have asked her to join him. But he hadn’t even found out her name…

Note the eloquent turn of phrase and the use of simile...

Speaking German

2007-09-17T00:27:00.000+02:00

Today I spent much of the day attempting to learn German with my new friend, an Au Pair from Brazil. Sehr gut! Now I must sleep before another incredibly busy week begins. I am forced to head to Basel tomorrow for a computer meeting which I will understand approximately 10% of - if I'm lucky. Woo hoo.

Violence in English Class

2007-09-15T11:02:00.001+02:00

Another thing happened yesterday. I am shocked to find that not one, but two parents have complained about a short story we read in my English class. The short story, the Sniper, is about a sniper during the Irish Civil War who ends up killing another sniper, who just happens to be his brother. There is no gratuitous violence, and the story is largely about setting a mood and developing suspense, and or course the irony of killing your brother...

The ironic thing is, I chose the story largely to appeal to my class composed of many young males who have a fascination with all things war. (as evidenced by their very detailed explanation of exactly what a Sniper gun was) Now, perhaps it is best not to encourage this war loving mentality, however, with a choice between boring them with another short story, and getting them actually interested in reading, I go for creating interest.

Unfortunately, after reading the Sniper, I had them read another classic, The Lottery, which should be more disturbing to the sensitive parents. Hopefully they won't get it.

From now on, it's The Necklace all the way. I was planning on teaching them Night and Monster (about a young African American on trial for a killing at a convenience store that he did not directly participate in), which I believe I will still teach in part because I already ordered them but also because the themes of both are not violence, but about working against violence towards peace... I should have just gone with The Old Man and the Sea..nobody would complain about the violence towards the good old fish.

Interestingly, the message I got from the teacher I talked to, was not, try to limit the violence, but I just though you should know, and yes, these parents are very sensitive. The teacher actually said he thought it was an excellent piece of literature to teach, had a copy of the story with him, and asked if he could keep it, because he found it so interesting!

Ghetto Trains and Ramadan Begins

2007-09-15T10:45:00.001+02:00

Well, I made it through another week. Running around has made me pretty exhausted, so much so, that I actually fell asleep in the train. It didn't last for long though, because I was suddenly awoken by a blast of air in my face and some guy saying something that must of been, do you mind if I open the window. I just nodded, although I do somewhat mind. Yesterday we had something of a heat wave with the temperature hitting 70 for the first time in a few weeks. When I go home in the midafternoon, I travel on trains that must have been made in the 60s complete with lime green interiors, windows that can be pushed down, and do it yourself, frightening doors. The trains also always have that certain stale odor, something like salami. Pretty gross. Of course, if I were to take the ICE and pay the extra 100 Euros, I would be buying into a perfectly temperature regulated, cleaned regularly, very comfortable seats and plenty of leg room commodity. As a coworker put it - 100 euros really isn't so much. I still haven't caved and will continue taking the cheap - o, endless train, but I am getting more and more tempted!

When I got home from work, I quickly passed out on the couch. It didn't last for long because after an hour I was off to German class where it took a while to shake off the last of my exhaustion and actually think. I also have to go through I language transition time to get my head around German again after interacting in German all day.

An interesting surprise is that my German class will change times due to Ramadan. Instead of running from 5:30 to 8:30, it will last from 5:15 to 7:30. This potentially could cause some problems with getting there on time because a train I often take back from Basel arrives at 5:20ish. The funny thing is there are only 3 Muslim students in my class of 13 so Berlitz is being very accommodating. I can't say the shorter time bothers me too much, but on the other hand I really do want to learn German and I haven't exactly been studying outside of class time.

My German is now conversational...I can carry on a very basic conversation full of mistakes. I had a friend from German class over for tea for a while last night and we managed, with a lot of help from young, to talk for several hours. I also managed to explain a problem to a work colleague auf deutsch.

Jan left for a weekend volleyball tournament this morning, so I am alone. Although it's pretty quiet around here, it's not too bad because I can catch up on sleep and cleaning our apartment.

Rock N Roll Pink Floyd

2007-09-10T13:04:00.000+02:00

Today I am wearing my Pink Floyd T-Shirt which reminds me of Faith and my very memorable 'last night out.' We decided to hit Grendle's Den, which has the most delicious hard cider ever. Jane and I attempted the hard cider in Germany, but found that it tastes more like apple flavored vinegar than anything else. Anyway, after a few too many hard ciders, we decided that we must go dancing. Of course, we were not dressed for dancing, so we headed to Urban Outfitters to pick out some shirts. At this point I had blurry vision - I'm not sure what state Faith was in. But my blurry vision honed in on a Pink Floyd tshirt, just like the real concert t shirt I had had courtesy of Nichole C. and her brother. I had to have and bought it even though it was a size medium. Usually, I am fine with a medium, but not in tiny Urban Outfitters T-Shirts, so it is a bit tight. Not obscenely so. Where am I going with this...well, I was getting dressed to go baby sit/ English teach...so maybe I tight t shirt is not the best fashion choice...but I will wear a jacket so no big deal...

Ok, but then I noticed that I have an unusual amount of little red spots on my face. This is an unusual event for me so it sent me into make up mode. I searched for the cover up Jane left me and could not find it. But I did end up putting on the full range of Clinique make up that I recently acquired. And now, I REALLY do not look like I should be going out to babysit/teach. I'm not sure if the answer is to wash my face, or just forget about it.

Clearly these are the big issues in my life.

In other news Jan and I had a delicious dinner last night of grilled feta with vegetables. We have stolen the grill from our absentee neighbors (which reminds me I really need to water their flowers). It will be really tough to give it up in a few weeks when they return.

A Long Week

2007-09-09T13:07:00.000+02:00

I have been very busy this week - at least up until today. School resumed and I was back to my thrice weekly trip to Basel. The kids ranged from very difficult, to very good, depending on age and time of day. I think that we are starting to get used to each other. The language barrier and my lack of knowledge about the way the school functions definitely comes to play in dealing with these kids.

German class started on Monday. (Classes are 5:30-8:30 Mon, Weds, Fri.) At this point I have learned enough German to carry a basic conversation. The only problem is the teacher, Iris, who is anything but flower - like. Iris is quite aggressive and easily frustrated... she also is not a very good teacher. So much of class is spent with Iris asking questions, the questionee not getting it, and Iris getting irritated that the questionee has no idea what she is talking about because she did not explain it well in the first place. So the class moves very slowly. Fortunately, with 9 hours of class per week, it is impossible not to learn something.

The other students in the class are very nice and we can chat. There is one other English speaker from somewhere in Africa, which is nice. I can also communicate with the Romance language speakers who know Spanish, Italian and Portuguese in Italian. It's great to practice my Italian, but not so great when I try to switch back to German...one language at a time is about my capacity.

Jan and I also started Tae Kwon Do. This is great, because I need the exercise...walking was difficult for several days, but now I think my muscles are bouncing back. The ironic thing is the teacher is abandoning us in January to move back to his native Spain. His protégé will take over when he's gone. This is identical to Master Lee moving back to Korea and having his student take over. We'll see how it goes in January.

I started my job babysitting / English teaching for a family with four kids on Thursday. It was really nice...I just played with two kids (age 2 and 6) for an hour, then ate lunch with them. This is also a little tough due to the language barrier, but the kids do understand a lot of English.

On Friday, probably due to not getting enough sleep, and pushing my body a little harder than it was ready for, I became suddenly ill with an intense cold. After drugging myself with Sudafed, Niquil, and sleeping most of Saturday, I quickly recovered.

The weather has been chilly, rainy, and very fall-like. Although I wish today I was laying out getting a tan, it's nice for working and getting things done. Jan is lifeguarding this afternoon and I am supposed to be cleaning our apartment.

First Day of School

2007-08-31T01:45:00.000+02:00

Here I am on the first day of school! I am trying to look severe, no nonsense, and authoritative. Ha ha ha.

The Exciting Search for....

2007-08-31T01:24:00.000+02:00

History Textbooks!!!!!!!!!!

I have spent far too much time this week attempting to find history textbooks for my history classes. Guess what, no publishing company is going to put enough content from their textbook online for me to ever know if it would meet the needs of my students. Not that it's possible to meet their needs anyway, but hey, I could get close. I have no way of browsing through English language textbooks at the non existent English Language Textbook store... so I am sort of lost.

Luckily during my exciting journey through Basel today I found a guy in an English language bookstore who offered to do some research for me on history textbooks. We'll see how that goes.

In other news, today I completed the process of getting a Swiss bank account. I'll have the paperwork by the end of next week, so then I'll be paid. The truth is, I have no idea how much I am getting paid...but I do need the money. In between converting from swiss francs to euros and figuring out what is taken in taxes, I decided to just wait and see what the first check is.

Speaking of money, I realized the coffee I have been indulging in is incredibly overpriced so I am banned from buying coffee in the train station. This is very difficult for me, because by the time I get to the train station in the afternoon I feel like I am about to collapse and really need a caffeine jolt. This week it has been rainy and chilly - perfect coffee weather. I did have a good excuse to buy the coffee the first time. I owed Patrick from Ireland 50 swiss francs after he so generously saved me from life under a bridge in Basel. So, in order to pay him back I got 100 swiss francs out of an ATM. Shockingly, instead of 5 20s, I ended up with a 100 swiss franc bill. Of course, I needed to break this, hence the coffee. That does not explain the three subsequent coffees this week...but I do have some sort of excuse.

And speaking of living under a bridge - I will entertain you with the solutions my students suggested to me when I explained my no money, no train ticket, no ID etc predicament.

1. There are lots of bridges in Basel, you can always sleep under a bridge.
2. Beg...but of course first make yourself look dirty and poor.
3. Are you asking us to give you money? Because we won't.
4. My father flew to the US without an ID or any money. My mom just wired money to him and it was no problem.

Very helpful kids. (By the way, this was educational because we were speaking English in our English language class.)

I also had an interview this morning at the Sprachlerinstitut. The SI is a language school affiliated with the University of Freiburg. They pay well, they are located in the middle of the city...basically perfect. At the moment they don't need me, but I am assured that as soon as anything opens up they will get in touch with me. The sad news is that I could have taught conversation class to university professors...but the class in on Weds. mornings while I am in Basel. I am quickly realizing that I am far too busy to really work more, but it definitely is good to get my name out there.

Adventures on the Train

2007-08-25T12:45:00.001+02:00

I have a very long train ride to Basel. It can last between 1 hour and 2 minutes and more usually, 1 hour and 45 minutes. The German system of checking tickets is tricky. For days nobody will ask to see your ticket, then in one week somebody will ask every day. So you may think you'll get lucky if you are going just once to some destination and don't want to pay, but you never know. I of course, am somewhat paranoid, so I make sure that I have a ticket.

Only, yesterday, I forgot my wallet in the midst of waking up at 5am and rushing to catch my 6am train. I didn't realize that I didn't have my wallet until the ticket checker showed up. I checked to get out my ticket and to my shock, I had no wallet and no ticket. Buying a ticket on the train isn't an option...and if it was, I had no money anyway. What's more, I didn't have a passport or any form of ID. Luckily for me, the ticket checker did not really speak English, and I do not really speak German, and he said 'This time it's ok.' So, despite my embarrassment having everybody nearby staring at me, that was a relief. However, I still had to make it into Switzerland and back. Of course nobody stopped me demanding to see a passport as I entered Switzerland (although it does happen.) A nice fellow teacher lent 50 swiss francs to me. (which is sort of a lot) and I managed to buy a ticket home as well as a comfort Cosmo for 14 swiss francs.

Which brings me to another topic...it is sooooo confusing to figure out how much money is actually worth when you try to get your head around dollars, euros, and swiss francs. It turns out that the cosmo would have cost 8.70 in euros (a lot) and 11.75 in dollars. Sadly, I am working in a place where things cost a lot, but I get paid in a unit of money worth less than the dollar. I am still not sure exactly how much I'll get in my pay check, so I'll wait and see.

Shopping in Germany

2007-08-23T21:48:00.000+02:00

I have not really attempted to shop in Germany - I have more than enough clothes as it is and very little money. But I decided to browse through H&M anyway to see if there was anything really cute, that I had to have. And they had nothing!! Now this is very depressing because all the other stores in Germany intimidate me... Mostly huge department store esque places that are overwhelming. H&M is a known commodity which is comforting. Sadly, at the moment, all their clothes are hideous.

In other news...one more day of teaching and then I have a week off. The kids are all going on 'class trips' either hiking or biking around Switzerland. It's a really neat idea but I'm glad I'm not going. Jan and I will probably take some mini trips to check out the area because he'll be done with lifeguarding at that point too. So far we have the Bad Krozinger baths on the agenda. We'll see what else comes up.

Back to the warzone

2007-08-22T19:54:00.000+02:00

So the dreaded first day of school has come and gone and I am still alive. I did have several teaching nightmares leading up to it...but luckily they are over. And I haven't had anybody swear at me or accuse me of stealing their Pringles.

I have come to the realization - this realization has been reached multiple times - that teenage boys are aliens from another planet put on earth to torment me and drive me crazy. I do not relate to teenage boys at all. I mean, I liked them when I was a teenager, but it's very different as a teacher. First they will not shut up. Not when I ask them nicely. Not when I ask them not nicely. And especially not when I am exhausted and don't feel like dealing with it. Next they do bizarre things like try to shoot each other with fake guns and make up weird names for each other. I think it's half me and half them - because they definitely do not act quite like this for all teachers. I do not have the teacher X factor that makes everybody do what I say when I say it. Can this X factor be developed? I am not sure. Two + years of teaching indicates probably not. I think perhaps as I get older, uglier, and less young looking, perhaps it will lead to the development of the X factor - but who wants that to happen. Perhaps I should start wearing my glasses to work to add some semblance of the X.

I hope that any children I have a female. Now girls can be difficult too. They whisper to each other, they can be very very mean, and they are more likely to have meltdown temper tantrum periods of crazyness. However, mostly they are sweet, helpful, and eager to please. With boys, that is the rare, delightful exception.

Otherwise, life in German is good. I have been doing a lot of reading and internet surfing while Jan works in the evenings. That is not all bad, but I am ready for my German courses to start. I will also attempt to swim on the swim team although I think that I may not be able to keep up. I tried to train a little at Jan's pool, but there is no such thing as circle swimming or lanes. No problem for the Germans...they do breast stroke with their heads out of the water in slow motion. But attempting to swim quickly while dodging legs, bodies, and people that definitely were not in your direct path a few seconds ago makes swimming pretty dangerous for me.

I will attempt to update more regularly!!!!!!!!

Day at the Pool

2007-08-02T18:44:00.000+02:00

Jan and I have been out and about most of the time, but today I am spending in cramp induced misery, so I will update on the big events of the last week.

1. Jane left last weekend, so I am abandoned with the Germans. No more studying abroad Americans to grill with and sister to hang out with. I do need to develop some more female friendships around here. All in time.

2. I had my get to know you interview with a family of 4 kids who I will babysit/teach English too. They are adorable and sweet and it seems like a pretty easy way to make some cash. All I can say though, is I hope if I ever have 4 kids we have more space to keep them in. A Freiburg size apartment is just not big enough. All 4 kids share 1 room. Crazy. I will start working with them in September for about 6 hours a week.

3. I spent the day at the pool where Jan 'lifeguards' although there is no such thing as real lifeguarding in Germany. For a country that is supposed to be highly structured and regulated, they forgot about swimming pools. Jan keeps telling me that the parents are watching the kids so they don't really need lifeguards at every pool. After watching parents totally ignore their 2 year olds as they wander towards kiddy water play areas, I don't believe it. At the pool I also got yelled at by a woman for not showering before getting in the pool. I thought that nobody was serious about the pre pool shower, but apparently here it is. Jan saved the day and told her that I had showered earlier and had since dried off.

Otherwise just relaxing and getting ready for the busyness that will start in a few weeks. I'll be ready to get back to work by then.

I think I'll make a pizza out of the ready made pizza crust I found... so that I can pretend to be good Haus Frau for a little while.

Integration Course Take 2

2007-07-25T21:22:00.000+02:00

So I have finally decided on the integration course I will take. After visiting the Volkeschule - the adult education school in Freiburg and discovering that their classes are four hours every week day, I am going with Berlitz, just three times a week for three hours! At least this way I'll learn German. I took a placement test and made things difficult, because my written/reading understanding was at the top but my oral abilities are not so good. So it looks like I'll skip Unit 1 and start with Unit 2. I feel ok about it.

Jan and I are both tired and a little sick so we have been trying not to do much which can be hard when you have to ride a bike to the grocery store and lug things back in a backpack. (I don't really have to do that often ... after one time Jan hasn't made me do it again). Me on a bike is not the prettiest site...but I'm improving my stopping skills.

Otherwise, we visited a Bank to find out about Banking and I filled out my insurance forms today. Sadly, first I need a bank account...so tomorrow I'll have to commit to one. It looks like there's no free banking for me.

Jan and I just had wonderful dinner on the balcony and now a woman in France is going to call me to talk about her Curriculum Vitae which I edited for 20 euros. (Not my idea, but it wasn't as horrible as it could have been and it's an easy 20 euros.)

Jan and I (mostly I) have dreams of going to Europa Park, but we will have to wait till August and it's open till 8, making the evening entrance option reasonable. (It would be 30 euros for the day, 13 euros for 4 and later.)

It's nice weather again, so hopefully we'll make it to the swimmbad tomorrow.

Ohh, and Harry Potter was excellent. Highly recommend it. I was holding out to read all of the Harry Potter books to my unborn children, but I succumbed and read the last two. There was no hope in being surprised with the movies which I also can't resist coming out anyway.

Well, Germany's treating me fairly well although I am depressed about the abandonment of my next door neighbor friend who went back to Russia for two months and more significantly, the return of Jane to the US. It's been so nice to have a sister here.

I think I won't have time to mope for long though, because half way through August, my job starts and then I will be busy.

Until next time,

Sarah

Furniture and Furnishings

2007-07-20T13:01:00.000+02:00

I can't believe I've been in Germany for so long! It's wonderful though. I am getting adjusted slowly...

Recently we have been very busy with furnishing our apartment. On Wednesday we spent the day going to used furniture stores and IKEA, deciding what we might get. Then on Thursday we bought a bunch of stuff. Now it feels like we're making real progress. (although we still sleep on a mattress on the ground and have random piles of stuff everywhere). Our big exciting buy is a black faux leather L shaped couch. I really am excited about having a reclining section. That will fit perfectly into the living room.

We also have more storage space in the kitchen, although we probably should have bought a cabinet twice the size.

Anyway, it feels good to be creating space and getting settled. It just takes a looong time.

I also attempted to start German language lessons, but the class really wasn't good. I just went one day and decided it wasn't for me. I'm not sure that I'll really feel comfortable in any 'integration' class, given that I'm a very abnormal integratee. The teacher assumed my German was far better than it is and kept saying that I'd catch on quickly. Perhaps this is true, but I really have had limited formal German instruction. The other class attendants included two Russian women, six men, and two kids from Switzerland. They all did not participate much, so most of the class was the teacher talking. The other problem was that everybody had been attending for four weeks already, so I was way behind. Now I am looking into classes that will start from the beginning. I think that will be a lot better.

For the last two days I have also been a bit under the weather...really sore throat and exhausted when I have to walk far (or wander around IKEA for three hours). So I am sort of taking it easy. Hopefully I'll feel more energetic shortly.

I'm going to try to update more regularly while I have action in my life. When I do have time to update, it will probably be when nothing is happening.

Now I'm Officially a Resident

2007-07-11T11:09:00.000+02:00

I've been really busy this week. On Monday I became a resident. I was excited about it because I can start 1 Euro per hour German courses. Then I realized that these German courses are going to consume my life for at least a year and I wasn't as excited about it. It looks like my best bet is Europa Schule in Littenweiler (where Jane lives). Classes meet from 6-9 four times a week. Even at that rate it will take about 60 weeks to finish the 600 hours of required German language. There's also a 30 hour course on German society and government. It will all be very helpful, but it's so much time...especially if I try to work more.

The other exciting news today is that we're going to watch Harry Potter tonight in English with the IES kids. I'm really looking forward to it.

Yesterday we bought six chairs for the kitchen so that we don't have to sit on outdoor chairs any more. They're really nice, wooden chairs, that are incredibly solid. So they'll last a long time. We got them at a second hand store so they were a good deal. Our apartment is still just partly finished with bare white walls and bare light bulbs everywhere. It's still pretty comfortable. We put the smelly older leather couch and chairs on ebay so they'll be gone around Sunday and Jan and I will buy a couch. We decided that a couch will be our wedding present to ourselves.

OK...breakfast time.

I'm a Frau

2007-07-09T02:11:00.000+02:00

The other thing significant about yesterday is that now people will call me Frau, which is mildly traumatic. You know what a Frau looks like, right. Like the teacher in Matilda. Decidedly unattractive, thick forehead, round, old, maybe a wart or two on the nose. Definitely talking in a deep voiced, gutteral German (no, German almost never sounds like the stereotype of German). So, that's me. A Frau. However, a big difference is that I speak almost no German. And the German I do speak has a decidedly American accent.

German Civil Cermony

2007-07-09T01:25:00.000+02:00

So!!!!!! The big day came and went and it all seems like a dream. I had an amazing weekend that was far more special then I could have imagined. I went into the weekend with no expectations, which made it all the more intense.

On Friday Jane and her friends gave me a very fun and unforgettable 'bachelorette' party. We hit the wine fest, the KGB Russian vodka bar, and Shooter Stars, a place for taking shots. Although it sounds like I got trashed, I was just a bit buzzed in a very good way. I got to wear a princess tiara and got a lot of attention from the very friendly Freiburgers. Another highlight was the bowl of honig vodka we shared and free rose flavored vodka wedding shots.

On Saturday Jane accompanied me to the incompetent German hair dresser who put my hair in the German version of a 'french twist' (nothing like a french twist). I only had to get Jane to tell her I did not want a giant poof of hair in the middle of my head once. Then as Jane and I arrived at her dorm, pling a bobby pin fell and half of my hair fell down. Luckily, Jane pinned it back up with no problem and it looked better than before.

I managed to put make up on myself (this is a VERY BIG deal for motor skill challenged and half blind me) and it looked pretty good. Then we got picked up by my next door neighbors and off to the town hall.

The building is beautiful and old and so so nice. Jan and I had no idea where to go and wandered around aimlessly for a while, then finally found the correct room. We waited some more and then entered a beautiful old hall. The town official talked for a long time about I'm not sure what, but Jan tells me that it was very appropriate. We were the 500th couple married in Freiburg this year on the auspicious 7/7/07 date. I of course do not believe in any of this luck stuff and think that all of the attention to the date is sort of tacky, but secretly my subconcious has persuaded my more cynical cynical consciousness (if that makes any sense) that it is sort of cool.

We walked out of the wedding hall to some song that I thought was the German national anthem but it turns out it was a wedding congratulations type of song. (Silly me, I forgot that Germans really aren't that into displays of national pride).

Then to the outdoors where rice and flowers were showered upon us. It was a big surprise for me. Especially because a large amount of rice made it's way into my cleavage and hair do and stayed there, somewhat uncomfortably, for the rest of the day.

We drank some champagne in the town hall court yard then headed to the Sun, a wonderful restaurant.

Oooooo, there's so much more to say, but I am going to have to save it for tomorrow because I'm about to pass out.

But here are some photos for your viewing pleasure (they're actually at the top because I don't know how to put them at the bottom)

The frontal view shows us sitting waiting for our officiant. The back view shows Jane in position as official translator. She did an excellent job!!