Signs

Things around here are changing little by little.

Though the temperatures are still quite chilly, they are creeping up and spring is starting to peek. I love flowers and I love working outdoors in the garden. (Chalk that up to being raised in a family that did yardwork and a mother who also loves being in the yard.) The weekly outdoor markets and the grocery stores are now selling tulips and sprouted bulbs for people to plant. I chuckle as I walk by in my coat, shivering. Nevertheless, we do have crocuses in our yard and I am quite thrilled. Its the beginning of warm. Never thought I'd miss it.

Another pleasant gift that came our way this week was an attention span for Natalee. Although she didn't sit through more than 15 minutes of the Barney movie, we were still so thrilled. "Its the beginning of a new era", Ben said. A nice but outspoken woman in our ward came down on us for letting our kids watch movies on car trips. What would she say about sticking our 1 year old in front of a movie while we, heaven forbid, get dinner ready without her constant whining and pulling??

Karneval was last week. The celebration seemed to never end! It began on Wednesday and ended Monday night. Kaitlyn dressed up for school on Wednesday and then we went to the primary karneval activity at the church on Saturday evening. I found Karneval to be a very peculiar holiday, given that Germans are stereotypically more serious, to themselves and reserved. They sure suprised me.

Ben in dreads and Nat as a ballerina dancing in the train.

Our primary has about 25 kids, 12-15 of which are American. I am the teacher for the 3-4 year olds and have been asked by our bishop to teach my lessons in German. Its a great place for me to start because I do a lot of repeating and use a lot of simple words. Its very humbling!

National Pastime

Being at a German soccer match is not like any sporting event I've been to in the US. The closest description would be an intense high school rivalry football game, in the play-offs and then multiply that by a 1000 (give or take a few). And the funny thing was this game wasn't even between rivals.



My good friend from church, Manfred (pictured above), invited me to join him in watching his team, F.C. Köln, play against Karlsruhe about two weeks ago (yeah, I'm slow getting this up but hey it's here now).


Here is the fan section where they go NUTS throughout the whole game. And this particular game was rather boring (0-0 draw) and sloppy, but they were still relentless. There were chanting wars with the opposing fans (who are kept VERY seperate from the home fans in a seperately "caged" corner of the stadium). The riot police were stationed outside and the calvary was on hand in case the fans got into a tussle. As you know, alcohol consumption is quite high in Germany...so they only serve non-alcoholic beverages in the stadium...which means all the local pubs are quite busy before and after the game. There were even a group of guys just peeing in the field outside of the stadium...right there in the open. Welcome to Europe.

The whole crowd sang the team anthem. It sounded very much like a song you would hear in a beer tent, and that is likely where it originated from!

The part I thought was pretty cool was the fans participation in announcing the starting line-up (in video below, although the video takes away what it really sounded like). The announcer would say the player's number and first name to which the crowd, in perfect unison, would scream the players last name. The social coordination at these games is quite amazing, and it's all the unwritten rules and mores that are simply followed by the fans who have grown up going to these games. I was surrounded by giddy kids watching the whole game ranging in age from 7 or 8 (months) up to about 78 (not joking).

Like I said, the game ended sloppily and in a draw, but it felt great to be watching and I look forward to many more games in the future.

Living in a foreign country sometimes shakes your confidence in the way you've always done things. You see the way that others do things and ask, so I am I bad person because I don't do it that way?

From day one I've been very aware of what others may think of me. As much as Americans and the english language are thought of as "cool" here, I've not really wanted to let on that I am one. When I am out shopping by myself, I can now manage to almost hide my "foreignness". When I am out shopping with the girls and they scream and whine in English, I'm toast.

Perhaps, though, I am a dead give away inspite of language. Maybe people look at my jacket, purse, shoes, stroller, hairstyle, smile (some Germans are pretty grumpy)--and they know I am not from around here. It was especially hard the first few months because I didn't know how to do things "correctly" out in public. But now, I have a handle on it and I am trying my very best to blend in.

Another thing that sets me apart from the majority of mothers here is my age. I haven't met one mother yet who is younger than 30--even the American women in our ward with small children--they are all older. The mothers at Kaitlyn's Kindergarten, the mothers at Natalee's weekly playgroup--mothers pushing strollers down the street--all much older. So now, not only am I naive because I'm foreign, but now I'm also naive because I'm young. And 27 isn't that young--but I look young (thanks to mom!!)

Natalee and I attend a little playgroup through the Evangelische church that meets once a week for 1.5 hours. All of the women are German and they have been very nice and welcoming. I can't help but wonder what they think of me, though. The first week, I forgot Frühstuck (breakfast) for Natalee and everyone was very kind to let us borrow their food (even though Natalee wasn't interested). They didn't want her to starve. (ha)
Today, a woman said to me:

"Kann ich dir eine Frage stellen? "(can I ask you a question)

"Ja, naturlich. " (yes, of course)

She proceeded to ask me why I don't dress Natalee warmer. Why are her shirt and socks so thin? Why doesn't she wear an undershirt?

Immediately my defenses came up. Partly because I'm so tired of people fussing over my children and my things, and partly because that's the reaction any mother would have to a question that stands to doubt her abilities to protect and nurture.

Today, the temperatures were around 8 degrees celcius (47 Fahrenheit) with a little drizzle of rain. I dressed Natalee in a long sleeved shirt, courderoy pants, regular socks/shoes, and her winter coat. I dressed very similarly and I was comfortable.

" Well, if I am comfortable wearing the same thing, I don't worry too much about her. Its not that cold today"

" Yes, but she is smaller and doesn't move around as much, especially when she's in the stroller" (by the way...Nat's hardly in a stroller. She hates it.)

"She's got a lot of baby fat to keep her warm. She's fine."

" I don't want to make you upset or anything. I just wanted to ask. There's a flu epidemic going around and if the children are cold, then they will get sick."

DOCH! LÄCHERLICH!

There is a learning curve that I am trying to get over--I can't expect others to accept my weirdness if I can't accept theirs, right?

On the brighter side, I went and bought a used sofa bed at the church and paid only 15 euros for it. The men that work there delivered it to me free of charge and were so kind. I really truly have met so many kind and helpful people here...and then some people that are too helpful for their own good.

42 days before Easter (22.Feb) marks the celebration of Karneval. Its a combination of Mardi Gras and Halloween, marked by floats, parades, costumes, and candy. This is a picture of last year's Karneval here in Lintorf. If you're dying to know more about Karneval, visit: http://www.mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au/la/lote/german/links/topics/karneval.htm

I don't know what makes one week harder to cope with than others, but this week has been such a challenging week. However, the Lord keeps teaching us and opening up doors for us, literally, in some cases.
Last Sunday, we got home from church to find that we could not get into our house because our other pair of house keys was inside...in the door. We tried for a while with no results and then finally realized we needed to pray. Almost immediately after we said the prayer, Ben put the key in, pushed the door, and we were in. We were just glad we didn't have to break yet another window!

I managed to lose my wallet...but I knew I'd find it because we always find things that we lose. After tearing through our whole house, I still couldn't find it. Later that day,though, I got a call from a man asking for me--but by my full name. Nobody here knows me by that name--except someone looking at my drivers license. Turns out, this man lived right by the doctors office that I had gone to the day before and found it on the street. EHH?? On the street?? Thank goodness for honest people. Everything was in my wallet. Again, I was amazed at the Lord's mercy and humbled at His time table. I so often want things to be found or fixed right away. Many times there's a lesson to learn.

A few highlights from our week:

We spent Saturday afternoon at the AquaZoo and the girls enjoyed seeing the penguins and sealions. Afterwards we went to a park and had some frenchfries.

We were pleased to finally get our freezer down the narrow curvy stairs to the basement--thanks to our friendly, helpful landlord, Andy. Ben and I tried to do it the night he brought it home and I about sent it down the stairs on top of him--but since he's so cute, I decided that smashing him wouldn't be a good idea.

For family night, we assembled a fort in the laundry room out of wardrobe boxes from our move. Ben even cut windows that opened and shut. Kaitlyn has since decorated it with crayons. Sometimes all a kid needs is a good box to play in, right?

I have a very understanding and "in-tune" husband. He has noticed my difficulty lately with the girls and so he took a day off work and encouraged me to get away for the day and come home whenever I wanted. Once I got over feeling totally guilty, I planned some activities and then I was outta there. I drove about an hour and a half south through some very beautiful countryside. There are some parts of Germany that are kind of bland, old and industrial--but once you get outside of the city, there are open fields and small towns dotted with church steeples and pitched roofs. I arrived at the Landschafts Museum which sat atop a hill and, while feeling very cold and wearing heeled boots on cobblestone, took a 1 hour walking tour through historical villages and homes. It was a very calm and peaceful day for me.

Then I came upon an exhibition building with these freaky wax people inside, depicting life of a German family in the 19th century--having tea of course.

I felt like Will Smith in Legacy as I approached one scene of a wife and child saying goodbye to their husband and father who was going off to fight in the war. Their feelings were so tangible and their expressions so life-like...I wanted to ask them how hard it was to say goodbye.

My next stop was the movie theater in Koln (Cologne) where I finally got to see Twilight. I quite enjoyed it and left secretly hoping that Ben was really a vampire.

But then I realized that I have something much better--a husband who makes sacrifices and knows my needs. A husband who had the kids in bed and the dishes done when I got home. And I do get to have him forever.

Big Ooops

Today, I earned the mother-of-the-year award from Natalee. I also earned neighbor of the year from my landlord next door.

I was heading out to run some errands and to pick up Kaitlyn from Kindergarten. I had my keys in my hand. I strapped Natalee in her carseat, threw my keys on the middle console and then shut the door. I walked around to the drivers side door and it was locked...infact, all the doors were locked. Normally, I would've grabbed our spare set of keys, but alas, they have been missing for several weeks.

I ran to my neighbor, who is our landlord and who has been a lifesaver time and again. This was certainly a time that my life needed saving. In my simple German, I tried to explain to her what had happened. Between me,her and her maid, we came up with a plan. We decided to call the insurance company and they were going to send someone right away.

I kept running out to Natalee to see if she was okay. As time passed, tears came (from me and from Natalee), her shoes and socks came off, her face became pale and her nose became red. In the mean time, Corni and I were doing all we could to console the locked-in Natalee.--singing, dancing, you name it. My heart was broken for her! If only she could unbuckle herself and climb to the keys and hit the right button...but there was no possible way!

So, the man showed up and broke a small window, attached a wire to the end of my broom handle and oh so carefully got the keys. Talk about technology at work. 50 Euros and a broken window later, I grabbed Natalee and kissed and hugged her. It felt like she'd been trapped in there for a lifetime.

I told the man I wanted to snap some pictures for the memory books and he played along and was so funny!

Here is my neighbor helping Natalee after we got the car unlocked. She is the best! I couldn't have asked for a better neighbor/landlord. Her German is a little fast for me, but I am learning so much. Last week, Ben called me from a city 20 minutes away saying, "I took the wrong train from the airport, can you come get me?" So at 8:30pm, I called her up and she came over so I could go pick up Ben. There is so much more I could tell.

SCHNEE!!

Last week, we saw our first significant snow fall. Snow is not common in this region of the country because we are closer to the North Sea and aren't close to any mountains. So, we were quite excited when we woke up to a beautiful white blanket covering the landscape. Being totally unequipped for the snow, I ran to the local "Walmart" (its called Real here) and bought some snow gear for the kids. Kaitlyn loved being out in the snow and Natalee just cried and fell over a few times!

Now the snow is starting to melt and the streets are all scraped and salted and its actually quite disgusting looking. Its miserable to walk in parking lots and on streets that haven't been scraped--especially when I'm wearing boot cut jeans or if the girls trip and fall. Its like falling in mud.

Kaitlyn must have been very thirsty or hungry...or maybe just curious. She just ate and ate the snow.

We continue to have near freezing temperatures. Last week, however, the temperatures dropped to -15 celcius at night and in the mornings. It was tolerable ONLY because it was sunny.

Missing warm Arizona summers!

2009, ready to shine

Ring out wild bells! So it's a new year...and we welcomed it with a bang (even if we were party poopers). The Germans know how to party. From midnight until about 12:45 fireworks went off non-stop. The sky was lit-up and Natalee and Jess stared out the window in awe. Kaitlyn slept through the whole thing, despite my best efforts to get her to wake up. I don't know how she did because it was loud and it was fun.

2008 was a wild ride and we look forward to the adventures of 2009. Here's a quick view into our last year (so if you're already bored, then I'd recommend taking a nap at this point).

1. Kaitlyn started pre-school (and now a German kindergarten) and absolutely loves it.

2. I got to visit Red China in April...and even learned a few Chinese words.

3. Jess got her Oncology nursing certification in May. She moved to the Scottsdale-Shea Hospital, but that ended up only being for a few weeks because we moved. There are high hopes that after we get settled in, Jess might find an opportunity at a hospital here (sorry no picture could be located of this beauty in her scrubs).

4. Nat celebrated her first birthday.

5. I celebrated my 30th.

6. I finished my MBA at Thunderbird in August and tortured all of my classmates with an embarrasing ending to the National Anthem (I swear the stupid tassel got stuck in my mouth and messed me up). I will miss my T-bird friends, but I'm enjoying not having homework at the moment.

7. In September I was offered a job in Germany...and we accepted. That meant we had a LOT of work to do to get ready (I only had a month to get things in order).

7a. So we sold the house in one week after we worked hard getting it ready to sell (painting, etc.)


7b. HOA couldn't approve our paint in time and then latter threatened us and made us pay a fine! What a joke.

7c. The VA refused to provide a loan to the buyer for the price and tried lowering it significantly (although we priced ours 10-15k lower than other houses were trying to go for in the area).

7d. Finally were able to sell the cars, furniture, and almost the kitchen sink.

7e. Had to buy everything in Germany including the kitchen sink (German's like to take their kitchens with them, so when you move in...there is literally nothing in the house...no lights, no kitchen, only a toilet)!

7f. Should have bought IKEA stock, because we spent(spend) quite a bit of time there. Here is about a fourth of a basement room piled up in furniture boxes and moving boxes (no they don't have a Home Depot over here).


7g. Had to buy a car without financing it (have a standard probation time on my work contract)...fortunately made enough on the house that we didn't have to walk everywhere.


8. Moved the family over to Germany after being apart for 4 weeks...we felt blessed to be together again so quickly.

8a. Lived for a couple of days with some great friends, the Wheelers (same ones who let me stay with them for a month).

8b. Finally found a temporary furnished apartment that would accept kids.

8c. Got kicked out of the temporary apartment after two weeks because she wasn't supposed to rent it (it was a basement apartment and the ceilings were too low according to code...they were still 7 feet high and we were dealing with it).

8d. Moved into a hotel (daughter of the lady who was renting to us). The good was we had two rooms. The bad was the windows let in so much cold air it was pretty darn cold in the rooms (15 degrees celsius...whatever that is in Fahrenheit. Speaking of Fahrenheit...that sounds pretty German to me!).

8e. Moved into our house nearly a month early and slept on an inflatable matress until we could get our furniture. We were that desperate to move into our house.

8f. Finally received the rest of our shipment the Tuesday before Christmas. We are still unpacking and situating ourselves, but are starting to feel at home.

There are many more adventures to share with you, so if you are still awake...stay tuned for more boring stories from the Fatherland.

Love and miss you all,

Benjamin, Jessica, et. al.

P.S. this posting was delayed a few days due to our phone and internet not working at all this weekend, not because I'm a procrastinator (at least not so early in the year).