Can't win for losing.

Today just wasn't my day.  I woke up at 6:30 so I could hang out with Piet after his parents left for work.  It was all fine and dandy.  I taught him the good morning song ("Good morning to you...you look like a monkey, and you smell like one too") and he loved it.  We watched some Sesame Street and did funny wake up exercises.  I was feeling like a top notch au pair as we headed out the door, to the car, and onward to kindergarten.  So, I put the key in the ignition and turned it, and I got nothing.  I tried again, and again with the same result.  Piet was getting worried, but was okay.  I called his mom and she didn't know what to tell me.  At that point, Piet began to panic because he realized we were going to be late.  We got out of the car and resorted to plan B...B as in Bicylce.  He reluctantly mounted the bike, wailing "This is a Bad Day."  We made the decently long trip, me running as he pedaled along.  He eventually stopped crying and continued singing the monkey song.  We made it to the kindergarten and he was all smiles, handling the morning like a champ.  I left and thought things were going to be totally fine, only to learn later that we had left his backpack on the table and he had no lunch.  I think that ignited another round of crying for his teachers to endure.  On the other side of the car stitch, my host mom, Catrin, expected me to pick her up from work in the car today, so she had to pay for a taxi to drive her and then had to ask for a friend to take her and Piet home.  I must mention that today the weather was worse than any day I've been here, which only added to the unpleasant events.  As it turns out, the car wasn't broken at all. Apparently, Germans lock their steering wheels when they lock the car. All I had to do was turn the key and wiggle the wheel.  Ugh.  Now I know. 

The rest of the day continued to be gloomy due to the weather, but not disastrous like the morning.  My host dad, Jorn, drove me to Oldenburg for class and I had a good bit of time to see the stores and get a coffee and a different, but tasty, chocolate chip muffin.  We had a substitute teacher in class today who was a lot nicer than the usual one.  I can finally say my name and where I come from...German is difficult to learn, I am learning.  The bus home was a little late, but I made a new friend on the way who is from the Czech Republic.  Hopefully we'll keep in touch.  So, it was a long but eventful day.  Tomorrow should be relaxed and Thursday I should see Cord, so things are looking up.  I guess it's good to get a bad day out of the way and remember that I can survive them...but what a hassle :)

Wonderful Saturday

Yesterday Piet had a lot of fun discovering the magic of my ipod.  I introduced him to Simon and Garfunkel and he loved it.   He fits a lot of fun attitude into that little body, as you can see. 

Today we went to a little fair in the town and he rode the carousel at least 5 times.  We also visited the big mall for the first time and carved a jack-o-lantern.  That's the perk of not having Halloween here, I can celebrate it whenever, and I was in the mood today.  Who knows when Thanksgiving will show up.  So today was another lovely day.  We ended the night by watching James Bond, Quantum of Solace and eating stove popped popcorn.  D-lightful.

  

Week one...check

A week has passed in Germany, and I'm pleasantly surprised that it feels comfortable already. My host family is lovely and have welcomed me into their home and family. I stay busy playing with Piet, but I also have down time to read and, if I'm feeling ambitious, study German. I'm taking a class right now in the city next to my village. It's a pretty comical experience. The teacher is scary and unamused and I never know what's going on. It doesn't help that I missed the first four classes. The other students speak English pretty well and they've been kind enough to help me a little. I have confidence that it will get better as time goes by. My host family speaks to me in English, but they speak to each other in German, so I hear it all day. Piet is still working on remembering the English he knows, so he talks at me in German a lot. I just nod and say, "okay." He'll probably figure that out and start plotting evil with my approval someday. So, things are lovely.

Thus far I've had small adventures like taking buses from the village to class, driving the car to pick Piet up, and learning to pull him around on a cart behind my bicycle. I'm hoping to meet more people my age and begin bigger adventures on the weekends pretty soon. I was a little lost in Oldenburg yesterday and I asked a girl if she spoke English. She said yes and told me where the bus station was and I was blown away. I asked her where she learned English and she said she spent a year as an exchange student in Texas. Her Texan accent was dead on, it was super weird. She was friendly and even walked me to the station. It warmed my heart to hear a Southern accent and be treated with Southern hospitality.

So, all in all, things are wonderful. I aim to post pictures as soon as I can be bothered to take them. Hope all is well with all of you. Toodles.