I'm going to gentle you in a minute!

Last week was chocked full of excitement. Tuesday I cleaned some veggies and then made my way to Oldenburg.  I spent a pretty penny on the train tickets to the airports for my holiday trip, but was super glad to have them in my possession. (That trip is going to be mind-blowingly amazing).  Afterwards I went to class, excited that we'd be spending it in a restaurant.  My excitement was curbed after learning that we were going to have an hour long grammatic lesson beforehand, but it wasn't too bad and the restaurant experience was delightful.  I found the Italian on my right me to be hilarious, the American across from me to be typical, and the Dominican on my left to be pretty immature.  These are individual assessments, not neccessarily a reflection of their respective countries.  We all spoke English, which defeated the point of the outing, but it was quite fun.  It's hard to be motivated to learn German when most everybody I've met speaks English, so I just try to pick up random words here and there and make people laugh as I try to pronounce them. 

Wednesday morning Piet and I discovered a new common bond, silly music.  I made a cd a while back for us, but only Wednesday did he actually listen to it well enough to realize how good my music taste really is. And by that I mean how good Tad's music taste is.  I think Kelsey, Madi, and I have to give him credit for the majority of our favorite tunes.  Anyhow, Piet and I started dancing around the living room and it made for a delightful morning.  The evening was also lovely because it ushered in the arrival of Hannah, the former au pair we had visited in Berlin.  It was a delight to have her in the house.  Both nights she and I stayed up and talked as if we'd known each other for years.  I hope she's somebody I can run into again in the future.  She's planning to go to Africa for two months but then she'll be making her way back to the U.S., so there's a good chance for a rendezvous. 

Piet was super excited to see Hannah too, but he had a rough time sorting out his feelings.  You can tell they have a lot of history between them since she was his au pair for a year and a half, but he seemed very aware that she'd be leaving him again after a few days.   He was also pretty sick last week and didn't go to kindergarten so his mood was insanely up and down.  He seems to catch every little bug that goes through his school.  So, we had fun but I think Hannah saw a fussier side of Piet than she'd seen before.  He's beginning to test all authoritative boundaries and I think he's pretty confused about the role of the au pair, and when there's two of us he's all out of sorts.  I'm just trying to be consistent and let him know that even au pair's have rules.  He's been rough with his mom lately too, so I think it's just a phase.  She's handling it well and he's learning what he can and can't do, so he'll be fine.

With Hannah we mostly just hung out around the house, played the infamous cd a thousand times, and made a trip to Oldenburg.  On Friday we had a lot of fun building a gingerbread house that turned out quite lovely.  Piet was super helpful and kept saying "You guys are doing great."  Ah, this reminds me of another cute Piet story.  A while back I taught Piet how to link arms with me and walk me around as if he were a gentleman. We hadn't done it in a while so when he tried it the other day it really surprised me.  Well, after we had linked arms he remembered he wanted to get something so he ran away and yelled, "Hold on Katie, I'm going to gentle you in a minute."  So, that's the new phrase in the house.  Hilarious. We also have a new game of hiding under my bed sheets which have tree branches and flowers and pretend we're climbing a tree with our imaginary friend Dinosoar Minosoar Ginosoar.  It's a large name for an imaginary friend, but we have fun with it. Piet insisted that Hannah join our magic land, which happens to take place in a twin sized bed.  We were both squeezing in, but Piet was delighted, fully enjoying having two au pairs.  Spoiled and adorable...

Hannah left Friday evening and I took the bus to Oldenburg to meet with some friends I had met through the other past au pair.  We had a nice dinner together at one girl's apartment and spent the rest of the evening sharing au pair stories.  After hearing several horror stories, I realized once again how lucky I am to be with this family.  After a while at the apartment we decided to go out, but after about an hour we decided we'd just like to sleep.  I type that a lot in my weekend stories.  Obviously my sleep patterns get in the way of the crazy European night life; I'm okay with that.  I spent the night at my friend's apartment so I wouldn't have to mess with the late night busses all alone, and the next morning she and her boyfriend were kind enough to provide a tasty breakfast for us.  So, this is where my weekend got crazy.  Ready?  They served raw ground pork to be spread on bread rolls. Yes, raw spiced meat called "Mett" that they spread and then cover in chopped fresh onions and sprinkle salt and pepper on top.  I agreed to try a little taste, and admittedly, it tasted alright, but I couldn't handle the idea of any more raw meat in my stomach than that.  My friend and her boyfriend ate three slices apiece!  After years of hearing my mom's preaching on the risks of food borne illnesses, I'm confident in saying that this is not a cultural difference I aim to pick up.  No mett for me.

After abstaining from the crazy food, I went home and felt super good so I decided to go for a run.  I think it's at the top of the list of runs I've taken here, mostly because I discovered a gorgeous lake with great running trails beside it.  It's unbelievable to just spend an hour discovering new things on my own, all by foot.  I'm constantly surprised that my body can just go and go here.  I think it has a lot to do with my mind set; I've got time to just leave everything and everybody and keep going, and my legs and heart can easily keep up.  I don't think I've ever trusted my body enough to push it, but I'm learning that it can do much more than I expect it can.  It's cool to learn more about myself everyday I'm here. 

The rest of Saturday I just rented a movie and watched it with my host parents.  Sunday we all went to Oldenburg again and saw workers putting up Christmas decorations.  Nothing was lit or pretty yet because apparently that Sunday was a day the church reserves for respecting the dead.  I'm pretty glad we don't have that holiday at home.  My host family doesn't do anything for it because they don't like having an organized holiday when they're supposed to think about the people they've lost.  I'm with them, I think about the people I've known who have died plenty enough without being reminded to do so.  My host mom does like that it prevents stores from putting up Christmas decorations too early though.  Only after the holiday has passed can the city and decorate, and now it's on!  I'm super excited to go to Oldenburg for class tomorrow to see the lights and Christmas trees.  I'll do my best to take pictures, but lately I haven't been able to upload pictures from my camera onto my blog.  I think my host mom will let me borrow hers though. 

Big week ahead because it's Catrin's birthday and I'm hoping to have a shin dig for Thanksgiving. I keep planning but it doesn't look like many people are going to make it, so I really don't know what will happen.  I'm nervous about my cooking skills, so maybe it's best we don't draw a crowd.  I hope everyone is happy back home. This year I'm  thankful that I have such an unbelievable support system at home that seems even stronger now than before.  It's amazing to hear that so many of you read my silly stories, but it means a great deal to me. Just know that although I write about all the neat and fun things happening over here, during the down time I think of you all and get pretty bummed that I'm missing being with you for the holidays.  It's reaffirming though, it just reminds me how much I love and appreciate all of you.  I'll be thinking of everybody on Thursday especially.  I guess you'll be sitting down to Turkey as I take a seat in my German course....sigh.  I'll do my best to skype home that day and maybe it won't be so harsh.  Everyone, and I do mean everyone, who sees my mom between now and Christmas please give her a super big hug.  I know that she's happy that I'm here, but it's hard on her too. Actually, same goes for my Daddy, he's a softie.  Thanks for all the love and prayers you send my way, it's really unbelievable.  Now, let the holidays begin!

Lonely Enchilada

This week has been nearly post unworthy, but I'll do my best to sift out the cool stuff and elaborate more than necessary. Although last week mostly consisted of routine and cold and rain, it was pleasant in the house, class went well, and I got to see a basketball game in Oldenburg.  A friend of mine invited me to see the Oldenburg Baskets play; terrible team name, don't ya think? Sadly, they lived up to the lameness of their name.  They lost against Madrid, Spain 61 to 104.  Last year they were the European Champions, this year they would have been beaten by Bagley Middle School. I had a lot of fun watching the game, but noted some differences between a game here and one at UGA.  First, the band isn't nearly as big and they don't play an empowering video with sentimental music in the beginning. That's one of my favorite parts, gets me everytime. Also, the cheerleaders aren't so cute and can't dance to save their lives. They don't stand alongside the court during the game so they really can't do too much to rile up the crowd either.  I thought the dance team was decent until they came out in daisy-duke shorts, plaid shirts, cowboy hats and boots only to dance to "Cotten Eyed Joe."  It's interesting how tid bits of the South spread across the world.  Although I didn't know how to feel about this stereotype, the dance was pretty cute and I had fun singing along.  In every country I've been to, I've heard many more American songs than songs original to that country.  The very first song I heard in Argentina was "Achy Breaky Heart" and "American Boy" was a huge hit in Italy. The basketball game was cool but I think I prefer handball over here.  You can tell that the crowd gets more into those games and the Edewecht team seems much better than our laundry Baskets in Oldenburg. 

The weekend was not as exciting as weekend in the recent past have been, but it was nice. No plans materialized for Friday night, but I had a nice time talking online to tons of friends.  It's cool how insanely connected the internet keeps all of us.  Saturday morning I went with Piet and Jorn to Jorn's parents house.  We first visited the bigger port city near the house where I saw the North Sea for the first time.  We also saw a big toy store that held Piet's interest far better than the sea.  We walked around for a bit and then had lunch at a Mexican restaurant.  I love Mexican food, so I was very excited.  After we ordered, I was shocked that I was the only person to actually order Mexican food.  They had all mentioned loving the restaurant, but they ordered pizza, spaghetti, a burger and a big order of fries for Piet.  Silly Germans.  I was happy with my shrimp enchilada, even though it wasn't nearly as good as El Pueblito or Agua Linda....oh the strange places I miss.  So, after the food silliness we went back to Oma and Opa's house.  Piet and his grandma have a nice tradition of bringing all the toys from upstairs to downstairs, and then he goes to town with them.  I didn't know a human could love tractors and trucks to such a large degree; he can play with them for hours.  We like to pretend that I'm the police officer and I'm in dire need of the tractor's help.  Piet daringly drives the tractor to move logs from the road, move rock piles for fence builders, or take sick horses to the animal hospitial.  At home we play a cute game with the remote control tractor in which Piet hides behind a chair and drives the tractor to me.  I talk to the tractor and ask him yes or no questions and then Piet moves his tires one way or the other to answer me.  It's pretty cute.  Piet is trying earnestly to make everything in his life remote controlled.  He even talked in his sleep last night, saying he wanted his favorite stuffed animals to be remote controlled. I think we've got a legitimate addiction on our hands.  He'll be asking us to put his food on a remote controlled tray soon enough.  : )  That was a long tractor tangent, pardon me.  Oma and Opa's house was lovely and in perfect order just like Catrin's parents' home is.  We had the usual and delicious apple and plum cake that Oma always makes and some additional sugar cookies. I tried to just have one of each, but Oma insisted I have at least three cookies.  You really can't say no to Oma, she's too cute and wonderful. As you can imagine, I won't be leaving Germany any thinner than I was when I arrived, despite all the running.  Not long after we returned home and I returned to chat with friends. Perfectly lovely day.

Sunday proved to be a good ending to the weekend.  We had our usual weekend breakfast of croissants and boiled eggs, which I really enjoyed, and after a bit I went for a run.  I didn't expect it to be a great run, but when I think it won't go well at all, it usually ends up being one of the best.  Such was the case Sunday.  I found a new road that passed some nice pastures and neat, thick forrests.  I even saw a wooden barn that looked like a barn from home.  The barns here are cool but they're always made of brick, just like every single other building in this part of Germany.  Apparantely the North Sea blows salty wind this way and it's bad for wood...or something like that, they have a reason.  Anywho, after the run I played with Piet a little and read a good bit.  I didn't think I'd do much that evening either, but I chatted with the fella I had hung out with last week and we decided to see a movie.  First I beat him in a good game of pool, then we saw the tremendously cheesy movie 2012.  All the movies are dubbed in German here, so I had no clue what they were saying, but I doubt the dialogue was anything to write home about (funny expression in this blog).  Dirk and I had a good time making fun of the movie's bad acting and predictable plot.  Oh, and to my delight, I learned that you can chooose what kind of popcorn you'd like in the theater.  We still paid way too much for a gross amount of it, but it tasted like carmel kettle corn rather than butter and salt.  I was trying to look like a lady, otherwise I could have eaten the whole bag.  Best popcorn I've had in a while.  The coke here tastes a little different too, but part of that is simply because it's not watered down with ice.  No ice in drinks ever.  So strange. After the movie we just drove home.  Nice night.

Today has been sloooow.  I didn't mention before that Piet didn't feel great yesterday and today he had a fever.  Catrin was quite sick last week and has still been feeling rough this week.  We figure that Piet just brings home every little virus that passes through the kindergarten.  He never gets very sick, just runs a fever and gets cranky.  He's really good at going from laughing to bawling to laughing in a matter of minutes.  Hopefully he'll feel better soon because his first au pair, Hannah, will be here on Wednesday.  He's been bragging for a week that he'll have two au pairs for a while.  I'm very excited for her to be here, we all need some excitement around here and she's super cool.  I've got several things planned this week that have potential to be fun, but I'll wait and write about them after they've come to fruition.  I'm getting crazy excited for the holidays and beginning to decide what I'll be doing after my time with this sweet family is up.  I'm reminding myself to enjoy being in the moment, but it's my nature to keep moving towards new challenges.  If I'm going to take on the challenge of grad school in the fall, it's going to take planning anyhow.  The tenative plans I've made thus far don't seem like they'll work, but I like the Sound of Music quote, "If God closes a door, he opens a window."  Not sure where I'll be for school, but I'm hoping to discover the best place for me.  Still pursuing random avenues to get more involved around here and meet more people. The past year has taught me that no person has any time to waste,so I'm going to keep trying to live to the fullest while I'm here.  Running, friend making, reading, and helping with Piet is a start, but I have a feeling there's more to come.  Things are good, really good. Keeping my chin up and my eyes and heart open to more opportunities.

The mayor is yelling Scheiße...

Just wrapped up another week here in Deutschland and starting a new one.  Last week was all about routine so there wasn't too much to report.  I think the most exciting part of the week was making a "special room" for Piet in my closet.  The closet is like a big cabinet that sits in my room and I only need half of it for my clothes and things, so I cleared the other side and Piet put pillows and stuffed animals in it.  We also decorated with his scribbly art work and some pumpkin lights they had out for Halloween.  I must say, it's a sweet pad for a four year old.  Plus I find it kind of humorous to stick him in the closet to watch you tube videos of Thomas the Tank Engine when I'm out of playing ideas. Past that we just played a lot inside last week because the weather was and is dreary.  I think it's going to be a long winter here, but hopefully we'll get some snow and it won't be so bad.  Piet's getting really excited for Christmas, and that's getting me excited.  He spends a lot of time tweaking his Christmas list.  He's pumped about Santa, but also a Christmas man that comes on December 6th and brings a small gift.  However, he hasn't quite accepted the 'small' part yet.  The other day I tried to explain who the tooth fairy is and he also had high hopes for her, asking if she'd bring him a remote control car.  I laughed and said she's too small to carry such a big gift, and he was unimpressed.  : )

This weekend I spent a good bit of time with my friend Elisa from class.  On Friday we went out with the friends we had met at the Irish Pub on Halloween.  It was pretty fun, but I was tired and cold pretty early in the night and wanted to get back to my nice warm bed.  We stopped by a restaurant that hosted a Salsa dancing class, but didn't stay long because Elisa could find no one in the room that could hold a candle to her stunning Latin dancing skills.  I obviously brought nothing to the table, so we decided to look for other places.  We found another Latin venue, but it was dull too, so we were happy to come back to Edewecht. 

Saturday she called and invited me to come with her and her host parents to a handball game.  I wasn't at all sure what she was talking about, but I figured it would be a new experience.  Man oh man, handball is an awesome game.  It takes place inside on what looks like a basketball court, and has the pace of basketball, but the ferocity of a good soccer game.  The men that play are huge with giant, muscular legs.  There's a lot of jumping and pushing and quick throwing of a little ball.  The crowd was really into it and the band plays the whole game, so it feels like basketball in that way too.  This game was really really close the whole time, so we were all on the edge of our seats. Elisa's parents pointed out that the mayor of Edewecht was there and it was just about as entertaining to watch her as it was to watch the game.  She was soo into it.  At one point Elisa shook me and said, "Oh my gosh, the mayor is yelling Scheiße" (a common German profanity).  The team ended up tying the game, which was okay since the other team was ranked much better. I got a huge kick out of the whole experience.  Afterwards we went back to Elisa's house and had really nice hot chocolate and sandwiches and watched "Germany's Got Talent."  Based on that episode, I'm really not so sure they have talent, but it was funny all the same.  It was a pleasant and relaxed evening and I was happy to have someone to just hang out with in Edewecht.

Yesterday was also cool.  I went for a really nice run and then Elisa joined me and my host family to Catrin's dance show.  It was in a gymansium like the one where we watched the handball match and it was a pretty silly experience.  We learned that Germans don't put much passion or energy into their dancing, aside from my host mom.  She was honestly the best dancer at the event.  They also do really strange performances.  We saw several where everyone was on unicyles.  Some people could even jump rope while on their unicyle.  We saw old ladies on little excerise steps, waving flags in the air and a few little kids who did simple gymanstics.  I wasn't too impressed with the event until the last performance, when they brought out the trampolines. Germans may not have rythm, but man can they flip in sync.  They'd go crazy high and make ten perfect flips in the air.  After that, I was very glad we had spent our Sunday afternoon there.  Piet loved the whole thing and did his own dance to each of the songs.  Any time they'd play a song in English, he'd scream, "Katie, it's English!"  So cute.  

Last night I wrapped up the evening in Oldenburg, drinking a funky malt and honey drink with a fellow I've met from Edewecht.  We had nice conversation, I helped his English and he futily attempted to help my German. He guaranteed that I'd be fluent by the time I leave.  I have my doubts, but his confidence was encouraging.

This week I plan to run more than last week, but other than that it should be a normal week.  No big plans for the coming weekend, but perhaps something nice will pop up.  I'm getting very excited about my Christmas travels and the upcoming markets and decorations that are soon to come.  I think the next couple months will go quickly because so much will be going on. Still happy to be here, still trying to find my people and ways to be productive, but it's all coming along.  Hope all is well back home, drop me a line anytime you wish! Tschüss!

All for me!!

It's been another lovely weekend here in Germany Land.  Let's see, Thursday was a good and busy day playing with Piet and going to German class.  I still enjoy myself a lot in there, and finally feel like I know what's going on.  I also enjoy hanging out with my friends before class.  It's cool to have a biweekly ritual with a group of people I like.  Friday was a bit of a bummer because the little cold I've had finally caught up with me and made me tired. Because of this, I called the past au pair Mallory and told her I didn't think I should go to Hamburg.  I was content with staying in that night, but the later it got the better I felt and my friend Rieke asked me to go out with her to Tange because they were having a big special Halloween Party.  It took a lot of waffling, but I finally decided to go as long as they agreed we wouldn't stay out too late.  The party was pretty cool; there was a little haunted house we walked through to get in and there were great decorations everywhere. I liked most of the music I heard which included a mash up of the song "Teenage Dirtbag," a favorite when I was in middle school. Because it was such a big night there the place was packed, which started to get annoying as the night went on. I finally got a tired of being pushed around by the crowd so I took a seat and did some really interesting people watching.  I don't think Tange attracts the most beautiful people, but definitely the most interesting.  Still, this got old pretty fast and I was ready to go home.  I think I've had my fill of that place, it's just not my scene.  It also cost a lot to get a taxi home, which was a bummer.

Saturday was a lot better than Friday. I spent the majority of the day resting and reading and as soon is it turned dark we suited Piet up as a dragon and took him trick or treating.  Here they ring the door bell and say "Süßes oder Saures" which means "Sweets or Sours."  Apparently Halloween has just recently caught on in Germany, but lots of kids were running about the neighborhood in costumes last night; Piet banked on candy after just one loop around the block.  He had a really good time and was a lot of fun to watch.  That's the first time I've been trick or treating as the "grown up" and while it's not the same on the other side, it's still enjoyable.  It definitely brought back tons of memories of going when we were little with my cousin Ashley.  We'd always come back to her house, dump out the candy, and argue about who had the biggest and best pile.  Trading was out of the question and boxes of "Nerds" might as well have been hundred dollar bills.  I do remember the year I got greedy and tried to pass Ashley on a bridge so I'd get to the next house first.  My leg fell through a missing plank and I spilled most of my candy.  We had to use the cotton on her poodle skirt to clean the blood from my knee.  Still have the scar and the lesson today.  Piet came home and also dumped his treasured candy yelling "All for me!"  He's been pretty rotten lately, but somehow it makes him cuter.  Perhaps he too will fall through a bridge and learn where greed gets you....just kidding.

After trick or treating I met my friend Elisa and took the bus into Oldenburg.  We first went to a restaurant called Patio and had some tasty treats of our own.  It's a Latin American restaurant so we had chips and guacamole and delicious dates wrapped in bacon. Man oh man were they good.  Elisa and I had a great time chatting with each other as the fellas who worked there.  She started most of her conversations with, "In my country..." and would end it with some anecdote about her huge family who drinks ungodly amounts of alcohol during holidays and celebrations and, from what I gathered, day to day life.  It was pretty fun.  After that we walked further into Oldenburg and found a Halloween party at an Irish pub where all the workers had great costumes.  There was a solo guitarist playing fun English songs, even played "Mrs. Robinson" which really excited Piet when I told him today.   It was definitely my kind of place, energetic but cozy enough that you can actually talk to your friends and meet new people.  We got to know the chef there and even met a Scottish man who plays in a big Scottish band.  He was wearing a kilt and had a bag made of a real muskrat who still had beady little eyes.  He said that he would be playing in some really cool festival nearby in May, so I think I have that to look forward to.  So, I met some really cool people and listened to music that I like a lot.  Made it home by the bus, safe and sound, and slept really well in my comfy bed.

Today was a super relaxed Sunday.  We had a tasty lunch, the same beef roll ups that Catrin's mom made the first time I visited her.  Afterwards we went to a mall in Oldenburg to look around and watch Piet go into fits of excitement over legos.  He loves to look at the pictures of the lego sets and try to understand how the toy works.  We spent a good 15 minutes in the floor trying to figure out the ins and outs of a huge lego train station.  I think we could just buy him posters of toys and he'd have just about as much fun.  He's so funny.  Right now he's singing/screaming to the rock band "Toto" with his dad.  He's had tons of energy lately so I think it will be really good for him to get back to kindergarten tomorrow and use some of it.  Hopefully everyone will be well tomorrow and we'll finally have a sickness free week.  I plan to clean the house really well tomorrow in hopes of killing as many lingering germs as possible. It should be a pretty normal week with school and Piet and vegetable cleaning.  No big plans for the weekend, but I think Elisa and I will be making our way back to Oldenburg.  We'll see what comes up.  Hope everyone at home had a ghoulish Halloween and is enjoying autumn.  The leaves here are out of control, they're so beautiful. No mountains to drive through like home, but pretty all the same.  Take a mountain drive and eat a fried apple pie for me!!  Later!