A day alone

Hooray for David! He bought a navigation system for the car. I think he knew it was important for my sanity. I just have to figure out exactly how far ahead 100 meters is and I'll be set.

Lufthansa arranged for David and me to attend a two-day "cultural training" program. Lucky for us, Lufthansa has an emergency day-care center for its employees and it is found right across the parking lot from the kids' school. So, we dropped the kids off and then crossed the parking lot and took Rebecca to "Fluggiland." Employees are allowed to use this day-care center up to 30 days a year. Rebecca had no problem going off to play and we needed to explain to the workers that she speaks kein Deutsch. Back in the car, we got a message that our training session was cancelled and would need to be rescheduled. So, we went right back into Fluggiland to get Rebecca. The lady in charge explained that she could not return the Euros we paid, so we might as well leave Rebecca for the day and see how she fares.

She didn't need to tell me twice. Excellent! A day with no children. A day all alone, all to myself. All alone. All alone with no phone, no computer and TV programs I couldn't understand. I took a nice long nap.

It turns out Rebecca had a fantastic time and wanted to show me all around the playground when I picked her up. She must be so bored with me at home.

James had a better day today and made a friend. This boy speaks six languages -- Spanish, Castilian, Dutch, English, Portuguese and is learning German. He has a Spanish mom, a Dutch father, and has lived in the U.S. and Brazil and now Germany. Amazing.

First Day of School

Yesterday was Micaela's first day of school and on the way there, she seemed nervous but excited. We got to the parking lot, she hoisted her backpack around her shoulders, and our eyes met. In that moment, with cars whipping by us and kids shouting at each other, my heart tightened. I felt like there was so much I wanted to say to her. "I'm so sorry we tore you away from all of your friends. I know you were so looking forward to going to the newly-built middle school in Georgia. I have heard you a few times in bed at night sobbing. You are being so brave and trying so hard to not make us worry about you." In the end, she gave me a quick hug, I said, "Have a great day, Micaela," and she replied, "Bye, Mom." And off she went.

I thought about her all day long as the rest of us tidied up, went to the park and the store. It was finally time to pick Micaela up and when we spotted her on the playground, she was chatting with a few other girls. That was a good sign. Micaela told us that her day went well and she was assigned a "mentor" -- another girl in her class who could show her around and help her out the first few weeks.

Today was the first day for James and Emilie. Before school, we gave Emilie her Schultüte. The first day of first grade is an extra special day for German children. They are presented with a Schultüte -- a large cone full of school supplies and treats. Emilie's had pencils, crayons, Gummi bears, barrettes and some little toys.

On our way we were slowed down at the train tracks just down the street from the school. The gates went down and we waited at least 5 minutes for the train to pass. Five minutes is a long time to wait if you're running a little behind. I knew from reading another American woman's blog about living in Germany that you need to shut off your engine while waiting. If you don't, there's a good chance someone will tap on your window and tell you to. I have heard that people have waited at that crossing for 20 minutes because 4 or 5 trains came in a row and the gates did not go up in between. And remember, getting caught at the train tracks is no excuse for being late!

The first graders went right away to the auditorium where there was a little ceremony. Flags from all around the world were marched across the stage, then children were called one by one up to the stage to join their teacher. When the entire class was present, the teacher led the kids off the stage and upstairs to their classrooms. Parents were not allowed to follow. When they called Emilie's name, she didn't hesitate. Up onto the stage, then off to her classroom.

At home with three of the four kids gone, I was feeling rather lonely and really missing our computer and phone. This would have been the perfect time to send an e-mail or catch up on the phone with friends. The house felt very quiet. I have been contenting myself with re-reading a few books I brought along -- Pride and Prejudice (for the 6th or 7th time) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (for the 2nd time).

Emilie had a good first day, James not so much. I think he was expecting to have a whole gang of friends on the first day, and it just didn't happen. Plus it didn't help that he went to the intermediate German class by mistake and sat through it in stunned silence. He's very quiet for the rest of the day and I'm starting to wonder if he isn't the one we should be watching out for. I was assuming that Micaela would be the one to have a difficult time just because she is a bit older and making friends can get harder as you get older. We'll all just need to be patient.

Coffee and Cake

David arrived home this morning from his trip back to Atlanta. Renovations on the house are going OK -- new carpet, paint inside and out, hardwood flooring, bathroom fixtures, landscaping. We didn't expect to need to replace the chimney, but we figured there would be a surprise here and there.

We couldn't wait to go through the food stash that David brought back. There were our favorite pancake and cookie mixes, Jif peanut butter and Kraft original macaroni and cheese. Our "nice" grocery store here has a few shelves of American products -- generic peanut butter and mac-n-cheese, Bisquick, Hershey's syrup, brownie mix, Newmann's salad dressing, Campbell's tomato soup -- but it's all very, very pricey. I just can't bring myself to pay $3.50 for a box of mac and cheese that doesn't even taste that good. It doesn't help that the dollar is the lowest it has ever been and still dropping. Everything keeps getting more and more expensive.

I took Guinness for a walk and we made our regular loop. We go past the chickens, playground and tennis courts, cross a bridge over the Liederbach and then make our way back by a soccer field and through some horse pastures. We have had horses being walked right down the street in front of our house several times.

We were invited by a colleague of David's for cake and coffee, a late afternoon tradition. This family moved last year from Atlanta to Frankfurt and their two children are also enrolled at the international school. The dad is German and the mom British, so we would get a well-rounded view of life here.

We received a lot of information about the school -- the sports program, required after-school activities, etc. -- as well as about adult German classes and life here in general. When they heard my horrors stories about getting lost every time I left the house, they offered me the use of their navigating system for the car. So, on the way home, we hooked it up, programed in our address and let the voice lead us home. This could be my salvation. David said he will look into getting us one.

Micaela and James both remarked that they were happy they already knew two kids from school.

Getting lost again

We still needed to get more school supplies and this time decided to try the mall Main-Taunus-Zentrum. It should have taken 10 minutes to get there, but we ran into the same problem of missing the right exit, taking wrong turns, being put on different highways and then spying that blasted telecommunications tower that kept getting closer instead of further away. I even managed to add going down a one-way street in the wrong direction to my repertoire. This time, I did let my emotions get the best of me, finally found a street to pull off to and cursed and cried. And cursed some more. Why was this so difficult? Micaela took a look around and rather hesitantly said, "Ummm, Mom? I think this is the same place where we pulled over yesterday and people helped us back to the highway." I glanced around and saw much to my relief that she was right. We had ended up at the exact same spot. Surely I could find my way back a second time.

We made it to the mall and because I felt so guilty about my behavior earlier, I decided to treat the kids to an early lunch at McDonald's. We got our order (the menu was very similar to the American one) and enjoyed the special treat, but I kept noticing an employee staring at us. We were the only people in that section so I was pretty sure it was us he was staring at. I felt a bit uncomfortable and didn't wish to linger any longer than we had to. I gathered up the trays and our trash and looked around for the trashcan. I couldn't find one. What were we supposed to do with all this? I did notice a tall box with slots where maybe you could place your tray. But what about the other stuff? I stood there with our trays feeling foolish as I looked all around. I finally decided to take the coward's way out and just leave. As we turned to go, the employee approached our table, took our trays and disappeared behind a door. My only guess is that employees sort through your trash and pull out recyclable items. The poor fellow was simply waiting for us to leave so he could do his job. So, we probably should have placed our tray loaded with trash into one of those slots. I'll know better next time.

Recycling is taken very seriously in Germany. To quote from the 20-page recycling booklet we received upon arriving in Germany, "Not only is recycling crucial for the future of our planet, but here in Germany, it is the law." Virtually all packaging, be it from the grocery store or any other place, is recyclable. And woe be to you if you do not sort your trash carefully. Rumor has it your trash bags may be inspected and if it is determined you are not following the recycling rules, you will be fined and the town could refuse to pick up your trash.

Open House

I took Guinness for a walk this morning and he did fairly well. He is nervous around other dogs and at one point four dogs surrounded him at once to check him out. Guinness stood there, but the hair on his back went up, prompting a woman to declare that he had "angst." I think she's right, but I'll probably have angst, too, every time I walk him as most dogs here are walked off leash. Guinness was approached several times by dogs whose owners were a little ways off. It's not the other dogs I'm worried about. Guinness can easily get riled if he feels threatened and he doesn't seem to like dogs with ears that stick straight up, like German Shepherd's. Most of the dogs we saw today were other labs, so no problem there. I've also seen many white golden retrievers like Oprah's dogs. I had never heard of them until recently, but they are quite trendy here.

Today was Open House at school and we just got word that ISF has a spot for James. Micaela has been placed in 6th and James in 3rd so they must have done OK on their tests. On the way, I needed to make a left turn and somehow ended up in a turn lane for oncoming traffic. I fully expected the driver who met me head on to shout and give me an angry gesture, and but instead he just cocked his head to the side and gave me a puzzled look. I quick turned right instead, but I have yet to figure out that intersection. I haven't been able to go left yet. I feel just like Chevy Chase in European Vacation, "I can't get left!" I'm expecting to make a wrong turn every time I leave home, but it is still so frustrating and dangerous!

On the way to school, we pass the Höchst industrial park which is a huge complex of dozens of chemical manufacturing plants. This complex was one my first views of the Frankfurt region as we drove away from the airport a week or so ago and gave me the false impression that the whole area was very industrial. As I look at the many smokestacks, I can only hope that the air the kids breathe on the school playground is OK.

The school was chaotic, which I expected. Had trouble finding a parking spot, lots of different languages being spoken, no one seemed to know where to go. We did manage to get to all the kids' classrooms and for the first time, they have male teachers. Emilie's and Micaela's teachers are British and James' is Canadian. We went back out to the playground where James took a big step and asked to join in a soccer game. Emilie, as always, just walked up to a few girls and started playing with them.

Driving in Germany

This morning we happen upon German Nickelodeon and the Dora the Explorer show. We were all curious to see what it would be like. Would Dora teach German children Spanish? Nein! She teaches them English! Rebecca loves Dora, but we could tell that she knew that something wasn't quite right. She lost interest pretty quickly.

David flies back to Atlanta today for a meeting and to check on the state of our house renovations. The kids and I are to be left to our own devices. This could be interesting.

The kids received their school supply lists, so off we went to a German equivalent of SuperWalmart -- Real. (Walmart failed here in Germany. I'm hoping Target may make a go of it.) Getting to Real is an adventure and after asking once for directions, we make it. One thing we noticed immediately was that there were two floors. You get your shopping cart and enter and see that food is on the first floor and everything else is upstairs. How to get upstairs, though, with a shopping cart? In the middle of the store is a slanting moving sidewalk and the wheels of your cart lock into place on the conveyor belt. Very smart, otherwise it would be difficult to hold your heavy cart in place.

We manage to find most of what the kids need, but I am struck by the lack of selection in this large store. Instead of 5 types of glue sticks, there are 2. Instead of 12 different boxes of crayons, there are 3. It doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but I'm wondering how this might play out in the future with other things we need.

Our most important purchase of the day? Stickers for our glass doors. Someone still manages to walk into one of the doors every day and that someone is usually little Rebecca. Her poor head can only take so much.

Getting home is a big revelation for me. Here, highways have number names, just like in the U.S., except the highways aren't given directional names, such as 66 North or 5 West. It's just "the 66" and "the 5." So, for example, you come up to the entrance ramp of a highway, and one sign will say "66 Frankfurt" and the other "66 Wiesbaden." That is, if you're lucky. I'm clear that Frankfurt is to the east and Wiesbaden is to the west. But some of the signs instead have one arrow for "66 Bad Soden" and another for "66 Steinbach" (I'm not familiar with either place) or better yet, there are places where "Liederbach" is indicated on the sign for the ramp going to the left and the ramp going to the right. Which way to go? I'm realizing that I have to learn the names of the cities around here pretty quick or I am never going to get where I need to go.

So, back to our ride home from Real. Which way is home? I keep taking what seems like wrong turns and every time I take a ramp to try to get off the highway and turn around, I am put onto another highway.

Thanks to the view of the tall telecommunications tower in Frankfurt, I can tell that no matter which way I turn, I am heading toward the tower, and thus, in the wrong direction. After more than 6 wrong turns and becoming completely disoriented, I finally take a ramp that allows me to pull onto a side street, shut off the engine and take a long, deep breath. Having the kids in the car with me is the only thing keeping me from bursting into frustrated tears. I take our apparently useless map and approach some people on the street for help. Hooray! I have happened upon very patient people who just happened to be heading toward the highway we needed, though they will eventually get on it in the opposite direction. It takes several twists and turns while following my new best friends till we come to the entrance ramp for the 66. One of my saviors actually leans his upper body out the car window to indicate which lane I should be in and with a very grateful wave, we're on our way home.

I am, though, admittedly spooked about driving around now. On the map, it looked like getting to Real and back should have been a piece of cake. This is all to be more complicated than I thought.

School Tour

We went back to the school today for Emilie to be tested. I should not have been surprised when she was placed in 1st grade (in the U.S. she would be entering kindergarten) as I had heard that German 1st grade is equivalent to our kindergarten. But I started thinking ahead and asking myself, "Well, what will happen when we move back? Would we drop her back a grade?" I'll try not to worry about that for now. We still have not heard for sure what grades Micaela and James will be in.

Then we got an official tour of the school. ISF teaches from kindergarten (our pre-K) to grade 13. Seventh grade and up is considered secondary and has its own section of the school, so Micaela should still be in the same part of the school with Emilie and James. There is a very nice pool and a good variety of non-academic activities such as music lessons, sports, art, etc. German and English classes are mandatory and the school is constantly testing the kids to be sure everyone is on track. The school is based on the British education system, so we'll have to wait and see how things differ from what we are familiar with.

There are over 50 countries represented at the school; 30% German, 18% Korean and 16% American. Outside of the language classes, all instruction is done in English (to the kids' relief).

One interesting note: We were told that getting caught at the train crossing down the street is no excuse for being late. I'm sure this will all start to mean something once school begins.

At home, David fiddles with the TV satellite and we now receive hundreds of European, African and Asian channels. From what I can see, the only English-speaking ones are CNN International and the British Sky-News channel. Figures.