Our stuff is here! Our stuff is here!

This is an exciting day. Our belongings arrived! First, the relocation company sent people to collect all the rental furniture (we'll miss our comfortable German beds) and then the movers began moving our stuff in. Many, many boxes were sent right down to our basement.

It looks so strange to see our furniture here. It makes this move seem much more final. We're not just here on a 2 month-long trip, living in someone else's house, using their things.

The kids are thrilled and are having a great time unpacking their things and getting their rooms set up. And they have their clothes! and toys!

I only unpacked the necessities in our kitchen and most cooking things went to the basement. I figure items will only earn a place in our kitchen if they are actually sought out and used.

We are greatly anticipating having our computer set up so we can communicate with family and friends back home.
One funny item: Our bed is a high, four poster bed and the ceiling in our bedroom slants down on one side. So David has to bend over quite a ways to get around to his side of the bed. I will have to as well each morning when I make the bed, come to think of it. Or else we can crawl over the top of the bed.

The movers will be back tomorrow to unpack boxes for us. That will be a big help.

American Women's Luncheon

Today was the day of the American Women’s Club luncheon. It is an organization found all over the world for American women living in different countries. There are activities, trips and ways to participate in the local area. Several people had mentioned that I should join and this luncheon is one of their biggest events of the year. It also serves as a welcome to people who had moved to Frankfurt over the summer. I would finally be among a large group of Americans and would be able to compare stories with other newcomers and see how things are with families that have been here a while. The day did not quite go according to plan, however. I need to learn that that is to be expected.

The luncheon was to be held at the Ramada Hotel in a nearby town. I had the address plugged into my navi and was ready to go. Driving in a strange place and looking for parking can be very stressful, so I wanted to be prepared. In the middle of the town, the navi kept saying, "Destination on the right." Well, there was no Ramada on the right. I drove a few more blocks, turned around and tried again. No Ramada, though there was a plaza with other hotels and maybe it was tucked back in there. I found a public parking lot that only allowed 2-hour parking (the luncheon would last longer than that) and went in search of the Ramada. My intent was to get to the hotel, put Rebecca in the provided babysitting service and then go back and move the car to the hotel's parking lot. With Rebecca on my hip and her diaper bag and my purse on my shoulder, I trudged through town looking for the elusive Ramada. And I trudged and I trudged. I finally asked a man where the hotel was and he pointed further up the street. And I trudged and I trudged. I finally reached the Ramada which was at the top of a hill. The navi said, "Destination on the right" at least a mile too early. And I parked at least a mile further back the other way.

Before lunch, there was a "fair" with booths for many of the American Women's Club activities. With a reddened face and sweat running down my back, I asked a lady where the babysitting was. She gave me a blank look and said, "Babysitting????" Not good. I was already peeved. She checked and come to find out, the sitting would not start for another hour, when the actual luncheon would begin. I took a deep breath and did what I had to do. I trudged all the way back through town, from one end to the other, to get the car and move it to the hotel so it wouldn't get towed. And I trudged and I trudged, carrying a toddler who seemed to put on a few pounds every block, with tears of pure frustration running down my cheeks a good part of the way.

The walk was, in retrospect, a good thing. By the time I got to the car and drove back to the hotel, I was exhausted, but calm. I had gotten it all out.

I put on a happy face and went to look around the fair. Our international school was represented, a church in Liederbach that offers Mass in English had a booth, as well as bookclubs, mother's groups, etc. I was really hoping to see a scrapbooking group, thinking that it would be a good way to meet some other people, but there was none. I had been warned by a German friend who often scrapbooked with me back in Atlanta that scrapbooking doesn't really exist in Germany. In fact, you can't find craft stores, like Michael's, here either.

I got Rebecca into the sitting at last and was looking forward to a nice lunch with interesting conversation. We were seated according to where we lived and I was curious to see if there would be anyone else from Liederbach. The luncheon began with a few short speeches and then a long presentation by a local historian. Finally, lunch was served. I met several very nice women, though none from Liederbach. And then, Surprise! "The babysitting is ending now. You must pick up your children." I looked down at my plate. I had managed to eat most of my lunch, but not all and dessert was sitting at the table in the front of the room mocking me. Ah, well....

I did exchange numbers with several women. Many of the women are here through General Motors and the American consulate. The consulate in Frankurt is the largest American one in the world. They talked about shopping at the commissary in Wiesbaden, which is basically an American grocery store. You need to be part of the consulate or the military to go, but you are allowed to bring guests. Most of the women demanded an automatic car upon arriving in Germany and felt quite bad for me that I would need to learn to drive stick. It was comforting to hear other newcomers admit to frustrations and other women assure us that things would settle down.

We got the news that our container has arrived in Frankfurt and our belongings will be delivered tomorrow. The movers will need two days to get everything unpacked and set up for us.

Much as I need to have "my things" around me (like Mary Kate Danaher in The Quiet Man) we have relished having a sparsely furnished, easily kept house. I guess all good things must come to an end.

Heidelberg

Today we drove to Heidelberg which took about one hour. While driving on the autobahn, we passed the U.S. Army Garrison Darmstadt and several castle ruins on the hills to the side. We saw signs for Frankenstein Castle, the actual castle that was the inspiration for Mary Shelley's novel. Apparently, only these two towers and a chapel remain of the castle which was built before 1250.

We got to Heidelberg right at lunchtime. The historic center of town was bustling with restaurants, cafés and touristic shops. In the shadows of a beautiful cathedral built in the 1400s, we had lunch at...Subway. Sometimes, especially with kids, you just opt for what is easiest.

Our next stop was the Old Bridge Gate.

Near the gate is this amusing bronze monkey statue. There had apparently been a monkey statue on the other side of the bridge as far back as the 15th century, but it was stolen at some point. This monkey has been there since 1979. You had to wait to turn to get your picture.

We passed many groups of foreign tourists in this area and several times, one of them would come up to one of our children, put his arm around their shoulders or crouch beside them and indicate he wanted a picture with them. I told the kids to smile and wasn't sure what to tell Micaela when she asked, "Why would they want a picture with me?"

It was an arduous climb up to famous Heidelberg Castle, but the view made it all worth it.

The castle, first built in the 1200s, is in mostly ruins, but impressive all the same.

Here is the courtyard where Rebecca threw a formidable tantrum and attracted many stares. Even the statues on the side of the building seemed to have their eyes focused on her.

David and I in front of the Heidelberg Tun, a wine vat built in 1751.

This powder turret was split by an explosion in the late 17th century, courtesy of the French.

In the gardens of the castle, forget about the fountains! The kids were fascinated by a dragonfly whose wings were caught in the thick algae. Would it survive? They made David pick the poor thing up and set it down someplace else.

Saturday shopping

We all needed a bit of cheering up. We went to the mall and bought a universal DVD player that would play our American DVDs (whenever we receive them) plus any new DVDs we may buy here. I couldn't resist buying Rebecca a Dora DVD that has the original English track so that she could watch something familiar. We threw in lunch at McDonald's.

Micaela went into Frankfurt with friends to see the movie Hairspray (there are some theaters that show American movies in English with German subtitles, otherwise they're dubbed into German).

David chatted a bit with a woman we see everyday walking her dogs. When she found out we were American, she told David that her father had been a soldier in the war and afterwards a prisoner of war. "The Americans treated him very well," she said. We've made another friend.

Lowest Point

I knew it was coming. We had been warned. We knew it was not going to be a bed of roses, Brötchen and Oktoberfest every day. There was going to come a day where I would say to myself, "I think we made a big mistake...."

James joined the soccer team and it has not been going well. Suffice it to say that he does not have as much experience as the other players and they are letting him know it. When the team huddled up at the end of the practice, James stood six feet away from everyone else looking miserable.

He repeated to me on the way home some of the comments that have been thrown his way and when I asked what the coach says, James replied, "Nothing." My heart was just breaking for him. This was the kid who was the most enthusiastic about us moving here, who was so excited for school to start so he could make friends, who said the night we first told all the kids we were moving to Germany and that we knew they would miss the U.S., "You know, I bet when we are moving back to the U.S., we're going to miss Germany." And now this?

It was Curriculum Night tonight and I just could not bring myself to set foot in the school again. David went and when he returned, said, "You know, they kept referring to the Parent Handbook, saying 'a lot of answers to all your questions can be found there.'" Hmmm, I pointed out that the handbook would indeed be helpful, it we had received one, which, of course, we had not.

Today has been the lowest point of our stay here so far. That means things can only get better, right?

Swim Test

Well, we're one step closer to being connected to the world. We got phone and internet today, but our computer with everyone's e-mail addresses is still somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic. Things were so hectic when we were getting ready to leave the U.S. that we forgot important things like writing down e-mail addresses and checking to be sure we packed our camera charging equipment. All of the pictures we have been taking lately have been with a disposable camera, so don't be surprised that the quality is not great. But, we can now call home and check news on the internet on a hand-me-down computer. We're getting there.

We decided to sign Emilie up for swimming lessons after school and as there were several different levels of beginner lessons (non-swimmer, beginner, etc.) we were advised that she should take the swim test. As I was signing her up for the test, one of the teachers asked, "Can she swim?" Hmmm. I answered truthfully, "She has taken some lessons but she is not a "good swimmer." The teacher responded, "We don't expect 5-year olds to be excellent swimmers." Fine. If you threw Emilie into a pool, she could make it back to the edge. I thought everything was fine.

Imagine my surprise then, when through the glass window, I see a coach instruct Emilie to climb up onto the 2-foot high starting block, dive off and swim three lengths of the junior Olympic-sized pool. I could see the panic in Emilie's face and I froze. I knew she couldn't do that. Emilie balked at doing anything and the coach came out into the waiting area and, in front of about 8 other parents, admonished me for sending Emilie in there to take that test. "You said she could swim! I don't want her to drown!" she practically shrieked at me, with a glare in her eye.

It was so humiliating. In retrospect, I should have asked what the swim test entailed, but never in my wildest dreams would I have expected them to demand what they did of a five-year old whom I had indicated was not a good swimmer. I thought it would be, "Let's see you float on your back," "Tread water for a minute" and "Swim to the edge of the pool."

I tried to stay calm and said, "Yes, she had lessons, but she was never required to swim entire lengths of the pool and they weren't allowed to dive. I signed her up for the swim test so we could determine which of the classes she belonged in." The coach went back to the pool and had Emilie jump in and show her specific strokes, but Emilie was so frazzled, she really couldn't do anything.

In the end, she was put into a non-swimmer level class, but I was still so angry and really wanted to tell them that they did not ask me the right question from the beginning. "Can she swim?" Not specific enough. They should have said, "She'll have to dive off the diving block and swim three lengths of the pool. Can she do that?" I would have known to say, "Heavens, no!"

It didn't help that I was walking by that waiting area later in the day and heard a bunch of people talking about me. "Well, she said she could swim, but....." Ugh. I felt like I have a big sign on my head that says, "Stupid American." My humiliation was complete.

The bright side of it all is that when Micaela came later in the day to take her swim test, I was able to warn her of what it entailed. She refused to do it. "I can't do all that, Mom! We've never had to dive before!" It's true. In all the lessons the kids have ever taken, they were never allowed, let alone taught, to dive. Plus, by that time, the older high school kids had swim team practice and were swimming like Olympians. We went back and forth,
--Micaela, this is a great opportunity to learn to swim really well.
--But Mom, we'll have swim lessons anyway as part of phys ed class.
--That won't be enough to make a difference. You need to have some after school activities. This would be a great one.
--No, Mom, I won't do it. Everyone will think I stink. I can't swim like they can.
--Micaela, you're already signed up to take the test. They're expecting you. They already think I'm an idiot. It'll look even worse and I have to go and cancel.
--No!

Finally, I gave up. That's when Micaela, with tears running down her cheeks, said reluctantly, "Fine. I'll do it." And she did. She refused to dive off the diving block, but swam the three-lengths doing different strokes. I was so proud of her.

The other big surprise of the day was when I went down into the locker room to help Emilie get dressed after her test. There in the middle of a room full of little girls in various states of undress was a dad talking on his cell phone. The little naked girls couldn't have cared less. I don't think he was supposed to be there, but still..., he apparently must have thought it wasn't a big deal. To him there was probably no "deal" at all.

Nudity is not as taboo here. We've seen glimpses of naked women and men's behinds in TV commercials and I'm curious to see what the kids think the first time we go to a beach and the clothes come off.

Sunday Hike

Sundays are quite different here in Germany. Remember, it's quiet time all day (in our neighborhood, at least), so no mowing the lawn, hammering, vacuuming or yelling in the back yard. Don't even play your TV or radio too loudly. Plus, stores are closed. No running errands today. What's a person to do?

Enjoy the day, apparently. Get up, walk to the bakery before it closes and buy some fresh brötchen (rolls) and a few chocolate croissants for the kids. Then get out into the fresh air and enjoy the day. On Sundays you see people everywhere walking, biking and hiking in the mountains.

We decided to be German today and go hiking up into the hills near Hofheim. As we walked up to the entrance way to the mountain-area, we came upon a playground. You can't go by a playground with four kids and not expect to stop.

I have been noticing that people dress more warmly here. We were in long sleeves and sweatshirts, good for the 65-degree day. There was a preschooler at the park with us dressed in a winter coat, ski pants, woolen hat, scarf and mittens. His parents must have thought we were neglectful.

We climbed the hills for quite a while, passing a monastery and very old church and finally made it to the top. There was a lookout tower to climb with a sign saying that little kids were verboten. Rebecca was too young (OK by me, I needed a rest), but the rest of the family had a good view of the area.