The Fourth of July

When I reminded the kids that today was July 4th, a holiday in the States, Micaela responded, "Oh, yeah. July 4th. That's the day you told us that we were moving to Germany." Really? She remembered the date we told them? "Of course! You told us and that night I was crying in my room, thinking, "I can't believe they told us that we're moving to Germany on July 4th -- America's birthday!" Oops. Didn't think about that at the time.

So, we are now beginning to commemorate our having survived the first year here. We informed the kids that we were moving only a few days after we found out for sure. Over the space of a week, the chances of us moving went from 0% to 10% to 25% to 80% and then to 99%. It all happened very quickly and David reminds me that right at about 80%, he looked to me for a definitive answer that I was on board. My response was no. Why move? We were living a charmed life in an Atlanta suburb -- our kids were happy, the schools were good, we had great friends, the convenience factor of where we lived was very high...etc. Why disrupt all of this? David's response was, "Well, I wish you had told me this when we were at 10%."

By the next evening, I had changed my mind, albeit reluctantly. This opportunity was something David had been hoping for for years and he had always talked about wishing the kids could have the experience of living in Germany. He would often visit his good friend Dina and her kids in Frankfurt and came home with lots of details of their great life in Germany. I realized that if I said no now, we would probably never get another chance and would always wonder what might have been. And this wasn't a permanent move, right? We would at some point move back to the U.S., right?

We needed to tell the kids right away. After all, we would only have six weeks before we were to fly to Germany and there was a lot to do. The kids were understandably upset, but by the end of the evening of July 4th, we could see them pulling themselves up by their boot straps and vowing that they would do their best to see this move as a big adventure. It didn't hurt that we promised them that we would be able to make trips back to visit their friends at least once a year and they would have their own e-mail addresses to keep in touch.

But my mind is still reeling with the thought that we have been here almost an entire year.

Spain 1 -- Germany 0

Alas, it was not meant to be. We heard horns honking and firecrackers popping after the game this evening, but it surely was not Germans celebrating (we do know some Spanish nationals living in Liederbach and assume it was them). We were disappointed that Germany lost the Euro 2008 championships, as much for ourselves as for Germany. We really wanted to experience the euphoria of a big German win in this country that is known for keeping things low key. Maybe the Olympics will do it for us.

We certainly learned quite a bit about football (soccer) these past few weeks. Besides James' soccer games, the Euro 2008 games were the first time I watched an entire fußball match. It was refreshing to sit in front of the TV and watch a sporting event for 45 minutes straight with no commercial interruptions and made us long for our DVR back home. Plus, the games were more exciting than I thought they would be. At first, it does seem like a lot of aimless running around, but once we got a feel for the game, our interest didn't falter.

And the blood! That was one aspect of the game I wasn't expecting. I found myself rolling my eyes over how a player would fall dramatically to the ground, clutching a body part in unimaginable pain after simply being tripped by an opposing player, then get up and trot away when no yellow card was awarded. But serious blood was shed during this final game and. Unintentional(?) headbutts were common and skin was split several times.

In fact, cutie pie Michael Ballack, after having been treated for just such a head butt, was told to leave the field in order to wipe up the blood that was still streaming down the side of his face (this photo didn't capture the worst of it).

Better luck next time, boys.

Last Day of School and a Trip to the Pharmacy

I'm having a hard time believing that today is the kids' last day of school at the International School. Have we really been here that long? It also feels like we lost a month in there somewhere as back home, the last day of school is at the end of May, not June. So, it's equally hard for me to believe that it's July next week.

We would call this school year a success, with some reservations. There were issues at the beginning for me, such as figuring out how to get the kids signed up for everything they needed and wandering around the school for hours with a squirming toddler on my hip. The biggest issue we have been facing is the lack of communication from the school to the parents. The school does not hold your hand, feeding you information and checking to be sure you've done everything you need to do. At ISF, you need to seek out information, and you'll be surprised to find that there were things you needed to take care of that you didn't even know about. We now realize it is our responsibility to check with a subsection of the school's website to find out what is coming up (a daily habit I still do not have ingrained yet).

Also, language can be a problem. There were times the kids lost points on tests with their English. When I tried to explain to the coordinator (you are not allowed to speak to the teachers directly) that my children's answers were actually right and the corrections made to their tests by non-native English speakers were not correct English or were less-correct than my child's answer, I was rebuffed. It irked me that my kids lost points when they should not have.

The other big international school in the area has an American-based system, whereas ours is British based. Most of the people I know from church and through the American Women's Club send their children to the other school and are very happy there. We toyed with the idea of taking a second look at that school, with their better technology and more familiar system, but in the end decided that we'd stick with ISF. German is emphasized more at ISF, and more importantly, our children are very happy there.

The kids have friends from all over the world, but we had to say goodbye to many of them today. Most of the people we have gotten to know are leaving this summer, either on to a new assignment or moving back home. Everyone warned us that this is an aspect of being an ex-pat that you need to expect. We also have said goodbye to many families at church, and even our priest is moving back to the States. So, there should be a whole new crop of people moving into the area this summer that we can get to know.

Rebecca was croupy this morning, so off we went again to the pediatrician. I just adore our doctor. He speaks perfect English and is one of the most gentle people I have ever met. The first time I met him, he expressed great concern that we were settling in OK because after all, "It isn't easy having children in Germany." We're still figuring out what he meant by that.

I recently had Rebecca there for croup that turned into bronchitis and when I apologized for not bringing her in earlier because we all got sick, then it was the weekend, his head snapped up and he exclaimed, "But, you could have called me at home! You should never hesitate to do that!" I think my jaw hit the floor. When I got home, I checked his business card and sure enough, there was his home phone number, not an answering service you must deal with first.

Rebecca did indeed have croup that we caught early this time and so our next stop was the Apotheke (pharmacy) just two doors down to fill some prescriptions. I just adore the pharmacies here. You know how it usually works back in the States. You get a prescription, then go the pharmacy where you proceed to wait with a sick child for at least 1/2 hour to get the medicine, worried that your child may throw up all over the place or stressed trying to keep your child from touching everything in sight. In Germany, you walk up to the counter with usually no wait, hand them your prescription, the pharmacist opens a drawer, pulls out a pre-packaged box of medicine and off you go. The first time I needed to do this, I handed the lady my prescription and said, "Should I come back in about an hour?" She looked at me funny and said, "No, I have it right here."

So, it's true that you may end up getting more medicine than you need, with it being pre-packaged, but knowing how efficient Germans are, this must in the end make more sense. And, they always throw in a travel packet of tissues and some candy for Rebecca. The only problem I've run into is that they'll give you a bottle of medicinal powder and you need to mix it up yourself. The one time for Emilie, it was a big bottle with a lot of powder, and I could not get it all mixed up, but I've since learned the pharmacist will mix it for you if you ask.

Football, bikes, bugs and birds

It was an exciting semi-final football match last night, with Germany beating Turkey 3-2. Now it's on to the finals, playing against either Spain or Russia. Thankfully, we didn't hear about any riots or major fights after the game, but we did hear plenty of celebrating in the streets.

Now that the weather has turned warm, I understand why my driving instructor had me constantly, and I mean constantly, looking over both shoulders when driving around. Bicyclists are everywhere, at all times of day and night and you have to be extra alert. If you want to make a right turn, always look over your right shoulder. Cyclists or scooter riders have right of way to continue straight, so you need to let them pass before turning.

Helmets are required only for children and most adults don't wear one. We have had helmet safety drilled into our heads back in the U.S., and I can't help but think these people are taking such risks riding along main roads with their craniums totally vulnerable.

You see business men cycling along in their suits, business women cycling along in skirts, children riding their bikes to school and older people riding to the store with their shopping baskets strapped behind their bike seats. The cyclists that make me extra nervous are the little 5-year olds riding shakily behind their parents. They look like they're one moment away from swerving in front of my car. And then the parents riding in the street with a child-trailer behind them. I give them wide berth.

With spring and summer bringing warmer weather, we've started keeping our windows open. German windows don't have screens, so along with the fresh air comes the bugs. We're seeing lots of crane flies, bees and spiders. Some Americans have told us that you can get screens that attach with velcro, but we're taking a wait and see just how bad it gets approach. I remember how often Emilie and Rebecca got bit by spiders when we first moved here, though, so if we start seeing those nasty bites again, we'll get screens.

We started getting woken up every morning at 4:30am by some very loud birds, chirpy away as happy as could be. We don't have air conditioning, so the windows were open to let in the cool night air. David and I groaned and put a pillow over our heads complaining, "Man, they are so loud! They sound like they're right outside our window!"

Well, guess what. They're right outside our window.

The oldest native Liederbacher (as he reminds David every time he stops to chat) pointed out a few days ago that he himself made several concrete swallow houses and put them on the front of our house a few years ago (right below our bedroom windows). He stops to check on the birds every time he rides his bike by our house and informed us that swallows are good for insect control.

The baby birds have apparently hatched and the parents are busy getting breakfast for their hungry, loud babies at 4:30 in the morning. In addition, my car just so happens to be parked under the bird houses. Say no more, say no more.

I didn't take this picture of swallows, but it captures the mood.

Euro 2008 -- Confused Loyalties

Football fever has taken hold of all of Europe these past few weeks. It is the European Football Championships and as it is only held every 4 years, it's a big deal.

People still remark on the rather recent phenomenon of flag flying in Germany. Until Germany hosted the World Cup in 2006 and the German team reached the semi-finals, fueling an explosion of national pride, flag-waving was not common. There was a decades-old fear that flag-waving and national pride was inextricably associated with Germany's Nazi past.

There is no apprehension today, especially among younger Germans, to hook a flag onto a car door.

Germany has been playing well and tonight in the semi-finals will take on, of all teams, Turkey. There are 2.7 million people either of Turkish citizenship or heritage living in Germany, the country’s largest minority. With both teams still alive, it has been doubly festive here and up to this point mutually supportive, as many Germans have cheered on the Turks and vice versa.

We have seen many different national flags on people's cars, mostly German of course, but from other countries,too. We have also seen several cars flying both the German and Turkish flags and have spied flags that incorporate the German and Turkish flags. Ahhhh, so, who to root for seems to be one of the questions of the day in the Turkish and German communities. The fact that two players on the Turkish team are German nationals makes it an even more intriguing issue.

The hope that the game tonight will bring people in Germany together in a peaceful competition is still tinged with the fear of violent conflict. On the America Armed Forces radio station, there were announcements saying essentially "Remember that tonight is an important soccer match. If you are out and about, be aware of your surroundings and the potential for conflict."

This is the captain of the German team Michael Ballack. Who do you think would play him in a movie?

Maybe Matt Damon?

Horses and Pizza

The Bunns took Becca to one of their favorite places, Domäne Mechtildshausen, so she could see the many horses living there.

A pat for the horse and...

...a nuzzle for Bex.

Jordan has been such a big help with Becca, without our even asking, that we have toyed with the idea of demanding that she stay to be our nanny. We'll let her finish her education first, only because the law requires it.

For dinner, we went to one of the Bunn's favorite restaurants that offers this view of Frankfurt, but unfortunately, the restaurant was closed.

The kids played on the playground before we left to seek dinner elsewhere.

Emilie shows off her parmesan moustache at an Italian restaurant.

Pizzas only come in a single-serving size, but they were still big enough for Dixon and James.

Bex' Birthday

Yes, for those keeping track, we celebrated Rebecca's 3rd birthday a day late. We waited for our visitors, the Bunns, who were away at a weekend wedding, to celebrate with us.

Look carefully and you can see the boo-boos on and above Becca's lip she got in a nasty fall on the way home from the park yesterday.

Dina and her kids Zach, Jordan and Dixon lived here for 8 years and returned home to the U.S. at the same time we were moving here. They've adjusted to life back in America, but still miss Germany and all their friends here terribly. In between visiting with friends and shopping for things you can't find in the States, they have been giving us great tips on places to eat, tasty food to buy at different stores and where to go for the best deals for everything from shoes to pet products.

The Bunns noticed how much Bex loves playing with horses and decided to add to her collection.

Do you recognize this American children's classic?

During their stay here, the Bunn children have been asking absurd questions, such as, "Would it be OK if we took your kids to the park?" Would it be OK? Hmm... let me think about that one. Would it be OK for us to have a little peace and quite around the house while you take my kids to the park where they will burn off lots of energy. Well,.... just this once.