Greetings Family and Friends!! I wanted to update everyone on how and what I was doing in Germany:) I can't believe I have been living here 8 weeks as of today. Some days it seems like the time is flying while others seem like I won't be home soon enough. It has already been an amazing journey filled with wonderful and surprising memories!
My relationship with my German family is still difficult and challenging but improving. Maximilian (the 6 year old little boy) and I have a great relationship and enjoy planning together. He kind of reminds me of a German version of Denise the Menace! Maximilian's new favorite game is to get my exercise bands (they are like big rubber bands) and for us to turn on the radio and dance around the house each morning before school! I can't dance to save my life but Maxi doesn't care.I love kid's unconditional love. Lol! And before anyone ask, no I will not be sending out videos of our morning performances! My German is improving but still very poor. Maxi and I have created our own dialect where he uses the English words he knows and I use the German words I know. I think his parent's think it is weird, but it works and we are able to communicate and I am able to get him to do what I need.sometimes. He is a very strong headed and spoiled child and is about to get a rude awakening when his mother has a baby in 3 months. The parent's found out the sex of the baby 3 weeks ago but aren't telling anyone. While cleaning this morning I found all the baby stuff they have been gathering and.it is a GIRL! Now I have to be quiet about this information. Maxi is a mama's boy and has already said he didn't want a sister so it should be interesting seeing how he reacts to the new baby.
Some interesting stories and experiences with my German family.
*In Germany when the weather is nice outside everyone opens their doors and windows. I hadn't been opening my window because I would get so cold. After the dad talked to me for the second time about opening my window I figured I better start do it. So, I made it part of my morning routine and made sure to open the doors and windows. After Maxi got home one afternoon we went outside in the back yard to play. About an hour later the mom (Melanie) arrived home and called us up to the house. I was NOT greeted with a "Hi, how was your day" or "good to see you" it was "Jessica, did you open the doors?" Of course I proudly responded yes, but Melanie respond a little differently than I had planned. She said, "Jessica, you could have let terrorist into the house!" Still a little confused about the situation I asked "I thought I was suppose to open the doors?" Then quickly found out I was NOT suppose to leave the doors open when we are playing in the yard because it was "dangerous" and "terrorist could get into the house!" But, it was okay to leave them open when we were in the house? Go figure.it is okay to let the terrorist into the house as long as we are in it? I was really hard not to start laughing and I tried to be polite and respect the house rules on keeping terrorist out of the house.
*Last week we had a day when it was raining off and on throughout the day. When it rains I am suppose to walk to the bus stop and pick up Maxi with an umbrella. I was fixing lunch about 10 minutes before the bus came and decided to open one of the curtains in the kitchen so I could see if it was raining and if I needed to go get Maxi with the umbrella. I ended up not having to go get Maxi and decided to leave the curtains cracked so we could have a little sunlight in the kitchen while eating lunch. Thomas (the dad) arrived home while I was cleaning up after lunch and called me over to the curtains. I went over to the curtains having no clue what he wanted. He had called me over there for a "curtain placement lesson!" He said that unless the door was open the curtains were to be closed and then continued to show me how to precisely place the curtains shut.I am not kidding! So, if I am ever at your house and you see me adjusting your curtains don't worry I am very experienced and have had German training!
*Yesterday Maxi and I were building a sled at his grandfather's barn and several pieces of wood were too long, so Maxi grabbed the electric hand saw and preceded to plug it into the wall. I freaked out and was trying to stop him and trying to explain that it was very dangerous and he could cut off one of his fingers. Maxi kept telling me it was okay and he was allowed to use it; I just thought he was taking advantage of the situation of me not knowing all the rules. A few minutes later his grandfather walked into the barn and didn't seemed surprised to see Maxi with the electric hand saw? I asked him if it was okay for Maxi to be using it and he said yes it was okay? Really.a 6 year old using a electric hand saw?? Sorry if I offend anyone and you let your 6 year olds use electric equipment with enough power to chop off their fingers, but I don't think it is crazy and not a good idea! Thanks goodness everyone still had all their fingers when we finished building the sleigh!
Please don't get me wrong.I am having a great time and use all these little experiences as comic relief. I have also talked to a lot Germans and other people here and they say this is NOT a normal or typical German family.
I mainly work Monday - Friday and have the weekends off to travel. Last weekend I went to Salzburg, Austria and Fussen, Germany to the Neuschwanstein Castle. It was an amazing and unforgettable weekend. I went with an English speaking tour out of Munich and made friends with two Australian girls. They had spend the last 4 months working at camps in the US and were spending 2 months traveling around Europe before going home. The weather was awful in Salzburg; rainy, cold and terrible visibility. Even though the weather was bad we had a blast! I got to see several Sound of Music sights, a couple of Mozart's house, several churches and we hiked up to the originally Abby Marie had lived at. When we arrived back in Munich from Salzburg the Aussie girls talked me into getting a bed at the hostel where they were staying (I got the last bed); we were all going on the Neuschwanstein Castle tour together the next morning. So, I spent the night at my first hostel and shared a room with 5 other girls that I didn't know.it was a little strange but a cool experience. That night we ate dinner at Hard Rock Café and it was wonderful.it was my first "American" meal in almost 2 months.I was real adventurous and had a chicken creaser salad.
The next morning we headed to Neuschwansteain Castle; it was an 2 hour train ride from Munich. We went with another English speaking tour group with about 20 people. When we arrived at the base of the mountain of the castle it started snowing! The buses had stopped running that day because of the snow and safety reason. So, if you wanted to see the castle you had to hike up this huge mountain! It was long and steep but worth every step when we reached the top! It was like I was in a fairy tale.there was snow, mountains and beauty everywhere!! It was breath taking! We took a tour of the castle and then hiked back down the mountain and headed back to Munich. Our tour guide recommend a little Italian restaurant for me and the Aussie girls to eat at "near" the train station. We figured out 2 other Aussie groups from our tour were going to the restaurant too and we all went together; it was me, the 2 Aussie girls, 3 guys and 2 older ladies (grandmother age). We started heading in the direction where the tour guide had told us to go and quickly realized we were in a shady part of downtown Munich and on the "Sex club" street...it was hilarious watching the two older ladies eyes get bigger and bigger! I was very glad we hadn't gone by ourselves and had the guys with us! After wondering around for about 15 minutes we found the restaurant. It was great.it was like a little whole in the wall place with an authentic atmosphere and food. We all had a blast sharing our traveling stories and hanging out:)
The weather has gotten much cooler over the last few weeks and we even had a few snow showers last week. The highs are in the 40s and lows in the 30s. It is suppose to warm up to in the 50s next week.
The food here is amazing!!! The mom I live with is a wonderful cook and her grandmother cooks lunch for us several times a week. The grandmother cooks real authentic German foods! She cooks a lot of pastas with meats in very rich sauces, wonderful juicy meatloaf and tons of different soups. The foods are very salty but good. We also eat a lot of fresh bread and meats (mainly pork) and some fruits (bananas and apples). I am going to have to start running a lot if I keep eating all of this amazing food!
Hope everyone is doing well back home and would love to hear how you are doing!! Miss you all and can't wait to see everyone when I get home!!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
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