So, do I talk about my day-to-day? Observances of Germany in general? New friends? Things that make me go "Yay!"? Or how about a little bit of all of that... respectively (ie; here ya go, choose your own destiny!)
Every day I wake up around 6:45 to be upstairs by 7:15 and help the kids get dressed and set-up/eat breakfast. Doesn't that sound so simple and quaint and family-like? Well you would think. But let me tell you, it is a production. The kids and the mom are out the door by 8:30, and then I clean up the kitchen. (Side note: Cleaning up the kitchen takes a while.. Germans don't just grab a bowl of cereal and sit down at the table. Every morning, any type of breakfast you may want is in front of you just in case. This means that we never use the jams, nutella, or honey that are set out. And we rarely use the expensive cheeses that are meticulously placed on their very own plate. And we eat about half the bread in the bread basket that we cut fresh from the bakery across the street. But nonetheless, just if you ever want any of these things, hazaa! There they will be.) Then is my free time. I've taken to playing the piano a bit-- with lessons sponsored by YouTube. I'll then take the Ubahn into town and walk around/try new food/try not to spend money on being more fashion-y. Later I head home to get the kids from school, play for a bit, do the whole kitchen thing again with dinner, and then help bathe and dress them for bed.. An even more tedious process than the morning time, since they have now had a full day of school and play, and want nothing less than to have to play charades with their non-German au-pair who is trying to understand that they want some particular bath toy. I think I may be falling in love with them already.
Germany in general: Is very clean and incredibly practical. For example, they park partially on the sidewalk, and they park wherever there is room... not wherever there is a perfectly outlined space. To me this just makes sense. Stereotypes have been true some of the time, like when I went out last night and yes, everyone smoked. Coughh. The language is not as harsh as people make it out to be in the US. Also, it's strange to get used to not hearing your own language almost ever... I miss eavesdropping.
Last night I met up with 15 (!) other girls, all au-pairs, to go out and see the nightlife. Countries represented in the group: Sweden, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Australia, Iceland, Turkey, Ireland, Canada, Brazil, Switzerland, and a couple other Amurricans. It was fascinating to learn a little bit about everyone's culture, where we're similar, or different, and see just how much American music they actually know for Karaoke night at the Irish pub.
When I get dressed in the morning I say "Yay!" because bundling up here with a great jacket, scarf, and good boots is so fun to me. When I put a good playlist on my iPod and walk to the U-bahn or walk around in general I say "Yay!" because I just have to pinch myself that I'm in Germany right now. Sometimes it feels surreal, then someone bumps into me and doesn't say sorry, and I remember that I really am here. When I rode the Ubahn today without buying a ticket and got away with it I said "Yay?!?" because now apparently I have a gambling problem. When I learn a new German word and then use it with the kids and they understand me I say "Yay!" because I'm one step closer to being able to communicate with the ones I spend the most time with.
Plus, I get to go to MUNICH next weekend and see Leigh! And that really makes me say "Yay!!!"
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