Getting the kids registered for school is the top priority this week. The school administrators are back from summer break. I called the schools yesterday and set up appointments (of course!) to go to the schools. I was most concerned that the Gymnasium (the middle-high school) would not accept MK. Not for any specific reason but simply because they can! I had heard of some people having trouble getting their kids into the schools that they wanted. MK and I left at 9 to try finding the bus to her school. She has a couple of choices: she can catch one bus near our house and travel as far as the U-bahn station, then switch to another bus. Or she can simply walk to the U-bahn and take a single bus from there. The total distance is just far enough to make walking a little too much. She'll ride her bike when the weather is good but we'll also get her a Schuler-Ticket for the public transportation. We chose to walk and ride this morning. The bus either got us there 1/2 an hour early or 2 mins late, so I made sure we got there early. As it turned out the Schulleiterin (Head Mistress) was free and we happened to bump into her in the hall way as we were trying to figure out where to go. After a short meeting with her, showing her MK's report card (all A's!) and 5th Grade SOL results, she asked if she could meet with another administrator to discuss which class to put MK in and then she would get back to us this afternoon, but that she anticipated that they would be able to allow MK to come to the school. So tomorrow we go back to officially fill out the paperwork for MK to go to the Nicolaus-Cusaunus Gymnasium!
After we finished there, MK and I took the train to Bad Godesburg and hit the Woolworth for more school stuff (so much cheaper! Like a mini-Walmart!), ate a nice lunch at a little Bistro in the pedestrian zone before heading home. When we came around the corner to our apartment there was a mother unloading her kids from their min-van. I realized it was the van with the GB (Great Britain) tags and that another American I've met had mentioned that she thought there was a GB living near us. So I introduced myself and she invited us over to play in their garden (yeah!) and have some cold drinks, chat, etc. She has a 3.5 year old boy and a baby boy. GE will have a nice playmate! We had a lovely visit. She had wonderful advice about finding a Kindergarten and we made promises of some babysitting swapping so we can go out with our hubbies. They are also relatively new to the area (last Oct.) so she continues to feel like she's finding her way around. They also have bicycles and an "Anhaenger" (the large carts for kids that you can pull behind a bike) that we can borrow if we want to go for a ride along the Rhine. I may have to rent a bike for Hannah and spend a day teaching her to ride so we can all go together. She also offered their garage for additional bike space or if our garage arrangement for MK's bike (which is kind of complicated) is too cumbersome. Cool! But most importantly it was very pleasant to have someone to talk to about adjusting to life in Germany!
(Interesting side-note: On Friday we visited together again in the afternoon and we started talking about what our husbands do. When she told me that hers works for the European astronaut's program, I told her that one of my old German friends, VD, is one of the doctors for the German astronaut's. Well, turns out VD and our neighbor have been working together on the same team for the last couple of years! What a small world!)
August 15
This morning we went back to the Nicolaus Cusanus Gymnasium and finished registering MK for school. She'll also be taking French (she could choose French or Latin as a second foreign language--her "first" is Englisch!) and a Philosophy class. Mathe, Biologie (science), Kunst (art), Musik, Sport, Deutsch (German) and Englisch will be her other core courses. School starts at 8 a.m. She'll get her full schedule plan on the first day of school, as well as a supply list and text books. We had to buy some workbooks for Englisch and French. The school is BIG and she was pretty nervous about finding her way around, but I assured her all she has to do is get to her homeroom class on the first day and then the other students will help her find her way when she has to change classrooms. I have horrible memories of having trouble reading my teacher's handwriting and bringing home written notes and homework assignments that my mom couldn't decipher because I was unable to copy the words down correctly. We were both relieved to see that her homeroom teacher had very neat handwriting and that she wouldn't have any trouble reading his writing!
After visiting the school we all went to Bad Godesberg again to pick up her textbooks, eat some bakery snacks (the girls love getting the giant soft pretzels from the bakeries), and then MK and ME both got their traditional beginning-of-the-school-year hair cuts. MK was sure she wanted bangs but the hair dresser made such a stink about how terrible that would look and how wonderful MK's hair was that MK let her do something different. In the end, MK came home flipping her hair around and saying "I just LOVE my hair cut!" And no tears about not getting bangs. Whew. ME got a shaggy bob. HR was sad that I wouldn't let her get hers cut but I promised to do a trim at home myself. So, while GR was napping (much needed after skipping a few days of naps recently!) I gave HR a make-over too. She was pretty happy although I think she wanted me to make it shorter. Why is the grass always greener on the other side? When I was young I always had a short hair cut with bangs but wanted long hair with no bangs. Now my kids have long hair with no bangs and want short hair with bangs! Go figure.
August 16
One of the hardest things about being here is missing my friends and family. Especially when one of them is sick. A dear friend found out soon after we left that she has breast cancer. She has been my daughters' preschool teacher and care-giver, as well as my friend, for the last 4 years. When I read her updates on CaringBridge I just about can't keep it together. SH, know that I'm thinking of you often and am sorry I can't be there to wrap my arms around you, bring meals for you and your family, and participate in celebrating you and mourning this journey that you're on! Lots of prayers and love being sent your way!
HR and ME are all set up for school now too. The Schulleiterin (principal) at the Bodelschwingheschule was very kind and helpful at our meeting this morning. HR will be in the 1a Klasse and ME in the 4a. We were able to see their rooms and tour the building a bit. First grade is much more like our Kindergarten in the U.S. HR will come home by 11:30 most days. She'll have lots of fun! ME isn't in the same class as the two girls we've met who go to the same school, but that hasn't dampened her enthusiasm. I'm sure she'll be making friends right away. ME starts on Weds. of next week and the first graders have a special starting day on Thursday.
I joined the Pauluskirche Chor this evening for their weekly rehearsal. They are preparing a Mendelssohn piece for a joint concert with the choirs of all the Thomaskappelle Gemeinde (a broader local church community made up of 3 congregations in the surrounding neighborhoods) along with some smaller things for Sunday mornings at the Pauluskirche here in our neighborhood. It was the first rehearsal after their summer break and after the rehearsal was finished, they invited anyone to stay and fellowship together with drinks! It's the first time I've had wine after a rehearsal! It was lovely, though, to visit with the other choristers, who of course, wanted to know why we're here, why my German is pretty good, and ooh and aah over the fact that I have four children. My brain was in German mode after an hour and a half of following the director's instructions, so I didn't have too much trouble conversing. Yeah for German practice!
August 17
I finally dreamed in German last night! Woo hoo! Always a good sign. I'm sure it had something to do with having an hour of conversations in German right before going home to bed. :)
Ordered and received a couple of small tables and chairs--one for the LR area for my laptop and calendar and one for MK's room where she can do homework etc. Here she is set up with her new desk lamp, listening to the radio on her cell phone, and drawing. In the background you can see my storage "corner" where I have extra food and household goods that don't fit in the kitchen.
As I've already mentioned, first grade is a big deal here. We bought HR a Schultute that she can decorate herself and that we'll fill with goodies to give to her on the first day of school. This afternoon HR and I got busy working on cutting things out and starting to glue stuff on. She's in heaven!
A Friday evening tradition in the making? Eis at the cafe after dinner.
Notice the HR peeping over Daddy's shoulder?
August 18
It's HOT. Dry at least, but still very warm. The locals are in an uproar about how terribly hot it is. Actually doesn't feel that bad to me. No Virginia humidity and the nights are still quite cool. Tomorrow is supposed to be hotter still, then some storms and cooling off.
We got up very early for a Saturday morning and took the bus (7:36 a.m.!) to the Rheinaue (big park along the Rhein river) for a HUGE Flohmarkt (giant yard sale/fleamarket). Goal was to find very cheap used bikes for the younger girls. Initially we thought we'd just get bikes for ME and HR who so far just have scooters. I decided that with how well GE is doing on the Laufrad, that we must really focus on getting HR onto a 2 wheeler--something we'd failed to get done at home in VA. She'd had a small balance bike when she was 4 but didn't really master it completely since we only have grass and gravel at home. But I knew she had gotten to the point where she would keep her feet up for short distances. We found a bike for ME pretty quickly, then searched for HR. Finally settled on one and then made up our minds that I would go look for a bike for myself so that I could ride with HR and monitor her ability to navigate traffic and intersections, etc. So, J took the kids to a large paved area near the Spielplatz (playground) while I dug back into the fleamarket area. No more than 5 minutes later J texted me that Hannah was launched and riding solo! Woohoo! I soon found a bike that fit me OK, was in decent condition, but that I knew would fit MK better. The one we'd already gotten for her was good for me and just slightly too big for MK, although we knew she'd grow into it. So, when I got back to J and the girls, I asked her to try it and she was thrilled when I said we could "trade". :) We also found good helmets for the smaller girls. MK and GE already have ones. So, now we're all set. J can borrow the neighbors bike or rent one if we want to go for a bike ride. If GE continues to get better control on her Laufrad then we might find her a used 2 wheeler later. The Flohmarkt happens every 3rd weekend of the month, so there will be many more chances to go back.
We rode/walked all the way home and then everyone crashed for naps!
