(1) At some point late last week (or maybe last weekend) I got an email from my brother with the subject line: What are you doing on Wednesday? He was going on one of those (insane) American business trips and would have an evening free for us. Wow. Hurray. Well, yes, it turns out, we are free on Wednesday! Though we had just seen my brother and his family over the holidays, the thought of having him here in our Heidelberg life was a great thrill. So, Alex and I headed out to buy some gifts for his boys (a Lego keychain flashlight for the older cousin, and a toy tram for the younger one), some yummies that I know my brother likes, a belated birthday gift for him, some things to send back to my mom, etc. Though we followed our normal routine including a trip to the library etc, we basically spent Monday and Tuesday in eager anticipation of his arrival. It was almost 9pm by the time he actually got to our place on Wednesday night, but it was so fun to have hime here! It turns out that trying to get to Brussels, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Heidelberg in 48 hrs can be done, but it's exhausting. On Wednesday night, we feasted together and chatted late into the night. I have no idea how my brother didn't collapse from exhaustion, but we reveled in his presence right here in our little apartment. The next morning, we had breakfast together and Lukas was off again to catch a plane in Frankfurt that would take him back to San Francisco.
On his way, he drove us to Alex's school in his rental car, which turned out to be a rather gigantic van.
It was a quick visit to be sure, but so great to see him - here!
The rest of the week went by in a flash. In Alex's class at school, they have been reading a particular book called "Millie kocht!"which is about a little girl exploring the kitchen, cooking, and baking. The kids were all asked to bring a recipe for their favorite cakes or cookies (we supplied the recipe for his favorite oatmeal-raisin-chocolate chip cookies) and the whole unit culminated in a baking bonanza with the kids on Friday. The teachers picked a recipe for a typical German pastry/cookie, ironically called an "American" - sort of like a big soft sugar cookie with icing. The teachers had put a list with all the necessary ingredients on a bulletin board and we all signed up to bring something. Alex chose to bring the eggs. So, on Friday, everybody brought their ingredient and the kids took over the kitchen for a while to bake. I wasn't there, unfortunately, and have no pictures to share, but according to Alex, it was really fun and the cookies were yummy. Needless to say, by the time I got there around 4pm to pick him up nothing was left. It struck me as brave of the teachers to go into the kitchen with 15 3-6 year olds, but also wonderful.
(2) In the midst of all this, Alex has started to speak German this week. I mean, not just words and fragments, but the real language. Of course, I've been speaking to him in German since the beginning as have his grandparents. He's watched German DVDs and he has books, but so far, with the exception of a few words and phrases, he had not actually spoken German. He could understand it, but he did not speak it. Well, after 3.5 weeks in Kindergarten with peers, his German is there. He's making grammar mistakes, of course, but it's hard to tell sometimes if these are mistakes because he's just figuring out the language or if these are normal 4 yr old mistakes. He says all sorts of idiomatic things and is working hard at putting long stories together. Those of you who know him, know what a chatterbox he is. Well, now he's chattering away in German. To say that I'm thrilled and amazed is an understatement. I was hoping it would go fast, but this seems very fast, indeed. Last night he woke up at some point form some kind of a nightmare and when I came to his bed, it was clear that he wasn't fully awake, but he was jabbering away in German!
Here's a gratuitous shot of him in bed pretending to be asleep. Note the slight smile on his face.
Today, Alex and I had all sorts of plans, but then the day turned out completely differently from what I had planned. I woke up with a bear of a headache. Ugh. Then, we were headed to a particular bakery/cafe in our neighborhood, because I had promised Alex a particular kind of pastry for breakfast. Well, we got there and the bakery wwas out of the pastry and the cafe was closed. Now, I had a headache, no coffee, and a fussy kid. And then it started to rain. Part of me just wanted to go back home and go back to bed, but instead I called Sherry on her cellphone (which, by the way, inexplicably is called a "Handy" in Germany). Thankfully, she answered and knew just what to do. We started by meeting at the farmer's market in her neighborhood to get locally farmed produce and meat for the week. (I also got some herring that's not local, I'm sure, but delicious!)
She then asked us to join her family for lunch. Homemade crepes with all sorts of jams and sweet spreads and a huge cup of coffee with steaming hot milk. My day was getting better by the second and the headache had all but disappeared. We then all headed out for some more errands and reconvened at Annika's basketball game which her team won 74 -54 and which Alex LOVES to watch. We had stopped by at home on our way (to drop off the groceries) and found a thick envelope with all the holiday cards that had arrived in Greencastle after we left. So, Alex watched the game and frolicked around the gym while I read a whole pile of wonderful cards and letters. Thanks, everyone. After that, Sherry, Alex, and I went for a long walk (including a stop at the playground). We headed home to warm up and play for while and then the three of us went back out for a wonderful, lovely, and delicious dinner at a local restaurant. On the way back to the bus we realized that the Italian gelato place at the corner which had closed for the winter re-opened on Feb 1, so life is good, indeed.
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