Friday, March 11

This morning I went to the girls school to help Helena's class make crafts to sell at the Talent Show next week. Thankfully, the English teacher saw me enter the building and notified Helena's teacher that I was there so I had no problems finding the correct room. One of the mom's organized all the crafts and so I tried to understand when she was explaining how to make the crafts, but I didn't catch everything. I figured I would be able to figure it out based on the model she had provided. Finally she looked at me and asked if I wanted her to explain in English. I was so thankful she spoke English!!

Helena is in the sixth class and so this is her last year of receiving English instruction in school. Next year she will begin learning Spanish. Helena was sick today so I wasn't sure how many of the kids would be able to understand English. I was glad when one of the girls came over and I was able to ask her questions. More and more kids came over to listen and/or say something in English. It was fun talking with them.

Thursday, March 10

Tonight I went to the gym and had a great workout and was suckered into participating in a Sport Competition Saturday. I think I'll be running something, but I really have no idea. Stay tuned for more details. . . .

The legal drinking age is 18 in Germany. Most Germans don't drink to get drunk and are extremely cautious about getting behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking. The repercussions for drinking and driving are severe. The limit is .5 on the breathalizer which would be equivalent to one beer.

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The Berlin zoo became famous when a baby polar bear was born and its mother tried to kill it. A man took the little bear named Knabe and raised it, going so far as to even sleep with it. When Knabe became older and more dangerous, they separated the bear and the man. A year later the man died from a heart attack. Thousands of people flocked to the Berlin zoo to see Knabe. As a result, when you drive around Berlin, you will see mini Polar Bears and around Christmas, there is a large Polar Bear downtown. Knabe is an adult now, but people still flock to his habitat to take pictures of him.

We went to the Berlin Zoo and I was amazed at how many animals they have there. The Zoo is literally in downtown Berlin. The habitats, both inside and outside, are much larger than those found in the Madison zoos (which is all I have to compare it to since I haven't been to many other zoos). They have monkey, bird, lion, and reptile houses with most of the animals being independently sponsored. We only had time to see a section of the zoo, but I know there is an Australian section. We were in the lion house in time to see them feed two lion cubs and a leopard. I also saw them feed other animals that I don't know the names to. They had an area in the basement where the bats and other animals that thrive in the darker atmospheres are housed. I got to see an Aardvark and rat kangaroos and many other animals I've never seen before. They had a monkey there that had multiple colors on its big nose, a baby orangutan, and gorillas; hippos, rhinos, and giraffes to name a few.

The grounds and cages are kept very clean. There was a gigantic playground for the kids, which was tempting for ME to play on. I'm excited to go back and see the other side of the zoo.

Friday, March 4

Tonight the girls and I went to the Kino (theater) with one of their grandmas. I understood bits and pieces because they talked so fast or seemed to be mumbling, but I was able to follow the story line. The movie theaters in Germany are similar to those in the States, with the only difference being there is assigned seating.

Wednesday, March 2

At Helena's voice lesson today, her teacher had me sing a harmony part with her. We'll have to practice more at home so she can learn to sing her part and not join me on mine, but I had so much fun! It made me really miss singing in a choir!!!!

Monday, February 21

I did NOT want to get up this morning, but there was no choice. That’s what I get for staying up until midnight three nights in a row. J The girls left for school and I checked email. 

I spent several hours this morning ironing while listening to John Piper and Christian music. One of the Polish workers found me and asked if I could unlock the cellar door. At first I didn’t understand what he wanted to do in the cellar. I started walking in that direction and saw his polish working partner make the motion for keys and then I understood. About that time, the secretary called to tell me when Mark and Nancy would be arriving. I felt important for a few minutes. : )

I finished the ironing and worked on the computer, then ate a quick lunch before heading to the airport. I found the airport without any problems, but I accidentally went into the parking lot first, so I had to figure out how to get out. Then when I went to the spot I had dropped them off, a police man was there so I went on my way. Mark called and said they were getting their baggage and then would be out, so when I circled around again, the police man stopped me this time. He talked and talked and talked and I smiled and smiled and smiled and said OK, thank you and left. I understood enough to get the gist of what he was saying, but as I drove away I said “I have no idea what you just said!” And for most of it I had no idea what he was saying. It was hilarious! I thought about telling him I didn’t understand, but he didn’t stop talking long enough. When I told Mark and Nancy later, they just laughed! Mark told us lots of stories from their three-day trip to Spain while we drove to the school.

By the time we picked the girls up and got back to the house I had a big headache so I took some medicine and layed down for a few minutes. When I got up, it wasn’t gone, but it was better. I sang with the girls for a few minutes before I had to leave for my class.

When I got there, the door was locked so I waited for a few minutes before seeing my teacher in a different room. At first it was just us three girls with the teacher, but then one of the male students arrived. We did a few listening exercises with telephone numbers, then spent a majority of our class time talking about time: how to say what time it is officially, how to write it, how to say it, etc. Most of it was review from high school German, but it was a good review. My teacher also taught us the numbers for the police and fire/ambulance. It was a good class. On the way back to the car, I talked and walked with the lady from Thailand. It was freezing outside!!!

When I got home, Nancy had my dinner all warmed up for me, so I was able to eat right away. I was so hungry I was shaking! After dinner, I ate some ice cream and skyped with one of my best friends and Dad. It was so much fun! 

Sunday, February 20

Last night Helena woke me up around 3am to say the dogs were going crazy and probably needed to be let out so I got up and let them out and then had to wait until all of them came back inside before locking up again and going back to bed.

We got ready for church, ate cereal for breakfast, fed the dogs as fast as we could and then hit the road for for church. Surprisingly, I understood a good majority of the sermon. After church, I had some tea and talked while the girls drew pictures. The girls thought it was boring. 

When we got home, we ate leftovers for lunch and checked on Merlin. After cleanup we sang to High School Musical. While we were singing upstairs, we heard someone downstairs. We were shocked to know someone was in the house with us. We couldn't figure out how they had gotten in! It ended up being Mark's dad, step-mom, and nephew. We ended up playing games, doing homework, and playing the piano. Then Mark's mom and step-dad showed up with an apple dessert so we got coffee and tea ready and got all the “tea sets” out. 

During tea, Mark's dad told the others that I can play the piano, so his step-dad asked me to play for him. If only they knew I can’t really play. J I just play the songs I know.

After cleaning up the tea/coffee/cake dishes, Mark's dad left and I made pancakes for the kids. The girls cousin specifically asked me last we saw each other if I would make pancakes for him when he was at the house next, so I fulfilled my promise. They were a smash! The rest of the guests left and I did round 2 of kitchen clean up before skyping with Stacey and the family for a few minutes.  

MY FRIEND IS ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!! I’m so excited for her! 

The girls watched part of Pirates of the Carribbean 3 and then I sent them off to bed and watched Minority Report. I stayed up way too late, but I couldn’t just leave the movie hanging. Of course, when I finally did want to get to sleep, it eluded me for a while.