Endearing

After living in Germany for almost three years, the novelty has worn off. Every once in awhile though, something surprises me. Like this, the surprise in the cereal box, or Müsli bag in this case:  A miniature wooden train car.

Unlike the typical surprises in the cereal box of plastic straw etc., this one actually encourages me to buy more of the Müsli.  The little train came inside of this red plastic egg that my children are modeling here,

and here.

Things like this make me smile and think, "Wow, this is pretty cool."

Driving

Today was my first day driving stick alone. I had finished my lessons at the driving school, and I had been practicing with Paul in the car. When we woke up this morning and it was raining, and with a little encouragement from Paul, I decided to be brave and drive Max to Spielgruppe (pre-school).

I stalled at every intersection, and I was honked at by numerous motorists. Max, to his delight, learned a new explicative on our way, and every time I stalled, he would say it in unison with me. I wonder if the teacher will notice... hmmmm.

I was shaking by the time we reached school, and though the drive home was much smoother, I can still feel my heart pounding. I need a little more practice before I do that again.

Update on Kindergartens

I swore I would not be one of those moms, one of the moms who freaks out about what preschool her child goes too, but when I wrote this post, I was dangerously close to crossing the line.  We had only applied to three kindergartens for Max, Waldorf A, Waldorf B and the Waldkindergarten.  After receiving letters putting us on the wait lists of two of the three, Paul and I started to worry and wonder if we should start applying to other kindergartens.  Most kindergartens open their admission in February, but maybe we could get on some more waiting lists, increasing our odds of finding a spot for Max.  The biggest concern of course, was the gap in his language skills.   He was finally starting to make progress in the German language, and we were worried that any length of time not in school would set him back.

Needless to say, I was quite relieved when we received the acceptance letter to the local public kindergarten.   We had applied over a year ago, but after having an underwhelming experience at the information afternoon, we quickly forgot about it.  Once we were accepted to this kindergarten the pressure was off, and before we knew it, all of our ducks seemed to line up.  A couple weeks later, we were accepted into Waldorf B which is very close to where we live.  And at the beginning of this week, we received a call from Waldorf A where Max is currently attending a Spielegruppe.  They had a spot open up, and they offered it to us.  We declined, as we had already accepted the spot at Waldorf B.

Maggie is guaranteed a spot in the Spielgruppe at Waldorf B, and later in the Kindergarten class, so I can be sane once again, at least until we start looking at Grundschulen (elementary schools) in three years. 

Sneak Peak into the Future

Paul: Maxi, how was school today?

Max:  (blank stare)

Paul:  Did you play with anyone?

Max:  Maxi played.

Me:  Did you play with Lena?  Daniel?  Isabella? Jonathon?

Max:  Maxi played.

Paul:  What did you play with?

Max:  Maxi played.

Me:  Did you play with Autos?  Kugelbahn?  Puppenwagen?

Max:  Maxi played.

Me:  Did you sing? Dance? Cook?

Max:  (rolls eyes at his hopeless parents and sighs)

Me to Paul:  Wow, I didn't think it was supposed to be this hard to communicate until his teenage years.

Learning How to Drive, Once Again

For the better part of the last year, Paul and I have been debating about whether to buy a car or move closer into the city.  We loved the idea of having a small carbon blue print, not to mention minimal transportation costs.  Moving into the city has its additional benefits of being closer to things like restaurants and shopping.  However transporting two small children around the city via public transportation had become burdensome, an enormous time suck and incredibly stressful.  Finally the car won out.

However, I hate driving, I always have.  My first day of drivers education back when I was 15 1/2 years old, my instructor Mr. Norman screamed "JUMPING CATFISH, JUDAS PRIEST and JIMINY CRICKET" from the passenger's seat at regular intervals.  I went home that afternoon crying, and swore that I would never return to driving school.  Luckily my oldest and wiser sister dangled the carrot of freedom in front of me, persuading me to return with a new determination to learn. 

Sixteen years later, Paul and I bought a manual transmission car, and once again I am learning how to drive.  Luckily, my drivers license transferred from Virginia, so I did not have to pay for the very expensive German driving classes and tests.  However, to preserve our marriage, we decided it was best for me to learn how to drive stick with a professional.  Not only would we have been screaming at each other within a half-hour, but I am learning on a transmission that belongs to someone else.

This past Thursday was my first time driving. Overall, I'm doing much better than the first time I drove automatic.  The biggest problem I'm having is that I keep stalling at intersections.  Sixteen years of driving automatic, and my instinct is to ease up on the brake when the light turns on green.  This does not work with a manual transmission.  Luckily, my instructor is no Mr. Norman, and she was very calm and collected every time I stalled the car.

After my first class, I was relieved that I had taken the class with a professional.  While, I realize that we might end up spending almost as much on lessons as we would have to buy an automatic, I feel like I am learning an invaluable skill.  I am hoping that with this new skill, I will feel like I have better control of the car, and maybe I will enjoy driving just a little more.