This week I’ve been spending a lot of time outside in the yard with the girls because the weather has been gorgeous. Warm, even hot spring days, blue skies, long hazy nights. Of course, there is springtime in California but it’s not so dramatic since the seasons don’t really change where I live. They just kind of… blend together. And spring is beautiful anywhere, really, but I am definitely going to miss these spring days that I spent in Munich. And just a few months ago… it was winter. Cold, unapologetic winter. And before that – fall. (Oh God, now I sound like Rebecca Black! *facepalm*) Fall here in Munich was breathtaking – I don’t think I’ve ever been more in love with a city as I was with Munich during the fall. And, as usual, before fall was summer – crisp, balanced temperatures in August, hot, muggy days in July, endless amounts of rain in June. It transitioned into fall like clockwork and so on and so forth. You walked outside and just knew that the next season was upon you. It’s not like that in California. We have foggy season, rainy season, and sunshine season. Not necessarily in that order. I will miss the four seasons of Germany, especially at the end of summer and winter, when I’m longing for the colors of fall and the renewal of spring. I love that I was able to spend the whole year here, experiencing each season for myself and documenting it as I went.
May 11, 2011
An Ode to the Englischer Garten, German Churches, Good Friends, and the Eventual End of an Epic Adventure
It’s hard to believe that winter ever existed here in Munich. I’ve almost forgotten what it was like to brave the cold, snowy weather for nearly four months time. The weather, since early April, has been absolutely beautiful. It’s been warm, sometimes even hot, and the skies have been an endless blue. There have been a few rainy days but not many and even then, they are accompanied by thunderstorms and how can I complain about that? I love thunderstorms. One thing about spring that I don’t like – hay fever. Boo to sneezing and itchy, red eyes!
With this glorious weather, I’ve been able to spend a lot of time in the English Gardens, too, which, if you will remember, is my favorite place in Munich. I’ll find any and every excuse to ride my bike through there and lucky for me, I’ve had a lot of them lately because I couldn’t afford to buy a train ticket for May. So I’ve been riding my bike everywhere and I usually will use the EG as a peaceful passage between home and the city center. This, of course, is wonderful because of all of the beautiful trees and pathways and things to look at. I am still in awe of this park – I love it so much.
I’ve also been spending a lot of time with my friends at the EG, too. We’ll meet up on sunny Saturdays or even during the week if we’re available and we just lay out in the sun with books, guitars, beer, what have you. Sometimes I just take a book and go lay out by myself in the north end of the Gardens near my house. It’s ridiculously quiet and unpopulated and it kind of makes you feel small and insignificant in a really fantastic kind of way. I love it. Another thing that recently made me feel small and insignificant but with a grand gesture – the church at Ludwig Maximillian University. It was stunning. I hadn’t been into a church in Munich since the winter so it was extremely humbling to be reminded on their beauty and majesty.
I’ve been walking by this church for eleven months now and I don’t know WHY it never occurred to me to walk in. But last week, as I was waiting to meet Jennie, I thought, “What the hell?” and just wandered inside. A strange kind of fear came over me as I walked in, almost as if I were terrified of the massiveness of the church it self. A calm settled over me and I just stared in awe, completely transfixed. The church was so beautiful. Also, I’ve gotten into the habit of lighting candles for my mom whenever I walk into one. Thinking of you, ma!
I’ve been mentioning her a lot lately and yes, Jennie, is back in Munich! I first met her during our epic 22-hour trip to Neuschwanstein that she managed to narrowly escape. She went back to Canada in early September to finish law school and now she is back in Munich after eight months. It’s been nice having her back – I can’t wait until we start cooking and having fancy dinner parties at her sweet apartment. And all of the conversations! The two of us could talk all day long. And it’s good to have the girl back purely for her love for karaoke! She’s a karaoke fiend and that is always appreciated around these parts with how often we go to the karaoke bar. Also back to Munich after nearly three months of being away, is my darling Eric who I missed ever so much. Of course, all the regular cast members are still around and I’m loving every minute of my life here because of it. I have such wonderful friends – new and old – and I have been so blessed this year to have them! And you want to know something really cool? Tiago is coming to visit me in California, less than a week after I get home! He’s one of my best friends here and it’s obvious that he can’t live without me. Haha. So I’m looking forward to showing him the sunny side of America and introducing him to my friends back home – which will be a weird transition. How do I blend one totally different part of my life with another? Of course, it’s effortless but I just can’t wrap my mind around it. Weird!
I’ve been working a lot this spring – which I may have already mentioned – and although it can be frustrating for my social schedule, it’s still nice to be home every once in a while. I’ve been reading a lot and have made it through three or four books in the last month or two. I’ve challenged myself to read 25 books this year, before my 25th birthday and so far I’m at 20% progress. I’ve also been able to catch up on my blogs (thank God!) and do a little bit of job searching back home… which has been a huge success thus far but more on that later. ;) Also, I sleep a lot, spend a lot of time outside, Facebook more than I should, and spend more time with the girls that I care for (which isn’t always nice but we all have our bad days, right?). Hopefully I get to make the most of these last five weeks and that my host-mom and I don’t butt heads too much. It would definitely make for an interesting last few weeks if I had to stay in 4 to 5 nights every week. There’s not very much time left!
The reality is that I leave Munich for California on June 20th. I finish my au pair contract exactly five weeks from today. Five weeks ago from today, I was planning my trip to Rome with Brenna and was just getting over the excitement of Starkbierfest. That feels as if it were just days behind me – not five weeks. It’s hard to imagine that in two months I will be in California again. I can’t imagine going back to my old life. Of course, it will be different but I feel like I’ve changed so much, like I won’t fit inside of California anymore, like every part of me will just want to bust free and come back here. Ah, it’s going to be a hard transition, I won’t expect it to be easy. But, for now, I will enjoy every minute that it presented to me here and I will not think too much about what lies ahead on the other side of the world. It’s not a bad thing to go home but it’s not easy to walk away from this year abroad either. I am looking forward to being with my friends and family again but I know that I will ache for Munich and it will take a long time to stop missing the life that I lived here.
But, alas… the show must go on.
April 8, 2011
Munich’s Spring Make-Over, Adventures in the English Gardens, Starkbierfest, Vacation Dreams, and Shameless Self-Promotion
Remember when I used to be really good about writing updates about my life? Those were the days. Ha. I promise you that I’ve been thinking about it – there just hasn’t been a lot of doing. I have so much to catch up so I hope that I can do it justice. This may be a fairly long update but I have a feeling that you won’t mind. :)
The best thing about my life in Munich right now is that SPRING IS HERE. And I don’t mean like, maybe spring is kind of deciding to show up… the season has done a full on, head first somersault into spring and it’s absolutely GORGEOUS. The trees started turning green sometime late last week and there’s no stopping them now. I imagine that sometime next week, Munich will be bathed completely in green and we will be in business. The weather has been absolutely breathtaking as of late – high 60’s, low 70’s for temperatures, blue skies, sunshine, cloudless afternoons. Lately I’ve been spending my days in the English Gardens, laying out in the sun with friends, picnicking, listening to music, and thoroughly enjoying the new season. I’ve gotten a few sunburns already – two or three – and as painful as they are, it’s always nice when you can say you got your first sunburn of the season in late March!
Here’s some pictures from our lay outs in the English Gardens that I graciously stole from my friends Facebooks and some that I stole from myself. Spring! Yay!
March 15, 2011
“Spring Break” in Cologne: Part II
Saturday in Cologne started around 12:30, seeing as we didn’t get up and out of bed until then. We had a late “brunch” and then headed into the city, intent on enjoying a bike ride adventure. It was a nice day – blue skies and a gentle breeze and warm weather! Everything Munich wasn’t. It took us a while to get through the city and find the bike rental station but eventually we managed. We only paid 5 EUR for a three hour rental – it was perfect. We got our bikes and headed out. Fio had done the bike ride before so she knew what she was doing. We had an hour down the right ride of the river and then we’d find a little boat that would take us to the other side. From there, we could ride down the opposite bank and get back to the city. The bike ride, each way was about 10 kilometers or 6 miles! So we rode about 12 miles on Saturday. But it was awesome and so, so, so beautiful. It was probably the best thing that came out of the weekend. I had such a good time and enjoyed the weather and scenery of Cologne from the seat of that horrible, malfunctioning bike. Sigh. Haha.
February 14, 2011
Bang! Just a Bunch of Bullet Points
Recently, worthy content for this blog has been neglected (sort of) and my life, as of late, has become a series of bullet points:
- My camera is still out of commission and is worse off than it was when I first spoke of it’s misfortune. Now I fear that it is completely screwed and that it will no longer be of service to me. Sad face but hey, lesson learned. The really hard way.
- The weather in Munich is shaping up. It is showing signs of spring and temperatures are up in the 40’s (some 50 degree days last week!) and the sun has made a few appearances, too. Unfortunately, there has also been rain and blustery cold but no more snow. For that, I am eternally grateful.
- I went to the Munich Readery on Thursday and got myself a new book. I was in dire need of some new material – I’ve been doing crossword puzzles before bed for almost two months. Finally something to read – I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb. So far, so good. It’s almost 900 pages and is, thus far, a bit slow but I love the author (She’s Come Undone!!!!) so we’ll see if it shapes up to be a winner in the end.
- Things in the au pair household have been pretty monochromatic. Nothing very exciting to speak of. I bought the girls a small Valentine’s Day present – little unicorn toys that change color in the water – just to let them know that I think of them and love them. We also made a special present for their mom for V Day. (Well, I thought of it, funded it, and put it together. Haha.) I got a double sided picture frame and put two pictures of them in either side and the girls made her each a homemade Valentine’s Day card. I’ll put them all on the table before breakfast in the morning. Just a nice little holiday treat for everyone. Except me. Haha.
- Last week Fionualla bought the two of us plane tickets to Cologne for March 11-14th. We’re missing carnival, unfortunately, and that’s entirely my fault for mixing up my vacation time but it will be nice to get out and go somewhere new anyway. She has a friend from home who lives there so we get free accommodation and have a built-in tour guide. It will be good!
- German beer has made this past week/weekend a crazy one. It all started on Tuesday night where I managed to belt out a pretty awesome rendition of Shania Twain’s Any Man of Mine at the karaoke bar and then on Thursday, we had a wild night at a local ToyTown meet-up that was serving free shots of Jaegermeister with every beer purchased. That never ends well, as we’ve experienced twice before at this same bar. Haha. On Friday night, we said goodbye to Eric who has left Munich for a few months and had a delicious leaving dinner at a great Croatian restaurant here in Munich called, Opatija. I called it an early night and went home but caught up with my crazy friends on Saturday night. A family friend was in town so Oma Kathe brought him into Munich so he could meet my friends and hang out. His family is kind of like my surrogate family so we got along really fast and had a great night out with my friends. I’m planning on going to Garmisch next weekend to visit them again. I also got to see some old friends, Helena and Zainab, who were in town visiting from England. I didn’t see very much of them - we all had our own things going on - but it was good to see them again, even for the little bit that we were together. Now I’m looking forward to slowing down a little bit this week to re-evaluate my alcohol tolerance levels and practice some much needed self control. Haha.
- I still have a lot of things left to do/document on my “52 Things in Munich” list. This will resume shortly! I’ve been kind of busy/lazy/uninspired lately so I will get back on it!
- Happy Valentine’s Day!
January 21, 2011
Early Spring in Munich? Please, oh PLEASE.
I went for a walk on Monday because it was absolutely gorgeous outside. The sky was blue, the sun was out, everything was ridiculously beautiful. But what else is new? Munich never ceases to surprise me. I really hope that this warm weather and sunshine is a foreshadowing of an early spring and an early and long, rainless summer. Because I won’t be here for much of it and I want to enjoy all that I can. With weather like this, I won’t want to leave!
January 16, 2011
Happy Returns: One Week Later, the View from the Top, a Lazy Sunday, and a Foreign Language Dilemma
Friday, January 14th
Week one of my return to Munich is over and in good time too! It was a rough week coming back. I felt incredibly antisocial for some reason. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I’ve been sick which invariably lead to exhaustion and a general distaste for anything that involved cold weather and unnecessary exertion. I haven’t had German beer in over a week. I think that’s a record since I arrived in Munich. I haven’t been homesick necessarily, just anxious to get home. Does that make sense? Not really. Either way, I love Munich and I am happy to be here until June but I just really want winter to be over. Winter is rough. It’s so dreary and depressing here right now. It’s been raining and stormy but with some 50, 54 degree days. It’s crazy how much it reminds me of the first few days that I was here. Even though it was the middle of summer it just rained and rained and was cold and wet. It’s somewhat reminiscent of that now.
Yesterday it was storming like crazy. I had to go pick up the girls from school and take them to their music class like I do every Thursday and when I checked with my host-mom about doing it in the rain and wind she never got back to me. So I made my way through the rain to their school and then the three of us braved the walk around the corner to their lesson. We tried to use my umbrella but it was so windy that it just swept inside out and I could barely hold onto it. Umbrella fail. Eenie thought it was hilarious and couldn’t stop laughing. Silly girl. We just ended up walking really fast and while they did their lesson, I sat in a nearby café and read Jane Eyre and ate a chocolate croissant. Oh, the life.
The family has left for Austria for the weekend and I’m unsure of the weekends plans. Tentatively, I am supposed to go skiing with some friends but I’m ill prepared, I’m afraid. I don’t have ski pants or any proper snow clothes, really, and I’m worried about paying money for something that I won’t be able to do the right way. Hopefully everyone will go skiing again because I do want to learn but I think I just need to better prepare myself. In lieu of that trip, I hope that my friend Bria and I can go in Garmisch and go hiking instead – through the partnachklamm or up the mountain. The weather is supposed to be fairly nice and I will be able to see my Oma Kathe, too. Which is always nice. So, we will see!
Saturday, January 15th
On Friday night Fio and Laura came over for dinner and we watched half of a movie because we were all too tired to finish it. I made the decision that night not to go skiing and organized a hiking trip to Garmisch with Bria instead. But I got up early on Saturday morning anyway since Fio had stayed over and was getting up to go skiing. Bria and I met at Hauptbahnhof at 9 and jumped on the 9:30 train with our Bayern ticket. Oma Kathe met us at the train station and took us back to her house for a recap of our game plan and some baked goods. Bria and I thought about hiking to the partnachklamm but, at the last minute, decided to ride the cable car up to the top of Eckbauer instead. Once we made it to the top we had some breathtaking views and were reminded just how wonderful our lives here in Germany really are. I felt so blessed to be standing there – in the middle of so much majesty. The Bavarian and Austrian alps surrounded us on either side and it was so peaceful and serene. We were glad we made the right choice in going up there.
I just sat here and enjoyed the warm sunshine and peaceful moments.
Two California girls, completely at peace.
Such a gorgeous place to be.
Oma Kathe took Bria and I to the US Army Commissary after our excursion and we snagged some pretty coveted treats – like ranch dressing, French’s yellow mustard, Ruffles Sour Cream & Onion chips, Thomas bagels, and Bria bought Valentines Day cake mix and pink frosting. We were feeling deprived of American goods. Ha. We hopped back on the train to Munich at 4 and were back in town with time to spare before heading to a friends “Welcome Back” house party at 10. Once there, we were able to hang out with friends that we hadn’t seen since before Christmas and had a good night of German beer (I broke my no-beer streak) and random street wandering. Fio and I finished off the night with Turkish döner kebaps and retired back to my house for good sleep and a late morning. Saturday night success!
Sunday, January 16th
Fio and I didn’t do much of anything today. She was tired from her skiing adventure and I was just ready to enjoy the day. It was beautiful outside with blue skies, sunshine, and even some warm weather. We lazed around for most of the morning – I cleaned, she Facebooked. She moved into her new apartment today so we took some of her stuff over there and she lives in such a great location in the city. I’m excited to help her get used to her new place and explore! Afterwards, we attempted to meet up with friends but we took too long and missed them. So we just ate pizza and walked around in the English Gardens. A worth end to a delightfully wonderful weekend.
In other news, I’ve made the decision to forego taking German lessons while I’m still in the country. My reasons behind this are justifiable. In my opinion, anyway. I’m not going to be here for much longer and I feel that I’ve had enough immersion thus far to be able to survive the language barriers for another five months. I have a Berlitz language program here with me that I bought at Barnes and Noble before I left and, so far, it’s been helpful in keeping me at a steady pace with the language. I’ve been using it a lot more often and will keep it up until I leave. Therefore, I don’t think that a language course is necessary, especially since I probably won’t use German later in my life. I am, however, going to attempt to take Spanish courses over the internet. In doing job research recently,I’ve found that most jobs that I want to apply to that fit my degree have bilingual requirements. Spanish is a beneficial language to know when living in California and since I’ve taken more than 4 years of Spanish language courses throughout high school and college, I feel confident that I can relearn the language and finally become fluent. Wish me luck, I’m going to start doing it soon! Luckily, ToyTown Munich hosts Spanish-speaking stammtisch so Fio and I will try attending a few and practice what we know of the language with other people who speak it. Should be fun!
December 15, 2010
Christkindlmarkt Overload, Crowded Trains, Jessica’s Leaving Weekend and the Last Maß Celebration, Snowman Fail, and a Shamrocks Styled Send Off
Sadly, this weekend marked the last of my friend Jessica’s time here in Munich. Jessica has been one of my my closest friends since arriving here in Munich and I would not have survived the culture shock and transition periods if she hadn’t been here, guiding me through the language and explaining things to me that I didn’t understand. She took me to the hospital at 3 in the morning when I sliced my foot open. She’s spent many a sleepless night with me, enjoying the Munich night life and running wild in the streets of this crazy German city. I was so blessed to be able to spend the whole weekend with her and have all of the time that I needed to spend with her before she left Munich to go back to Arkansas. That girl has my heart and I will never, ever forget the part she’s played in my life. That will always be with me when I think of my time in Munich!
The beginning of my weekend with Jess started with a Saturday trip to the Nürnberg (Nuremberg) for the Weihnachtsmarkt. It had been planned for a while so all we needed to do was just get everybody together and go. Only about 7 of us ended up going and that’s mostly because we chose to take the 9 A.M. train. Which was crowded, as usual. We got seats eventually and kept moving around until we were mostly together and arrived in Nürnberg around 11:30 ish. The weather was horrible and for most of the day we walked around in wet snow, slush, and rain and the freezing cold. The markets were wonderful, as usual, but not much different from those in Munich or anywhere else, really. It’s all for the experience, to be honest, and I had a wonderful day meeting new friends, wandering around a new city, and enjoying every minute of the day.
After we’d had enough of freezing cold feet and Christmas market crap, we jumped on the 5 o’clock train back to Munich. It was so crowded that most of us had to sit on the floor in the back of the train car. Half of the ride was spent being huddled underneath lederhosen clad Bavarian men and their beers. We made it home around 7 and all separated to get ready for a friends house warming party. Which was, as usual, a wild night. We stayed and Fabrice and Andre’s swanky new apartment until 4:30 in the morning before we trekked back to the train station in the cold, cold, cold morning air and then we all wandered back to Motorstrasse where I stayed the night with Jessica and the two of us stayed warm, cuddled up in her bed. :)
On Sunday, Jessica and I wandered into the English Gardens to check out the Christmasmarkt at the Chinese Tower. It was, as usual, jam packed with tourists and locals alike but it was cute and quaint, probably my favorite of the markets thus far.
After the market, Jessica and I had dinner in town and ate at this delicious pizza/Italian restaurant called L’Osteria. The pizzas are HUGE and only about 8 EUR for the massive thing. We got half-pizzas instead and even still I couldn’t finish it. They were amazing though! After dinner Jess and I met our friend Daniel at our favorite spot – Jaegers Youth Hostel – so that Jessica could enjoy her last Maß in Munich. It turned into a ridiculously crazy, dramatic, over the top kind of night but that’s just how Jess and I like it to be. I had so much fun – even if the night didn’t end up so nice for me (stupid boy!) – and Jessica and I made it home to my bed where we slept for all of three hours. Haha. Great end to the weekend if you ask me!
This deserves a minor mention but on Monday I tried to make a snowman with Vee and it was an epic fail. The snow that’s been blanketing Munich for the last three weeks is too powdery for snow man making so we ended up just making a huge pile of snow in the side of the yard. But we did try!
On Tuesday night Jessica had her leaving party and, unfortunately, I was babysitting so I missed most of it. I made it to the end, once everyone had convened at Shamrock’s for karoeke and I rolled into the bar around 11:20 pm. I managed two beers and a whole of drunk-friend babysitting but it was good to spend even a little bit of Jess’s last night with her. She had so much fun and you could feel how hard it was for her to leave. We’re definitely going to miss her around here!
November 24, 2010
Lazy Mondays, Desperate Housewives Obsession, A Promise of Snow, Miscommunications, and a Tollwood Double Shot (Nov. 22 – 24)
Monday – I woke up at 6:30 and carried on with my regular morning routine, which usually consists of emptying the dishwasher, making the girls school snack, eating breakfast, and trying not to lose my cool over a child’s dramatic daily tantrum. This happens every morning. Give or take. I cleaned up after the girls weekend mess – I hope they learn how to clean up after themselves someday, for their futures sake, anyway. I didn’t do much of anything else after that. I read my book – I’ve started reading Summer Sisters again (for the 12th time, I swear…). I watched two discs of Desperate Housewives over the course of the day. I’m obsessed with this show. I can’t believe I never gave it a chance. I’m halfway through the 4th season and I cried when I saw the tornado episode. I know that Lynette’s family would survive but the emotion of her discovery that they were buried under the rubble was jarring. I ached for them as if they were my own. I started writing some post cards but only got through one and a half out of 12. One for my grandma and half of one for my mom. I “worked” which means that I made dinner (salmon grilled over butter, white rice, green peas, and lemon butter sauce), played board games with Eenie and Vee, and wandered around aimlessly trying to get the girls to get ready for bed but they don’t listen to me so I had little purpose or desire to be there at that particular moment. I then cuddled warm in my bed and fell asleep to another episode of DH. Uneventful Monday, to say the least.
Tuesday – Followed my usual morning routine and then I read my book for most of the morning. Jessica came over around 11, after she’d braved the crowds at H&M’s one-day only Lanvin sale. She tried to convince me to join her but when I don’t have any money, shopping is the last thing that I want to do (and in Europe, trust me, this sucks because the clothes and the shoes are amazing and I can’t buy any of them). I get cranky and irritated and the crowds start to piss me off. I couldn’t convince her of this and she begged and begged but I did not relent. I opted to get out of the house today anyway. Sans shopping, of course, and in spite of the weather which is getting colder and colder everyday – and Jessica and I ventured into the city for aimless wandering. We managed to go to Tenglemann (grocer) to see if we could find some variety of turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday. We found some small birds (baby turkey, duck, and goose) but they’re all incredibly expensive and we’re thinking we may have to pass on that particular novelty of American tradition. After we met defeat, we wandered into a little eclectic store on Leopoldstrasse and oo’d and aww’d over their delightful Christmas displays and adorable ornaments. I love Christmas time for this reason. The stores turn into beautiful, Christmasy wonderlands with fun stuff to look at.
One postcard purchase later, we ventured down the street a ways to Karstadt (department store – kind of – with a bottom floor grocery store and food court) to get out of the cold and sit down and eat our homemade lunch but they kicked us out and so we ended up back on the UBahn and, eventually, at Odeonsplatz where we wandered into San Francisco Coffee Company and stayed for 2 1/2 hours. (By the way, I’ve never even seen a SFCC in the actual city of San Francisco.) We didn’t buy anything but instead took advantage of their comfortable chairs, free wireless and convenient bathrooms and we played Words With Friends (Jess is winning) and I read my book while I waited for her to find her words. At 3, I returned home to regroup before the twins came home at 4:15. During my walk home from the UBahn station, I encountered my first snow fall – which was, to be honest, pretty pathetic. It was kind of like a rain-snow hybrid and it melted as soon as it hit the ground or my outstretched (gloved) hands so I guess it’s not really snow but it was exciting and left me wondering if one of these mornings I will wake up to a winter wonderland outside my window.
Kind of like this (which are all photos of past winter wonderlands here in Munich):
(Okay maybe I’m a little bit excited for the snow…)
Once the girls came home at about 4:30ish, I attempted to entertain them (and myself) for 3 1/2 hours. They were throwing tantrums right from the get-go – high pitched screaming, hysterical crying, hitting, and yelling – you know, the usual. I don’t know about what but it’s starting to really grate my nerves. We had dinner early – or they had dinner early, seeing as I wasn’t interested in dinner at 5 pm. Then we all kind of wandered around the house without purpose or direction. I don’t understand why they don’t just go off and play together – it can be very strange sometimes how they just wander around the house with no aim. Vee even talks to herself sometimes. Weird little kids… They took a bath for about 45 minutes and then got ready for bed. I read them two books and then was dismissed. The Frau is going out but not until 9 so going out to karaoke tonight (the usual Tuesday night event) would have been rather pointless. I tried to watch Sex and the City 2 but I quickly realized how ridiculously stupid that movie actually is (for the second time…) and I fell asleep instead.
Wednesday – Repeat of the morning routine and just a few frustrations. Miscommunications or something between me and my host-mom about some laundry business. Because I had to use the drying rack which had all of the cloth placemats on them, I opted to bring all of the placemats upstairs to put them away in the kitchen. I left them on the kitchen table and intended to put them away after breakfast but when she came into the kitchen she immediately questioned me about why they were there and then very rudely stated that they were not ironed and that we’re not using them anymore so they need to go back downstairs. And then suggested that I iron them. Well, ironing placemats isn’t part of my job (sorry!) and I don’t appreciate being criticized after I’ve tried to be helpful so I just nodded and agreed, “Okay, okay. Yeah. Okay.” I put the placemats downstairs in a nice and neat pile, un-ironed and tried not to be too angry about the exchange. I’ve gotten to the point where I just concede and nod to whatever she’s saying when things like this come up. I used to smile and nod but even that’s getting to be hard to do. I think it’s just a cultural thing, to be honest. Or a clashing of personalities or lost expectations. I really don’t know. I honestly don’t think that she means to come across as rude – at least I hope she doesn’t – but it’s very hard for me to keep high spirits when I feel as if I’m constantly doing things wrong, especially five months later. It happens more than I’d like to admit and it’s a huge part of why I’m starting to resent this job. But alas, I will suck it up. In the end, I do get to leave so I’ll chin up and manage. I know that I should try to talk to her about it but I’m terrified. I hate confrontation and who knows how it will end so… I probably won’t and will just hope for the best.
After all of this, I did my laundry and cleaned my bathroom – took out my garbage – took a shower. I went into town around 9:45 to meet Helen for the morning. She and I are both in a similar situation – we’ve been working with children so long that we’re in dire need for a new perspective but neither of us can really come out of it. So we spent the morning venting and complaining and getting it all out. Sometimes that’s just what you have to do. We both agreed that we’re tired but that we’re starting to take it out on the kids and it’s not, in the least bit, fair to them so I hope that the two of us can get some kind of clarity. I really do love having this experience, don’t get me wrong. I didn’t expect it to be sunshine and roses all the time but I just wish that it wasn’t so taxing on my emotions. I am so stressed out and with everything else that I’m dealing with, this resentment and frustration certainly doesn’t help. All I can do is hope that Christmas brings glad tidings of joy… and stuff.
Anyway, after Helen went off to work, I tried to go to Tollwood (winter folk festival) but it wasn’t really… open. Even though it’s supposed to have started today – it definitely wasn’t so I just wandered around the streets of Munich until I stumbled onto an UBahn station at Sendlinger Tor. I was approached by some Mormons (one of them from California) and they tried to get me to tour their church and then invited me to a Thanksgiving feast on Saturday. I told them I was busy but thanked them kindly. I couldn’t really figure out what to do with myself so I took pictures of random wintry stuff and then headed back home where I finished my laundry, made lunch, and watched yet another episode of DH.
Random observation but whenever someone starts talking to me in German or whenever I am too overwhelmed to try to speak German myself I say, “Sprechen sie Englisch?” And no matter what, 98% of the time, the German person always says, “A little bit.” It’s cute because they always know more than they give themselves credit for.
Come late afternoon and I’m back with the girls and I’m still trying to figure out how to entertain them in a way that works for all of us. Today I went with a Thanksgiving theme, trying to explain to them how important the holiday is for me and why it’s so hard for me to be away from home and how they can help me feel better. I sat down with them and told them about Thanksgiving and how it’s all about celebrating the things in your life that you’re grateful for and I told them that I was very grateful to spend the year as their au pair, learning from them, loving them, and growing together. I gave them some coloring pages of turkeys and pilgrims and stuff and I asked if they could color me a picture for my wall so I would have reminders of my favorite holiday to keep close to me while I’m far away from home. Of course, they obliged. There’s nothing these little girls love more than coloring.
In the evening I decided to give Tollwood another go and Eric and Helen joined me for the evening. We enjoyed ourselves as we sipped our glühwein and checked out all of the Tollwood vendors and did a bit of “window shopping.” There is so much cool stuff there. I can’t wait to get Christmas presents. Between Tollwood and the Christkindlmarkt, I’ll be set!
October 25, 2010
A Chance of… What?
I screen capped this straight off my iGoogle about 5 minutes ago. 
iGoogle meteorologists need to find new careers.
October 22, 2010
Harry Potter Nerd Fest and Cold Weather Whining
I know that I already put this on Facebook but, as of last night, I am now the proud owner of an advanced ticket to the opening night show of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1).
If you know me, you know that this makes me very, very happy. Plus, it comes out two days earlier than it does in the States. Which makes me infinitely cooler than everyone back home, obviously. Haha. Needless to say at this point, I am pretty much a Harry Potter nerd. Ask Eric. He’ll tell you. And then he’ll make a graphic to prove it.
I really am obsessed. I can’t stop watching new trailers and TV spots and I’ve been fanatically browsing Harry Potter Tumblrs every day. It’s like this for me before every movie is released. Kind of like when I’m getting ready to attend a Hanson concert, too. I freak out and turn into the 11-year-old fangirl version of myself for two weeks. It’s unhealthy. Of course, after the movie’s been seen, I’ll calm down, I promise. So Eric can stop worrying about my mental state.
Anyway, that was the highlight of my evening last night. Kind of a quiet Thursday night. HP tickets, drinks, and delightful conversation with Catherine and Eric at Euros cheap hostel bar. Livin’ the good life, I tell you! Now the three of us (plus Laura!) have our tickets for opening night. SO EXCITED. I know there are a bunch of people who wanted to go to opening night and I kind of feel bad that we’re not all going together but it’s practically impossible to organize everyone to do the same thing on the same evening at the same time. Unfortunately, the theater where we’re seeing the film creates seat reservations (which is nice for an opening night, to be honest) but it makes things difficult for late comers who want to come along. Fortunately, I can guarantee that I’ll probably want to go see the movie AGAIN so hopefully no one hates me enough to reject me. Ha. I can’t wait to see the movie, obviously. I’ll be back in California for Part 2 next summer and I can’t believe I have to wait that long! Anyway, here’s a pretty kick ass TV spot from WB – my favorite of the 3,000 TV spots that are floating all over YouTube:
In weather related happenings, I walked out of the UBahn station last night to discover that my bike seat was covered in a sparkly layer of frost. My ass was freezing by the time I got home. Brrrr. It’s cold here in Munich. There’s talk of snow and below zero weather (in Celsius, anyway). No snow! Please! Not yet! I’m not quite ready for it. Already my fingers freeze inside my gloves and there’s nothing falling from the sky but rain and apparently, sleet. I am not looking forward to this cold weather business. I am a California girl and my winter days in Montana have been long forgotten and the memories repressed. Admittedly, I am looking forward to ice skating and learning how to ski (again) and making snow men and maybe even snow ball fights but can I do it all in one day and get it over with? Ha. I woke up this morning and the whole world outside my window was covered in frost. The leaves, the cars, the house. Please just a few more weeks, Munich. Work with me, won’t you?
I already feel a cold festering inside of my head. My throat hurts, my sinuses are sensitive and all agitated. I’ve found Vitamin C capsules in the house but no cold medicine. I’ll have to wander to the Apotheke and see if I can convince them to give me some good drugs. I’m thinking NyQuil. Oh God, NyQuil. What I wouldn’t do…
Ah, ahem. ANYWAY. I’m going out tonight – I have a date with a very nice American man who works at the US Consulate. Hopefully it goes well. And then I’m meeting up with friends for dancing! I think I’m going to skip the drinks tonight – that won’t help my cold at all! And get some good sleep. And figure what to do this weekend. Where should we go? Maybe Garmisch is actually a good idea…
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