Weihnachtspause

I should have posted this earlier, but I'm taking a break from writing during the Christmas holidays. Both of my children are with us this year, and we've been out and about as much as possible. So far we've visited the Mittelaltermarkt und Weihnachtsmarkt in Esslingen, the Stuttgarter Weihnachtsmarkt, the Mercedes Museum (Stephanie and Martin's mother went instead to the Romonov exhibit at the Altes Schloß in Stuttgart), and Konstanz on the Bodensee, where we also crossed the border into Switzerland, and we explored the town of Horb. We've eaten well and made many home-cooked meals for Alex, which he says he doesn't often get at home, and we went out once to our favorite local restaurant.

Oh, and yesterday - since it was Sunday and everything is closed except for ski hills and restaurants - we took a drive into the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) so the kids could see how pretty it is:

on the Schwarzwaldhochstraße

Our destination was the Mummelsee, but apparently most of the population of Baden-Württemberg had the same idea. Seeing the shadowy hoards navigating the dense fog there, we just kept on going. We stopped at a ski lodge a few kilometers beyond, found it closed despite the "Heute geöffnet" sign out front, got back in the car, and drove home.

in Konstanz at the Münster

standing in Switzerland

Despite the dismal weather, they are still smiling, especially after watching a live stream of last night's Packer game.

I hope you had a merry Christmas and lots of quality time with the people you love. Have a good slide into the New Year!

Advent in Deutschland

'Tis the season for Weihnachtsmärkte, Glühwein, Adventskalender, and heiße Maroni in Germany, and I love it! It's next to impossible not to get filled with the Christmas spirit in Germany during Advent. I have discovered there is more to Christmas than shopping in crowded stores, enduring Santa songs on the radio, and stress, though admittedly it's easier to see that when one is semi-retired.

One German Advent tradition or ritual is the Adventskranz. We bought ours last weekend at the Horb Christmas market. It's important to buy it before the first Sunday of Advent, though Martin found out two years ago that if one waits until the Monday after, they are a lot cheaper... As far as I know, in the U.S. the lighting of the Advent wreath is only done in churches, where every Sunday another candle is lit. Here most families have one somewhere in their home.

On the second Sunday of Advent, the second candle is lit, and so on.





The Adventskalender is quite popular here, too. Our grocery store was exploding with Adventskalender (especially the ones with a piece of chocolate behind every door) in the last days of November, and again, on about the 2nd or 3rd of  December, they can be purchased at a reduced price (but seriously, suck it up and buy it on time). Something is missing if a home doesn't have at least one Adventskalender - one per child, in homes with children.

The wooden Weihnachtspyramide is a favorite decoration, the best of them being made in the Erzgebirge region. They come in all sizes and colors, and when the candles are lit, the poor little Holy Family gets spun around to the point that, if they were real, they'd be wretching for sure. It's best not to think about that too much and just enjoy the action.

At the Konstanz Weihnachtsmarkt last year, selecting the Weihnachtspyramide my parents bought me for Christmas.

My favorite part of this season is Weihnachtsmärkte, or Christmas markets. I can't get enough of them. I've been to three so far this season, and I'll be going to five more between now and Dec. 23. The best one in these parts is unquestionably the one in Esslingen with its traditional section and the Mittelalterlichen Weihnachtsmarkt. Two-hour long TV programs have been produced about the Esslingen Christmas market, and rightly so. It's truly something to behold.

at the Esslinger Weihnachtsmarkt

At the Weihnachtsmärkte you will see lots of festively decorated booths selling all kinds of wares - candle holders, hand-carved wooden ornaments and decorations, warm woolen mittens, hats, and scarves, jewelry, and snow globes for starters. No one should leave a Weihnachtsmarkt hungry, because the amount of food to be had could feed several armies. Crepes, rote Wurst, roasted nuts, Lebkuchenherzen (heart-shaped gingerbread), Waffeln, Bratwurst, Flammkuchen, and Bratkartoffeln or Reibekuchen, are just a few of the delictable snacks you can expect to find.

wood carvings in Stuttgart

Glühwein is hot spiced mulled red wine, which warms the soul on cold afternoons and evenings at a Weihnachtsmarkt. This has always been a delicious tradition for me that goes with Weihnachtsmärkte, but this year I discovered that I actually don't love it. Kinderpunsch is the non-alcoholic version, and perhaps I'll try that this season. When you buy Glühwein for €2,50 or so, you pay €4,50, because €2 is deposit on the mug. You can keep the mug, which is a pretty inexpensive souvenir, or return it and get your €2 back. Locals usually return the mug because they already have a cupboardful from the last twenty-some years.

enjoying a Glühwein  and Kinderpunsch at the Stuttgarter Weihnachtsmarkt

München

In the evenings the Weihnachtsmärkte take on a new atmosphere as the sky darkens and the lights add a romantic aura to the scene. This is the Weihnachtsmarkt in Konstanz on the Bodensee (Lake Constance).







Some of the smaller Christmas markets, like the one in Horb, are open just for a weekend. Those appeal mainly to the locals, as it's a nice place to meet friends at the Feuerzangenbowle, hear the local youth entertain with singing and playing instruments, and support local venders. The bigger, more well-known ones are open every day from the end of November until shortly before Christmas.

The markets are outside without shelter. If it's raining, which it often is in December in Germany, you have to dodge umbrellas and make sure you don't impale anyone with yours. If it's snowing and blowing, you better bundle up. Other than the recent hurricane that blew through northern Germany, weather doesn't stop Weihnachtsmärkte or people from visiting them.

I have loved the Advent and Christmas season in Germany ever since my first December trip here. I hope the wonder of the season doesn't fade for me over the years, and it shouldn't. The things that sometimes ate away at my Christmas cheer in Wisconsin - driving on snowy, icy roads, shoveling multi-feet of snow before driving to school or after returning, having to prepare lessons and grade homework, and shopping in over-crowded stores due to holiday sales - just aren't issues for me any more. There is just something special about the old world holiday traditions here that I wish all of my American friends could experience.

Happy Holidays, Frohe Weihnachten, and Joyeux Noël!

Thanksgiving

This is probably going to be a schmaltzy post, so those of you looking for the mildly amusing me might want to skip this one.  It's November, and to Americans that means Thanksgiving, which in turn means being extra reflective about the people and things for which we're grateful. One of my Facebook friends lists something he's thankful for each day of November, and I love reading those! I think that's what gave me the idea for this post. I have more to be grateful for than I could possibly fit in a blog post of reasonable length, but here it goes.

I first want to mention that there isn't a day that goes by when I do not feel overwhelming gratitude for the life I'm living. That may sound doubtful, but seriously just the act of stepping outside - especially when I simply walk to the office, the bank, or the butcher - is enough to trigger gratitude. I love the smell of the air in our community - evergreen hedges, flowers, wet pavement when it rains, smoke from Kachelofen fires (especially ours, which is burning as I type!), the smells of whatever the neighbors are cooking, and I don't even know what else. It just smells good here.



The town of Horb is beautiful in every season. During the Christmas season the colored houses on the hill are lit at night, in the spring the planters, window boxes, and fields are full of new and colorful life, in summer all the trees are filled out providing a lovely contrast to the blue sky and fluffy clouds, and in the fall the turning leaves on the hills and within the town are breath-taking.

Often while I'm walking I marvel at how blessed I am. Our home, our community, the beautiful town of Horb, our relationship, our families, the time we have to spend together, our relatively good health, the great meals we cook together... I wonder how I got so lucky or what I did to deserve this. I had a great childhood and a darn good first quarter-century of adulthood. I have a husband who loves me, two children who mean the world to me, I've been able to travel internationally alone and with groups of students 27 times, and I had a satisfying career as a high school teacher but was able to "retire" at age 43 when I moved here. Now I'm able to do volunteer work and have the time to enjoy tending our home.

My intent is not to rub it in about how great my life is, but to put out there into the universe my gratitude. There is so much negativity out there - in the news, in war-torn countries, sometimes in our interactions with others, in our moods on an especially bad day - that it's good, healthy, and sometimes therapeutic for us to focus on positive things.  With that in mind...

I am incredibly thankful for...

Martin, without whom the life I just described would not be possible. We understand each other, work well together, and we've been soulmates for a long time. He's a fabulous cook, a safe driver, makes me smile and laugh every day, never gets riled up about problems but just deals with them, encourages but doesn't push me, is incredibly patient with me despite my many faults, and knows a lot about so many things! ("The benefits of a classical education," he says.) I love his accent, his sense of humor, his hugs, and the way he pronounces "vocabulary".  There's so much more to say, but I don't want to embarrass him. :-)

My family in America, who understands me well enough to get why I needed to move to Germany and to accept my decision without making me feel guilty for being so far away. My parents and daughter have visited us, and my son is coming for Christmas and New Year's, enduring the long hours on airplanes and in airports and then enjoying the time together.

My friends in America, especially my bestie, who writes to me often, found out last Christmas how blinking expensive it is to mail a package here, checks in with my parents now and then, provides a bed for my daughter when there's no room at her dad's house, and keeps me posted on the goings-on in Fond du Lac. Her namesake also always makes time for me when I return, even if that means driving to Sheboygan. Facebook, necessary evil that it is, and email help me keep in contact with my friends in the U.S., and I always enjoy reading their updates.

My husband and my bestie hanging out at my family's cottage

My extended family in Germany. This includes my mother-in-law, who is also my dear friend, my host mother and sisters (one of whom lives in Madison!), my sister-in-law and her husband and children, and our former exchange student from Deizisau (near Esslingen) who stayed with us in 2008.

The house that Martin found for us, which fits us perfectly in almost every way. We have plenty of space for the two of us, room for guests, a Wintergarten (sun room), an office so we can keep our laptops out of common areas, a large basement for storage, raspberry bushes, azalias and rhododendron which are so beautiful when they bloom, a 4-minute walk to Martin's office, and best of all...a Kachelofen! It's a home full of love and harmony and the several plants that I've managed to keep alive.

Public transportation in Germany, because I can get anywhere I want to go for a day or a weekend without having to worry about driving or parking, both of which are a huge pain here! I've got plans to visit at least seven different Weihnachtsmärkte (Christmas markets) this season, and I can get to every single one by bus or train.

Christmas market in Nürnberg

...the little things:
     round-abouts
     summer rain storms
     lavendar
     Christmas markets
     ice cream
     good movies
   
...and the not-so-little things:
     books
     fresh German bread
     my family's cottage in northern Wisconsin
     thick winter blankets
     the people I have traveled with and learned so much from over the years
     Zwiebelrostbraten und Bratkartoffeln at Straub's Krone
     the post office (I still love old-fashioned, hand-written letters and cards!)
     music
     sunny days
   
Perhaps if we all throw our gratitude "out there" into the world, things will get better all around for just a little while.  Happy Thanksgiving!

The Big City

Last weekend this small town girl headed off to the Big City to visit my daughter, who is studying in Berlin. I flew to Tegel, where she met me and led me back to her host family's city flat. Although Tegel is Berlin's main airport*, it's small and there is no U-Bahn or S-Bahn that goes there. One has to take a bus to an S-Bahn station and then take a combination of S-Bahns to get to your final destination.

*Granted, Tegel isn't supposed to be Berlin's main airport. The new Berlin Brandenburg airport was supposed to open in June 2012, but due to a huge cluster-flup leading to about 66,500 problems such as escalator treads not reaching fully to both ends of the escalators, the opening has been delayed. No one knows when it can open for business, but optimistic guessers say maybe 2015.

The first time I was in Berlin was in 1986 (pre wall-fall), and the last time was in 1991 (1.5 years after the wall came down). Unsurprisingly, a lot has changed since then, and there was only one brief moment when we were walking in Alexanderplatz when I had a flashback to 1986 and recognized where I was. I remember this from 1991, but it is still a surreal experience to have toured Berlin when the wall was still there (not having any idea that it some day wouldn't divide the city) and now to walk through the Brandenburger Tor and freely around areas like the Museumsinsel and the Nikolaiviertel.

The bricks in the street going left to right in the foreground show where the wall once stood. 

I found Berlin to be mainly just big city - big building after big building, and every now and then an incredible landmark, famous beautiful old (reconstructed) structures, memorials, and one pretty section (the Nikolaiviertel). My daughter reminded me that I came at a terrible time. November is not a pretty, pleasant month, the weather was dismal and gray, and the Christmas markets, which we both love, don't open until next week. However, the time spent with her in this city she has come to love was precious, and I'm so glad I went!

She led me around the city on foot and by S-Bahn, and we saw most of the main attractions.

the Reichstag, where the federal government does its thing

Fernsehturm (Television Tower): we decided not to bother going up it to stare into the fog. ==>

The Nikolaiviertel, designed and built up for Berlin's 750th anniversary in 1987. It has the look of somewhat-old  Berlin, and it's a charming area.

the Berliner Dom and Fernsehturm

Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche, mostly covered by what looks like permanent scaffolding

One of the great things about the big city is that one can find just about every cuisine in the world. We ate Spanish, Turkish, German, Italian, and American food. And no, even though you can't swing a dead cat in Berlin without hitting a McDonald's, that is NOT where we ate. An American woman appears on our noon show ("ARD-Buffet") every now and then who has several cafes in Berlin. We found one very close to Stephanie's flat, had a delicious cappucino and I had a bagel (nearly unheard of in Germany) while Stephanie had a chicken salad sandwich. This cafe (Barcomi's) is in a second Hinterhof (inner courtyard) on Sophienstraße, and I do recommend it!

On at least two occasions, Stephanie was asked by tourists if she could give them directions somewhere. That was fun for me, though one of them freaked me out a bit at first. I have a pretty developed sense of other people's presence around me, and so I noticed a guy following us away from the Brandenburger Tor and across the street. Stephanie was pointing in various directions and telling me where things were, and we took a sharp turn and headed to the monument to Roma & Sinti victims of the holocaust. The guy followed us into that area too, and just as I was about to turn to him with my "Don't think I haven't seen you...Back off, Buster!" expression, he approached Stephanie and said, "You sound like you know what you're talking about. Can you tell me where the Jewish holocaust memorial is?" She pointed him in the right direction while I still kept a wary eye on him, but he did seem to lack the ill intentions I'd assumed he had.

I must admit, I was glad to get back to our quiet little one-horse town* where I know my way around, but there certainly is a lot to see and do in Berlin! I can well imagine Stephanie being glad to get back to bustling Berlin after visiting us during her week-long fall break. My favorite parts of this trip were accompanying Stephanie to the school where she does her practicum helping students with disabilities, watching her confidently navigating the public transportation and steering me around the city, seeing how she studies (photo below), hearing her speak German with her host mom and waiters, and just hanging out with her. I wish she were staying longer, but I love knowing that she will return to Germany as often as she can.

studying in her room

*I learned during our English lesson yesterday that in Spain our little Dorf would be called a "four-cats town"!

Fun with ESL

A few months ago I started teaching an Englisch-AG (basically a twice-a-week after-school ESL [English as a Second Language] class) at a school for students with special needs. I've been enjoying it a lot, although I had thought I was finished with teaching when I left the U.S.. There are ten students in the class - four in 7th grade and six in 6th grade, and they are all sweet. The other day they discovered that I had recently had a birthday, and they each got out of their seats to shake my hand and wish me "Alles Gute". They seem interested, play along with whatever I ask them to do, try hard, and want to learn.

One of the best things about teaching this Englisch-AG over teaching German 1 in the States is that there are NO TESTS! There is also no homework (although I encourage them to practice what we've learned on their own), which means I plan lessons but don't have to grade anything. It's just intended to be fun. This is great for both the students and for me! Naturally, though, a lot of the techniques I used to teach German 1 are useful again teaching elementary English.

In German 1 I always taught the alphabet using the American Sign Language finger alphabet to cue them to the next letter. That keeps everyone together like counting with fingers zero to ten - everyone knows when to say the next number/letter. I have found it challenging to keep to English while signing the alphabet after so many years of combining the signs with the German alphabet! L, M, N, and O are the same in English and German, so it's usually at P that all of a sudden I've switched to German. By now I sign the letters but don't say them unless the students falter.

I have searched online for ESL activities, games, materials, and so on, and of course there's a wealth of great stuff out there. However, every now and then I come across something that makes me stop dead and wonder WHAT ON EARTH WERE THEY THINKING??  Here's an example of a vocabulary review game I found last week:

****
"Bang Bang"
Divide the class into two teams. Explain that they are cowboys and they are involved in a duel. One student from each team comes to the front. Get them to pretend to draw their pistols. Say "how do you say..." and a word in their mother tongue. The first child to give the correct answer and say "bang bang", pretending to shoot his opponent is the winner. He remains standing and the other one sits down. Give 1 point for the right answer and 5 extra points if they manage to "kill" 4 opponents in a row."
****

Seriously?? There are so many things wrong with that game that I wouldn't know where to start pointing them out! There are tons of great ways to review vocabulary without pretend guns and killing.  Stereotypes, anyone? Cowboys? Duels? Kill as many as you can? What a great cultural lesson.  By the way, most Germans do not understand Americans' apparent obsession with weapons and citizens' right to bear them. I can only imagine the phone calls to the Schulleiter when these kids play the game at home. "What kind of a game is that?!"  "We learned it in the Englisch-AG!"  Obviously I did not choose that particular method of vocabulary review.

The same site where I found that one offers a game like Balderdash, which is a great game! We played that with my dad's parents when I was young, but we called it "the Dictionary Game", since we only used pens, paper, and an actual dictionary to choose the words. Anyway, the game requires the teacher to choose a word unfamiliar to the students and have them make up definitions. The definitions are collected and students win points for either A. guessing the correct definition, or B. other students voting for the definition they wrote. That's all fine so far. But the teacher who submitted this idea ended with "a good word to start with is 'warmonger'."  WHAT?!?  There are billions of beautiful words in the English language. Why on earth would a teacher begin with 'warmonger'??

Combine those two activities in one lesson, and you'll have students believing what they hear about Americans being gun-happy and wanting to wage war wherever they can. I would hope that most ESL teachers' "Bad Idea Filter" would kick in and they would keep looking for other fun, less violent classroom games (or words).

At the school I also have access to a set of ESL materials with flashcards, storycards, posters, books with lesson ideas, etc.. They are a little juvenile, but the students don't seem to mind and it is SO much better to teach with pictures and the new language rather than translating with German words. So this weekend I'm preparing a lesson on "Family". [I am trying to ignore the fact that this lesson is entitled "Me and my family."  ARG!! DO NOT EVER say "Me and..." and for heaven's sake, don't teach it!!]




In this folder there are a bunch of flashcards without words on the back explaining the intent of the picture. Most of them are self-explanatory:

Aww, what a nice family. Mother, father, sisters, brother, son, daughter, husband, wife... Naturally they and all the other family members on all the cards are white, and apparently middle class and happy. There are cards for several types of families: mother with kids, father with kids, multi-generational...and all pasty white. Ok, fine. The pictures are good enough for the basics, and I can also find other pictures online.

But in leafing through the family flashcards, I came across this photo (no explanation):

I decided to call him Uncle Frank. Every family has one of these, right? I could really expand their vocabulary: 'on the lam', 'manhunt', 'restraining order', 'arrest warrant', 'slammer'... Hey! Then I could review the vocabulary, and instead of shooting each other with their finger pistols, they could shoot at Uncle Frank! The student who gets him between the eyes WINS!

For the record, I AM KIDDING...

One of my favorite methods of vocabulary review is a game I learned from my students in Wisconsin. It's a very simple game, but we have had a lot of laughs over the years while playing it. It's called Around the World. One student stands up next to a seated student. I turn over a card with a picture or a word in the native language, and the students have to quickly say the word in the new language. If the standing student says it first, he moves on to the next seated student to challenge her. If the seated student was faster, she moves on and the student who was standing sits in the newly vacated seat. The student who makes it all the way around to his or her original seat wins. No shooting, no killing, no weapons... I haven't tried this one with my new students, but I will soon. I think they will enjoy it as well.