Life: Idiotropic

You ever had one of those days when you should have had a good strong layer of duct tape over your mouth and your hands firmly cuffed behind your back?

Well... my enthusiasm for all things cultural got the better of me earlier this month when I was sipping coffee with my English conversation group and one of the Italian ladies mentioned a dance class. "Dance class", I think to myself, "that sounds like a lot of fun - oh goody, I unique cultural opportunity." So me and my not-duct-taped mouth start asking questions. Bad idea.

All of the sudden, I'm invited to come to the dance class with them. Twice. The next two Wednesdays. "Great", I'm thinking. Wonderful! I get to learn a new dance and spend time with some really great Italian ladies.

The next week I show up to learn the Contradanza. We're partnered up. I'm a boy. Ha ha. Fine. I can do this. We clap. We dance. We laugh a lot because I'm not the only one with two left feet (though I'm the only one who can't understand the words to the song). It's time to go and they ask... "Can you meet on Friday?"

Oh, ok. No problem. And it starts. Wednesdays and Fridays, then Friday morning and evening. And guess what? I wasn't just learning a simple dance. There is a costume involved. Black pants. White shirt. "Borrow your husband's vest." So apparently all Italian men have a nice suit vest in their wardrobe. Mine - nicht, nada, zilch. A couple of scarves, a cap and a drawn on mustache would complete my outfit - thankfully, they forgot the mustache for the performance.

Performance, you ask? Because if you know me, you will be choking on your coffee by now. I don't dance. And I certainly don't perform. Uh, er... until now.

In September the local head of the Chamber of Commerce asked me if the IWC would be interested in doing something at the Geilenkirchen Christmas market. I passed along the invitation to my board who, in turn, passed it along to their members. How was I supposed to know that my Italian friend had jumped on that opportunity. No one told me.

So all of the sudden, I'm the sole American - the only non-Italian dancing on stage in the market place of Geilenkirchen at their Christmas market last weekend which was just about embarrassing enough... but then, wait, I was dressed as a boy.

And not a cute one at that. I don't own a lot of black pants and the two that I do own are, well, fit, uh, a bit snugger than I'd like. One was ok, but they are capries... so there I am trying to tuck the little ends of my capries into my Ugg boots (black pants, black boots). Cute Italian, I'm not. Then the top. So I don't own a plethora of simple button down white tops either and Kirk has no vest... so Mariella had lent a shirt to me. I hadn't really looked at it- hadn't tried it on. So just a couple hours before I pull it out of the bag. It's a 34. I wear a 38. Ugh. This would not be pretty. And instead of a shirt with a vest (like all the other "boys" were wearing), this one was a shirt with a black cami looking top sewed onto it - not masculine at all. So now I'm a feminine looking "boy" dancing with the girls. Not sure that's any better.

We arrived at 5:30 already in costume freezing our veritable patooties off. It was pretty easy to spot the sea of Italians waiting half with green scarves on their heads and the others with the smart black caps. We were supposed to go on at 6, but they didn't even begin to clear off the stage until ten after because, according to the director, it was gemuertliche -- the atmosphere and feeling were right. Just before we went on, Mariella told me that we'd dance twice. Twice???? Dancing once, I thought, was quite embarrassing enough, but now we'd dance once normally, then grab partners from the audience and go through it again.

It was almost time. I took off my coat and noticed a button undone on my top. Great. Something else to worry about - and we were dancing twice! So the entire time I was dancing, I was terrified that one of the buttons on the too tight top was going to come loose.

All in all, it went ok. I made one mistake, but not a horrible one... and when it was time to choose a partner, I grabbed Tiara. Generous mom that I am, sharing the embarrassment.

So, there it is. I, the non-dancing, non-performer, actually ended up dancing at the Geilenkirchen Christmas market on a stage in front of real people with a bunch of Italians. An accomplishment of sorts, and, though it wasn't exactly what I planned on, a lot of fun. All that time with my friends reinforced the little things that I already knew about my Italian friends - 1) the wear black and pretty much only black and 2) they really can't talk with out their hands and they talk and talk and talk... and discuss and argue and talk some more. Getting through a rehearsal with them is 10% actual dancing and 90% discussing the dance. Still, I love these ladies. They're a lot of fun!

Feb 2009 - I just decided to randomly "google" myself to see what's out there and found this article in the Italian's Passato Presente, a newsletter for the GK Italians. It mentions me in reference to the dance above.



Totally unrelated Elise quote: Because the other day I told Elise that she was getting old...
"I'm not old, I'm new."
"How do you know?"
"Well, old people have - (pauses and looks intently at me) - skin like I have, but really old, old people have squishy skin."

Today was the first day of the Monschauer Christmas market, so a friend and I headed down there for a day. Monschau is only an hour away, but it's in the Eiffel forest region, so the weather is dramatically different. Our snow has been gone for days, but these fields are completely covered. The bit left in the valley in Monschau just made the picturesque town just that much more beautiful.

Monschau is small so it doesn't have the best Christmas market out there in terms of stuff to buy, but it is one of the more picturesque. It just feels good to walk down the narrow cobbled streets between crooked old half timbered houses that have been there for centuries. Each house is slightly different. Some almost look twisted leaning in not one, but two directions. Everyone has decorations out and if you're lucky, you'll catch a whiff of fresh printen wafting out of a bakery window. Delicious!

One of the stands had a few traditional German wooden decorations, so I got a few little things for a Christmas party coming up and stopped in the year round Christmas store for a few small decorations. It's hard to find things that are special here without paying a fortune though. So many things are either imported from other places (they love Dept 56 stuff) or made in China. Even many traditional German things are made in China now, so it's hard to know what you're getting. And if it says "Made in Germany," then the price is quadrupled.

Monschau is good for food... I enjoyed tasting a venison sausage, some elderberry liqueur, several different licorice bonbons, a printen cookie, and several other liqueurs including hot plum and champagne truffle. All delicious. The air was a lot colder than I was prepared for, but a mug of hot chocolate with amaretto kept me warm while I shopped.

Ran into a bus load of Canadians from England who were on a Christmas market tour and a German man from Monschau with a near perfect British accent. Talked to a lot of people and did some people watching as well. My favorites were the two chefs with the brightly colored mini-aprons chatting and smoking in front of their booth and the lady with 60's style glasses working at the roasted chestnut stand.

I got some beautiful photos... check them out!
Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=71312&l=a92e5&id=674507268

Happy Thanksgiving to you!!! I hope that you all enjoy a day with family, friends, and lots of delicious food! (ok, and football if you must)

I am thankful for...

1. The extra hour of awake time I got this morning quite by accident when my cell phone company's clocks were wrong making my alarm clock go off at an ugly 5am instead of a not-much-prettier 6. (Ok, I'm not really that thankful for this one, but attitude is everything, right?)
   
2. The dentist who filled Luci's cavity quickly today without using any anesthetic. He was very good with her and very honest about our options. Thankful that Luci is the first of all us girls to have a cavity and that it's a baby tooth so we have a second chance to get this brushing thing down.
3. That Tiara's getting a bite block now and will hopefully get a handle on tooth grinding before her life really becomes stressful later on.
   
4. The fact that although my hubby has to work on Thanksgiving, he has a great job and will be moving on to an even better job soon in Spain!
5. The kindergarten class that let Elise make butter with them and the 3rd grade class who performed their Squanto play to several classes at the school (we saw it three times!).
6. Mrs. Chmeylar and Frau Schubert who put together a really fun Thanksgiving singing program for the 2nd/3rd graders and the mom's who organized a full Thanksgiving meal enough for both classes, the parents, teachers, and siblings.
7. Mrs. Herndon and Mrs. Berlin who organized a snack share with the 1st graders and the unknown amazing mom who made a turkey out of fruit. Very cool bird!
8. My 4 absolutely amazing girls who take care of me as much as I take care of them.
9. My husband whom I'm incredibly proud of!
10. My family both real and adopted all over the world and my friends both sane and not so much that keep me sane when I'm teetering on the edge.
11. The opportunity I've had to live in Germany for 3 years and the opportunity to live in Spain for the next 3.
12. Growing up, gaining perspective, finding wings to fly.

a smile from my girl!

I had some yearbook business to attend to today at the elementary school, and I just happened to be there close to lunch time, so I was able to surprise both Luci and Arianna which is always fun. Usually their friends see me first and then my girls look, see me, then come running. I'd been taking yearbook photos anyway, so I was ready to capture Arianna in full run. This is the best. LOVE it. What made it even better was bedtime when both of my girls said that my lunch time visit was the best part of their day!

Sunday the snow covered everything. By Monday morning there was little proof we'd ever had any fluffy white stuff. It was almost completely melted. By Monday afternoon; however, the flurries had started again, parents were picking their kids up from school early, everything around the base and south was turning white and the snow showed no signs of stopping. Excited, I picked up Elise and spend the next hour driving around trying to get some photos of my favorite winter treat. But by the time I got to my village, the snow had stopped and the accumulation was not as impressive. I should have gone south. That's where the action was. Still, I saw pheasant - a bird that is extremely frequent here in ones, twos, and large groups, sitting in the farm fields. I've even seen baby pheasants here, but until this day, I'd never caught one on film. They're extremely skittish birds. The picture isn't great, but I'm happy to have at least some memory of this critter I see so much here.

More photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=74082&l=1f054&id=674507268

Two really smart moms got together and threw a combined birthday party for their daughters at Pee Wees, a large indoor play space. Elise was invited and Luci is friends with one of the girls too, so she came too. The kids played for 3 hours. The adults relaxed for 3 hours. And when we left, almost 3 hours of snow was on the ground and covering my car. It was beautiful!!! LOVE the snow.

Both girls like the bumper cars. Elise preferred at first to be the passenger and let the boys drive her around. When Brian left, she cried and cried, scared to drive by herself... until Brian's dad climbed into the passenger seat and showed her how to drive. Then she was a crazy girl behind the wheel. Here she is with Zoe, one of the birthday girls!

Today while Luci and Elise were playing at a birthday part in a huge indoor play center, it began to snow. And it snowed and snowed and snowed and didn't stop until about 11pm this evening, so although, sadly, it will probably be nothing more than a cold stream of water running through the gutters by morning, it definitely worked it's magic on us all today. Tiara and Arianna got to play in it since they were home earlier. The littles and I got home after dark, so they played a little while Kirk finished up shoveling the walk and the doorways in front of Finny's, Tinny's, and our house. Everything is white. Even in the dark driving home at 6, I saw kids having snowball fights in the fields, others pulling sleds down the street, and groups of people walking in it. My Norwegian friend even posted pictures of her and her kids outside in the snow with their skis. Snow is magic. Everyone is happy!

Thanksgiving, like all holidays, is one of those days when we like to gather with family and friends. Living in Germany doesn't afford us the opportunity to celebrate with our "real" family back "home," so we just adopt. Enough holidays together and our friends evolve into family. This was our 4th Thanksgiving here, but our third in our house and our third here with the Shanks who have now reached "family" status. Alice makes the best salads and Greg makes delicious cranberry sauce. Plus, our kids get along.

Obviously, Thanksgiving isn't exactly a German holiday and we're not exactly at an American base, so the guys don't get the day off and the kids are in school. And there is no way that I am going to "slave" in a kitchen all day just to plunk it all on the table after a long tiring day and go to sleep. It's supposed to be a day long family ordeal complete with naps and picking at the leftovers. In the past, we've celebrated on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but this year we did it early and had our feast on the Saturday before. We had all the fixin's - 2 turkeys, mashed and sweet potatoes, gravy, green beans, stuffing, cranberry sauce, rolls, apple and pumpkin and pecan pies... enough to stuff. And all delicious. And unlike most Thanksgivings here, we were mellow and relaxed with just a few close friends over and no big crowds. I like the big crowds, but it was nice to relax and just enjoy the day. The kids all ran around and got along though they wouldn't pose for a photo. Too bad. They're all cuties!

Back row: Elise, Thomas, Luci
On couch: Marlene, Arianna, Julian, Janie, and Alice's arm.
My oldest was MIA - upstairs on the computer chatting with friends.

I just have to say that though autumn is just beginning to give way to the frosty cold of winter, it is still absolutely beautiful here. The trees lining the streets still have enough leaves holding out on their branches to add vibrant color to the landscape. Each wind brings a flurry of confetti swirling down in those reds, oranges, and yellows of fall. Driving through them feels almost magical. And the piles of sugar beats lining the field's edges just keep getting longer each day. It's cold. Really cold, but we've gotten just enough sunny glimmers to balance the gray. It's just nice. Feels like the holidays already. Was in a village today and saw them getting their Christmas market set up. St. Nikolaus treats are already in the shop windows. It's just fun!

We've all seen days like this when the sun bursts from behind a cloud with a fan of variegated rays of sunlight. It's not so uncommon. But I don't notice it other places around here. For some reason, it happens a lot here - over this field between the base and Grotenrath. I've driven by here many times to see skies like this and prettier. Today I actually decided to stop knowing that my time here is limited and I don't want to miss any more photo opportunities. If I would have planned better, I probably could have gotten at least 2 more church silhouettes in the background, but there just isn't a good place to stop. Time is going too quickly here. I'm already sad to go.

I live in an area where seasonally a ill-directed wind can deliver the fresh scent of cow right through your window into your home, there are more John Deers than computers, and the act of being stuck behind a slow moving sugar beat truck ranks as the #1 reason for being late. It's also where a horse drawn carriage is a perfectly acceptable mode of transport. Need a bag of broetchen? Grab the carriage and go. I've seen them parked outside bakeries. And they frequently clip clop down the busy B56 right past our house. Today, I was stuck behind one with no way to pass. A good excuse for being late, I think.

This was our last St. Martin's Day in Germany. It feels strange to think that. But, with that in mind, we went out last night into the cold to walk around our village with the children's lanterns shining bright.

Of course, I got the time wrong, so though I planned to miss the lengthy German mass at the church, we also missed the very beginning of the parade and the bonfire behind the fire station where St. Martin rides his horse around the fire and gives his cloak to the poor man. Still, the kids all had the lanterns that they'd made in school and we caught up in enough time to do most of the parade walking together with over 400 children and their families.

Our parade has gotten popular. The firemen here are in charge of it each year. They go door to door collecting donation and giving tickets to the children for a donation. They'd come by over a month ago to give out tickets. Then all the money collected is used to buy treats for the bags. For each ticket handed out, a bag of treats is put together. The ladies in the village over 80 years old get together and put them all together - large sacks full. This year they made over 450 sacks for the children. Each had a large Weckmannbrot, 2 clementines, 1 apple, 1 large package of Speculatus cookies, 1 large package of honey dominos (delicious!), a small bag of chips, a full sized snickers bar, a full sized Alpina chocolate bar, and seven other smaller candy treats - lollipops, cookies, and gummis.

The band led the parade with St. Martin on his horse. The firetruck ended the parade as the caboose keeping traffic at bay. And the firemen walked with us all along the parade route carrying long fire sticks and stomping out the bits of burning cinders that would fall from them every few minutes. We finished the parade wrapping around the church and heading to the new firehouse. All along the parade route people in the village stood outside their doors to wave or peeked from their curtains to watch the children walk by. Even at Il Genio's, our local pizza place, folks stood outside on the steps waving to the children and shouting hellos to people they knew.

At the firehouse the band played the traditional St. Martin's Day songs, the children lined up to greet St. Martin with his brass hat and Santa-like beard, and the parents gathered by the tent to the left where they sold hot chocolate, gluwein (hot, spiced red wine), and shots of amaretto to go in either. And oh, the gluwein was just that much better with a bit of amaretto in it! Delicious. And it certainly warms you up on a cold night. So we all stood together after we saw St. Martin, drinking our warm drinks and talking with our friends and neighbors before heading home. I was also able to meet the man in charge of the Carnival parade this year, so we may just have a float in our village parade!

Before we were home, all three little girls had already gotten into their bags and eaten the heads of their Weckmannbrots. So, the bread above with Arianna is actually Tiara's .... the only one that survived long enough for a photo op.

Kirk got, well, uh... older today, so we celebrated in the evening with one of his favorite meals - a orange herb crusted pork tenderloin with all the extras - and then I surprised him with coconut cream stuffed pies for dessert. Wow. That home made pudding was amazing!

Tiara was determined to fit 37 candles into something - and of course, the pies weren't going to hold them without completely destroying the crust, so she found a banana and over about 10 minutes, got all 37 candles in. Odd though it is, this isn't new. Kirk had his birthday candles in a potato a few years ago.

Tiara's birthday card to her dad had this on the cover: "37 So many candles yet so little banana."

Playing catch up... again...

Halloween isn't a one night affair here and it's actually a lot more fun here than in the states for us, probably because there's such an effort by the American community to make it feel "normal," it ends up being really great.

For example... most schools may have Halloween parties, but ours has a parade - not just around the school, but all over the base. Kindergarten through sixth grade with their parents, teachers, and siblings dress up, leave the school grounds, and march in the Storybook Parade all over the base trick or treating in the buildings that many of their parents work at. Some of the groups even decorate the hallways that the children walk through. This year there were two haunted hallways and the dental clinic staff all dressed up as characters from Alice in Wonderland. It's fun. It's safe. And it's a community effort that really makes it special. This year Arianna was a butterfly, Luci was an angel, and Elise was just a little girl who didn't feel like dressing up. But, costume or not, they all three ended up with a nice bag of candy - most of which they haven't eaten yet and it's nearly Thanksgiving. Out of sight, out of mind is a good thing. :)













On Halloween Elise' school had their "Trunk or treat" activity. A bunch of us moms decorated our trunks and handed out candy. I had my ipod speakers with me, so the Monster Mash and X-files theme played while Arianna, my lion mummy, handed out candy. Luci was home sick, so she missed out on the Halloween activities - at least she was able to do the parade the day before. It was small, but fun. Elise was a reindeer and was pretty oblivious to most of it, but enjoyed sitting on the curb afterwards comparing candy with her friends.

There a HUGE Trunk or Treat event each year at Schinnen, our support base across the border, but we've never gone. It's too big, too crowded, and really, the kids don't need the candy at all - they just need the fun. Luckily, our little village is so full of spirit for all holidays, so we went trick or treating there just like we would back "home." Each year the number of German kids coming to our door gets bigger. Before we even headed out, a large group of German kids rung our doorbell. They were all dressed up and instead of saying "Sueses oder saures" like they sometimes do, they actually said, "trick or treat" in English. I handed out candy to each of them and then one girl about 10 years old, told me slowly in her strong accent, "We are in the Halloween Club." It was cute.

I took Arianna and Elise out with a couple friends of mine and we did the few streets behind our house. This time Arianna was Cinderella (with big black boots) and Elise was Tinkerbell (though you couldn't tell behind her jacket). Elise quickly got the hang of it. She saw a few of her friends from the German school too and enjoyed that. A lot more houses participated this year - even a few older German ladies handed out candy to the kids. And one of our Polish friends gave my friends each a shot of some berry liqueur his friend had made. We ended the evening at the Nelson's annual Halloween bash before heading home.

The day after Halloween was our turn... Kirk and I dressed up for a party at the Gartman's. Too funny. So many great costumes. After a busy week, I just didn't have time to get fancy, so we wore our carnival costumes...the monk for K and the pink wig outfit for me. I'll come up with something new for Carnival.

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