Life: Idiotropic

We are Americans living in Germany.

Some days we fit in here - almost. Some days I truly feel that I am home. I drive all over the place comfortably. I talk to my neighbors. I stand on the sidewalk with all the others and clap during the Schuetzenfest parades. I don't feel conspicuous, usually.

But, we're still Americans. I don't speak the language remotely well. I don't read the paper much and can't understand everything I hear on the radio. Things go on around me all the time that I am unaware of - just because I am on the outside.

There are benefits... We don't pay tax on our oil. We get our fuel ration card, so we don't have to pay quite so much for gas. We have our little grocery store in Schinnen and our own American school. It's really a mix.

So, for those small things that I am able to participate in - even if I don't really "get it," I still appreciate the experience. The girls' schooling affords me these opportunities more than ever now. And, I'm learning. By the time we leave, I may even know a few things.

Today we had two times to share in those traditions - two times to celebrate with our children and try to feel inconspicuous.

Last night Luci spent the night at the preschool. The International Preschool is run by the German services on the base. Most of the teachers are German and they do an excellent job combining the American academic expectations with some German traditions. Since Americans begin traditional school a year younger and Luci's pre-kindergarten class is now moving on to that age when they will start at an American kindergarten, the teachers treat it as they would in the last year of the German Kindergarten (which is really more of a preschool). So, just as Arianna had her sleepover at the Heuhotel last week, Luci got her turn to sleep at her school last night. She was really nervous and asked her teachers if Arianna could stay with her. But, I convinced her to stay by herself and she did a great job. They watched a movie, read stories, ate pizza (she had chicken nuggets - doesn't like pizza), and took a walk in the dark with their flashlights!

I talked to Luci's teacher about it telling her how much I appreciate her doing the sleepover and how special it is. She told me that when a teacher goes to school in Germany to get her teaching certificate, they actually have formal training in how to do an overnighter with children. It is part of the tradition here, so any teacher working with this age group will do many, many sleepovers in their career. It is just part of the job. And, so they are prepared, organized, and make it really fun for the kids.

The next morning I picked her up and we all went to the IDH (International Dining Hall) for breakfast with her classmates and their families. It was a very nice morning and I was especially proud of Luci - staying by herself was really scary for her and she came home all smiles. The IDH had the traditional food... bacon, eggs, potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, toast with jam, meats and cheeses with brotchen, cereal, and... hedgehog sweetbread! They were adorable. The bakeries here can make bread look like just about anything!

This afternoon I baked chocolate chip cookies.

A few weeks ago, the director of Arianna's school told my friend, Holly, and I that they'd like to do an American-style BBQ for the end of the year party. So, we thought that hot dogs and traditional cookies would be great. The sign-up sheet went up not long after at the school asking ladies to sign up to bring either a noodle or potato salad. Confused, I asked if I needed to bring that or if I could bring cookies. "Bring cookies," said Tina, "and let the German mothers make the salads." Then she laughed and told us that she was learning sarcasm (something that most German's don't really have).


Holly brought hot dogs and buns, made chili and PB cookies. I made a HUGE batch of chocolate cookies, and, brought a bunch Hershey's kisses. I thought I was going to a small BBQ - in and out in an hour. Not quite. This was an event we were really unprepared for. It was huge. They had games set up and their big BBQ. It was crowded and hot. But, once people gathered, Tina spoke about the apple tree the students bought for the school, then all the vorschule kinder got a chance to water and plant the tree. Then the teachers all got out games and the kids ran and played. I loved the games. They were different.

Hildegard had gummi pacifiers tied on to string all ready to go. Each string had three, so she and another teacher held onto the ends of the string pulling it tight right above the heads of the three kids under it, then the kids without hands, would try to grab the gummi pacifier with their mouths and chew it off. The kids loved it and it was very humorous to watch.

The electric circuit was set up and the children had to run the metal object from one end to the other without touching the sides or the bell would ring. Arianna did a great job. Most of the kids made it ring on purpose enjoying the bells. A water table was set up with little animals tied with wire hooks, so the kids could "go fishing." Luci and Elise both enjoyed that activity and the teacher who ran it is Frau Gisbertz who will be Elise' teacher next year. She was very sweet with the girls. A ball toss knocked over animal faces, and there was a ball toss into egg cartons colored different colors. All the games were at least slightly different than those I'd seen at other carnivals, so it was fun and I'll take a couple ideas for use at my own kids parties or school celebrations.

Ok... I should have began with this... but. As we walked out into the back playground of the kindergarten, the first thing that I saw was not the large cone shaped grill, nor the crowds of people, nor the children's games, but the Bitburger beer in the hands of most of the adults there. I just never imagined going to a school BBQ and buying a beer. I didn't, of course, having not ever acquired the taste for that stuff, but I could have. 1 Euro for a beer. 50 Euro cents for water or apfelshorle.

The noodle and potato salads of various sorts filled an entire 6'+ table. An aversion to mayo prevented me from being too adventurous, but there was a delicious gnocchi salad with colored bell peppers, sauteed zucchini, and a light balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Definitely one to copy! My cookies went over well and many people tried the chili although spicy food does scare these people. They are just not accustomed to it. On the grill were hot dogs, pork fillets, and bratwurst. It all looked delicious.

So, that was the day. The BBQ went late and we enjoyed ourselves. The kids played and I conversed a little - ended up sitting at a table in the corner with other American friends hampered a bit to socialize too much by the language barrier. Intentions aren't good enough. If one person is uncomfortable with their language skills, then communications is challenged. And, in a big crowd, it's much easier to talk to the neighbor that you've known for years, than to talk to a foreigner. The people are kind and not generally unfriendly, but it does feel weird sometimes, to be there, and to not really belong. It's almost like watching a play. I hear the words and see the actions live in front of me, but instead of jumping on stage and being a player, I sit there and watch, usually entertained, but choosing quiet observation over active participation. Not always... but today, my participation was watching my girls participating and listening to Arianna speak German. She's getting pretty good.

Today was the Spring Fling at Tiara's school - the American elementary school. It's two hours of carnival type games and activities during which nearly 150 students are set loose to play and the teachers walk around with that end-of-the-school-year look of dazed relief. Arianna was able to attend with her old kindergarten class, but liked the freedom of having mom there so she could play where she wanted. The favorites, as usual, were the face painting booth and the bubbleology stations. Both Tiara and Arianna were encased in bubble - a sight that was really fun to see! They also had edible bubbles - another comedy to observe.





Tonight Lucienne graduated from preschool complete with cap and gown. The class sung and danced to classics like The Music Man, Twinkle Twinkle, and This Little Light of Mine. It was fun to watch and they all did a great job. At the end a teacher read aloud a story that they all had a audible part in. Luci was the bird, so every time the teacher said "little bird," Luci, sitting on a high step stool, rocked back and forth to make a squeaking sound. It was a little awkward, but cute.

After the ceremony we stayed for a BBQ/potluck with a delicious marzipan creme layer cake made by Cafe Schleypen that had a picture of the class on it. Luci got to eat the piece with her face on it!

Warning: This post does not contain any tidbits of German culture nor pieces of European quirkiness. It may; however, gush just a tad with a mother's pride. My little girl is growing up.

This morning I attended the awards assembly at Tiara's school where she graced the stage not one, nor two, but three times. For her class, she received the Leadership award - the second year now that her teachers have chosen her as the class leader in spite of her quietness. For academics, she received straight A's again this quarter earning an honor roll award for academic achievement all quarters this year. Then, she got the President's Education Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence, an award for 6th grade students who maintain a 3.5 or higher all quarters from 4th grade through 6th grade. It's a beautiful gold embossed certificate with a letter from President Bush. So, she's on her way to a greatness and we're already making notes on her volunteer hours and awards for college applications and scholarships down the road.

Tonight we attended Tiara's 6th grade promotion ceremony. The class sung two songs - Our Lives by The Calling and Proud To Be an American. They had a brief guest speaker, received their certificates of promotion, and per tradition, 6 students were chosen to read their poems entitled, "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow." Tiara read hers aloud at the podium with confidence and poise.

Afterwards we enjoyed cake and fellowship. The kids ran around smiling and taking pictures. One of Tiara's best friends is moving away, so the moment for her was bittersweet.

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
By: Tiara Stahlbaum

Yes, I remember what it was like

Everyday having nothing to do but play,

Starting school and always being

Terrified on my first day,

Excelling in everything having my

Responsibilities growing,

Dreaming greatly about the future, and

Always wanting to grow up, but that was

Yesterday when I was young.

Today I have no time to play because I’m

Often too busy

Dancing, trying my best at what I like and want to succeed in.

As for today I am wanting to grow up just like

Yesterday when I was young.

Tomorrow is a new day

Opening my eyes to new experiences,

Making my life mine

On my own road,

Reaching for my goals in life,

Ready for anything,

Often wondering

What would it be like if I was little again, if I would take a different path or stick to this one?

So plans change and while I had previously pouted that three parties were going on without me, I really ended up at all three. Last night I stayed up late with Tiara and her friends and today we attended both the GK 25th Anniversary event and the Gillrath Schuetzenfest.

This morning I woke up to the sound of drums in the distance. A few minutes later, I saw the men of the St. Blasius Schuetzenbruderschaft dressed in their uniforms marching down the street together whistling, ironically enough, the theme song to Hogan's Heroes.

With the best weather in weeks and 6 girls at the house, I decided that we had to go somewhere and with the 25th anniversary event being a one-in-a-lifetime type event, I felt that I should at least drive to the base and see what was going on.


The traffic started just outside Teveren on the flightline side creeping along, but it did move, so the 5 minute drive from there to base became 25, but that was ok. Fields all along the stretch between the base and GK were filling with cars, crowds of people at the edges waiting for the buses to come through. The normal herd of black and white cattle were displaced with 50 cars or so in their stead. And a policeman at one junction checked IDs. We drove through without a problem, but those without base IDs were turned away. Parking was easy and the line getting into the event went quickly. Lines of planes were parked for people to look at. Pretzel stands, Haribo candy stands, and other eateries lined the flightline as did carnival style games and an area for kids with inflatable bouncing toys and a small carousel.

The girls all enjoyed a pretzel and played a little in the kids area. Up to that point, the crowds were not bad. The parade started, but we didn't stay to see it, instead we went to Hanger 2 for something to drink.

At Hanger 1 the crowds got thick because aside from the aircraft themselves, that was where the majority of the interest lie. Each nationality at the component contributed to this area with food and displays, things to sell and information booths. I had to stop at the Spanish tent knowing they were making paella. The pans themselves interested me. These pans make enough paella for 500 people. My friends told me that some villages in Spain will have one paella pan that is big enough to feed the entire village, so cooks will get up on small ladders with really long spoons to prepare it. This stand had the best deal there - 5E for a large portion of paella, bread, and a cup of sangria - I could eat that daily - it's so good.

Photos: 1) The dome and tail of the painted anniversary AWACS 2) My friend Julie with my four girls and Tiara's two friends 3) The girls by the Norwegian troll - the 2nd from the right was somebody else's 4) The complete 25th anniversary AWACS jet complete with appropriate masses of people crowding around it.


























After that the rest of my group got gyros and fries at the Greek tent, then we walked around the hanger looking at things sold and booths. The kids all got their photo taken by the troll at the Norwegian space and before we left we all stopped to hear Elvis - the French major who used to work here. He always does a great Elvis impression, but I think after several performances each day on 3 different stages, his voice today was starting to go.

Between walking around, eating, and taking photos, the time on base lasted about 3 hours. We were all tired and hot, but the girls wanted to go to the playground, so I allowed them an hour there before we headed home. Tiara and Monica played chess - they say it's harder on a large board like that, but they enjoyed it.

As we drove into Gillrath, the traffic slowed as the band and others gathered in front of the king and queen's house. By the time we got into our drive way, we could hear the music, so we hurried to the front to watch the parade go by. The house is that of the Koenigspaar - the King and Queen - i.e. the man who scores the highest in May's shooting competition and his wife. In this case, it was the man who scored second highest. My landlord's son-in-law scored highest, but the honor of king is an expensive with a lot of required parties to pay for, so they passed.

So, I had three extra girls last night. One left this morning. The other two stayed until 4 when I dropped them off with Tiara at another birthday party at the bowling ally. Then Tiara came home with me after bowling so she and I could have some mother/daughter time, the other two girls went to a movie with the party, then came back to our house at 11:30pm to stay another night.

Bowling was interesting. Two girls had some misunderstanding which led to not-talking-together, then tears, so, I, being the former yearbook advisor and knowing them all, met them all in the girls' bathroom (amazing how many emotional moments happen there), to give them a talk about friendship, then make them work it out until they were all hugging again. It worked, and soon they were all smiling again, having a messy soap bubble fight, then stacking themselves into this human pyramid.

Ok... so, this wasn't my party, but it was fun. We all watched "Can't Buy Me Love" together and stayed up until 0130 talking. At 1230, Monica thought she heard thunder, so I, realizing that it wasn't thunder, jumped up and ran to the dining room, then jumped out the window (sounds strange, but our front door automatically locks when it closes and our large window does not) and ran to the bus stop where I could see the large fireworks display from the base over the trees. This display was advertised as the largest in Europe this year. The girls all ran after me with blankets and we stood there for about 25 minutes watching the show. It was goofy, but fun and the girls won't forget it.

I'm really blessed with Tiara. Yeah, I have to be a mom and nag her to do her chores, but we are friends too. Seeing her friends reminds me how lucky I am to be able to say that. She and I talk, openly and honestly about things. We laugh and have fun together. Her friends were shocked that I'd jump out a window and watch fireworks at the bus-stop, but it was one of those moments. Later we all just sat and talked together. It felt great to be a part and I think it was good for those girls too.

The hands are those of my Mallorcan friend, Joana, who can make a little empanada like this one in just a few seconds hand rolling the edges beautifully with just two fingers. It's amazing. She made a large batch of these filled pies for her son's confirmation on Sunday. While some empanadas are filled with meats, currants, or veggies, this Mallorcan version has peas, chopped hard-boiled egg, and onion. And they are absolutely beautiful. I'll learn the pastry recipe in the fall when she returns from her summer home, and I'll definitely make them, but, not being a big fan of peas, I think mine will be slightly varied. My morning with my Spanish friends went quickly as it often does, munching on pastries and sipping coffee with warm milk. We talk of so many things, from politics to family stuff. They are all getting ready to go home for the summer since their kids will be out of school and home is not so far away. Most of them keep their houses in Spain, so going back is easy.

Today we talked about the air show that would be going on this weekend and Joana was excited about the B-52 that was coming. Airplanes to me are not a big deal anymore. They are big and loud. I've seen them at ever place I've lived for the last 9 years. But, to many here, the large American aircrafts are exciting and impressive. Several articles in our local newspaper highlighted the B-52 with it's amazing history as the big draw for this weekend's festivities and today, while driving to and from base, the entire stretch of road overlooking the flightline was lined on both sides with cars, their inhabitants standing outside with fancy cameras and telescopes taking photos and writing down tail numbers.

There's a huge party going on this weekend... actually, there are two, oops... no, three. And, I'm not going to any of them. It feels funny to have so much celebrating going on and not be a part of it.

Party #1:

The base is buzzing with activity. Large trucks and vans are spilling through the front gates in a steady stream now with food carts, decorations, chairs, tables, and all sorts of random things. Signs are going up and some streets are blocked off. This is the 25th Anniversary of the NATO AWACS here, so it is becoming a BIG deal. One of the airplanes flew down to Italy to get a very special commemorative paint job, and I think this weekends' party will be the first time that the base will be open to the public in the history of this component. So, they are expecting WAY TOO MANY people. The local farmers have offered up cropless fields for parking and people will be bussed in to the base.

Why am I not going to join the thick crowds and endless lines on a hot steamy day to see aircraft that I've seen before and eat great ethnic food that I can enjoy in peace on any given IWC night? Well, Kirk's not here and I just don't feel like dragging the kids out. I may join the tail-spotters on the road I take to the base. There's a good view of the flight line there and I can pretend I'm eating paella with the Spanish. They have Paella pans that make enough for 500 people. They are bringing 6 of those. Yeah - this is going to be big!

If you're curious about the goings on, go to the links below.

Geilenkirchen Air Base Website
Schedule of Events


Party #2:

This weekend is the big schuetzenfest in my humble little village of Gillrath. This morning when I drove by the party lot (a parking lot normally), there was nothing, but a truck. This afternoon, the concert pavilion was assembled as was the beer tent and kinder rides. On Saturday they'll have the big concert event. Last year we attended the party and saw Black Foose. This year For Example will be there, and I'll be getting the kids ready for bed.

Party #3:

Tiara's been a bit mopey recently knowing that there's a chance that she might not be in town on her birthday and even worse, that her friends might all be in the U.S.... so, unbeknown to her, I showed up at her school today as she was getting on the bus to come home and picked up 3 of her closest friends. The house was already stocked with hidden candy, ice cream sundae supplies, soda, and chips. Her room was a bit decorated, and 7 girl movies sat by the DVD player downstairs. We got home just barely ahead of the bus, so her friends ran up to her room to wait and poor Tiara walked right in a few minutes later having no idea what she was in for. It's been great. The girls have gone for walks, watched movies, dressed up, and have giggled and screamed a lot. The best part is that I really like all of Tiara's friends and it's really great to see her have fun. I was walking by her room earlier to come to the office and heard the girls talking. This quote just warmed my heart - can't get better than this!

So... I can't complain. Three parties, and I really don't need to be at any of them. I have plenty of other things to catch up on. And, the girls did invite me to have ice cream and watch a movie with them. It was nice, but I'll let them have their space.

Graduations aren't something that kindergartens do exactly. There are not caps and gowns here, but, the vorschule kinder are treated very special here and this is a time of much celebration as they move out of Kindergarten, and into school.

Being somewhat outside the culture, I am really never sure what I'm in for. Today was another one of those days when I was truly clueless.

I was told to meet at our local church at 4 and I knew we'd be taking the kids to the Heuhotel after the short service. A friend said she expected to be home by 5. I got home at 6:30.

The church service was nice. We sung a lot of children's songs, in German, of course. There was a script that they followed, so we could follow along and reading it helped me understand the language. Most of it was talking about moving on into Grundschule. And, they talked about kids from other countries and how God loves all the children. We passed a large globe ball all around the church from pew to pew, then some of the children were dressed up as children from other nations and they all had a short line in a song to speak. At the end, all the children joined their teachers and pastor on stage for a few songs, then they each took a turn getting a cross necklace to wear then we sung the closing song (to the tune of "Glory Hallelujah")...



So, we went. All the families packed up their cars and drove - the LONG way - all in a line of probably 20 plus autos to the "Hay Hotel" in Beeck.

The Hay Hotel is just that - a hotel full of hay. It also has cows and a nice cow milking room, but run a hotel where the lodgers can sleep quite literally in the hay. So, I thought I was just going to drop off Arianna and leave... but no. We all stood around while the kinder ran wild and the teachers got organized. The director told me that they were going to do a little bit of magic.

Soon, they were ready. The children gathered around. Tina put on a black witch hat, took out her "magic wand," and got her spell book. She said a spell that would turn these ordinary kindergarten students into school children. Each child in turn stood upon a chair near Tina. Another teacher held a red balloon over the child's head while Tina waved her wand and said the magic words, then she struck the balloon with her wand, it popped with a bang, and confetti spilled out over the child's head. Then another teacher would hand the child their cone and a large book of work that they'd done over the year. It was very nice. By the time they got to Arianna, she knew the drill well enough to keep her hands over her ears until the balloon popped.

After this time, gifts for the teachers, and a little more waiting around, the children all got on the big covered trailer and waved good-bye as the tractor pulled it away. Arianna was happy and perfectly fine riding away with a wagon of German friends. Tonight she'll be sleeping on the hay - should be interesting to hear about.


When all the children were out of sight, some of us took a quick tour before we left. Upstairs in the barn loft there was a large play room filled only with hay and ropes hanging from the ceiling. The smaller rooms forked off from it for further exploring. Two other rooms had 3 foot tall pieces of wood blocking off entire sections, then the "box" was filled with hay. Those were the beds. The children just needed to put down their sleeping bags and pillows and get cozy. Downstairs was a nice clean dining room where all the kids will have dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow. The photo through the window is from the loft where the beds are looking down into the courtyard where we spent all that time waiting while the kids got their goodies.

So, this afternoon was not what I expected. I was not there and home in an hour. It took time, but it was a very special afternoon and Arianna was glowing with happiness. I had no qualms about leaving her - just wish I could be a fly on that wall tonight and see what's going on.

This morning I met some friends for coffee at Bagels and Beans near the Sittard markt. It was market day (all Thursdays), so I walked around the market a bit too to pick up a few things. Really, the markets are the BEST places to get produce and a lot of other things. I think Sittard probably has the best fish and some of the most wonderful cheeses.

So, today, I got 4 quarts of strawberries for only 3 Euro (not each, total price), 4 pineapples for 2 Euro, 12 apples for 2 Euro, and two quarts of seedless grapes for only 3 Euro! I love buying produce at the market. It's always beautiful and so much less expensive than anywhere else. I also got 5 lavender plants in 5" pots for only 5 Euros total. What a deal!

Tiara had her ballet recital both yesterday and today at the Schtadschouwberg in Sittard. So, today we took along 7 friends and saw her perform. I have the same gripe I have every year... she wasn't on stage enough, and her part was too easy for her and didn't showcase her talent. Still, it was a really interesting performance and we all enjoyed it. We couldn't take photos, but I'll be purchasing some and posting them eventually with more details about the production itself.

After the ballet, we went the Cafe Gaudi at the markt for dinner, then we walked around the carnival set up in the square and let all the girls go on a couple rides.