The times they are a changing.....

We have had beautiful weather here in Stuttgart since I arrived. Gorgeous sunny days and quite often very warm. Usually I wake up and the sun is coming in through my window....but today, I woke up and saw this.....

And because you all know PNW weather you can imagine with a sky like this that, yes, it is raining. On the top of that hill there is also a television tower, can't see it can you. Oh well, I have no where to go and its nice and cozy inside.


So, I spent the morning making a weekly schedule with Sabine. Planning what we will do each day with the girls. Who is with whom and doing what. This is very, very good. Just what we needed. And we both were getting excited and brainstorming all kinds of activities and crafts and baking things we could do with Lara especially. This is what I love. Then Sabine's mother came for a visit which was very nice and after our Mittagessen I put together a small Tisch for my computer which we bought at Ikea the other day. And now I think I will sit down with a latte and my book and have a few quiet hours before Lara comes home at 5. All in all a nice and a productive day.

Look at the colors on this tree! This is also just outside my window. I guess I can't pretend anymore that it is still summer. But if it means I get to look at these beautiful Fall colors then I'm okay with it.

:)

K.

Pictures!!

Stuttgart!!!

This is accross the street from the train station. The first photo.

.....and then looking down the street. All the taxis lined up in front of the station.

My new house. The second floor. A little out of order but I can't figure out how to move the photo. It doesn't help that this computer is all in German, I can't figure out the commands. Just getting used to the keyboard now, Y and Z are in the wrong place among other things.

The entrance. The door on the left leads into the dinning area which is one long room blending into the sitting room with the TV.

And here is the sitting room and TV, as mentioned.

Dinning room and the beginning of the kitchen, the küche, in the back.

die Küche.

Our first weekend together and we drove out of the city a bit to this trail through the woods. It was a very nice walk and so nice to have this time all together. Stephan was explaining all about different trees and nuts and exploring with Lara, Lili taging along or just enjoying to run and run and run, and I had a very nice talk with Sabine about familes, Lara, their thoughts and approaches to having a child with special needs, about my friends and family etc. It was a great day.

We stopped here to sit in the beautiful sunshine a bit, have something to eat and drink and enjoy the view.

Here is the view. Gorgeous. Stephan was telling me that one of the old kings of this area, had a hunting castle somewhere down the lake. Also, in the winter you can skate on this lake!! I'm going to keep that in mind and see about coming back in the winter. How cool.

More of the view.

I have no idea why this one is upside down but like I mentioned before this computer is all in German and I can't figure it out. I really like this one though, even upside down.

Wild (Vilt) Swine (Shvine)!!

The little ones were so cute!! And the big ones......

not so much. And they were mean!

Which way?!

Sabine and Stephan dressed up for an evening at the Volksfest in the beer tents. Prost!!

Last weekend we went out into the wine hills that surround Stuttgart. This is looking down into a kind of suburb of Stuttgart.

More grapes growing on the hillside and Stuttgart in the distance.

The great city center of Stuttgart. Wish I had a camera with more zoom.

This is a chapel burial site of a former king and his queen.

Lara and I, matching a bit, in front of the chapel.

Stuttgart again.

Wine, wine, wine. I guess here its just grapes, grapes, grapes, but I like to think of what it will become.

More walking around.

We stopped at a sweet little beer garden for lunch. It was a beautiful day as you can see.

Still wish I had that zoom....That is the chapel where we were earlier.

Lara, looking sweet and very willing to pose.

Stephan and Lili climbing the hill. Thrilling I know, but I thought it was cute.

More, more, more....

This was so funny. Last Sunda we went for a walk through the city park. As we walked we past this man dressed like he was in an old American western movie. We all looked and eachother and laughed. THEN we stopped at a beer garden in the middle of the park and as we sat down this band began to play and they were a country band! And all these people got up from their tables and started line dancing. I could not believe it. So funny.

Gettin' down with their country selves.

Lara and I.

The sheriff, notice his badge. Watch out, you don't want to cross the law.

That about sums it up as far as pictures go. This weekend I'm looking forward to seeing Esther on Friday and going out with her and some of her friends and then on Saturday the guys are also coming to Stuttgart and we're all going to the Volksfest!!! So that will be Esther, Simeon, David (friends from Scotland) and I going on Saturday. I'm looking forward to seeing them and having a night out.

Bis Bald!!

Week One

Well I have been here now for just over on week. In some ways it feels like I have been here much, much longer or maybe just known the family for more that a couple months. I feel already very comfortable with my family here, and the house and the daily routine. They have said it but I can also feel all the time that they are very happy that I am here and are always looking out that I have everything that I need, and am feeling well and good, and a part of the family. I am so thankful to be living and working with such kind people.

The girls are still getting to know me and every day is a bit of an adventure with them. Not only learning who they are and becoming comfortable with each other but also working around the language. This is always fun. Of course with the parents I can speak English if I need to but the girls only speak German, naturally. This has really already been a great way for me to learn. Even the younger of the two, Lili, she is only 2ish but is talking lots and lots, and with both girls I can ask 'Was ist das?' and they will tell me. So far I have been learning lots of animal vocabulary. Its great. Also, the older girl, Lara, is very good at correcting me if I am saying something incorrect. It is pretty funny sometimes but good for me. She really likes it when I aske for help with my pronounciation or vocabulary. Especially in the evening we read from a children's book and she is always saying 'nein Kaija!!' and then filling in the blank. Thankfully she doesn't get too frustrated with me. Also I'm finding that I am able to put together so many more variations of sentences already with just the little bit of German that I know. Sehr gut!!

So things are going well in the family. In a couple weeks my schedule will include a language course which will take up most of the morning. I think it is from 8 to 1, five days a week. And my work in the house is mainly from 5 in the evening until 8 and then on the weekends. So for now my days are mostly relaxed and unscheduled. The mother and youngest daughter are home during the day, and there are usually playmates and mothers coming over, or we go into the city for a bit of shopping or something like this. But it is very relaxed. In the evenings it has been busy around here lately (I'm told it isn't always like this) with the parents going out or having friends over. This means that I have already had responsibilities with the children on my own. No problem of course. And I hear a lot of positive feedback from the parents, Sabine and Stephan, and how grateful that I can be here with the children and they don't need to worry, they are very confident in me. I'm feeling very appreciated. :)


Here's a bit more of what I have been up to since I arrived...

(with pictures coming soon. promise.)

• Registered with the local authorities. You have to do this if you are going to be living here for some time.


• Spent some time in the mornings unpacking and arranging my room, going with Lili and Sabine into the city for a bit of shopping.


• Lots of construction happening on my little flat at the top of the house. I have my room of course and the bathroom is, as of today, mostly finished. In the last week they have been putting the tiles in and the toilet and sink and shower etc. It is really, really nice. Then there is another room down the hall from my room and we will get a small sofa and a television in there for me and then sometime in the near future a small kitchen area. Really nice!


• I went with Stefan to BW Bank and set up an account for me. Sorry Nils, not the Deutesche Bank but BW, which is a big one for this area.


• Esther came over last Friday for dinner and then we went out on the town. This was a lot of fun and I met some of her friends which was great. We went to some huge warehouse where we listened to Balkan music(?). It was fun. Not what I'm used to, but aparently it is popular because it was packed with people. VERY interesting for people watching. I've already discussed with Esther and Sabine how different the guys here are from American, especially PNW guys. Very interesting.


• On Saturday morning I went into the city with Stephan. Every Saturday they have multiple markets in the city. Local farmers as well as people selling their own goods, not a lot of arts or made things but lots of antiques. I love this. I have to practice my barganing skills though because I guess that is what you are supposed to do.


• Later on Saturday we went to the Volksfest here in Stuttgart. This is a kind of harvest festival I think and it will last for the next 2 weeks now, 3 weeks total. There are rides, lots of rides and also lots of beer tents, natually. And these tents, when we were there in the afternoon, were already full of people! Stephan said that the tents will just continue to fill until people could only stand and everywhere. My main job at this festival was to ride the rides with Lara. She really loves this, and it was a lot of fun to share that with her. Whew though, some of those rides.....oh man! This festival was also great for people watching. Lots of people wearing Lederhosen and Dirndls. Older men squeezing into theirs from earlier years, while the younger guys strut their stuff and the girls are wearing something maybe a bit shorter and more revealing than originally intended.


• Sundays here in Germany mean that all the shops and markets are closed, and certain unwritten social rules such as not mowing your lawn because of the noise, make Sunday a quiet, relaxed day. It is a day when most people it seems, take the time to spend with families, go to church, and enjoy a walk or other entertainment outdoors. This is great. We are spending mostly both our Saturdays and Sunday this way but it is great to see so many people out on Sunday and expecially the families. And Sabine and Stephan have a very long and growing list of places they want to take me and things for us to do on these weekend trips. I'm so lucky!
  

Bis Bald

K.