May June Newsletter 2004

MAY-JUNE NEWSLETTER
2004
Hello Summer…….Spring?????? I’m not sure based on the weather but I am sure based on the fact that school is out for the summer. I’ve already made the most of my summer and Joe has toured to England and Bulgaria and is now back here in Germany. We have plans to go to Garmisch, Germany where the Zugspitz Mountain is in July. That will be quite a contrast to my trip to Spain. Read on if you like.


HEXENNACHT- WITCHES NIGHT
Hexennacht translates to witches night and is similar to our Halloween without the trick or treating. Some villages partake more than others. Our village is tiny yet we still had the parade of children on hayrides partying through the streets. This exciting night also offers the opportunity to have your house, car, trees, etc. toilet papered or sprayed with shaving cream. We have so many kids under the age of five that it is funny to hear them. They get so excited to participate in this silly tradition. You can hear them outside laughing and trying to be quiet as they throw a roll of toilet paper at a bush or ask their parents to help them push the button on the shaving cream can. It’s all in good fun and the best part is that they clean up after themselves the next day!

NO SHIRTS NEEDED
We recently took our 4th and 5th graders on a field trip to a planetarium and park. Special arrangements were made to have the presentation at the planetarium given in English. I mentioned to some of the other teachers that perhaps we should ask the kids to wear their school shirts to identify ourselves as a group. The German teacher happened to overhear me say this and said, “Oh, this is not necessary.” I asked why only because in my previous experience at other schools we always had name tags at the very least. She explained to me that everyone will know we are together because we are Americans. I still haven’t quite figured out what it is about us that makes us stand out so much in a crowd, but apparently we do. We needed no identifying shirts, nametags or anything else. Simply being American was enough.

LAZY GOATS
I recently was visiting with my landlord in her beautiful garden when I heard our neighbor mumble something. You may remember me telling you about Frau Bauer. She is an 83 year old lady that works constantly. She is always cleaning, gardening, climbing apple or cherry trees and she rides her bike to the market. In fact, sometimes I get tired just thinking about all the hard, physical work she does. She was very kind to my parents when they stayed with her and of course, loves Zoe (the dog). Well, as Karla, my landlord, and I were visiting I heard Frau Bauer say something. She often talks to herself so I didn’t really pay close attention to her. Karla started to giggle and asked me if I understood what she just said. All I got was something about the goats. Karla does have two goats so I still didn’t think much of it. Then she explained that Frau Bauer had just called us two lazy goats because we were not doing any work! I can honestly say that I don’t believe I have ever been referred to as a goat and don’t think I like it. Have you seen a goat lately? They are not the most attractive animals in the world. I then realized that Frau Bauer does not appreciate the finer things in life……like sitting on a bench overlooking fields and mountains….sipping a cool glass of mineral water…….chatting with a friend…..possibly….maybe…….kinda like…….a …..ummmmm….hmmmm….ok……a lazy goat!

SYMBOLS OF AMERICA
When you think of symbols of America I’m sure you think of the flag, stars and stripes, the national anthem….maybe even baseball and hotdogs…..but do you think of McDonalds, Burger King and Walmart? I don’t. At school, we recently received a warning that terrorists are targeting Americans overseas. The places they look for us is in these American icons and we have been cautioned not to go to these places. I know these are all known as American places of business but do we really have to have our identity defined by fast food and one stop shopping?

GARDEN-RING
As you may remember, our landlords are avid gardeners. They have flowers, vegetables, fruit trees, everything. Karla was working in her garden and they had decided to move some flowers from one place to another. As she was working she was sifting through the ground removing rocks and stones when she hit upon a ring. It was solid gold ring and quite a surprise. She cleaned it off and realized it looked familiar and then it hit her where this ring came from. Reinhold was engaged before he met Karla. When the engagement was broken he buried the ring. This occurred over 30 years ago! None of us is quite sure why he buried the ring and we haven’t discussed it. I think there is more of a story to the burial of that ring but I don’t think I’ll ever know what it is. The more you know the more you want to know. But I won’t.

IT’S ALL SET IN JELLO
It’s all set in jello. This is not what you want to hear when you are trying to keep your job. I was once again on the chopping block for my school. I think I told you that I am now considered permanent and guaranteed a job……world wide. My hope was to stay right where I am. However, that is not to be. Change is good and I’m getting it. I am going to be teaching at the same school but not 4th or 5th grade. I’ll be teaching Gifted Education to 4th-8th graders and one class of 5th reading skills. I’ll be working both ends of the spectrum as far as ability goes. I like change and I like a challenge. I’m ready for both! However, all of this is set in jello. That is a direct quote from the principal. So no matter what I do in the fall, it WILL be a change.

MALLORCA
Mallorca is an island of the coast of Spain and is sometimes known as Germany’s 15th state. I went there to celebrate the end of the school year with four other teachers. The Mediterraenean Sea is the most beautiful water I have ever seen. It is blue, it’s turquoise, it’s green and it’s clear. The highlight of the trip for me was snorkeling. I have always wanted to try this but never had the opportunity. We took a short boat ride out to some caves and after a mini lesson, jumped in and saw some incredible sights. I saw an octopus, a sea cucumber, held a sea urchin and more. The plant life is like another world under water. I felt like I was in the middle of a National Geographic special.

Another exciting thing was the hiking along the cliffs of the sea. I had brought some good hiking sandals and just had to check out all those trails. I hiked for about an hour to a castle and found a restaurant at the top. I saw two ladies who must have been 75 years old if not older. They had also hiked up to the restaurant and at 10am were enjoying their first beer of the day. I decided that I liked their spirit and have decided I’ll be doing the same when I get to be their age. It was inspiring.

We enjoyed the nightlife, sort of. I know you probably think we were party animals, but somehow all that sun took the party right out of us. But we did try at least once. We had dinner then went out to the walking area. No cars are allowed in this area and it is fun to just walk around and see the shops, restaurants and people. The specialty of this area is Sangria so, of course, we had to partake in the culture. We then decided to go into a pub. We found one that was an English pub. We thought it would be fun and refreshing to hear a bit of English. As I mentioned above, Germans come to Mallorca for months at a time and so most vendors speak Spanish and German and not much English. We were ready to be able to understand something if only for an hour or two. We walked into this pub and it was filled with Brits, Irish people and Germans. There wasn’t an American to be found, not even a Canadian was there. So we were listening to the DJ and after a bit, we all looked at each other with question marks all over our faces. I finally burst out with, “I know he’s speaking English, but I have no idea what he just said!” The others agreed and we just laughed it off, had another Sangria and went home. If that’s a party animal, then I am one