Off to an Island in the Sun

I have officially been in Germany for one month. What is a good way to celebrate ? I know, hop on a plane to the Canary Islands! I am really looking forward to this time with the family. The boys are very excited. Earlier today I came upstairs to find them blowing up these boats and running around the house in swim goggles ... I kind of wanted to join in. I don't think it matters what age you are when it comes to going on vacation it brings out the kid in everyone. 

xo 

A Lost Cause ....

When I was younger and made a picture to give to my mom or dad they would always say how beautiful it is.Dominic has been going crazy with drawing pictures and asking me to hang them up in his room .... up high so everyone who walks in can see them. When I look at the pictures my response is " Oh, these pictures are so great". I am actually thinking the opposite and that's when I realized all  those years of me giving drawings to my parents they weren't being honest with me . I feel if your honest and say that the pictures are ugly it will help them in the future and their drawings will improve with time. If my parent's did this maybe I wouldn't be a 19 year who is literally incapable of making a stick man. I mean Dominic isn't the best drawer but  he has time to get better with my honesty of course. Me on the other hand I am a lost cause. 


xo 

Tuesday's Aren't so Bad!

Yesterday I started working in grades 3/4 class. I am liking it so far because communicating in english is a  lot easier than the grades 1/2. I enjoy switching classes because it gives me the opportunity to meet other students. I find grades 3/4 is where the drama begins for girls. In grades 1/2 it was always girls crying because of boys. Today it was two girls crying because one girl kicked another girl in the face and left a shoe mark on her face. 


This afternoon the boys and I made crepes. Yannick made the batter and I helped him read the recipe in German which I found to be quit easy. The crepes turned out so I must have read everything correctly. The fact that Yannick may have helped me doesn't matter. Putting them to bed is always interesting. They are always coming up with some sort of song to sing about me in german so I never know if it is something nice or if they're making fun of me. My guess is they're making fun of me. The part that made me laugh was when Dominic asked me is i knew what "Ficken" meant in english well I think we can all take a wild guess!


xo


P.s  I would also like to wish my wonderful father a very Happy Birthday! I love and miss you a lot. 

Out & About

Yesterday I went to an au pair meeting to hopefully meet some English speaking friends. I was very disappointed because mostly everyone who showed up spoke German or any language but English. We spent the day at a museum, we did a tour. The women who gave the tour only spoke in German which was the most boring two hours of my life. I don't speak German and trying to understand what she was saying was impossible. The two hours went by very very very very slow. My mission for the day was to get home by myself with out getting lost and I did it. It was very confusing but I found the train and got on it. I did make one phone call to see if I was headed in the right direction which I was so I gave myself a pat on the back. 
Sunday turned out to be very fun. I met a girl from Poland. She is an au pair three minutes to where I am staying. We hung out all day and biked to the city centre. It was an hour bike ride to the city centre because we went slow and talked but if you go fast it should only take you about twenty - thirty minutes. I prefer biking because I am in control so if I get lost I can easily turn around. It is a good way to learn the streets and get comfortable with the area you're in. With the weather being so great I found it to be a perfect day!


xo

Story Time ... I'm a Big Fan!

Story time is definitely the best time ... well it is for me. I forgot how much I enjoyed little kid books until I got to Cologne. I read at the International School and then at night with the boys and I think I enjoy it more then the kids because when the teacher reads to the class I get excited and make sure I have a good seat so I can see what she is reading and the pictures ... obviously. Every night I make sure I have a good book to read not just for the boys but for myself. I would always love it when my parent's would read me stories before bed ... I mean who wouldn't ? you have books like : Oh, the Places You'll Go! ,The Smartest Giant in Town,The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom,  If You Give a Mouse a Cookie which is one of my favourites but my absolute favourite one right now is The Snail and the Whale. It totally understand why kids get hooked on the same book for weeks at a time.  The boys may ignore me all day but as soon as it's story time they think I am awesome which is alright with me even if it is only for 15 min ... I'll take it. 


xo 


P.S I wish I was kid. 

Kids, Kids , Kids ...

Today I started back at the school after being gone for three days due to Dominic's sickness. You never would have guessed I had only known them for two days because right away they came and gave me hugs. It's those little things that makes me want to be a teacher. It doesn't matter how bad a day you've had they always know how to turn that frown upside down. 
After I was done at the school I came home and played hide n seek with Dominic, Yannick and one of their friends Leo. I have played this game every Monday since I got here and they always hide in the exact same spot thinking I wont find them or are completely disappointed when I do find them. I have told them so many times to hide some where else but boys will boys. 
xo

Sick Day!

You know you have made it when a seven year old tells you your good at something. Today Dominic was home sick which meant I got to stay home with him.Since it was so nice out we went out in the backyard and played football aka soccer. We each had nets and the first one to get to twenty wins. I was doing good which Dominic pointed out but I think he was being sarcastic because he beat me 20 - 5 and I would say that I let him win but that would be a lie. 
The best part of my day with Dominic was when just the two of us went to the grocery store on our bikes to get stuff for dinner. Just as we we're unlocking are bikes to go back home Dominic says " I have to go pee pee"and starts walking back and forth holding himself. I couldn't help but smile because this reminded me so much of myself .... when I was at that age ha ha ha. So knowing that I stopped unlocking the bikes and started quickly searching for a bathroom cause when you gotta go you gotta go and I of all people know that. As I was looking for the bathroom Dominic is walking as fast as he can holding himself and when we reach the bathroom he doesn't even close the door .... doesn't this sound familiar ? 


xo

Welcome to Holland!

Today I got to go to Holland. It is only an hour drive from Cologne which is really neat because being in Calgary you don't have that. You have Red Deer which I mean is a really cool place ... not. Canmore and Banff are fun places to go but they do get uninteresting after a while where as here you have so many options. One day I could drive an hour and be in Belgium and the next day France ... the possibilities are endless. 


While I was in Holland I didn't really sight see.I am helping Ivetta find a new dinning room table so we went and looked at a lot of furniture stores and since that wasn't going well we decided to go to a really big outlet mall and shop for clothes instead of what we really need. I ate a Dutch dish which was very good mostly because it included fries that I got to dip into heinz ketchup. After we ate we went to the grocery store which I really enjoyed because it is always interesting to me to see the different types of foods one country has compared to the other. For some reason I am alway interested in the ketchup aisle. I could be completely lost but some how I always find where the ketchup is. Then after we got what we needed we headed home it was short but sweet and I will be sure to make my way back to Holland to explore. 


xo

                                                       Chicken Satay ( Kipsateh)


                                        
                                        

A New Way to Learn German!

I feel my relationship with the boys is getting better and better. Tonight we figured out a way to help me get better at speaking German. Dominic told me I cannot ask him to do something unless it is in German. He helps me out but then I have to repeat it to him and if I say it right then he will do as I ask . If I do it wrong he will still do what I ask hahaha. I am totally into it except if they start using it to their advantage like if they use it as a way to say swear words. Dominic is a big fan of the word scheisse ( shit) and lots of other bad words that a seven year old should not be using. If this is the case then it's game over and they have to do everything in English ... yah right! 


xo

Pasta,Pasta,Pasta!!!

 I find myself becoming sick of pasta because that is what I have had for dinner and lunch the last few days. At the International School they have a lunch prepared daily and for some reason they keep picking pasta .... I mean just because the noodles are different shapes it doesn't mean the taste is different . At the house we have it for dinner because it's leftovers and that seems to be the easiest thing to prepare in this busy household. I find myself to be thinking about other foods when I am eating pasta . Hopefully tomorrow my day is filled with something other than pasta. I am trading bacon for schnitzel not pasta. 


xo
P.s Today Yannick made fun of me and said I looked like the dark lord because it was dark under my eyelids from my mascara.... we are definitely making progress on becoming friends.

First Day!

Today was my first day helping out at the International School. It went very well in fact I made about six or seven new friends .... too bad they're only 6 years old and don't like to speak english. I always find it interesting meeting a class full of youngsters because you get to see so many different personalities which always makes for an interesting day. 
In the morning I got to take four of the well behaved girls out into the hallway and read a poem to them. We finished faster then the the rest of the class so they sat and talked to me. They taught be the word apple in german which is apfel. I asked them some questions. One question that made me laugh was when I asked them if they liked learning english. The response of a little girl named Elizabeth -" I don't learn english ... I know english". I found this to be a lie because she never wants to speak english to me .... maybe that's her way of telling me she doesn't want to talk to me. 


xo

Ketchup!

When I first arrived to Cologne the first thing I needed to try was ketchup.  I know what your thinking, your in Germany and the first thing that you want to try is ketchup? I love ketchup more than I love myself so this was really important. When I tried it the first time I felt it was not bad and thought hey, I could get used this. I have been having it with dinner more and more and well it's gross. I taste it and want to spit it out. Why can't every country just sell regular heinz ketchup ?! Lucas,Mom,Dad,Megan and Sarah one of you needs to send me ketchup!!! 

xo 

Just an Idea ...

Today was a really great day for me because I officially start working at the international school on Monday where I will get the experience in teaching that will help me on the road to becoming a teacher. I couldn't be more excited. 


Every night wether Ivetta is home or not I have to put the boys to bed. They really don't like me helping them get to bed except when it comes to reading bed time stories. I usually only read to Yannic but tonight Dominic asked me to read him the three little pigs. I feel like me and the little seven year old are a few steps closer to becoming friends. I figure my way to the little mans heart is reading and I found out today that he  likes gummy bears so maybe there will be a little bribing hahah! 


As for me and Happy well that's a different story. I really wish she was a dog. Out in the back yard I helped put up a bunny fence so she can go in the garden but not run away. However you have to pay extra attention to her when she is out there because these big birds come down and if your not watching will take her ... is it just me or did anyone else just come up with an idea ? 


xo

Rain,you're okay!

Today started off with the sun shining through out most of the day but just when I have to go outside on a bike to pick Dominic up from soccer , it starts torrential down pouring on me. I was going to complain  but then I remembered Calgary and the snow ... I think I prefer rain. When I arrive and see Dominic he looks completely disappointed that I am picking him up from soccer and not his mom. We are still at the stage of " I don't speak english" so he likes to ignore me .... I am going to have to start bribing him with something awesome hahaha just kidding. 
Earlier in the afternoon I had to take Yannic to get his haircut and we ran into one of his friends,Yannic stopped and said hello to him. Once we started going again I asked him if he had friends that were girls ... he looked disgusted. Apparently he is not at that stage yet but Dominic who is just a year younger likes girls because he always talks about chasing them. Boys are always up and down with girls, one minute there your friends the next minute girls are gross but in the end they always fall in liebe with us. 


xo 




P.s Happy 2 years Lucas, ich liebe dich!
    

I think we have a trouble maker!

Tonight was this first night I had to take care of the boys and put them to bed all by myself . It didn't go to bad , the 8 year old Yannic, listens to me pretty well ... I think he is afraid of me because I am a girl. He always has this scared look in his eyes when I tell him to do something but he does always listen to me and then Dominic who is 7 doesn't want to listen to me and takes me not being able to speak German to his complete advantage. I think it's just because he is nervous around me since I am new but who knows with that little one. Dominic seems to be the trouble maker but since he is so cute you would never expect it .. especially when bad words come out of his mouth like " suck my peep". Well I can only hope that in a few weeks it starts getting some what better but to be honest you never what little ones have up their sleeves!

auf wiedersehen!

xo

Happy the bunny isn't so happy!

The family I am staying with doesn't have a dog or a cat ... they have a black bunny named Happy. Now Happy's name is ironic because she seems to be so angry all the time. The last two days I have tried to giver her love and play with her but she just sticks her tongue out at me and tries to attack my arm. I tried feeding her a carrot today, which I thought was a really nice gesture on my part and she thought the carrot was attacking her so she turned away and shunned me. If I were her i'd be all over that carrot and start liking the person who gave me the carrot. So my goal with Happy is to make her like me. I have quit some time and I feel like I have a chance. I guess in the past the boys haven't always treated Happy with the respect she deserves so she believes everyone new in the house is out to get her and with easter being just around the corner I am suspecting her guard is up 24/7 and she trusts no one!


xo

Rainy days in Koln

I have finally reached Cologne or Koln as the Germans say it. So far the weather has been cloudy with rain off and on through out the day. I haven't seen much of the city as of yet but tomorrow I will. I cannot wait. I am very excited to see what this lovely city has to offer.

The first few things I have learned about the two boys I am watching is one of the boys named Yannic who is 8 loves ketchup more than me. He likes to put it on almost everything. Last night he put it on his pasta. When I saw him putting ketchup on his pasta I laughed and thought to myself I am going to have to try that sometime. I haven't learned much about Dominic who is 7. He likes to eat a lot ... well both the boys do. They both like Star Wars which is great because I have not seen any of the Star Wars movies. 

Since today is pretty rainy we have just sat inside drinking tea and eating cake. On Sunday a lot of the stores are closed except for the bakeries, they are open 7 days a week ... which is perfect for me! They have all kinds of fresh goods. We went today and I got to pick out a piece of cake and of course I picked chocolate. 

My German is still awful ... I don't know anything well I know nien which means no. Tomorrow I am going to sit down with Ivetta the mom and she will help learn some German.

Chow for now!

xo 

Hey Frankfurt,whats up ?

I cannot believe how fast twenty nine days has gone by. I finally arrived in Frankfurt where I will spend the night and then tomorrow I will head out to Cologne which will be my home for the next year. I am very excited for everything that is to come of this next year with family visits to exploring apart of the world that is unknown to me. 


So far today has been a really great day. I made my way through the Heathrow airport without getting completely confused and once i arrived to Frankfurt it was nothing but kindness. The Family has made me feel right at home. I haven't seen a lot of Frankfurt but from what I have seen it looks like a great city with giant trees and large green spaces. The family I am with find it very similar to Vancouver. So if your a fan of Vancouver i suggest you make your way down to Frankfurt! 


Talk to you soon,
xo