Kartoffelernte 2012

Magnus sorting potatoes

Johanna's Story of the Day

Yesterday when we were playing, Johanna came up with this story on the spot.

My name was Anna Sophie, I was in 2nd grade, and all of a sudden I had a sister named Angelina who was dead.
as told by Johanna:
She was shot. By the police. The ones that ride on horses. But wait, she's alive again! She has to go to the hospital really fast. We better call an ambulance. "Hello? The sister is dead. She needs an ambulance. She was shot. But we didn't do it!" Don't worry, they've already been driving for half an hour. They'll be here right away!
They shot her in the head so she had a hole but it's not there anymore. She also lost her thumb. But they found a new one. Now she's all better!

I'm sure there was more. That child has the craziest imagination. She comes up with these kind of things all the time and she's only 3!


In other news, Philippa has been announcing to the world when she farts. She'll stop what she's doing, give a little grin and say "Pups!" She even told me when Greta farted. "Pups! Greta!"
She calls me Zizzie and it's the greatest thing ever. She says it so funny.

6 Weeks!

I've officially been here 6 weeks. Yes, I still do things wrong, and it's still a bit lonely sometimes and I have emotional moments, but mostly I'm feeling more settled in. The kids are actually starting to listen to me and I kind of know what's going on amidst the chaos.

Recent happenings -

Philippa and me

• I went bowling with Rachel, her boyfriend Max, and his German friends. It was fun! They were all nice, and hopefully I'll get to meet up with them more. It'll be nice to have some German friends. We have plans for karaoke soon...
• Last Sunday was Erntedankfest, a harvest fest or a kind of thanksgiving, and it was hosted here on the farm for the 4 villages that are nearby. I didn't know anybody, but a couple nice people talked to me. I met a girl who was an au pair in Pennsylvania, and she offered to meet up with me sometime. I hope she does because it'd be nice to have friends nearby! I also met a woman who studied abroad in Seattle. 



Benther Berg

• This week the kids have been behaving a little better. Johanna even told me one day she was going to be nice to me. But then the next day she yelled at me and asked why I was always so mean because I told her to stop hitting her sister. Then yesterday she told me I talked funny. You can't always win.

• Thursday I met with another au pair whose family has kids in the Walldorf school Magnus goes to. She's Hungarian, and there were 2 Brazilian girls there too. It was nice to meet someone during the week, and it's so much easier for me to speak German with other foreigners! They were all very nice and we've already been making travel plans. Maybe Berlin next weekend?
• Friday the housekeeper/most amazing person ever had off, so I had to make lunch while I was watching the twins and Henny, who was home sick from school. Let me tell you, those twins cannot be left alone for 2 seconds. When they were in the kitchen, they somehow found all the knives and opened every drawer and pulled everything out in the length of time it took me to peel a carrot. They finally went to the tv room where Henny was, and I was so glad to have a couple minutes of quiet. But then I went in there and every magazine was torn apart, their moms knitting was unravelled, all the DVD cases were open and on the floor and the blankes and pillows were thrown everywhere. And Henny was still staring at the tv. 

front of the house - I live upstairs on the right but it's all connected

• Last night I was supposed to babysit, but the parents called 5 minutes before I was supposed to start from the birthday party they were at and said they didn't need me after all. Luckily, Rachel sent me a text at the exact same time. I met with her, Max, a friend who was visiting from Australia, a Polish au pair who's new to Hannover, and a girl who's been an au pair in a town near me since Rachel got here and her boyfriend. It was nice to just talk to all of them! We ended up staying way later than we expected and I was one again grateful to do something where Max could drive me home. The whole streetcar bike combination at 4am when it may or may not be raining and freezing cold is not fun. Especially when the streetcars start running every hour or even less. 
• Today I was putting my shoes on to leave, and Philippa just came up to me and sat on my leg even though I was kneeling and there was nowhere to sit. She's a weirdo.

Oktoberfest...

...in Hannover

Sorry it's been so long! Here's some updates from the last couple of weeks

• I went to my host mom's brother's wedding with the family, and babysat the twins the next weekend when they had another one. They're wedding'd out for a while.
• The screen to my new iPod mysteriously cracked. I blame Greta's foot. And then the next week my camera broke. This year has not been good for my electronics.
• I met up with my new friend Meagan, another au pair from Portland, at the Oktoberfest in Hannover last weekend when it opened. Apparently it's the 3rd biggest in the world - after Munich and one that's in China. The next day I went again with new people from a facebook group for English speakers in Hannover. There were 8 of us that ended up going, and we were all around the same age. There were 2 other au pairs, one from England and one from Finland, but it's nice to meet other people who are doing other things too.
• October 3rd was a holiday - Tag der Deutschen Einheits! I went into the city, wandered around and got coffee, then I hung out with the family. Rachel, the girl who au paired here before me, came over with her boyfriend Max. It was also a month since my first day of work!

Rachel reassured me that the kids started acting out when she first got here too. They have really been bad - even their parents are fed up with it. The other day, Johanna, the 3-year-old, asked me for something to drink. I got her water, then she started screaming that she didn't want it and ripped the buttons off my sweater. And this is completely normal. It's worse with me but she does it with everyone. They take forever to get ready or do anything and it's so frustrating because I don't want to always be yelling at them. But I think it's getting better.

The twins have already changed so much in the time I've been here. Philippa is saying words like crazy, and I've noticed Greta starting to say more too. Philippa also recognizes that there are two words for things. It's fun to see them changing so fast. Whenever they would see their reflection in the mirror, they would either say "baby!" or think it was the other twin. But just a couple days ago, Philippa finally recognized it was herself! They're certainly a challenge, but usually I like being with them. It's so much easier to talk to people who can only say one word at a time.

They're laughing not crying... and I swear the twins always fall down on purpose

Henriette and Johanna after swimming

Johanna

The weather's gotten pretty chilly and rainy, and the leaves are changing. Fall really is my favorite time of year! I could do with a little less rain, because the kids start to go stir crazy if they have to stay inside, but I think October will be a good month. Supposedly it takes 6 weeks to get accustomed to a new life!

English Lessons

Sorry it's been so long! I promise I'll write a real post soon! But for now here's a little example of what my mornings with the twins are like, when one or both of them aren't screaming. Except now I don't really speak English with them anymore. Philippa's learning more and more words every day and even putting them together, even though she's not quite to real sentences yet. And she doesn't say baby when she sees herself in a mirror anymore - she says all 3 syllables of Philippa, not just Pipa! This is from a week and a half ago

"Nächste Woche wird's richtig herbstlich"

...according to the weather report at the streetcar station. Summer's gone and Fall is here! Monday it was hot and we went swimming outside but then it got cold and rainy

hangin with Philippa on the tractor

Slowly but surely I'm getting the hang of how things work. I know what the kids will eat, where it is in the kitchen, and where to put (at least some) things away. The kids get excited to see me when I return from Hannover or wherever in my free time, and ask where I was. And they actually want to play with me!

Greta on the tractor. Best day of her life

On Tuesday I went to the language school, which took an hour to get to, and had to wait for 2 hours to take a "test" to see which level I should be in. I really just talked to a lady for about 5 minutes. She said there wasn't really a class for me, since my speaking is way ahead of my grammar. As in, I don't know grammar. So I have to buy a book and study before the class which starts October 22nd. Apparently there have been a couple other people like me who had German parents but grew up somewhere else or something, and they all gave up and didn't get anything from the class.

Philippa!

I went swimming alone with Magnus on Thursday - Thursday afternoons are when I'm going to take the oldest 3 kids on outings, but this past week the girls had a play group. It was good to spend some time with him because he tends to like to play alone, and when he wants to play with me I'm always interrupted by the twins waking up from their nap or eating stones or throwing food all over the floor.

I'm so glad they like the stroller and the swings! I can only chase after them so much

finally some quiet 

Friday night I did a Nachtlauf in Hannover. I didn't decide to do it till Thursday night but I got a free shirt and I'll be getting a personalized medal with my name and time in the mail out of it! It had been raining all night including on my way there and back, but stopped for the actual run. And the temperature was perfect for running. I picked it up a little from the leisurely pace I've been going on all my runs, but it was still very comfortable. I definitely didn't feel like I was going to die like I normally do during races. Plus I drank a cup of tea before I went and even though I used the porta potty 2 minutes before the race started, of course I had to pee the whole time My time was 26:12, which is right at what I expected. I haven't actually known how fast I run since last fall, so it's good to know! We got alcohol free beer, apples and tomatoes. It was fun to run around the city!

10. Nachtlauf Hannover

The Hills are Alive...

I've survived my first week as an au pair in Germany. With 5 children. Yes I know, everyone has let me know that my life is now the Sound of Music. Which is pretty much my favorite movie ever so I'm embracing it. I even sing to the kids sometimes!

the view of the backyard from my window

Magnus is 7, likes being in charge of things and likes to play with his tractors by himself and see what his dad is doing around the farm. Henny turns 5 in December, taught herself how to write her name (Henriette) and wants to wear a skirt every day. She also manages to make everything take forever. Eating, getting dressed, whatever. It takes 5 times longer than it should. Johanna is 3, and she's hilarious. She comes up with the craziest words and sayings and has an extremely active imagination. She wants to do everything by herself but she's still figuring it all out, so it makes if frustrating when we're trying to get things done! Greta and Philippa are 19-month-old twins. I've spent a lot of time with them in the mornings while the older kids are at Kindergarten and school. They love tractors, cars and airplanes. Trekker and Auto and their favorite words in the whole world. And Max, the dog. They like to wave and scream "Hallo!!" at everyone who passes. They quickly go from being extremely adorable to little monsters. And when one screams, the other feels left out and has to join in.

my bed - it finally looks like my room!
elephants make everything beter

My first 2 days were extremely overwhelming. I didn't know what was going on, the family had just gotten back from vacation and school was starting. I was jetlagged and exhausted, and out of practice with German. I couldn't really understand that much. The kids didn't know me, and the twins decided to just cry and cry for no reason when I was alone with them. There are lots of people around here, and I was introduced to everyone as they stopped by but I didn't know who they were. I still don't really. Once I meet someone for the third time I usually remember their name...

I wandered around Hannover on Wednesday afternoon and walked around the Altstadt. It was nice to leave the gates of the hof (where I live - it's a big old farmhouse and farm store and then lots of fields surround it). On Thursday, I walked into the closest town, Gehrden, to get passport photos for my visa. There's a nice little pedestrian downtown area. I got ice cream, of course. And then Friday, the previous au pair, Rachel, came to visit with the 2 boys from the new family she's with. It was nice to meet someone! They're moving even closer to us so hopefully we'll be able to do things together with our kids. I met up with another American au pair that evening in Hannover. Germany was playing in the city so the streets were crowded and all the TVs were on! I live about 13 or 14km outside Hannover, but it's a little complicated to get back with the bus, especially late at night. Between waiting for the streetcar and then walking from a nearby town because waiting for the bus would have taken even longer, it took me at least 1:30 to get home. 

Auto!! Trekker!! Flugzeug!!

The weekend was a little less stressful. My weekends should be mostly free, but I had to watch the twins Saturday morning because Magnus and all the 2nd graders put on a play for the new first grade. We went to the school for a picnic lunch afterwards and the kids played for a while. I went for my first run in Germany, which generally makes life better. There's a couple little bergs (hill things) around here that have paths and are nice to run on. Then we grilled in the backyard with a friend who's staying here for a month and her boyfriend. It was nice - I'm starting to understand a lot more even when everyone's talking so fast! At first I was speaking English with the parents but we're slowly switching. I'd say we're up to 90% German. I understand pretty much everything they say to me, because they try to speak a little more slowly and clearly, but it's still frustrating to not be able to say what I want to. I should be able to start language classes soon so hopefully I'll increase my vocabulary... I think I'm at Johanna's level right now. We understand each other.

heather

Today, I went with the family (except Henny and Johanna, who took a trip with their grandparents for the weekend to visit family. It was amazing how quiet it was with 'only' 3 kids!) to this place where there's lots of heather (Heide). It blooms purple for only a couple weeks of the year. On the way back we stopped at the uncle's blueberry farm and had cake, coffee, and ice cream and chatted with more people who I have no idea who they were. The girls and the grandparents were there too, so we picked them up. 

And now it's time for a new week! I have an actual schedule now, but we'll see how much we stick to it. Everything happens spur of the moment over here - it has to with so many kids.