Weinachtszeit and Overby Update

Frohe Weihnachten aus Deutschland! (Merry Chrismas from Germany)

It is amazing how time is flying by. Some things are the same here in Germany. It’s the Christmas time (Weinachtszeit) and things are busy. We went to a friend’s Kindergarten show about St. Nikolas, we went to Stanley’s Kindergarten Adventmarkt. The Weimar Weinachtsmarkt is going strong as well. The Weinachtsmarkt is definitely a special thing to experience. Tons of booths, great smells and sounds. We are not going to try the ever popular and strong Glühwein, but there are tons of other things to experience. It was fun to see the opening ceremony, and last Sunday after Stanley and I finished our run (I ran, he rode in the stroller) we stopped by the markt and they were opening one of the Advent windows at the Rathouse (city hall). There was a gigantic crane with a firefighter and two children on the platform. They were at one of the 3rd floor windows of the Rathouse, and when they knocked on the window the Weinachtsmann (Santa Clause) answered! He spoke to the crowd in German, and then gave the firefighter a bag and went back inside. It was fun to see. They took the bag to the stage, but we had to head home because I was freezing and our friends the Meichsners were coming over soon.

They were coming over to our house for Advent. For those not familiar with Advent, it is a celebration to look to the coming of Christ as a baby. It is the four Sundays before Christmas and each Sunday you light a candle in anticipation of Christ’s birth. Growing up, we had an Advent book that we went through. That was one of the things my parents brought to us in Oktober. So we invited our friends over for Advent and dinner on Sunday night. They really enjoyed it because they did not grow up celebrating Advent in this way, so this was new for them and something that they want to do again. It is really neat to be able to bless them after they have blessed us so much these past 4 months.

As we get closer to Christmas we are also starting to get some nastier weather. No significant snow yet. We had snow mixed with rain a couple of times, and a dusting one morning. We were spoiled in the month of November with not one day of rain, but now that it is December the rain has arrived. I rode my bike to work almost every day in November (even when it was below freezing), but now that it is raining, it is back to the bus. On Monday this week I rode my bike in the morning, but then in the evening I had to ride through a downpour of rain mixed with snow. I found out the hard way that my backpack is not waterproof, so the bottom of my papers where wet when I went to lesson plan that night.

Speaking of work, it is really busy right now (just like it would be in America). Classes are going well, and I am starting to feel more in a groove. I’m still trying to figure my way around certain aspects of a new school and new curriculum, but I am enjoying it. However, with 5 preps every day it is hard for me to get to bed before Midnight, and then I have been trying to run as much as possible in the mornings (around 5 am).

Heather is doing a great job making a wonderful home. Today she went out to IKEA to get some curtains and other home décor items. She is creative in the kitchen, and is really improving on her German vocab. Unfortunately, putting those words into sentences is still very hard. We are so thankful that she doesn’t need to take the language exam. She is really enjoying her mornings with Holly when Stanley is in Kindergarten. It is giving Heather some real focused attention with Holly that is hard to do with an active 3 year old running around. Just the other day, Heather and Holly spent the morning at the Weinachtsmarkt and Holly got to explore, ride the escalator, a little carousel ride at the markt, and a lot of other fun Mommy Daughter things. (Side note from the editor: I feel like most of the three hours of kindergarten are spent on the bus as I have to take four trips a day just to get Stanley to and from kindergarten. But I'm thankful for the time none-the-less.)

Stanley is loving Kindergarten, although there are days were he is completely overwhelmed (social challenges, chaos, language barrier, stress, noise, etc.) and throws a huge fit going into Kindergarten and saying he doesn't want to be there. It is really hard for Heather to leave him on those mornings, but when she picks him up, he said he had a great time. He is picking up on the German, and I think he’ll just take off soon. Already he is throwing German words into his sentences. Here are a couple of examples. “Daddy, I see Schaf” (sheep) “Let’s go spielen” (play), “Ich nicht” (I not or not I)

Holly is mostly bilingual. Meaning her few spoken words are in both English and German. “Pees and Bitte” (Please and Bitte) “Muh Muh” Danke (or Thank you) “Bye and Tschüss” “Mommy and mama” “Dada and papa”. She is loving life and loves to mimic what anyone does especially Stanley.

That is all for now. I will actually get to bed before midnight tonight! Thanks for reading, and we’d love to hear from you.

Bis später (until later) Scott & Heather Overby and Family