This afternoon Therese was eating grapes that were cut in half. She picked up a really small "half" and said, "Little one. This little one." I responded with the customary, "That IS little. Therese, are you little?" to which she replied, "Ich bin klein" (translation: I am little). Clearly daddy has been hard at work...
Here's a video of our conversation over grapes.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Welcome to our new blog!
With less than two weeks until our departure date, I figured it was time to start documenting our exciting German excursion. For those of you who don't yet know, Todd, Therese (now 2 years old) and I will be spending our summer in Radolfzell, Germany while Todd attends language school thanks to a generous grant from Notre Dame. I am hoping to use this blog in order to document our trip, to keep family and friends up-to-date, and to help out anyone who is planning a similar trip in the future.
So here's where we are at... We got Therese her very first passport (it took the lady at Walgreens 7 tries before we got a picture of Therese looking into the camera and sitting still at just the right height). Todd went to AAA to get his international driver's license for our week in Ireland and came back supplied with free maps, books, and Mickey Mouse stickers. I successfully made it through 4.5 German lessons before getting so frustrated that I had to "take a break" (this was in January and no, I have not started back up yet). I am now frantically trying to learn any German phrase. I am set on practicing the all important "Ich bin sehr allergisch gegen Erdnuesse" - translation: I am very allergic to peanuts." I think Therese can speak more German than I can. I have learned some interesting and possibly helpful facts from a book on Germany. For example, you should not smile too much in Germany because Germans may take this as a sign of "weak-mindedness." Also, it is against the law to mow your lawn or play the piano after 8:00. More seriously, I was interested in learning that many German businesses are closed on Sundays and that there are strict laws about business hours. Also, you usually seat yourself in German restaurants and you share tables with other people - what my book attributes to "German efficiency." Apparently garbage disposals are also outlawed in Germany... This will be a very interesting experience.
Yesterday Todd and I "practice packed" in order to figure out how much stuff we can bring. Reese spent the time preparing for the trip in her own way - she practiced for the plane ride by watching Elmo on her new personal DVD player. The whole experience was panic inducing at first as we struggled to fit everything into suitcases and carry-ons that would allow us to a)walk and b)shepherd a very independent two year old through the airport and train station. Eventually we figured it out and we are now ready to go. Too bad we had to unpack it all...
I will try to get some pictures of our preparations for my next post. Happy Memorial Day!
So here's where we are at... We got Therese her very first passport (it took the lady at Walgreens 7 tries before we got a picture of Therese looking into the camera and sitting still at just the right height). Todd went to AAA to get his international driver's license for our week in Ireland and came back supplied with free maps, books, and Mickey Mouse stickers. I successfully made it through 4.5 German lessons before getting so frustrated that I had to "take a break" (this was in January and no, I have not started back up yet). I am now frantically trying to learn any German phrase. I am set on practicing the all important "Ich bin sehr allergisch gegen Erdnuesse" - translation: I am very allergic to peanuts." I think Therese can speak more German than I can. I have learned some interesting and possibly helpful facts from a book on Germany. For example, you should not smile too much in Germany because Germans may take this as a sign of "weak-mindedness." Also, it is against the law to mow your lawn or play the piano after 8:00. More seriously, I was interested in learning that many German businesses are closed on Sundays and that there are strict laws about business hours. Also, you usually seat yourself in German restaurants and you share tables with other people - what my book attributes to "German efficiency." Apparently garbage disposals are also outlawed in Germany... This will be a very interesting experience.
Yesterday Todd and I "practice packed" in order to figure out how much stuff we can bring. Reese spent the time preparing for the trip in her own way - she practiced for the plane ride by watching Elmo on her new personal DVD player. The whole experience was panic inducing at first as we struggled to fit everything into suitcases and carry-ons that would allow us to a)walk and b)shepherd a very independent two year old through the airport and train station. Eventually we figured it out and we are now ready to go. Too bad we had to unpack it all...
I will try to get some pictures of our preparations for my next post. Happy Memorial Day!
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