The Weekly Recap

Note: I've been so busy that I forgot to post this! Pretend it's Friday night...


My first full week of Kindergarten has come and gone, and there's nothing but a fabulous, adveturous weekend to look forward to! This weeks recap:
Saturday: I realized I forgot to tell you about Bonn. On Saturday we went to Bonn, a nearby city. I knew we were going there, but I was informed of nothing more and didn't bother inquiring. It's a good thing I didn't because we pulled up to the Haribo store! (Background: I LOVE Haribo gummies, which are made in/near Bonn. I was introduced to them two years ago and have been hooked ever since.) As I looked in the window of an entire warehouse full of Gummies I had to wipe my mouth to make sure I wasn't drooling. When we got to the front door, I read  my sign of sorrow: Haribo was closed for the afternoon for inventory. Who takes inventory at a candy store on a SATURDAY? So then we walked around Bonn, seeing the flooded Rhine River and other important buildings, including the Church of Saints Cassius & Florentius. In this church is a crypt from 300 AD, one of the major attractions. I personally find this disgusting, but every other viewer looked anxious to look and take multiple pictures of the holes in the ground, beneath which lay 1700 year old bodies. 

The Haribo Store! This is heaven on earth.

The flooded Rhine. It's been running up onto sidewalks and streets for the past week :(

Telephone Booth! I had no idea these still existed for actual telephone calls.

The big church with the dead bodies. That's what I'll call it from now on.

But hey, guess what? When we got home we watched NCIS: LA in Deutsch. Best. Night. Ever. 
Sunday: On Sunday afternoon I went with J to his friends house (we'll call them I and C) to play games and celebrate (or mourn, I'm not sure) their last day of Christmas break. We played Scrabble in Deutsch, LIFE in Deutsch, and a game called Therapy in Deutsch. Needless to say, my brain was smoking by the time we went home. But the bright side was: halfway through Scrabble, C's mother brought up a plate of steaming hot, delicious, pre-packaged waffles. The only thought running through my head was Where's the syrup? I soon realized that powdered sugar was sprinkled (more like dumped) on the waffles and they were eaten as an afternoon snack. The brighter side was: C's mother dared me to eat more than the boys. No problem, ma'am. Feed me frozen junk food and I can chow down all day.
Monday: Kindergarten. You've heard about that.
Tuesday: Today's top kindergarten story was Kiara's birthday. Shoot me now. Kiara is perhaps the neediest, most attention seeking child in the room, and her birthday gave her the power to not only make messes without cleaning them up, but also to hold my hand for FIVE HOURS STRAIGHT. Dear Lord, please help her not to have any diseases. Oh, and we played Kiara's favorite game: The Penguin Game. The birthday girl stood in the middle of a circle and danced while the class sang. At the end of the song, she picked a partner. The partners tickle each other under the neck What are they doing?! and then rub each other's arms like their cold. Then they dance and pick more partners. Don't ask. I didn't get it either.
Tuesday I also met Allessandro (well, officially). Remember Bill? Well, that's Allessandro. I also met and remembered the names of the rest of the class, but Allessandro is the only one that matters, mostly because he is the brattiest, meanest, snottiest, fattest kid on the planet. Oh yeah, and he also likes attention. 
Wednesday: On Wendsday I played puzzles with Jamilla for three hours. Scratch that, we played a puzzle for three hours. The same nine piece tractor puzzle for three hours. Believe it or not, I was so tired by the end that I had to come home and take a nap. The end. Oh yeah, and on this night we watched Get Smart in Deutsch, of course. (Thank goodness I'd already seen it). 
Thursday: Thursday I made a clown! And it took me two hours to make. But, needless to say I am so proud of it that I took a picture to show you all. It looks (and is way bigger) than all the children's clowns. I have to be honest: I hate children's craft end results. They're never actually pretty enough to put on the refrigerator, the parents just do that out of love. Mine, on the other hand, are fireplace-mantle worthy.  

My perfect clown. It has two sides and spins around above the Breakfast Table.

After making my clown I played Lego games with Tim, Allessandro, and Ben. Allessandro wanted to race cars, but took all the wheels. Jerk. So, while he wasn't looking I stole some of his wheels. Yes, I know it's wrong. But seriously, he had been a jerk all day long, trying to help me with my clown so he could ruin it. Not gonna happen, buddy. So I stole his wheels. But it was totally a Robin Hood thing, because I gave some to Tim and Ben (who also didn't have any wheels). It's not like Allessandro could have raced a car with 12 sets of wheels anyway. He would have lost. See? Robin Hood. 
Shortly after, we played musical chairs. I have grown to hate this game. The children don't walk, they run. Like, really fast in tight cirles. Everyone wants me to play, but I make sure to get out in the first round, simply because I know I'll accidentally sit on some kid and kill them. I really can't explain that one to parents in Deutsch. I'm not that fluent yet.
And Thursday night's surprise? Just as I was beginning to believe pretzels didn't originate in Germany (I hadn't seen or heard of a single one in the week and a half I've been here), my house mother pulled out the most delicious, big soft pretzels, straight from the bakery. Thank God. Now I just have to find out where the bakery is and go stock up!
Friday (Today): Not much to say. Although in kindergarten I have developed a new strategy for dealing with annoying children. If I can't understand a child's question or long monologues, I simply rant on in English about something pointless (such as the blue cats in the sky), as if they should be able to understand me. Then they eventually get bored and go play puzzles or house. This is quite effective and has probably saved many lives from the Wrath of Gabbie.
I've also been reading a lot in my spare time. I read Easy as Pi, a book about numbers. I was actually quite fascinated. I am now reading Falling Man, a book written about the 9/11 effect on a separated couple in NYC. It's actually quite maddening, due to the fact that it's written in the same manner as Sorrow of War, the book that made me seriously consider chopping my toenails off with a chainsaw. 
I just finished playing games with my host family. We played Trinominos and the Mexican Train Game. And guess what? I won :)
Tomorrow we're going to Koln, Oma's (my house father's mother), and back to the Haribo store! I can't wait!