Three Month Marker

So, it's been three months already! Isn't that bizarre! Every week has been something new and exciting. But, at the same time, I have never felt more out place in some situations. It's so odd to be illiterate in this country and have a University degree in another country. I've definitely been humbled to have to realize this and motivated to learn. I've been thankful to make some friends here. I'm also very thankful to be welcomed into this family. I have a lot to learn. This is the good stuff :)

People ask me what my day schedule is like and when I think about it, I feel like a Mom-in-Training! I have been enjoying it very much. We have our off days, too though. Sometimes it's a little too much for the boys to have to speak English with me all day, but thankfully the morning brings a new day.

But I still catch myself missing you all back (I've tried so hard to stop saying y'all because people always makes fun of it, but I sometimes just can't help it). We wake up a little after 6am and I always laugh a little because of think it's so funny that most of you are going to bed right now. I may have also spent quite sometime on the google earth app taking a tour through Austin, Cedar Park, College Station, and Camp Allen just because I miss it all. And I have been lucky enough to Skype with several of you! But now, it feels like my iPad is my best friend. What would I do without the Skype!

It's a beautiful day here (even though its about 10*C) and I hope when morning comes to Texas, it is just as beautiful!

The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music

I went with my friend, Irina to Salzburg, Austria. This little town is right on the border with Germany and is famous because it is where Mozart was born and the Sound of Music was filmed here (if you haven't seen it yet, please watch it! and if you have, I'm sure you are humming a tune from the film right now). It was a great day trip! It was just a 2 hour train ride from Munich. And this is where we went...

Maribell Schloss is a beautiful castle in the city with an incredibly well kept garden.

We had to trek up quite a flight of stairs to see this beautiful view of the city. Behind my right shoulder is the Festung Hohensalzburg (the Salzburg Fortress) and on the other side is the Alps.

This is the house Mozart was born in. I was a little disappointed with the museum inside though. Apparently the Mozart family did not have a good relationship with the town people. But the child prodigy has a great story. I don't know how he could handle all of the pressure.

Singing with the Von Trapps :) NBD

The view from the fortress.

Inside the fortress.

The view from the other side of the fortress of the Apls.

The sun was too bright so I couldn't get too great of a picture of the mountains.

Salzburg Dom (city center church) beautiful inside and out.

I hope I get to see more of Austria! I also hope this blog inspires a sing a long movie night like we had at the Holick house. One of my very fond memories (and photo shoots) from last year at A&M. But actualy being in Salzburg makes me understand why there is always a good time to sing a cheery song :) It's a beautiful place.

Auf Wiedersehen Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest has come to an end. Last Monday was the last day. I do not think I have ever had alcohol that early in the morning (it was only 11am... but still.. there were thousands of people there before us). So it was an impressive set up at the Wiesn with the beer tents (more like beer mansion halls) and the carnival rides and games, but there is definitley an ugly side. Everywhere you looked there was someone struggling to walk, or someone who gave up and was laying on the ground... Oktoberfest definitley will bring people to the edge and laugh while it throws them right over the cliff. So I was able to exercise my self control and still have a good time.

This is the only picture I got of us sitting down. Normally everyone is standing up on the tables dancing and singing. Every tent has a tradition German band playing some really funny songs. So by 3 or 4 in the afternoon, everyone has become a good dancer and singer. And if you know me, you know I love to dance so I was excited to join in haha. And you don't have to worry about looking silly to random people because you become friends with everyone around you within minutes. Even people who don't speak your language become your singing partner. It's really funny!

The Wiesn. It really looks like the biggest carnival in world. And isn't the Texas State Fair going on now? These are 2 different kinds of parties.

Inside the Paulaner tent. All of the mansion halls, I mean tents, are decorated to the max and they are all different. They're really cool, and can withstand holding one of the biggest parties in the world.

So Munich has literally looked like the petting zoo of an amusement park for the past few weeks. Everyone who lives here is always ready for it to come to an end. It was pretty crazy around town so I'm looking forward to it calming back down. I am not looking forward to the weather starting to get cold now; and not Texas cold but actual cold weather.

The Festivities of Oktober

I went with the family to the Oktoberfest enterance parade. It was so cool! Oktoberfest is an internationally famous festivial that goes on here in Munich. And it is all about beer. The entire festival is about beer. You would think it would be this trashy, gross festival to go to (kind of like Chilifest) but it only sort of is. It is a giant carnival that lasts for three weeks and ends in the first week of  Oktober (so it's confusing that it is actually in September). There are 18 different giant tents (and one wine tent) from the different Breweries in Bavaria, and a few from other areas of Germany. So in the next 3 weeks, there are suppose to be some where around 9 million beer loving visitors in Munich.

But the parade was really great! All of the Breweries made a grand enterance with their dozens of barrels of beer decorated on horse drawn wagons. They came with marching bands and beautiful flowers. And everyone was of course dressed in the proper traditional Bavarian attire; for women, the dress is called a Dirndl, and men wear Lederhosen. So every other person in town this month is wearing these outfits and heading to the Wiesn.

These are the traditional cookies called Lebkuchen. They are so pretty and everyone wears them for a necklace, but they don't taste very good.

This is my friend Vicky. She is from Australia. And we are wearing our Dirndls. These aren't really the traditional ones but everyone's Dirndl is different! We met up after the parade to enjoy a beer together in the chaos of the crowd. My first Oktoberfest experience was a blast.

Deutschkurs

Just last week I finished my intensive German language course in the city. I took it for 4 weeks so I have a grasp of understanding and speaking German now. You could even say I can speak Deunglisch now :)

Every morning I hopped on the SBahn and changed to an UBahn at the city center.

Then I just had to walk a couple of blocks to my class. It was just a little was away from the Universtiy and Mariernplatz (City Center).

And these are the friends I made from class. We kept each other good company after class when we would play around in the city. We almost always went to the Englisch Gartens to play soccer, sit by the river, go to a beer garden (always our first choice), or get ice cream together. They are from all over the world (Venezula, Brazil, California, Switzerland, and Italy). I loved to talk about the culture comparisons. We were an odd bunch though haha

I'm so glad I was able to do this. Zeljko says that one day I will be thinking in German... Haha that will be the day! But for now everything I hear and say I still translate in my head. And my grammar is terrible! But I'm trying!  I'm really enjoying learning it. It is so nice to be able to have a little more communication with the boys. And their English is improving a lot too! I have been so impressed with how hard they are trying to talk with me and understand English. My classes aren't over though. I am switching to another class that is two days a week and meets here in Germering. So I am excited to start that up next week!

Schultuete fuer den Ersten Schultag

Schultuete is an exciting Deutsch tradition. The first day of school is a big deal here! Just like everywhere in the world, but especially here because the children who are starting their very first day of school all look forward to their specail gift. The Schultuete is a giant paper cone full of goodies: sweeties, chocolate, books, pens, pencils, stickers, paint, etc. all kinds of treats! I would compare it to a Christmas stocking almost; with lots of little gifts. And it is almost as big as the children! All the kids are so proud to walk around with their huge backpacks and colorful Schultuete. Most of the time they decorate it themselves in the Kindergarten. So here is Luka on his very first day of school with his Schultuete!

The school system is completely different here which I have found so interesting. First off, maternity leave can be up to 3 years for Moms. At 3 years old, most kids start Kindergarten. Kindergarten lasts for 3 years. At 6 years old, kids start their primary school; like elementary school in the USA. But then after 4th grade, kids go into Senior School which is comparable to our High School. There are 3 levels of Senior School that kids can be placed in, and it all depends on the student's grades and performance from primary school. Talk about pressure. The Senior School is made up of Gymnasium, Realschule, or Hauptschule. Which ever school the students go to pretty much determines if they will go to University when they are 18 years old or if they will go to a technical or some sort of vocational training school (yes, this is determined after 4th grade). Education has a different look over here.

But anywhere you are, kids have a unique vigor and enthusiasm for learning which is another part of their charm.

The Boys are Back!

Cue junkyard dancing! We were so happy that the boys came back this weekend! It was very quiet around here without them. And they already are starting their new year of school tomorrow. We celebrated their return with a day trip to the Bavarian Alps. This is the far north tip of the Apls but the far south of Deutschland. We hung aroud by the lakes and found a little suprise...

Yes, we went to a Wikingmarkt (viking market) in the Bavarian Alps. And it was awesome.