Oy vey. It's been so long since I've updated this blog that I don't even know where to begin.
I'm just going to post a random picture of a street in Munich, to act as my lead in.
And also because its a really pretty building.
Note the beautiful blue skies in this photo, which I've learned to take full advantage of while I can. One day it will be warm and sunny and the next day it will be ridiculously cold and pouring rain. I'm afraid I may have overestimated my ability to handle living in the cold. Time to invest in some serious winter clothes. My only other option is to never leave the house, which I'm sure some snowy mornings will seem like a really good idea.
But looking on the bright side, when it does snow there is a massive hill just behind my house that I'm told is a great spot for sledding. And once the children all go to bed the adults apparently gather back outside and go to town on the sleds themselves. Which is awesome.
Today is the the twenty-first of September, which means I've been in Europe for exactly two months, and also means that in less then twenty-four hours Oktoberfest will officially begin. I can't even begin to convey to you how excited I am, or how amazing the energy is in the city right now. Tourists have literally been POURING into Munich over the last few days. It takes twice as long to get anywhere by train or bus, and I've heard more English accents in the last week then I have in the past two months put together. I'd gotten used to just tuning out the conversations going on around me, because I couldn't understand most of what was being said anyway, but now I can eavesdrop again, which makes for a much more interesting journey on the U-Bahn.
And for anyone who, like me, is wondering why the name of the festival isn't Septemberfest, I found out that it used to take place later in the year, but was moved to the middle of September to try and insure that the weather was nicer. Although I looked at the forecast for tomorrow and its supposed to rain all day long, so there you go.
Three weeks ago I went to a local Oktoberfest celebration in the town of Rosenheim, which is about a forty-five minute train ride outside of Munich. It was much smaller then the actual festival, but almost everyone we met was actually a resident of Munich. There were so many people wearing Lederhosen and Dirndl's and it was so cool being inside the beer tents, which were much bigger then I was expecting them to be. And I bought a Dirndl, which I'm completely in love with. I think I'm more excited about the opportunity to wear it around for the next three weeks then anything else.
It's kind of difficult to tell from this picture exactly what it looks like, but I'll be sure to get a better one tomorrow. Hopefully sometime in the morning before I start to drink any of the German beer, because after one or two maß the chances of me getting a decent photo are absolutely depressing.
Inside of one of the two Rosenheim beer tents, though as you can see, I would hardly call this mammoth structure a tent. If you look really closely at the middle of the frame you can see what my friend Siobhan calls the Oopma Loompa band. Every so often they would play a special drinking song, at which point everyone would begin to sing along with our maß held up above our heads. At the end of the song you cheers everyone at your table and say Prost!. And if you don't look the person in the eye as you say Prost you will supposedly be cursed with seven years of bad sex, so be careful out there.
The boys are all officially back in school so I've returned to somewhat of a normal schedule. I get up in the mornings and help them all get ready for the day, and then walk with the three youngest to their respective day programs. During the day I am free to do as I please, and then in the afternoons I pick the boys up from school and then help the parents until bedtime, which is usually around eight thirty.
The boys LOVE playing soccer, and my football skills have gotten about a million times better since I've been here. I'm not sure FC Bayern is ready to recruit me yet, but give me another few months and I'm sure they'll be begging me to play for their team. Speaking of, I am determined to see them play at the massive Alliance Stadium while I am here. The Germans take their football very seriously, and from what I can tell the atmosphere at the games is like the bleachers at the Giants stadium multiplied times twenty. There are parties going on in the train stations before the games even start.
This just looks like fun. But be careful, the video is really loud.
Two weeks ago we had a birthday barbeque for Miss Shandi, which was a lot of fun. We went to one of the biggest grocery stores I've seen since I've been in Germany, and went to the 'ethnic' food section where they keep the American food labeled with little American flags so you know you're in the right place. If ever you're feeling homesick you can buy off-brand macaroni and cheese, Pop Tarts, cheese Whiz, marshmellows, peanut butter, or cake mix. Which except for the random candy selections, is the entire section.
High-class cuisine.
We did buy a box of the cake mix though, and I must say we made some awesome cupcakes, which looked like this...
Sehr gut! Und alles gute zum Geburtstag Shandi!
We also somehow managed to make our way to the clubs to continue the celebration later that night, which is another story entirely, and danced the night away, literally. I came home the next morning with about five pounds of glass stuck to the bottom of my shoes, a tragic end to my favorite pair of heels.
And finally, last weekend I tried Vietnamese food for the first time in my life, and it was absolutely delicious. I spent a good part of Sunday exploring the English Gardens and people watching with the other Au Pairs, and had some of the best Eis since I've been in Germany.
I've also had multiple conversations entirely in German. Mind you these were very basic conversations, but they still took place all the same! My new favorite phrase is "Ich verstehe, aber ich habe eine schwierige Zeit Deutsch zu sprechen." I use it almost every day.
This time tomorrow I'll be at Oktoberfest, and I can't wait to tell you all about it :)
XO
Sarah
