Bleich! And another fine pastry

In an earlier post, I claimed they don't sell chlorine bleach in Germany. This isn't the case, it's just REALLY hard to find and very dilute. After reading some online forums, I found a bottle at a Rewe down on Grüneburgweg. It was like a super-Rewe! They even had a small salad bar (Gianna enjoyed some melon), dried beans, chili seasoning, canned chili beans, pancake syrup, Bisquick, Hershey's chocolate syrup and some other hard to find American delights. We've been dying for pancakes, but the syrup alone was 5€. It will have to wait for a special occasion calling for pancakes. Too bad this Rewe is such a long walk. After hauling all the groceries back with Gianna, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.I should also mention, after eating all the melon, Gianna ate the small fruit fork >:-(

Speaking of heart attacks, tonight I sliced into another mystery pastry! Its fun to go to the bakery and pick something out without knowing what you are going to get. This one smelled delightful, and when I chopped into it, the filling looked like butter. A sugar doughnut filled with butter? Those silly Germans, is there anywhere they won't stick butter? Much to my delight the filling was actually something close to marscapone cheese. YUM! Too bad Dan is out playing volleyball. I don't think the other half of this "quark" pastry will find its way to his mouth.

Schools in Frankfurt

I'm sitting in the apartment listening to the wind rattle the shutters around. It was a very stormy morning to go school shopping in Frankfurt, but we were successful. The relocation assistance person pulled up in her shiny new Volvo around 9:30 this morning. She even had a car seat ready for Gianna, so we just loaded ours into the trunk. First stop was the Carl Schurz School near Dornbush station. It is located on a US State Department compound with heavy security. I got in trouble for taking pics, so I won't specify which school is which in the photos. Carl Schurz School was a little island America in Frankfurt. The kids and teachers were multicultural. Everyone spoke American English. Two little Asian kids came up to welcome Gianna, it was so cute. They had a huge library for the kids. When I explained to them that Gianna's books are either being sent by sea or got shipped to storage and we've been reading the same four books since we got here, they sent us home with a grocery bag full of English books! Gianna was thrilled and so was I. If I have to read "Mr. Brown Can Moo" one more time... We did some schmoozing and suddenly an afternoon spot opened up for 12-5:30. Sweet! The only drawback is this school is a good walk from the train station both Holzhausenstrasse and Dornbush.

Next we visited Fintosch International Toddler School with two locations in Westend near the Frankfurt University. It was run by a bunch of Germans trying to teach English. I say "trying" because in my short visit, I saw some botched English throughout the school and the administrators were speaking very broken English to me. The school was about 50% German kids, 50% truly international kids. It was bright with lots of toys and resources. They have a caterer make lunch for the kids, so you don't have to pack, whereas Carl Schurz asked you to provide your kid's lunch. Like Carl Schurz, it had a little gym area where the kids could romp around. Gianna was getting into all sorts of toy bins and didn't want to leave. Schmoozing was harder with the Germans. At the beginning of the visit, they said they have hundreds of kids on the waiting list. But by the end of the visit, they suddenly remembered they have an afternoon spot open at the smaller of the two locations.

I think we are going to put Gianna in the State Department school, Carl Schurz. It felt very comfortable there and they said full time spots open up all the time since US government officials can be suddenly transferred around the globe. I am really excited and so grateful to the relocation assistance company that we have these opportunities for Gianna. Here are some pics from the day.

Gianna in the car holding one of the books kindly given to her by the Carl Schurz School

Outside of the Fintosch school.

Gianna is impressed with all the toys

Here is a nice treehouse to climb in

Bright and colorful area for the kids

A small gym to romp around.

Another gym to romp around in. This one has a parachute, Gianna's favorite.

Internet at home--yay!

We finally have internet access at home, so I can start making some regular posts with photos and everything--hooray! One update about the previous post. After the relocation people called me and said it was impossible to find Gianna a school, the woman made a few more calls and got some more leads. We are going to visit an expat school tomorrow that is close to Dan's work and accepts kids starting at 1 year of age for full-time day care. This would really be ideal, so I hope they do not have a really long wait list.

This weekend we ate at the local Vietnamese restaurant. It was good, but I've had better, more authentic Vietnamese food. Gianna was happy to be there, so that's what I care about. She was also stoked about our friend's birthday party at a Spanish restaurant last night. There was food, music, cake, and presents, some of Gianna's favorite things. This Friday (Bruno's 5th birthday) Darth's parents have offered to babysit Gianna and Bruno. All I can think about it what we are going to do with this free night out. It would be nice to see a real movie at the English cinema. Dinner we can do with Gianna, but she would never sit still for a movie. I'll have to see if there is anything playing worth watching. But if you can't tell, just having the internet and the prospect of a night out has made me über happy!

No School for Gianna

Our relocation firm has been searching high and low for a school for Gianna with no luck. German schools cater to German speaking kids over the age of three. The English schools have waiting lists of hundreds to over one thousand kids. By the time your kid gets to the top of the list s/he will be going off to college. Our only remaining options are a nanny or small group babysitter. But my main concern is that she learn English in a social setting, not just finding a sitter so I can work. So we have a few things to work out. Can we afford to have only one income, especially since we are still paying mortgage and taxes on our money pit house in NJ? And where can we find an English speaking group of children for Gianna to play with or English classes for her to attend? I already have a few leads on English children's groups that meet at local churches, but they are just play groups where the English speaking moms gossip and make fun of the Germans (hahaha) while the kids play. Yesterday I saw an ad for English classes for kids 6 months to 14 years that I will have to check out. I might also bring her home to the States for a few weeks this summer to attend camp at her former daycare with all her old friends.

Being a stay at home mom takes some getting used to. As long as we can afford my new espresso habit that keeps me from losing my mind, I think I can make the adjustment. It's a challenge to find activities for Gianna to do each day. We go shopping, go to the playground, make crafts, watch DVD's, cook, play with toys, and walk Bruno. But she gets bored, says she wants to be at school, play with other kids. Hopefully we can find her some little friends here fast.

Trip to the Palmgarten

Just a few pics from our trip to the Palmgarten this weekend. Its within walking distance to our house, so I'm thinking of buying a season pass. I'll start taking more/better pics once we replace the Nikon battery charger that got put into two year storage in CT!!! Still pissed about that one. Gianna was being cranky here and didn't want her picture taken. But she still looks cute.

Gianna in Germany

Friends often ask about Gianna's well being and development, especially during this transition. I usually cut it short with “she's adjusting well”. So here are a few more details in case you are interested.

1. Since her toy shipment has not arrived yet, she spends most of the day watching the same four Vietnamese DVD's, reading the same four books, or watching SpongeBob Schwammkopf.
2. She is fascinated with birds (chím! chím!) and loves to chase pigeons, which she used to call gà (chicken in Vietnamese).
3. Ever since her NJ daycare class made moon and star crafts. she has an obsession with moons.
4. She likes to put everything on coasters.
5. She is trying to teach Bruno how to sign “more” when he is done eating his dog food.
6. She can write the letter “O”, spell Bó and Mẹ, and can read the words Bó, Mẹ, Bruno, and Gianna.
7. She counts to 10 in Vietnamese and recites the ABC's in English.
8. Her latest antics include hiding things, then asking “where'd go?”. This can get annoying.
9. She has tried German beer, apple wine, and coffee, but only liked the coffee.
10. She likes to sing on the train, loudly for all to hear, usually an off-pitched rendition of the ABC's which makes old German ladies scowl.
I was disappointed to see her toys did not make it over in the air shipment except for one blocks set and her SpongeBob ball. Dan went out and bought a bunch of art supplies to hold her over until the sea shipment arrives in 1-2 months. I'm also thinking of checking out the local library to see if they have any kids books in English...or Vietnamese.

Gianna watching one of four Vietnamese DVD's that made it to Germany
Bruno watching Gianna watching Vietnamese DVD's

Food—Guter Geschmack Ist!

Life on Oederweg has so far been about the food. Even as I type at the internet cafe, I'm getting cappuccino and biscotti all over the keyboard. There are three bakeries within a block of our house and an espresso cafe. Today I took Gianna on a pastry/espresso run. Although I was tempted to get another almond horn that puts its American counterpart to shame, I got a chocolate nutella pastry (pictured) that Dan introduced me to yesterday. I didn't think I was a fan of nutella, as people have always served it to me on Wonder bread or straight out of the jar, both yuck in my book. But in a pasty, its delicious. The espresso bar has too many stairs out front to get the stroller up, so people just leave the baby and stroller outside while they go in to order their caffeine fix. Today I tried this with Gianna. She stood guard in the stroller with all our groceries and I was back in less than two minutes without a fuss. There's also a beer store on our block, much to Dan's delight. He has been trying all kids of rich German brews.



Our food adventures continue at the grocery store. I have hunted down milk, yogurt, and sour cream with 0.1% milk fat. Processed foods are much more expensive here than staples, so we have switched from cold cereal to muesli for breakfast. Diet coke comes in lemon with vitamin C and green tea flavors. We've yet to try the green tea but the vitamin C lemon is pretty good. They sell many types of pasta that I prepare with the tomato paste in a toothpaste tube. I don't know if its the tube packaging or better tomatoes, but this European paste is more delicious than any American brand I have tried. We were even able to track down some chips and salsa, but both are prohibitively expensive and not that tasty. I guess we will have to savor the Mexican food when we are back in the States.

On the weekends, we have been enjoying the local restaurants with our friends. Gianna inhales anything Asian. On Sunday we shared an amazing lychee curry at a Thai restaurant. Last week we ate at an Italian restaurant where I ordered gnocchi stuffed with cheese served with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and arugula. Gianna ate at least half of it. My liver is thanking her but my taste buds are scolding me for not moving to Germany sooner! Also this weekend we went to a traditional German restaurant where I got a gigantic pork chop with sauerkraut. It was good, but my Grandma used to make comparable cuisine, minus the apple wine accompaniment. Apple wine can best be described as alcoholic sparkling apple cider, without all the sparkle. Its very refreshing. The dogs even got to come along to this restaurant. The waitress gave Bruno and Darth each a sausage and Bruno spent most of the night sitting in Gianna's stroller waiting for food to drop. He's really aching for his turn to ride around in her chariot while Gianna walks on the leash!