Laurel Elisabeth Stevens

Tomorrow will be the 2 week mark of our re-entry to the U.S.   I would like to be writing more, but in the meantime, here are just a few of my re-entry quandaries: Even the laundry detergent is proud to be American.  I'm finally used to identifying myself when I answer the phone, the German way, but when I answer the phone here as "Stevens" or "This is Laurel" there is always a long pause while the caller orients himself.  Much like I was orienting myself over the last 2 years. I tend to yield to traffic coming from the right. I have at least once opened the freezer door to cool myself off. I crave recycling. When the kids tasted the tap water (Leitungswasser) in the apartment they both exclaimed, "Cool!  The water is sweet!"  Um, glad you think so, kids.  Tastes rather minerally (or worse) to me. I found it is easier to speak German than Pig Latin. I get nervous at restaurants, afraid that they'll bring the check too early and ruin t...

Germany: at least we've got the map puzzle I had to pick up a couple of things at the grocery store yesterday, but rather than just getting the salami and fleishwurst for sandwiches, it seemed like everything was calling my name.  On one hand I’m trying to use up everything in my house so I’m not wasteful, but on the other hand I see this as the last time I can buy Bifis, Ritter chocolate, so many kinds of Milka bars, coffee from Panama Kaffee, Faber-Castell pencils that come in a multitude of sizes and colors, shoes for me . . . And I really must make sure I’ve tasted everything the bakery has to offer.     We’re down to the three week mark.  I sort of wish I could just skip to May 25th or so, but on the other hand I’m not ready to leave.  I was walking in town a few days ago, going the street remembering my first impressions.  I thought fondly of early events that at the time seemed traumatic but now make me nostalgic.  “Oh, there’s the pl...

Today Henry and I accompanied Elisabeth to school.  We used to do this daily, back in the fall, until Elisabeth got hooked up with some 8th grade girls.  Now we meet one or two in the morning at the tram stop and Henry and I head home.  But today Elisabeth is going to spend the night at a classmate’s house, so Henry and I thought we would go in the morning.  A couple of months ago Elisabeth would ask me, “Why can’t you take me?  Can you please take me?”  But this morning I saw why she is not asking me so much anymore.  One of the girls held the tram door open for us as we were running late.  If you hold the door open, the tram cannot go.  Sometimes this is quite annoying when local school kids hold the door open for so many people and we sit for a long time, but this morning we weren’t causing any delay and it was just nice to see this small act of kindness.  Then Elisabeth sat down with the three eighth grade girls and Henry and I sat a...