Laurel Elisabeth Stevens

Sunday, November 28th, 2010 Please don’t think that my first impressions of Germany or my experiences here are indicative of life in Germany in general. I have found more surprise than I expected from locals who are amazed that I travel so much on public transportation, and I have met many women who drive as often as or more often than they go by other mode of transportation (bike or public). Just today I spoke with a woman whose daughter is in Henry’s kindergarten and she said she has taken the tram only once. But she also offered to drive me to Real sometime (pronounced Reh All) to do some grocery shopping. Things I describe may seem strange to you as well as to those I’m living around! But then again, I never felt quite like I belonged in The Woodlands either. We just returned from the Familiegottesdienst --Family worship--at the Lutheran church. This is a day in which the kindergarten takes a big role in the worship service. A little background which may be repetition:...

On Thursday we returned from a ten-day trip traveling to Michigan and back f or John’s brother Andy’s wedding. I calculate that we spent about sixteen hours in airports, not including flying time. Although it was worth being able to celebrate with Andy and Sarah and to be with John’s family, next time we travel we will have to add into our trip planning the cost of airport food during layovers. (celebrating fall birthdays plus Henry) As I talked to family and friends in Michigan and they asked about our adjustment I was quick to say that we are feeling quite settled in Germany. I added that I was glad the wedding was in November and not September, because if it was September it would have been very hard to come back. Nevertheless, as our final layover in Newark came to an end, I found myself getting tearful at the idea of leaving home again. As the plane took off (after an hour and a half delay in which Elisabeth read a book about a Swedish girl immigrating to America and I watc...

Welcome to our new home. Come in, take off your boots, and look around. Stay for some coffee and kuchen (cake) or brot and wurst a bit later. When we were looking at this house I wondered why there was all this extra space by the front door and even glass doors closing it off from the rest of the house. Now I understand. Not pictured is the wardrobe to hold coats and some boots. Often we are all four in this space at the same time, taking off or on boots, coats, etc. and I am glad there is as much room as there is! The glass doors keep the cool air from getting into the warm house! Breakfast area/hallway. We often close off the sliding door to keep the heat in. The kitchen: really this is quite a large space for European standards. The study and guest room--oops, forgot to take a picture of the couch that opens up to be a bed. It has gotten rave reviews on its first use. Living room. Let's go upstairs now. Master bedroom--ironically John sleeps on the low-ceilinged side. He...

When we first arrived there was so much to write about I could hardly get it all down. I thought, “Wow, writing is easy! I have so much to tell everyone!” Now that we are getting into more of a routine, I think to myself, “Why would anyone want to read about this? We just do ordinary things.” It takes more of an effort to write, and I feel that things are a bit more mundane. But there is still so much that is new to me, so I will try to remember those things. The lovely golden beech tree that I wrote about last week has lost nearly all of its leaves. In a matter of days it went from gold to orange to orangey brown, and then strong winds on Thursday and Friday blew everything down. Today is gray and rainy. So gray, in fact, that we needed indoor lights on at noon in some of the rooms. Our game room has some interesting track lighting that started with three out of four working bulbs. Now it is down to one, and we have not yet found replacement bulbs. I was quite disturbed ...

October 29, 2010 After writing this, I noticed that an orange glow was coming through the westward windows. It being 9 AM I was confused. Then I looked out and saw this beautiful tree. The sun merely coasts across the southern edge of the sky these days--always low sun. Shadows are so different way up here. . . This is the beginning of phase three of our adjustment. Phase 1 was our month in Celle. Phase 2 was our three weeks in our new house before my parents arrived for a visit. Phase 3 is the time that began after my mom left this morning. Our house now has pictures hung, coat racks up, curtains in three r ooms . . . I just returned from taking Henry to kindergarten. My mom left for Houston early this morning, taking a taxi to the airport at 5:15, then John left to go by train to Dusseldorf at 5:40. At 7:25 Henry and I walked Elisabeth to the tram stop, about a ten minute walk, so she could meet an 8th grader to accompany her to school. It was still quite dark when I ki...

**I am having trouble blogging because I keep waiting for time to edit, perfect, add more relevant stories. But I guess for now I’ll share some of my thoughts with you! Thanks for reading a glimpse of our lives here. There’s certainly lots more to tell and I don’t even think these are the most interesting parts, but it is what I have right now! October 7, 2010 I brought Henry to his sixth day of Kindergarten today and was very close to giving up on it completely. But I just don’t do that. Bummer, too. I would really like to give up. But then what? I am sure we are not the only family who has gone through this, but I certainly feel like we are when I am there. Though I am learning lots of German by staying with him for 2 1/2-3 hours at kindergarten, it is still often a blur of language all around me. So when I told Henry that I was going to go to the store for a bit and would be back in an hour and he began to cry and beg me to let him come with me, I was nearly in tears my...

Flying to USA, as a non resident this time. Leaving for a business trip this morning was lonely, really lonely. It wasn't just the hour (05:00), it was the awkwardness. This is the first time I am flying to the USA and I am not returning home. Germany is my permanent residence now. There is still a lot of settling in to, a lot of system and vocabulary to figure out; but my home and, most importantly, my family are there now. I got German lessons from the taxi driver on the way to the airport. I went through security right at the gate less than an hour before departure and I didn't have to take off my shoes. This is all very odd to an american conditioned by the FAA. But, this is my home now. Waiting in the airport for the planes this morning I keep going through the pictures of the family I have on the iPad. I bemoan that I forgot a camera so that I can't take a picture of the 747 I am on for Henry- he loves that planes are named by number and often makes up his own...