Brinkmann's BBQ

With less than two weeks left in Germany, Alex and I are squeezing in as many Deutschland activities as possible. From now until the day we leave, we have some type of event or obligation planned, and that will make time go by faster than it already is. I've already said goodbye to two of my classes this past week with a cutthroat game of Taboo... Germans are very competitive. Our American Film Group is only meeting one more time, which blows my mind. We showed them 13 Going on 30 last Friday. The ultimate chick flick... it was probably torture for the one and only boy who came, but then... we was sitting among all girls. Maybe he planned it that way, and if so... not a bad gig. For our final film, we'll screen The Sixth Sense. Nightmares for everyone.

About a fortnight ago, Klaus Brinkmann invited us to his house for a farewell BBQ with him and his wife. I've noticed that Alex and I have been hanging out with people three times our age recently, but in Melle, you're either hanging with little kids or old farts. I guess I'll take the latter... besides, Klaus has been like our German grandfather this year. He really took us under his wing at the school and brought us to his hometown to see the Christmas Market with his family. Honestly, it's been solacing to know that we've had such a wonderful friend abroad.

All I've ever known were the classic 4th of July American BBQ's with hot dogs and hamburgers, so I was really looking forward to our double date with the Brinkmann's. They picked us up and brought us to Bad Laer's Historischer Markt, which was only a few minutes away from their house. One thing I will miss about Germany are the constant festivals and markets found in all of the cities. There is always something to celebrate here.

This festival was filled with tourists. Not quite like the shoobies and bennies we get down by the Jersey Shore, but they were notably from other parts of Germany, according to Klaus. The day was filled with dancing, old-time costumes, and ax throwing... Alex and Klaus both hit their targets.... and no, it wasn't me or Mrs. Brinkmann!

Mrs. Brinkmann was able to use her connections to get us an exclusive tour of the Catholic Church, Saint Antonius Remsede, first built in 700. It was my first time to ever be inside a bell tower, and I was lucky enough to be there for one bell to chime at a quarter past the hour. It's way more startling when you're standing next to the bells...

Rain showers were intermittent, but we were able eat dinner outside. My first German BBQ included cooked bratwursts wrapped in bacon and filled with cheese, chicken, steak, homemade potato salad, and vegetables. Alex and I brought a cake with us, but it was left untouched since we were utterly stuffed by the end of the night. Mrs. Brinkmann cut flowers from her beautiful garden for us to bring home, and then Klaus drove us back to Melle.

On the drive back, Klaus made a point to tell us what a unique experience we've granted his students and how much he and his wife have enjoyed spending time with us this year. It shocked me to learn that his English is self-taught, and he never spent any time abroad in an English speaking country. I would venture to say that his English is one of the best out of our colleagues, and his students are certainly lucky to have him as a teacher.

We were also very lucky to have him in our lives this year. The Brinkmanns offered us a room anytime we wanted to come and visit, so we hope to take him up on that offer one day. He promised to come to New York City to run the marathon after his retirement next year. I know he'll actually do it, too... and I'll be waiting at the finish line cheering him on because there is no way I'm running a marathon! I'm glad we haven't seen the last of Klaus. It will be nice to show him our neck of the woods one day.

Günther Makes a Comeback

That party last night was awfully crazy… and we were with the three oldest people we know in Germany. The Meyers invited us downstairs for dinner. There was no way we could get out of it since we live right upstairs and they would know we didn’t have any plans, so we were obligated to go.

Our old German teacher, Günther, was there! This is probably terrible to say, but we weren’t sure what his status was… we hadn’t heard from him or about him since November, so we had only assumed the worst. Good old Günther looked great, though.

Dinner was fish, which is my least favorite thing on earth to eat. It was the saltiest herring and smoked trout, and I somehow scarfed it down. I ate it fast and took big bites to get it over with as quick as possible. When they asked if I wanted more, I had to lie and say I was full. They also fed us three half liters of beer each.

So there I was, drunk and listening to three old German people talking about… I can only guess most of it. Günther and Alex translated most of the time, which was really helpful.

I’m pretty sure they invited us to back next weekend, too… but we were a bit intoxicated and they mumble in German. I guess this is to be continued… man, I love Melle.

The Sweetest Goodbyes and Hellos

Yesterday was the 10^th graders last day of school and will all complete internships for the remaining two weeks. Klaus invited Alex and me to his class to say goodbye to everyone. They prepared cakes for us and a poster with their faces and quotes on it which I fully intend on hanging up in our future home! It was really nice. Of course, we didn’t show up empty-handed. I made my famous Oreo truffles, and it was an instant hit. Sûphan emailed me for the recipe, and I received many compliments on my cooking abilities. Little do they know, it’s the easiest dessert in the world to make! The students asked Alex and I their final questions, and they all thanked us for having such great conversations with them all year. They probably don’t realize it, but I gained just as much from these lessons as they did.

Today, I was with Silke’s 6^th graders instead of 8L1. They all prepared questions for me beforehand, and had their dictionaries out on their desks all period. Each question was simple since they are so young, but I think it was good for them to talk to a native English speaker. They were curious if I knew any German, so I threw a few phrases at them. It’s been a while since I practiced, but they all knocked for my performance, so it couldn’t have been that bad. At the end of the lesson, we said some tongue twisters. I had them say “red leather, yellow leather” and “New York’s unique, unique New York” three times fast. It was a challenge for all of them, but they were having a great time trying to say it. They had me attempt a German tongue twister… and that was ugly. It was “Blaukraut bleibt Blaukraut und Brautkleid bleibt Brautkleid.” I could barely say it once!

Alex and I showed Heavyweights instead of The Breakfast Club at our first American Film Group meeting because my DVD wasn’t working. It almost felt immoral eating treats during this particular movie, but the kids still put a big dent in the snacks we bought them. They loved the German character, Lars, in the movie. I’m not sure what we will show for the next viewing, but we’re going to try and have subtitles.

Mailing Packages

I cannot believe that it’s June already. Alex and I actually mailed packages home today. We’ve accumulated quite a few things in the last 10 months, and after our packing-for-America practice run, we realized that we didn’t have enough luggage space to bring everything home on the plane. Both of us are sending two boxes home each, and mine are filled with clothes and scrapbooking materials. Each are about 10kg… wow, I’m actually using the metric system. Germany is rubbing off on me. Reverse culture shock in 25 days, here I come!