Ah.....
I have just returned home from them most wonderful two hours. I just spent the last two hours with die Deutche Mammas at the Box Cafe in Ettalong. With the clinking of forks, the conversations of Aussies, and the laughter from a baby shower as background sounds, I engaged in two hours of conversation all in German. It has been 15 years since I have spoken conversational German for any period of time. My brain was slow at times and I used words that I wasn't sure I remembered the meanings of. I also was comic entertainment for the three Germans at the table when instead of saying "Was macht euere Männer für arbeit?" I said, "Was macht deine Männer für arbeit?" My intention was to ask two of the women what their husbands did for work, but instead it came out singular in that I was asking one of the women what her husbands (plural) did for work. Another moment of comic relief was when I tried to tell the women that my town in Seward had no fast food restaurants. I didn't know the word for 'fast food restaurants' so I said that my town had "kein schnelles Essen" which I'm sure put images in their minds of really slow spaghetti or grapefruit. About a month ago I was at the Umina Skate Park watching Olin navigating all the ramps and skilled older boys on their scooters and skateboards. Amongst the chaos was a little itty bitty boy, who I found later is 4 years old, rolling around on his 3 wheeled scooter. He looked like he felt like such a big boy at the ramps and he reminded me so much of Olin at that age. I also noticed his mother, who wore a brown wool sweater and Birkenstocks. She allowed her boy to fall without coddling him, and just had an overall hands off approach to supervising. She reminded me of... well, me! I also thought she looked particularly German. They eventually moved towards me and I heard her say something to her son, all in German. "I thought so!" So the little boy came over and started scootering near me. He looked like he was trying to show off for me, so I said "Oh, du bist schnell!" His mom heard me and we started talking. Towards the end of our conversation she invited me to come hang out with her and some other German and Swiss women at their 'German Mammas' next get together. They get together every month or so to hang out and speak German. So tonight was it. There were only 4 of us, but it was so much fun. Two of the women were very easy to understand and the third was a little harder. One woman was so amazingly clear that I felt I could have listened to her all night. While I chatted inside the warm café, Tom, Alta, Olin, Naomi, and Shan Shan hung out on the beach outside in the rain. The girls played in the ocean while Tom and Olin fished. It was cold and wet, but they seemed to have a good time. They found shells and rocks, and Olin caught a fish. My friend Naomi and her daughter have been visiting us from Alaska for the last two weeks. It has been so fun to have them here. I took Naomi to my school and showed her some of the classrooms and introduced her to some of my co-workers. She walked home with me from school so was able to experience parts of my 'school day routine.' We took a big trip out to the Hunter Valley where we saw wild kangaroo and ran through vineyards at sunset. We also did some wine tasting at the Cock Fighter's Ghost vineyard. We are having the expensive bottle of wine we bought there tonight for their end-of-adventure dinner. Naomi, Tom and Shan Shan spent a day at the Reptile Park where they were able to pet different kinds of animals. Shan Shan even got to hold a dingo puppy and a boa! We also spent a day together in Sydney and visited the Aquarium there, and we spent another day exploring the Old Convict Trail at Wiseman's Ferry. We pulled Alta out of school for a day of adventure with Shan Shan and they all went on a ferry ride from Ettalong to Palm Beach. They also played at the beach and had fish and chips in Terrigal. On another day, we pulled Olin out of school for a day of adventure with Shan Shan and they went to "Flip Out" (a tramp park), Somersby Falls, and to Bulgandry Aboriginal art walk. When we aren't busy with adventures, we have been enjoying our time together at home. The kids created a roundabout today at the end of the road and roll played going to the store. They even had gates for entrance to the store parking garage. The kids have made forts, played Uno, and have done a lot of playing in the rain. It is unfortunate that Naomi's trip landed right when we've had rainy weather, but we've all been making the best of it. Tom has enjoyed having company while Olin, Alta, and I have been at school. He has been playing 'tour guide" and has been feeding us all well while they've been here. Home-made flatbread pizza (thank you Ola for teaching us how to make it.), paella, and tonight we are having Korean Short ribs. We are currently enjoying a three day weekend (I'm so thankful for the Queen's birthday! It is one of the few days off here.) Naomi and Shan Shan fly out early Monday morning, so we have decided to all head to Sydney tomorrow (Sunday) and stay at a hotel so that we can go to Vivid! Vivid is a massive light show- the world's largest festival of light - throughout the city of Sydney. We are all excited to get to see it. Pictures to come. On another note, I'm not walking to and from school anymore. The day after Mother's Day one of the students at my school was attacked on her way to school. She was walking on a path very close to one of the paths that I walk on. I'll avoid any details here, but will say that it made my walks to school a lot more tense. Last week, at 4:30 in the afternoon another young woman was attacked by the same man not far from the first attack. Luckily she got away by fighting him off and didn't suffer any harm. As a result, though, it has become very clear that my walks to school in the morning and home from school in the afternoon are not safe anymore. I'm very bummed. Those walks were so important for me. They allowed me to decompress and to process without distraction. I don't, however, want to be a victim, so am now getting rides. Walk to Work Tally Term 2 - 171 miles
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AuthorThe Liljemark's enjoy exploring the world. This blog chronicles our adventures. Archives
December 2017
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