A Georgia Girl in Germany

Isn’t this the 21st Century? Isn’t Germany a highly-technical society? Haven’t high-speed internet and DSL been around for YEARS? Then why is it that my village (and so many others) doesn’t have any of these advantages!?!! I have internet access via a cell phone provider, using a USB “stick” with a cell phone sim card because the only other options were dial-up and unsecure wireless (which also wasn’t terribly speedy).

When I was in Garmisch last month, the stick worked exceptionally well at more than 7 mbps. I didn’t know what I was missing until that trip. Now I’m back to my standard less than 50 kbps connection! Yup, you read correctly, 50 KILOBYTES per second. When I connect, I always get the notice that my connection speed is 238 kbps, but I have yet to see anything that quick in use. I always have “good bars” -- four or five bars -- showing at the bottom left indicating that I should have good signal strength. I sit next to a window, and sometimes I even carry my laptop up to the third floor hoping for better signal strength...often to no avail.

When I try to visit sites, I get this notice more often than I’d like. Sometimes, my internet craps out on me entirely, closing out all of my web browsers (email, blog dashboard and any other sites I may have open at the same time -- even if they’re static pages and already 100% downloaded). You can see the green and yellow lines completely disappear in the middle of the top image when that happened. Then my connection speed crawled again when I tried to open a single web page.

Uploading photos can take upwards of 5 minutes each. Uploading video is a non-starter (I go to the library to do that). Downloading or viewing video (like of my niece and nephew) takes a while to buffer. Downloading attachments from email also takes a while.

So, I’ll continue to do my best. I’ll continue to be frustrated. But, I’ll continue to update. Just be patient with me. Sometimes it’s really not my fault when I can’t get a new post added!

Labels: Germany, Pam's thoughts

I love taking the kids to swim lessons! When they first started in swim lessons, it was more of a chore for the kids -- especially Benjamin and MacKenzie. I was actually resorting to bribery to try to get the two of them to put their faces in the water: If they’d put their faces under water five times, I told them I’d take them to Baskin Robbins. MacKenzie managed to (barely) do so the first time I asked, so I upped her requirement to 10 times at the next lesson. Benjamin was a different story. He was adamantly opposed to putting his face under water.

Fortunately, something clicked with both of them recently. Benjamin now spends so much time under water that his instructor has to repeat her instructions to him and often tells him to stay above water and listen.

They start off each lesson doing “bobs.” He doesn’t simply do the quick up-down-up bobs ... no, that would be too easy. He bobs down and stays down! Dooooooowwwwwwwn-up {one}, catch his breath, dooooooowwwwwwwn-up {two}. This photo shows him counting how many bobs he’s done thus far -- holding his hand above water indicating that he’s on #3! Yes, Ms Allie (his instructor) is chuckling at him! She’s great! Benjamin and Dallon (the other boy in the class) have made great strides this month alone. I’m so glad she’s going to be his instructor again next month!

Last week, they regularly used various flotation aids -- bars, sticks, rockets, foam salamanders -- to get used to different aspects of swimming. That’s what he’s using here with Ms Allie. At Tuesday’s lesson, she tried giving them all one of the bars, and Benjamin confidently told her that he didn’t need it! He was correct -- he swam great on his own! He told me last week how he figured out how to swim under water: “Every twice in a while I think about putting my face in the water, so I take a deep breath and blow out my nose and just put my face under the water.” I love it that he thinks about this not just “every once in a while,” but rather every twice in a while.” I’d say he does it quite a bit more often that that!

I’ve had Benjamin in Saturday classes, but after having to move MacKenzie to evening classes twice a week (due to limited space at her level on Saturdays), I opted to move Benjamin to evening classes as well. That meant that for the month of February, he attended classes three days a week since the Saturday classes last for two months. That may have helped his confidence level some too (or it simply could have been being in the pool so often). Here he’s swimming through a hula-hoop for Ms Linda -- reminds me of lions jumping through hoops at the circus! They have movable platforms that they place along the edge of the pool and further out in the water to allow a place for the kids to rest between skills. I’ve been chuckling at Benjamin lately since he’s mastered swimming with his face in the water -- except that he hasn’t learned how to breathe while swimming. So, he takes a deep breath, swims from one platform to the next with his face completely under water (using his goggles to look for the platform), then comes up for a large gulp of air.

This is one of the first lessons where it all clicked for Benjamin and he swam from platform to platform -- over and over and over again. I love his excitement over his success when he jumps up and down!


This short snippet is from his Saturday class -- the first time he really swam for Ms Linda. She put swim belts on the other three kids in the class, but Benjamin told her he didn’t need it -- and he was right!


This video shows Benjamin swimming on a rocket -- he likes using this since it allows him free reign of the pool (well, their lesson area of the pool).


MacKenzie’s even made great progress in the past few weeks. She’s finally figured out how to put her face under water without holding her nose. Yeah!!! Sometimes she still swims with her face completely above water, like here, since she hasn’t mastered the side breathing yet.

Her next big skill to conquer: diving. Her class has been working on diving from sitting, squatting and standing positions. The other four students try with varying degrees of success (I’ve seen more than one belly-flop-dive), while MacKenzie’s mastered the head-shake move telling her instructor she doesn’t want to try. Can’t you see the look of reservation on her face here? At yesterday’s practice, even though she opted not to go off the diving board (“It’s 14 feet deep there!”), she “dove” from a squat at the pool’s edge three times! Yeah! I still chuckled that she managed to keep her head above water during all three “dives,” but am pleased that she took that step and tried!

I don’t have any good photos or video of Zachary though. His class meets across the pool, and he’s in/under the water so much that I can’t get a good shot. I’ll have to give it a try one of these nights though. To share a status report on the progress they’ve made thus far, Zachary was in “Beginner #2” when he started lessons in October, and is now in “Beginner #3.” MacKenzie and Benjamin started off in the same “Beginner #1” class back in October/November, and she’s been in “Beginner #2” since January. I expect she’s getting close to moving up again -- once she can attempt diving. Benjamin’s been in “Beginner #1” all along, but once he masters staying afloat, I expect he’ll move up -- he’s been asking when he gets to move up to the next level, so that in and of itself tells me that he’s almost there!

Here’s video of MacKenzie swimming, with her face in the water! Granted, she stops for significant gulps of air (and stands) midway across the pool, but this is such great improvement from where she was a mere four months ago!

Labels: Benjamin, MacKenzie

I never thought I’d post a photo of our trash, but it is very relevant living in Germany. Why? Germans recycle. Yeah? So does everyone else, you say. No, Germans REALLY recycle -- as in, they recycle EVERYTHING. Biodegradable waste? It gets recycled and turned into compost. Anything from kitchen food scraps (except meat) such as coffee filters, tea bags and paper towels to lawn clippings and dead plants goes in the brown “bioabfälle” container.

Next category: “Gelbe Sack” for “light refraction” items. We have a huge roll of these “yellow bags” -- fortunately, they’re free and more were delivered to our doorstep last month so I didn’t have to search out the waste management office to get more. “Light refraction” is the catch-all of recycling since just about anything that can be recycled goes here: plastics, metals, juice/milk cartons, aluminum cans/foil, packing peanuts, Styrofoam, yogurt/butter containers, etc. Yup, it all gets heaped together in the yellow bags. This stuff eventually gets sorted by hand, so we have to rinse everything out before tossing it in the yellow bag.

As you can see from the photo at the right, my neighbor is much more adept at fully filling his yellow bags than I am. What container is that next to the yellow bags? That’s what the kids and I call “trash-trash” -- “restmüll.” Anything non-recyclable and non-hazardous goes in this tiny black container. This is the one category that actually doesn’t get recycled -- it is burned. If you have a child under 3 and still in diapers, you’re also authorized 26 “diaper trash bags” per year. Fortunately, all my kiddos are well past that stage! I couldn’t imagine having to keep diapers for up to two weeks before getting rid of them!

The easiest category is paper. The blue 240-liter containers are for clean paper, cardboard, heavy cardboard, newspapers, magazines, wrapping paper, books, etc. These are our containers at the left -- for a family of three or four. The containers below are my neighbor’s -- for a family of one or two. Notice how her black restmüll container has a slight hourglass shape to it? That’s because she can only fill beginning at the narrowest part of the container -- the bottom begins at that point. And, no, I have never filled our bioabfälle even a third of the way. My restmüll container easily holds only one 13-gallon trash bag, but I can squeeze and cram a second one in there if need be.

Now that I’ve explained everything, how often does all of this get picked up. Well, that depends. Yellow bags and restmüll get picked up together, every other week. Bioabfälle gets picked up every other week, on alternate weeks from yellow bags and restmüll. Paper and cardboard are picked up every four weeks, with restmüll. Yes, we have a chart to help us keep track of what goes out when. I’d be lost without it ... or either stuck with loads and loads of trash, er recycles, around the house.

Hmmm, it appears I’ve forgotten something. How, you ask, do we dispose of glass? That, my friends, is taken to a neighborhood glass recycling location where we must separate the glass into containers marked for the different colors of glass -- clear, brown and green. Oh, and there are rules for recycling glass too, specifically WHEN you can recycle glass. Since depositing the glass into the containers is noisy (from the glass shattering when it drops), we’re only allowed to deposit glass Monday through Saturday between 7 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., then again between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. I always seem to realize that we have a slew of glass to recycle on Sundays, so we inevitably end up with lots of glass to recycle at once when we finally make it to our neighborhood glass recycling location.

Why are Germans so adamant about recycling? Simple -- it’s the law. In 1991, Germany's minister of the environment declared waste a useful resource, and the German legislature approved a law making whoever places a package into commerce responsible for taking it back. Essentially, the Packaging Ordinance requires manufacturers or retailers to “take back” their packaging or ensure that 80% of it is collected rather than thrown out. Then 80% of what’s collected has to be reused or recycled. That translates into 12 million tons of material each year. Quite a significant impact for a country that, I’ve been told, has no more room in its landfills.

So, when I ask the kids to throw something away, it’s not uncommon for them to ask, “Which bag?” It’s a very legitimate question around here these days.

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This blog celebrated its third anniversary on Monday, and this post marks another milestone: 400 posts! Wow! I never imagined that I would have ever had that much to say, but it’s been awesome sharing our photos and stories here. I’m glad so many people keep checking in on us. As always, feel free to leave a comment so I know who’s checking us out. Here’s hoping for another 400+ posts in the years to come (although I’m easily 60-or-so behind just with travel posts -- keep checking back for updates, they’re coming soon, I promise!).

Labels: Germany, Pam's thoughts

Sometimes I’m amazed at how big my “baby” is getting. I know Zachary and MacKenzie were very self-sufficient by the time they were 5, but I’m really not ready for my baby to grow up (although I’m very thankful he’s past the “diaper stage”).

Benjamin often helps me make his lunch for school. He’s very particular about how he likes his sandwiches. Usually, he simply wants a peanut butter sandwich (his sister’s favorite too). But last week he opted for PBJ. After he spread peanut butter on one half of the bread and jelly on the other half -- yes, both on the same slice of bread, he licked off the butter knife (that’s such a treat around here).

Then he folded the sandwich in half since neatly cutting it in half simply won’t work -- must be something about the jagged edge of the sandwich. He then managed to cut off the crust while only using one hand -- he wouldn’t touch the sandwich to hold it still while doing so.

Finally, the sandwich went into the bag. Other favorites in his lunch box: vanilla pudding, “Scoobie snacks” (Graham cracker sticks shaped like dog biscuits), “drinking yogurt,” fruit snacks, and mandarin oranges. He usually takes three of these items in addition to his sandwich, juice and water.

Labels: Benjamin

OK, my prediction that it would be more than a week before MacKenzie’s loose tooth came out was technically correct -- three months is more than a week. Nonetheless, her loose tooth FINALLY came out last Tuesday evening. To hear her tell it, I YANKED it from her mouth when she didn’t want me to (it needed to come out, so I couldn’t leave it be).

She found the little pillow that I once used to leave my pearly-whites for the tooth fairy (the tooth goes inside the blue pocket), and opted to use that instead of our traditional pewter hippo. She was disappointed that the tooth fairy only left her 50-cents (the going rate in the Cook household for a non-dentist-pulled-tooth) -- especially after leaving a note requesting $5 to $10 for the tooth! I suppose she’ll give the tooth fairy an earful if she ever catches her!


And one last note: Today is the third anniversary of this blog. A lot has happened in the past three years, and I think this has been a great way to keep everyone informed on what we’ve been up to. I promise, I’m working on travel updates, and hope to have some posted soon.

Labels: MacKenzie

We woke up on Monday to a wonderful white blanket of snow. Amazingly, the kids weren’t chomping at the bit to head outside and play...although they didn’t protest when I explained that snow on a holiday (Presidents’ Day) meant we had to go outside to play. When we made it outside, they immediately set out to build a snowman.

Zachary began by rolling snow and letting it accumulate directly off the ground. It worked! He used this technique for all three large snow balls needed for their snowman.

Benjamin and MacKenzie opted for the traditional squat-in-the-snow-and-gather-it-with-our-hands method. Their method worked too, and allowed MacKenzie to cover up the chunks of leaves and dirt that Zachary gathered with his method.

Benjamin set out to make his own “snowkid.” He was very diligent about getting the snow packed just right. He didn’t want to wear waterproof gloves, so I was (pleasantly) surprised that he didn’t complain about his hands getting cold through his mittens.



They really worked well together on their snowman creation. I love how you can see the path where Zachary rolled up the snow for the bottom. They were working on smoothing out the snowballs here -- covering the dirt and making it more round.

Benjamin’s “snowkid” was finished well before Zachary and MacKenzie’s snowman, so he decided to make a snow angel in our driveway ... then promptly picked up some snow to throw at me. He loves hitting me with snowballs. {He even occasionally wads up his blankie and throws at me while yelling “snowball!”}





After a while, he decided he was done being outside in the cold, so he watched Zachary and MacKenzize’s progress from our back window.

Time to add the second snowball for the snowman’s body. MacKenzie claimed that it was too round, while Zachary complained that she had removed too much snow while she shaped the bottom. Oh what fun learning to work together!

Benjamin was adamant that they use the two pieces of coal that Santa left him in his stocking in 2007 for the eyes, and they were gracious enough to let him place them on the snowman.

Finally, their new friend was finished -- complete with a slice of sweet potato for a nose (we were out of carrots) and a leaf for a mouth.

MacKenzie’s next project? Throwing snowballs at mom ... she’s contemplating her next move here.

Zachary and MacKenzie then decided to make snow angels. Since most of the snow in our yard had been rolled up into their snowman, they plopped themselves down into our neighbor’s yard. I don’t think she minded the artistic additions to her yard (she has no kids).





MacKenzie decided to add twig arms to the snowman.

MacKenzie still wanted to stay outside even though Zachary was ready to come inside and warm up. She moped a little that no one wanted to stay out with her, but soon started on another creation.

Yup, a “snowdog,” complete with four stubby legs, two ears and a leaf for a mouth.

Labels: Benjamin, MacKenzie, Zachary

Zachary went camping last weekend, and endured hiking and sleeping in the snow. Just the thought makes me cold...brrrrrrr. But, in true Boy Scout fashion, he was prepared, complete with his new 10-degree sleeping bag and warm layers of clothes. When he returned home Sunday afternoon, he pulled out two MRE’s -- military “Meals, Ready to Eat” -- trying to decide which to have for lunch. I have a few extras around the house, but he’s never shown an interest in trying one, so I was surprised at his response. Fortunately, he had the NEW MRE’s -- the ones that you can heat up with just a little water. He soon decided on #19 -- Beef with Mushrooms -- and went to work heating it up. Of course, he didn’t eat the entire meal (that would have been waaaay too many calories), but he did eat the rice pilaf and crackers (sans strawberry jam). He didn’t finish the rice pilaf -- he said he didn’t like it. It must have taken him a while to come to that conclusion, though, since he ate most of it.

However, he didn’t have the true MRE experience since he opted to pour everything onto a plate to eat. No plastic spoon scooping the food out of the thick, brown plastic bags. Maybe on the next campout.

Labels: Boy Scouts, Zachary

MacKenzie had fun during our “Military Mom” modeling shoot last year. Don’t you just love how she looks with the wind blowing through her hair here? This shot was part of what whet her appetite for more modeling -- she enjoyed it so much that she told Uka (the photographer) as much, and she was invited back for her own modeling shoot the next day. Yes, she was excited. So she picked out several outfits, and we headed back to the studio.







MacKenzie took a little time to warm up to the camera -- or rather -- she took a little time to find her smile. She had such a serious look on her face for the first part of the shoot. I think Uka wanted some serious-looking shots, but I think MacKenzie has a gorgeous smile that would have made the photos sparkle even more.

The most important thing is that MacKenzie had fun. She enjoyed posing in her different outfits, including jazzing them up a bit with some extra props, like this feather boa. I think she looks like she could have stepped out of the 1920s with this outfit! Such a classic look for a young lady!

Uka even pulled out a “green screen” to use a bit ... so she could play with the backgrounds later. This is definitely a timeless look on MacKenzie. See her smile beginning to show? Very classy!

This white dress was MacKenzie’s Easter dress, and I loved that she had another opportunity to wear it. Uka added some star-studded garland as a tiara, and it looked stunning -- like an angel.







They even had a wind-machine going for a while. MacKenzie really liked that! You can notice it a little in these last two photos of her in the white dress.





The most fun photos -- I think -- were the ones when MacKenzie wore her dirndl. What an adorable little German girl (although, she’s definitely not “little”). Complete with braids and a basket of flowers.



I really like these shots of her sitting, especially the one on the left -- it really shows her personality, including that sparkle in her eyes. She finally found her smile! What a wonderful opportunity for her to look and feel like a star!



One final note for family: I'm getting ready to place an order for prints of some of these. If you're interested in ordering some for yourself, please let me know and I'll share the price list with you.

Labels: MacKenzie