MLK Day

Just a quick anecdote from a day in Kindergarten...this is copied/pasted from an email I sent my mom.  Enjoy!

Since we had Monday off for MLK Jr Day, Mrs. Dailo (the teacher I work with) had a bunch of art projects created for the kids to work on in honor of the holiday. She started with sitting them all on the carpet and telling them the 2-minute version of MLK's life and why he's famous.  She told them about how good and peaceful he was, how he stood up for what was right and wanted people treated equally.  But then this happens...

(Keep in mind that she was trying to remind the kids that this was a TRUE story of a REAL man)

Mrs Dailo:  There was this man--who didn't like what MLK liked and didn't want people to be equal--and he came to where MLK was....and he had a gun.

The Kids: Gasps and screams!!--One kid literally threw his hands over his face.

Mrs Dailo: And he shot Martin Luther King Junior!

The Kids: NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OHHH MYYYGOSHHHH!!!!!  More screams...one little boy jumps to his feet!

Mrs Dailo: And Martin Luther King Jr died.

The Kids: NOOO!!! NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Screaming, gasping, they all exchanged horrified looks!  HES DEAD?!!! NOO!!!! Two girls fall over completely.

So then Mrs Dailo tells them that that is why we honor him, because he died for something good.  And meanwhile their whole world has been rocked, they all look totally heartbroken.  So she's asking them what happens after he dies---like what good thing happens after his death.  And one little boy raises his hand and says..

"Then 3 days later he rose from the dead!!!"

Hahhaha, it was soooo cute!  Mrs Dailo and I were trying not to laugh, she was all "No, MLK was not resurrected".  It was just too great.  Then the rest of the day I kept overhearing conversations they were having about MLK Jr during their activities.

"Mrs Clark...isnt it so sad that somebody shot him and he died?"

A little girl: "I really wish MLK Jr was still alive, don't you?"  

Me: "Yah, me too"

It was just really cool to be there the first time 24 little 5-year-olds ever heard about such a famous person...who honestly something I wish I could have such an emotional reaction about.  

A Year Abroad

Today is the 1-year mark from our arrival in Germany.  Seems so long ago, but has gone by so fast.  I remember that long bus-ride from the airport through the snow--both of us too exhausted to comprehend where we were.  We lived in a hotel for over a month, trudging back and forth from the grocery store to stock our mini-fridge.  Life wasn't too glamorous at first.  But my-oh-my has that changed.

How weird that we didn't know we wouldn't be here as long as originally planned.  Moving into this house, we realized that we were going to spend the majority of our marriage living in Europe--which seemed both exhilarating and scary.  And now we are months, or even weeks, from leaving here...for what quite possibly could be forever.

What a difference a year makes.

Happy New Year!

Just a few quick shots of us celebrating Sylvester (what "us Germans" call New Year's Eve).

We decided to go out dancing in Weiden to celebrate 2011, but had no idea what a big holiday 12/31 is here in Germany.  So big in fact, that EVERYTHING is closed (everything including McDonalds, gas-stations, you name it!).  We literally had to grab dinner at the train station before calling a cab to literally the only open bar in town.  There were hundreds of people there by midnight, but when the clock struck 12, Eric and I were the only ones counting down.  Seriously so anticlimactic.  I guess the tradition around here is a lot more like 4th of July--parties at home with lots and loottttss of fireworks and a lot less fancy celebrations.  We had a lot of fun, and danced for hours, but it was definitely the strangest New Years we had ever experienced.  One fun thing was waking up with plenty of time to call home and wish all a "Happy New Year!" just in time!

Also our Resolutions are slightly less inspiring than we had hoped:
Mine--Continue with my 5 days/week gym trip (I've been at it for months already...is that cheating?)
Eric--Check blood glucose consistently before meals

....Man do we sound boring this year!