The Gods Must Be Crazy

Someone seriously does not want me to learn German, and it's not me. I actually made it to the school this morning at 8:53 which left me 7 minutes to get to the class room. Easy. I went inside and in the entry room there was a sign posted that has all of that days courses listed, their time, the instructor, and the room number. My class is in room A208a. I walked up to the second floor, found the classroom, and . . . it was empty! So I went back downstairs and looked at the list again to see if I could figure out what was going on. The paper that I had at home said that I was supposed to be in room A107b with Oturan as my instructor (which is not what the sign had listed for my course number). So I gave it a try, figuring that the mistake has to be there and I'll find my course in this room. Wrong. It was Oturan, and it was A107b, but it wasn't my course. I asked everybody I saw if they were in the same class I was supposed to be in, and of course they weren't, nor did they know where my class was located. I must've walked into about 6 different classrooms trying to figure out what the hell was going on, and I got nowhere. Finally, at about 9:20, I went into the administration office to ask them where I was supposed to be. They looked it up on their computer, and I was registered for course A-423213 in room A208a from 9-12, exactly what the sign said. So I figured maybe I wasn't at the right room, or maybe I was just a little too early, so I tried again. At 9:30 the classroom was still empty. So, for the second time this week, I went to Cologne for my language course and didn't go to my language course. The only thing I can figure is that on Tuesday the instructor made an announcement about there not being class today, because nobody knows why my class wasn't there. So, as I said, the gods apparently don't want me to learn German.

I got paid for my time here yesterday, so I at least had a little money to do some shopping with. I walked around the main shopping center in Cologne and bought a few things I needed, like something to put my pens in, a clock (which I just doscovered doesn't have a backlight on it, so it's fairly useless), a notebook for class, a holder for my toothbrush so I don't have to keep leaving it on the counter, and a really gorgeous calendar for next year. Oh, and a box of 500 5th grade level German grammar index cards. I'm going to learn German if I have to teach myself! I also got to collect a lot of really cool leaves while I was walking around the more residential areas of the city. I felt like a kid every time that I went to pick one up, but that's ok. It's good to be childlike, just not childish.

After I picked up Gustav and Pauline I took them to the playground that's near their house. That way Esther could get a little more work done before they started making a lot of noise, and it allowed them to get rid of more energy so that, hopefully, they will sleep well tonight. Then we came home and drank warm cocoa because their hands were cold. But everyone was happy, including Gustav, and especially Esther. It's very relieving to her that she can come upstairs when she's done working and the children are happy and content. She had to leave right away to go pick up Olaf at the train station, and even then the kids didn't make a fuss. That's a really good sign that things are going well between me and the kids. Gustav even asked me to read him a book while she was gone. I always feel wierd when I read to them, though, because I wonder if they know when I say things wrong or if sometimes I just don't make sense to them.

Although nothing particularly exciting happened with the kids today, I do have a few short stories about Gustav's antics that I keep forgetting to mention. First, on Monday evening (it was only a matter of time), Gustav busted out his little wiener at the dinner table. I couldn't see what was going on, but I asked Esther if he was doing what I thought he was doing, and she said, "Yes, he showed it." Olaf laughed and said, "I at least was 6 when I started doing things like that." Classic. Then, last night at dinner, Gustav asked what kind of meat we were having. It was pork, so Esther responded "Schwein" which also means pig. So then Gustav asked if the pig was dead, as well as why it was dead. As he was eating his dinner he said, "Mama, das Schwein ist lecker, wenn es tot ist," (The pig is delicious when it's dead). We were all laughing. It reminds of the time that I was watching the pig races at the county fair and the little boy in the audience named his pig Breakfast.

I also go my first catcall Tuesday on the way to the bus. Three guys in a big rig rolled down their window and hollered at me. I guess that's probably my own fault, though. I must've looked like a trollop walking around in jeans and a T-shirt ;-).