Survived!

The birthday party, that is. All three boys came, and after a few minutes of initial shyness, they got into it. I have to explain that Germans don’t move around much, and all of them start kindergarten at age 3, and their school classes stay together through fourth grade (after which they either go to Gymnasium—university route—or Realschule or Hauptschule, other kinds of middle/high schools, depending on how their teachers rate them in elementary school. Yup. A subject for an entire rant, that is). So you see how it’s hard to be the new kid, especially when you’re struggling with the language. Everyone already has a best friend, and while they’re friendly, they’re not really needing to fill the best friend spot by now. So we had a pair of best friends who play with my son, and another boy who he sometimes talks to on the way to and from school. I think they had a fun time, but I know my son did, which is the whole point of this exercise. I told them they were part of an expedition to colonize another planet, and had to build things with legoes that might be useful in the new colony. Then we took pictures of them and their creations, to be printed out later. Then they played hide and seek in the house (good thing I cleaned, huh?), followed by paper airplane extravaganza (made of my recycled novel drafts). Then they decorated their own mini pizzas and we had pizza and dirt cake. I met two of the parents, a Croatian mom, and a German dad. Two of the kids who came are in families of six children!! I thought we were quadruple the family size of anyone in this country, but hey, compared to some of my son’s classmates, we’re small!

Then during the party the mail came—three books that I ordered (for me) with a Christmas gift certificate. Fairest, by Gail Carson Levine, Everlost, by Neal Shusterman, and The King of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner. And son got The Pinhoe Egg (Diana Wynne Jones) and The Hounds of the Morrigan (er, I forget the author) for his birthday. I’ll be out of town tomorrow, but I can’t wait to dig in!