Kids and Secrets

Spencer and Shantal came home from school today and they immediately went into the bathroom together. I saw them and Spencer says, we need to have a private conversation. I get them to come to the table to eat and they are continuing their whispering. No one wants to tell me what the secret is. But I start guessing. They kept it pretty quiet most of the day but finally at dinner, I asked Shantal what the secret was about Spencer and Bianca and she ran into Spencer telling him I knew but she didn't tell me. So come to find out, I am right.

The secret was that Spencer likes a girl in his class. And upon further investigation, this girl likes him too. It is Shantal's best friend, Bianca.

Now we have to remember, Spencer is 9 and in 3rd Grade. And as I talked to him tonight before bed, we had to whisper. Because you see, this is still a secret. He doesn't want anyone to know. But I asked him what he liked about her. He doesn't know. I asked him what he wants to do with her. he didn't know that either. I was blunt and asked if he wanted to hold or hand or kiss her. I got the...YUCK look. Whew, all is right with the world. He still isn't interested in kissing girls. But I am afraid that is not far behind.

But wait, the story gets better. Come to find out Shantal also had a secret.

During one of the breaks at school today, this boy, named Mattias from Sweden, asked Shantal if she wanted to jump rope or swing on the swings together during break. They ended up swinging. And this boy told her during the swinging that he liked her. And that he really likes it when she wears skirts to school.

So of course, I had to have a talk with Shantal before she went to bed. She isn't sure if she likes him or not. But I think she is really liking the attention from him. And she says that he is always doing nice things for her.

And I have to say, this is a first for our family. And my goodness, it happened to two of my kids on the same day!

Oh my, what is happening in the third grade this spring?

Will We Lose the Nanny?

That is the question that occupies our minds these days. The Nanny is officially requested (by the doctor) and officially approved (by the health insurance company) through the 9th of April.

Because Tamara's blood levels have not improved (in fact they got worse) after the surgery, we have asked for an extension. This has to be requested by the doctor and approved by the health insurance.

Why am I pushing for this? I haven't seen Tamara this happy and upbeat in a long time. I hope our lifesaver will be able to be extended. Check out Episode 26 of our Living in Germany podcast for the update:
Here's our little reminder that the Nanny is here and still able to work a bit of magic for us. It's not Mary Poppin's umbrella, but our reminder that the Nanny is here. The question now is will she be able to stay with us:

First Day on the Job!

Wow, I remember so many emotions running through my mind as I spent my first day in the company's office here in Düsseldorf, Germany.

I was back in Germany, which we had waited so long to do. I was starting anew at the company I'd been working at for almost 10 years. And I was reminded of my first days on the job in Denver so many years before. I also recalled my first opportunity to live in Germany as an LDS Missionary just after the Fall of the Berlin Wall and during the first years of the German Reunification. The office building is to the west of Düsseldorf and overlooks the Rhine, reminding me of the great rivers I grew up with (the Missouri & Mississippi rivers). It was a beautiful day and wonderful to be back in Germany.

Wonderful, that is, until I had to enter my password to get on the network. I had entered the same password just days before in the U.S. But when I entered my password and got a failed response. I re-entered with the same result - failed. I quickly asked a colleague who to call as I knew I would be locked out on the third attempt. I hadn't forgotten that on the hop over the pond.

I Re-started the PC and tried again. Same result. The network support team then provided the following ingenious suggestion. They were talking with my colleague and said: have him type his "password" into a word document. The result was something like this:
Expected Password: ZhgPig#7 (i.e., what I thought I was typing)
What I actually typed: YhgPig§7

I was typing on the German keyboard, as if it were an American keyboard. I don't remember exactly what letters I swapped, but the above is a good example of differences in key location between the English and German keyboards.

I was back to reality and spent the next several hours battling the keyboard on my first assignment, updating my resume and skill set profile for the European office.

This first day has turned out to be typical of my experience in the international workplace over the last 18 months. I enjoy working in Germany in international business. I feel comfortable in the work environment and am glad we made the move. But, man I sure mess some things up because I don't always know the lay of the land. I don't always know the rules for handling certain situations. But I struggle through and learn and improve. I plan to continue sharing some of the experiences I've had. I hope others will enjoy.

Torn between two Countries

Looking at our tax bill here in Germany recently made us realize that we are torn between our two countries --> our home in America, and our current home in Germany.

The watered down version of our conversation:
Honey do you realize that we pay in
Germany = roughly 20% of our income in taxes
America = < 2% of our income in taxes

Why did we pay lower taxes in America? Because we owned a house and could deduct the interest paid on the mortgage from our taxes.

Conclusion: buy a house in Germany and save a huge pile of cash each year.

Yea, but wait a minute, wouldn't that mean we are staying here (in Germany) for a long time? Can we sell a house again? This is naturally possible, but would we sell said house with a loss, with a gain? What are the up front costs, upkeep, would our mortgage be lower than our current rent? Lions, and tigers, and bears, Oh my.

Final conclusion: which country do we really want?

Reality check from dad a few days later. He is replacing his water heater (I told him about all the benefits of oil heating - just kidding) and may require major repairs to a skylight - ouch!

Maybe a tax adviser would be a simpler alternative. No matter what we decide, the fundamental question remains - which country do we want. We have chosen Germany for the time being. Will we want that same country in 5 years, 10 years, etc.? Lions, and tigers, and bears, Oh my.

Hallo Zusammen

literally translated hallo zusammen means hello together. In the northern states one might say hi everyone. In the south one might perhaps say hi ya'll.

I learned this valuable phrase on my first day in the office here in Germany. Me and another new colleague were taken around the office by the H.R. representative. We walked into a room there were several people in the room. She said simply: hi everyone (hallo zusammen).

I was thinking, what a practical phrase and making a mental note to myself to remember it, but was also a bit shocked, because bothering an entire room of workers might be deemed disruptive in the U.S.

I have since come to find out that it is normal and expected for a person entering a room to greet those already in the room. This makes the phrase even more practical than I first thought: Hallo zusammen, or Tschüß zusammen (goodbye everyone) can be used for groups. One can commonly say Guten Morgen (good morning) when entering the office in the morning.