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Thursday, April 24, 2008

German Tidbit #1: The Sorting of the Trash

I can't help but pass along new tidbits that humor me as I encounter them here. This is the tidbit concerning trash. Germans are very enviromentally friendly, as most of you know, and recycling here is a big deal, in fact it is mandatory. So, I am learning to sort the trash.

I know that you are all thinking it isn't that hard. Paper or plastic, right?

Oh no . . . try SIX categories:
1. Paper
2. Plastic bottles that you have to return to the store to receive a deposit back
3. Bio (food waste products - appreciate your disposal, in fact, go tell your disposal right now how much you love it!)
4. Glass (must return these to a separate facility to receive deposit back)
5. Recyclable waxy papers, aluminum foil, some plastics, cans, etc. (all items maked with a symbol called the Gruene Punkt "green point" and these should be rinsed clean before disposing of them)
6. Other trash that can't be recycled (diapers, used napkins, used tissues, etc.)

There is trash pick-up once per week, and they only pick up one category each week. So, Monday was bio, next Monday is other trash, and so on. So, if we didn't get our bio out this past Monday, we would have a long time to wait until that one is picked up again. Tonight we will gather up our cloth bags and head to the grocery store. Either you bring your own, or you buy each plastic bag you use! I'm feeling more green already! Think I'll stop shaving my armpits.

Auf Weidersehen!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Hallo von Amy und Cooper aus Deutschland

Just a note to let you all know that we arrived here safely. Kayla flew on Thursday of last week. I dropped her off at Charlotte airport and you should have seen the cargo guys watching me as I gave my big pooch kisses, told her to be strong so that she will see daddy soon and how much I loved her. I think they thought I was a little koo-koo, or maybe a lot. But they humored me, and Kayla made it safely to Peter the next morning. Cooper and I flew on Friday evening out of Charlotte. I traipsed through security with a car seat, stroller, diaper bag, carry on, and a squirmy one year old, all the while dangling a pacifier and bright toy to keep him occupied. And of course, they had to search my bags which were packed like intricate puzzles so that everything would fit just right. Took me 20 minutes standing at the other end of the security line just to pack it all back in. But we made it through that and I had Cooper playing, walking, crawling, bouncing, tickling, eating, and everything else you can think to do with a one year old for the next 2.5 hours while we waited to board. My goal was to get a very tired 14 month old on the plane ready to settle in for a long nap. I thought I was really clever seeing as he was asleep before the plane even took off, only to wake up 45 minutes later as bright eyed as ever and ready for another play set. Cooper had a very nice lady sitting next to him that was a grandmother of a 3 month old, so she knew what she was in for. She gladly served as the sippy cup retriever each time Cooper threw his cup on the floor, which is quite often, and finally decided that it would be easier to simply be his official cup holder for the duration of mealtime.

Mealtime . . . that was fun (note the sarcasm). For those of you who have seen Cooper eat lately, you know that there is a great deal of food squishing, running food soaked fingers through the hair, dropping large chunks of food on the floor, dribbling milk down the chin, and some spitting. Well, an airplane is just another venue for Cooper to perform his dinner show and I am sure that the cabin crew wondered what in the world we had done afterwards. The cheerios alone are enough to drive anyone mad. So, dinnertime passed and I entertained hoping that my moment of glory would come in the form of a good long sleep, then 2 hours later (we had been on the plane for 4 hours by now) I whipped out the Benedryl, while the lady next to me stated with astonishment that she couldn't believe he was still going. Yeah, well neither could I and I was ready to put an end to it. Luckily the Benedryl saved me just before a movie started. I watched Juno, which I have been wanting to see (Kelly, if you enjoy sarcasm as I do, you will enjoy it as I could only strive to match the sarcasm of this hilarious teen). After the movie, I settled in for a good nap myself, and guess who starts getting fussy! So, I held him in my arms for the next 2 hours so that he could sleep a little better. Then back in his car seat he went so that I could sleep a little more. And the little dear slept all the way until after we landed. Getting off the plane was what I would imagine finishing off a marathon would be like.

By the way, have to drop a congratulatory line off to my brother, Alan, who ran the Boston Marathon on Monday. So, proud of you brother, and I am sure that your marathon was in actuality much more strenuous than my plan ride with Cooper!

For those of you who know Peter really well, you can probably guess how the end of my travelling tale concludes. Was it a joyous trot out of customs into the arms of my waiting hubby with a kiss and the chance to pass off my 25 pound bundle of joy? Well, that came later after a 20 minute wait for my late hubby! I am sure that most of you saw that coming, and I wasn't at all surprised. But alas we are here. It is cold (40's or 50's in the day) but our house is better than I remembered. Of course, I am trying to stay chipper seeing as we have been essentially camping out in said house since Saturday. Furniture has not yet arrived, and each time we talk with the movers it gets pushed back another day. But the promise is for Thursday, and I am wholeheartedly clinging to that!

Now it is just after noon, still in my pajamas, Cooper and Kayla are napping, and I am hoping to hear from you all, my peeps real soon to pass the time and keep me entertained (note: no phone, no TV, sporadic internet service - nicking the neighbors wireless -, and dangerously close to the end of my only book!). So write back and let me know how you all are doing. There are several of you that I didn't get to see before I left and I am truly sorry for that. The last weeks were pretty crazy, but I am thinking of all of you and waiting to hear when you are planning your trip over her to see us!