Introducing Ben the Bear

So... what has happened since Wednesday?


Thursday - Went to the art museum with the littlest girl and her class (equivalent to our 1st grade). It was very interesting and not that hard to follow for someone who is learning German. I got to see some works of art from artists around Europe, and interestingly, a painter from New York City, whose name I cannot remember. I also went to the immigration office with that letter from my school, and I was a-okay to be given my temporary work visa and am now officially legal with my very first visa.

This is just outside of the S-Bahn station where the class and chaperones walked to get to the museum.

Also on Thursday I went exploring a little. I had to be back by 5:00pm, which meant at the time I only had three hours or so to explore, so I found myself completely lost at the Hauptbahnhof Central Station, then unable to find the craft store I was looking for. It turns out that the oldest really likes to crochet. She told me she really wanted to make a teddy bear, I thought this was a good idea, and I wanted to buy her some yarn (Garn in German). But I could not locate the store, and was very tired and cold by this time so I turned around, bought some organic food, and went home only to find out I had been standing right in front of the mall it's located in.

Okay so this is the U-Bahn and S-Bahn map. This is what I have to follow when I try to get somewhere. My "home" station is Solln, my school's station is Pullach, the church is at Goetheplatz, and Marienplatz is where most of the sights and fun things are.

My "home" station. Notice a few interesting things here: first is the "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" movie ad in the background. In Europe, they have a delay in getting American movies because they are often dubbed in the native language to that country first. Another interesting thing is the PacMan graffiti near the tracks. American influence is everywhere.

A big black crow at the Pullach station as I was returning home from school today.

Friday - Did my normal chores on Friday plus mopped the whole dining room and living room. The mother informed me that she would not really be needing me so I was free to do as I wish after my chores, but I also needed to open up a bank account now that I had my visa. I opened up a bank account and then, determined, I went back to Hauptbahnhof and walked inside the mall. I was a little confused as to how the mall was set up, as it wasn't a very large mall, but I found the store (idee. Creativmarkt) and purchased: two balls of yarn (one ivory colored for me, one blue for the oldest), a crochet hook for the girl, some fluffy stuffing, four teddy bear eyes, and a piece of black felt. As I was leaving the store, I noticed another store (GALERIA Kaufhof), which is like a really upscale, very, very, very, nice Walmart. As I was perusing, I noticed a whole section devoted to knitting and crocheting. I was very excited but did not want to buy additional things without knowing what the teddy bear was going to need, and besides, I couldn't just purchase a gift for the oldest child, I needed to buy something for the other two as well. So I wandered around all seven or eight floors of this ridiculous store, and eventually came across a children's game section. I bought the youngest a puzzle (because I knew how much she liked them), and the boy a little physics experiment kit (complete with balloon rocket). I also purchased for myself a pair of "house shoes" (just a brief interlude here: for those of you who do not know what "house shoes" are, they are basically slippers with a rubber sole. That being said, I nearly killed myself the third or fourth day I was here slipping down the curved, high-gloss, wood, bottom part of the stairs. The mother suggested that I pick up some slippers. Me being stubborn the way I am thought: I'll just be more careful around that part of the stairs. So then I slipped on Friday. At the top part of the stairs. Nearly dying again [tad bit of an exaggeration]. So I begrudgingly purchased a safe pair of slippers.) and gloves (and for those of you who know me, those were difficult for me to purchase).

My house shoes. Note: This picture was not supposed to be on its side. Another Blogger error.

After leaving, I found a very nice organic store at which I was able to purchase many of my "special diet" items there. Just as a note: the mother and I came to a consensus. I would prepare all of my own meals and she will pay for half of my food purchases. This works really well for both of us, and as I get more comfortable with the family (only been here two weeks yesterday) I will probably cook more elaborate dinners. For now, though, I have been eating salads and sandwiches for lunch and dinner, mostly because I'm much too tired to prepare anything else.

Saturday - Woke up around 7:00am to bustling about the house. The family, minus me, was going on a weekend ski trip, leaving me to myself. I cannot tell you how badly I needed this break. It was short lived, however, when I went downstairs at about 8:30am to the mess they left behind. I spent a while cleaning, then got myself dressed to go to the store again for more crochet supplies, and an easier puzzle for the youngest (when I opened the previous puzzle, I knew immediately it was going to be much too hard because the pieces were so tiny). Then I looked outside... and the world was white. I hadn't seen so much snow since last winter, and it was the first time I'd seen so much snow here in Munich. But back to Hauptbahnhof I went and picked up: two more balls of yarn (one more of ivory, and another grey pretty one), some more stuffing, yarn needles, special glue, and a new puzzle. Then I came back to the house and made my very first ever crocheted teddy bear. I am very proud of it, although I'm not a fan of the arms (I followed a pattern: Basic Teddy Bear) and will adjust them slightly for my next bear. But I love this bear very much and I named him after the number one baby boy name given in 2011 in Germany: Ben. I also started building a 1000 piece puzzle and basically enjoyed the time I had off.

The playground behind the house after the snowfall.

This is an Italian restaurant I pass on my way to the Solln station.

My crocheted and stuffed teddy bear pieces before attachment.

Ben the Bear. Very proud. I will be thinking of something to put around his neck. Maybe I'll make a necktie.

Sunday - Another short lived relaxation day. Took a long shower, worked on my puzzle, then went to an English speaking church for a 4:00pm sermon. When I came home around 6:15pm or so, the family was home from skiing and that was the end of my little vacation. I spent some time with the children, I built the new puzzle with the littlest one, and I also finished my own puzzle.

My completed puzzle.

Monday - Another school day. Did regular chores, then up to my room I went. I spent some time with the middle child (the boy) and we looked up fun science experiments to do at home. We had done an exploding cup experiment earlier today as well as the balloon rocket experiment and he had fun. I plan on making homemade ice cream in a bag, homemade slime, and a bunch of other fun things. Also, I have collected a bunch of seeds from foods (organic and non-organic) and I plan on collecting maybe one or two more lassi containers (note: lassi is a delicious Indian yogurt drink, traditionally sweet or salty and made either plain or mango), maybe a few more kinds of seeds, and then getting some soil and doing some preliminary planting. Maybe we'll even get some fruit/veggies before I leave!

Balloon rocket.

As far as what else is going on, not too much. I plan on building my very first ever 1500 piece puzzle, I also need to start working on things to do with the children individually. The mother told me today that she would like to have me spend one hour a week with each child and do some intensive English speaking. She says she wants it to be fun and I am good at activities so this will be interesting to say the least. The family is going on a one week vacation in February, pre-planned so I can't go. This means I need to start planning a trip to somewhere else around Europe and I can't wait to go exploring. I also plan on experimenting with felting, the process of making felt. I am going to try to make a felted teddy bear with my new grey wool yarn.

And just for fun, I have added the various cigarette ads that I've seen. The funniest ones I think are the Marlboro ads, and there are lots of them.

Pall Mall.

Don't Be A Maybe. Be Marlboro.

Maybe Never Wins. Be Marlboro.

Maybe Goes Nowhere. Be Marlboro.

MayBe. Be Marlboro. I'm not sure if you notice a trend here, but these were all taken at or near a bus stop.

I will keep everyone updated with my new projects and adventures. I have been a little tired lately so I'm not as chipper as I usually am. Hopefully some chemistry experiments will solve that!

Auf Wiedersehen!