Our lovely, wonderful spring break in Mallorca

Since we sadly did not have internet access while on our trip last week, I have decided to post about the trip in daily updates that all start with, "One week ago today" The series will begin today, and end sadly, on Sunday :( But for now, I hope you enjoy!

One week ago today, we were looking forward to an incredible 7 days on one incredible little island, Mallorca. This trip was our third trip to the island, and already, on our first full day, we found no disappointments.
Let me start by saying that our flight on Sunday (the 16th) was great. We flew with Tuifly, one of Germany's largest travel companies. The flight was an hour and a half, which amazes me, how quickly one can travel from Germany to paradise. We picked up our rental car easily, and drove to our hotel.

During our past two trips, we stayed in the Hotel Leo, a three star hotel in C'an Pastilla, a lovely, quiet area near to our current hotel location. The hotel was fine, but well, not that special. Last year, when we saw Wolfgang and Hildegard's hotel, we decided we were shortchanging ourselves with the Leo. This year, we stayed in the German party area, Playa de Palma. My decision was based on the deal we could get with a better hotel. Honestly, our location wasn't bad at all. We stayed at a Riu property, the Riu Festival. It was a nice upgrade from our former hotel, but I think we will stay somewhere else next time. We didn't have a sea view, and if we don't have a sea view, I want it to be because we are in the mountains, not up the street from the beach.
But overall, the hotel was nice, good breakfast, indoor and outdoor pools, and a comfy, clean room.

On Monday, we made our way out and drove southwest to Joern's favorite spot, Port d'Andratx. First, we stopped in Genova, a small village right outside Palma. The village is high up in the hills, and looks down onto Palma and the Palma Harbor.
The port village is adorable, lined with cafes and shops. And the harbor is full of really huge boats. Andratx the town is the richest town on the island. It is home to many prominent people, including Claudia Schiffer and German record producer, Dieter Bohlen. We do find the houses amazing, but what draws us the most is the wonderful port. We spent quite some time just sitting at a cafe enjoying the views, the sun, and the atmosphere.



We then made our way to Magallauf, traditionally known as the English party place. Joern loves going there, to observe the English culture. Magalluf is lined with British pubs, and the small take away restaurants feature fish & chips, curries, and a variety of other traditionally English foods. While I tend to shy away from places like this, also the German party area on the island, Joern really enjoys it.

Since it was St. Patrick's Day, we made our way to an Irish pub for dinner. There is no shortage of Irish pubs all over the island, so we found one in Palma named Hogans, that looked great. Oddly enough, they served American, not Irish food. So, my St. Patrick's Day this year was celebrated in an Irish pub in Spain, where we heard a band that only played a few Irish songs, and we ate buffalo chicken wings, chicken fingers, and split a blue cheese burger! The life of an expat can be quite unexpected at times!

I hope everyone who reads this blog had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day last week. I also hope that today, Easter Monday, brings you happiness whether you have a holiday today or are back at work.

So proud of myself

One of the most difficult things about transitioning into life abroad is the language barrier. Despite the fact that I have been here so long, my German language skills are really low. Chalk it up to just plain laziness. Joern and I have always spoken English, and despite many saying this is bad, I have also heard some kind words that it is our comfort language. And while I worked on base, the need to communicate in German was quite low. Even now, working at the ISS, there is little actual need for me to speak German.

But, I do not want to depend on Joern forever in terms of communication. I have slowly been increasing my German language usage ever since Joern's friend, Marcel, started spending lots more time with us two years ago. Despite his understanding English, it is simply easier to communicate with Marcel in German. I would say that due to my conversing with Marcel, and my need to do so in German, I have now become a competent user of the language.

Two weeks ago, I really tested my skills when I decided to get my own contact lenses! I marched into an optician in downtown Stuttgart, and asked the man working at the information desk where I could go to get contacts. He directed me downstairs. I was able to discuss my wants, needs, and questions all in German! I triumphantly left the store that day with a set of test lenses and a sense of pride that swelled through my body.

On Monday afternoon, I had to return for a check and to pick up my lenses. Again, no asking if anyone spoke English. I just went through the entire procedure in German, and I now have contact lenses, and the knowledge that I can accomplish a lot more here than I thought I could!

My reward to myself? I bought those sunglasses from Kate Spade that I've been lusting after!

Image from www.zappos.com

Request

My mom called today with some pretty bad news about my stepfather and his health.
I know that some of you are just casual readers of this blog, but my stepfather and my mom both need all the prayers they can get right now.
Thank you!

One week from today...

While poor Joern is working hard today at a purchasing fair for one of the big grocery store chains here, I am enjoying my last cup of coffee before my major cleaning day. But, while I sit here, I am dreaming of next Sunday, when we will depart for our wonderful trip.

Aahh, next Sunday evening at 5, we'll be departing for Mallorca. I am so excited! We have neverspent a full week on the island. Of course, it isn't warm enough to go swimming in the sea, butnevermind. There is so much to do. We've booked our rental car so that we can spend our days leisurely exploring the coastline as well as inland.
We're also excited because this is the first time we haven't booked a hotel with half-board, instead, we'll only be having breakfast at the hotel. This option seems better as there are many restaurants we would love to try, as well as lots of great food to try in the grocery stores. Half-board can be so frustrating because you feel like you must eat dinner in the hotel. Sadly, the hotel buffets rarely include Malorquin specialties, as the food caters to the tastes of the mostly German toursits- the food is often good, but not special at all.

Shopping is another thing I am dying to do. Last year, since I was not working, I could not indulge in one of my favorite past-times when on the island. I am looking forward to purchasing some great pottery, maybe some olive products, and am tempted to check out the Majorica pearls factory outlet!

For today though, I have to keep my daydreams at a minimum, and work hard on the apartment. I want to have it completely sparkly by Thursday night, so that Friday we can start our vacation completely relaxed!

Continuing the multicultural celebration

Doll's Day fell at a perfect time this year in the life of the ISS. We got to celebrate the Japanese holiday as the kick off of our Multicultural Weeks. I guess it started as Multicultural Week, but this year, they had too many great ideas and plans to fit everything in one week's time. We've been busy attending special multicultural productions and our monthly ELC (Early Learning Center) assembly celebrated the many heritages of our children.
Last night (Friday,) was another special celebration for our week. The parents, and some employees, made food from their home countries. All of us other lucky people, staff and parents, got to pay a mere 2 Euro and stuff ourselves full of wonderful treats from all over the world!
The parents took their jobs quite seriously, and had beautifully decorated tables for each country. I was especially excited to have some delicious REAL Mexican food, something that is quite difficult to come by in Germany.
Joern came with me, and we met up with two other assistants I work with. Wow, so much food! Besides my most delicious Mexican tamales and burrito, I sampled some sushi, Swedish meatballs, Indian lemon rice with chana masala, a delicous Italian bean and meat salad, and some English sausage puffs. By the time I started my quest for desert, I was so stuffed, I could only force down a Scottish shortbread cookie!
It was great to be able to mingle with the parents and spend some time with my co-workers outside of the daily setting. But, my favorite part of the night was the hugs from the kids we work with, many of whom were also there :)
It was a super fun night!

Japanese Doll Festival Celebration

One of the coolest things about working in an international school is, well, the fact that it's international. Even cooler, when you work with little kids, you can party quite a lot. We celebrate major celebrations from each of the kids home countries. We've celebrated many German events, like St. Martin Day and Fasching. We have also celebrated Thanksgiving, Diwali (Indian Festival of Lights,) Santa Lucia (Swedish winter saint's day,) Chinese New Year, and many others.
Yesterday, we were fortunate enough to be able to celebrate Girl's Day, a Japanese holiday also known as the Doll Festival, or Hina Matsuri.
During this time, families bring out very special ceremonial dolls of an ancient emperor and empress. Displaying these dolls is meant to ensure the future happiness of the daughters in the family.
Besides this tradition, many families also make their own dolls from paper. It is thought that their sorrows will transfer to these paper dolls. We helped the kids make their own paper dolls, and we also made ancient Japanese warrior hats with the kids.
All of our celebrations are planned by the parents. They always do a wonderful job, and yesterday's celebration was certainly no exception. I feel so fortunate to be a part of such an amazing international community!

The week recap

I haven't posted in a while, and guess it is about time.
Last week Saturday, we spent a busy day helping my friend Mandy move into her new home. It seems almost impossible to believe that less than a year ago, we were quite concerned that Mandy would be moving to Cuba. A year later, she bought her own beautiful apartment. After helping her move some things, we had a great last barbacue at her old apartment. It was fun to see some old friends who I used to work with, and to meet some new ones.
It was also a chance for me to debut my cake creation: a carrot cake in the shape of a house! I got lots of complements, so I guess it was okay!

Last Monday marked a great day in my communicative life. I got contact lenses in Stuttgart, and completed the entire process in German! I was able to communicate all my needs and questions, and got exactly what I was looking for. Best thing, I even was able to understand the ordering process! My celebratory Starbucks following my contact lens outing tasted soooo good!

The rest of the past week was pretty normal. Joern and I have been working on adding more storage in the apartment, and are in the process of an entire apartment upheval. We added a new closet in our bathroom, and one in the bedroom. It is something strange to Americans, but homes in Germany come with no built-in storage. All closets and shelving, even the kitchen, must be supplied by the owner or tennant. Sadly, as we add more closets, the smaller the apartment becomes. At least we found a great closet design program on IKEA's website, which is lots of fun!

In German news, directors at the Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart officially presented its newest resident, baby Wilbaer to the media. While it seems like German polar bears are particularly proliferant, Wilbaer's mom Corinna has proved to be an excellent mom (quite unlike the mothers of Knut and Flocke.)Chalk it up to good old Swabian conservative values, said Joern this morning. If Corinna didn't live up to the high Swabian standards of motherhood, imagine how the neighbors would talk! It's like Kehrwoche (see previous post,) your life is mush if you don't do what is expected of you! We are excited for the Wilhelma Zoo, as a baby will bring lots of press to this wonderful zoo.

And on Thursday evening, we watched our favorite show, "Goodbye Deutschland," and were surprised to find a story of two Germans who moved to Bridgeport, CT!!! They relocated for jobs in a dance studio in Norwalk. It is so exciting to see home on TV in Neckartailfingen!!

We're looking forward to a good week. Our trip to Mallorca over Easter Break is booked. We leave in 14 days!