Saturday, September 1, 2018

And then life happened...


Two weeks have now passed since Aimee arrived. Life has been busy and chaotic and crazy and I am completely behind with my updates so today’s update will be a cram session so I get myself caught up! Kevin and I both worked a lot this week and Natalie hasn’t been feeling well so we are trying to deal with that on top of our normal day to day craziness.

Aimee has logged 10 days in American school and she loves it.

This was her first day…

The first week of school was spirit week! Aimee and Natalie dressed up in many cute ensembles!
Nemo and Dory

She and Natalie are active members of the school student section and they go to as many games as possible! 





I am learning that Aimee loves ice cream just as much as I do and I am learning that her similarities and her family’s similarities far outweigh our differences. Katharina sent me this picture of last Sunday! Coffee in bed!
Ah! My German Sister!
I am reminded to look through these lenses when viewing everyday life. We most often see what we are looking for. If we are looking for the differences, they easily pop out. If we are looking for the similarities, those are what we see first.  

If we are looking for someone’s worst qualities, we see those, but if we look for someone’s brightest qualities, we will see those. 



We had a great time celebrating life and we took our first shopping trip to Roanoke!




Aimee had her first experience at a Japanese Steakhouse and she loved it!







And we all piled up in mama bear’s bed and ate froyo and watched Netflix movies and napped.


Today we are going to try to do some normal boring things like laundry and sweeping the floors and then we will make her put her WVU shirt on and teach her a few cheers.


Tomorrow we make schnitzel!

~lightningbug


SSS-School, Sox, and the State Fair




On Friday morning, everyone got up and began getting ready for school. I went into work for a couple of hours at the church. I left Aimee at home to rest after a quick tour of the house. I let her know that I would be back at 11am to get her to pick her up for our appointment with the guidance counselor. Today she would be registering for school and picking out classes. Aimee was waiting on me when I got back to the house. She was very nervous. We got loaded up in the car and we traveled to Alleghany High School. 


 We parked and Aimee took pictures of the outside of the school. She was still very nervous and the size of the school was intimidating to her. I let her know that a big chunk of the school was the auditorium and the gymnasium and the cafeteria and if you took those things out, it wouldn't be all that big! 

We arrived at the office and I rang the bell and stated my name and Aimee's name and our purpose for visiting. Then I was asked who else was with us. I said "No one" because there was nobody else with us. I turned around and another student was behind us! She announced her name and the door was opened for us. Once we arrived in the office, I had to surrender my driver's license. I signed into the school computer and carefully filled in my detailed information of where I would be going. 

 This is completely different than what it would be like for Aimee's mother Katharina in Germany. If she was going into Aimee's school, she would just walk right in or walk in with Aimee. I'm sure this is because of the strict gun control in Germany. I'm not about to open that can of worms, but merely, share the differences. The German system of gun control is among the most stringent in Europe. It restricts the acquisition, possession, and carrying of firearms to those with a creditable need for a weapon. It bans fully automatic weapons and severely restricts the acquisition of other types of weapons. Since 2009, there have been 288 school shootings in America, compared to only one in Germany. 

 After I was all signed in, we walked to the guidance office. Aimee and I were warmly welcomed by Ms. Howell and the staff in guidance. I can’t say enough good things about Ms. Howell. She really listened to Aimee and got to know her and didn’t rush in getting her enrolled and signed up for classes. She was friendly and warm and it was a great experience!

 For those unfamiliar with YFU exchange student program, this year in an American school will count for zip, zero, zilch, nada in Germany. She studies and attends classes and receives grades, but it doesn’t count for anything in Germany. When she returns next fall, she will be a junior in her German school. Because this year doesn’t count for squat in the opinion of the school systems, Ms. Howell let Aimee decide what grade level she wanted to do! Ms. Howell pointed out that many of the exchange students in the past were enrolled as seniors which offered them a few fun perks such as leaving five minutes early for lunch and getting to leave five minutes early on Fridays at the end of the day and getting to participate in the senior picnic and the graduation (even though she would just have an attendance certificate in hers!) Well that was a no-brainer for Aimee. You should have seen her eyes light up when she learned she would be a senior! Aimee signed up for US History, English, Spanish, PE and Leadership this semester.

 After this was complete, I walked Aimee down to the cafeteria. Everyone was staring at her! I guess it’s not everyday that a beautiful 16 year old German exchange student walks into the cafeteria at Alleghany High School! I said to Aimee, “Everybody is staring at you.” She said, “I know.” And we laughed. I walked over to where my daughter Natalie was sitting and Natalie introduced her to a few friends. I then walked over to where Principal Ross was seated and introduced him to Aimee. He gave her a friendly welcome to America and to AHS!

 We then walked back to the office and I had to enter my code from my nametag into the computer to let them know I was leaving the building. I was then given back my driver’s license and we exited the building.

 Next I drove Aimee to Clifton Forge and did a quick tour of the main drag. We laughed about some of the different ways we say things. I mentioned the “grocery store” and she didn’t understand. I now call Kroger the supermarket! Ha!

 We headed back to Covington and we stopped at Cucci’s. We had ham & cheese sandwiches and talked about many things. Aimee began to open up a little more as she got more comfortable with me. After Cucci’s we went to Walmart to check out cell phones. Aimee had her phone from Germany and she could use it on wifi, but in order to have something for her to stay in contact with us and her friends, she would have to have a local phone. Aimee couldn’t believe how cheap the iPhones were!

 We left Walmart and went back to the house and waited for everyone to return. We had big plans for the evening! We were going to the Pink in the Park Salem Red Sox game! Amy had never seen a baseball game…or a baseball match as she first called it! We got to Roanoke and got in. Papi tried to explain the rules to her, but she didn’t really understand and she found baseball boring. She did, however, enjoy DIPPING DOTS!

After the ballgame, we headed back home and got a good night’s sleep. The next day we relaxed and helped Aimee unpack and get settled and that evening, it was off to the West Virginia State Fair! That’s right! We initiated her into America with that unforgettable combination of smells—cow dung, deep fried everything, and cinnamon rolls! Aimee had her first corndog at the State Fair. She LOVED it. We tried to get a picture but she ate it too fast! Aimee had a wonderful time at the state fair and she is fitting in our home and hearts seamlessly.


 ~lightningbug