Always autumn and never Halloween

Fall, my favorite season, has been weird for me this year.

First off, the summer temperatures in this area hung around the low 60s almost the whole summer, minus some spikes or sudden drops here or there (I actually wore my coat to work one day in August). So, when September came and the leaves started changing, I couldn't grasp that the season really was changing. It made me realize that perhaps one thing that has always caused me to look forward to autumn every year is the obvious change in temperatures to cooler and brisker.

I do NOT like being hot, and while I learned to enjoy summer once I moved to the drier and cooler climates of the Western states, I anxiously awaited the shot of pure energy and enjoyment that comes with the transition in temperatures and the knowledge that all my favorite things are on the horizon:

• Indian corn, pumpkins and gourds decorating businesses and homes
• Cornfield mazes after dark
• Bonfires, hot chocolate and s'mores
• Halloween decorations
• Suspense movies
• Baking things with pumpkin flavors
• Pumpkin spice coffee

With all these things missing, I have to remind myself that it's fall here in Germany/Switzerland. The leaves are indeed changing and the weather is brisker; we've had our first frost, and lots of drizzly and foggy days. But, while the cues are familiar for fall, we didn't experience the drastic change from 90 degrees and humidity to 50s and below-freezing mornings. It doesn't "feel" different.

Then there's the absence of Halloween decorations. Europeans know what Halloween is because of the flood of American TV shows and movies into the European market. In recent years you can even find a few Halloween decorations here or there at the stores. I saw some a week ago at two different grocery stores, but it comprised only one shelf and was extremely limited. I certainly haven't seen the styrofoam tombstones, fake cobwebs, bedsheet ghosts, inflatable pumpkins and witches, or the orange and purple lights in windows anywhere.

There aren't shelves loaded with Halloween candy, or plastic costumes on sale at the stores. There's no office party where you can come to work in a themed outfit, or cupcakes topped with candy corn. No Halloween night costume get together at a friend's house.

It's just weird.

I tried to make one of our typical Halloween snacks the other night -- caramel apples. But so far, I haven't found bags of caramel squares at any stores, and definitely none of those Concord flat caramel wrappers that you fold over an apple, stab with a wooden stick and pop in the oven until it gets warm and soft.

A friend gave me a Concord caramel apple mix in a box. You pour the powder into simmering milk on the stove, add sugar and then heat until it gets to 242 degrees fahrenheit. I borrowed a candy thermometer but couldn't get the mix past 200. When I turned the heat all the way, the needle crept up to about 235 and then the mixture burned. Following the directions, I let the mixture cool for 10 minutes. When the 10 minutes were up, it had hardened into solid rock in the pan. It took me days to get it all out.

I only have 3 cans of pumpkin puree, so I haven't made anything with that yet, although I expect to soon. And, since Europeans are universally horrified if we ever mention that at home we would often drink pumpkin spice lattes at the coffee shop, we don't expect to be finding any of those around here in the near future.

It's beautiful here and we're loving the season. But, it has lost that ability to give me a shot of adrenaline every morning when I open my eyes and look forward to another day of my favorite season. I have to keep reminding myself that it's here. It feels like just another day in Europe. (Again, not that I'm complaining.)

Fires and film stars

Here's the latest update on the arson situation, which had gotten rather quiet for a while: There was a major fire on a farm at noon today. The barn burned completely to the ground and the house was badly damaged. The farmhouse was 400 years old and had only recently been completely restored. The family who lived there was home at the time and were unable to contain it, but were not hurt. The fire department worked on it all afternoon. They're not ruling out arson and the police are investigating. If it is ruled arson, it would be the first one to occur during daylight hours.


I saw this fire today as I was driving back from the doctor, but honestly I thought it was a farmer burning leaves or a cut up dead tree or something. I won't be convinced this one was arson until they can prove it or the police rule it that way. However, I have noticed as I read the articles about each fire that in many cases the buildings or boats that are being burned have recently been renovated, or the owners have spent lots and lots of money to update them and had only just finished. That's always sad to hear.

In other exciting news Gerard Depardieu was due to come to our tiny village to film scenes for a French movie. He was supposed to be here this week, however we saw news articles online indicating that his filming scenes would be moved to January due to a broken leg. We're not sure about this, though. It could be a fake story to prevent people from mobbing the village and interrupting the shoot. Who knows.

First Frost by the Rhine

Teaching English

Last week was my first attempt at teaching English as a second language. With the regular teacher away on a teaching trip, I agreed to be the substitute. I brought over a white board from my office and the leader's guide book I'd been given. The regulars showed up about 7:30 and we settled around a table in the back corner of the dining room.

There were seven of them, which is a few more than I was told to expect. I mentioned to them that I was worried there'd be as many as last week, when almost all the teachers were gone and the three different classes were combined with about 15 people. I said that made me nervous to have so many. They laughed and said they were nervous to work with a new instructor, so we all agreed not to be nervous.

The group is made up of mostly middle aged or older people, from late 50s to 70s. The culture in Europe is such that people want to be exact and precise in their use of a second language, and so they can often be a little hesitant to speak it unless they feel they can be perfect. This means that the attendees really want to be told when they need to work on a pronunciation, or what the past form of a verb is rather than the present form.

As an instructor, I had to remember to speak very slowly, and to repeat myself often. I also had to ask them often if they understood the meaning of what I was saying. Sometimes they would initially nod but look blankly at the white board. I would have to remind them to tell me if my explanation didn't make sense; then someone would admit they didn't understand, and I would try to explain the principle or rule a different way.

In the Deutsch language there is no sound like our "W". In their language, they write "W" to indicate the "V" sound. So, in our discussion exercise in which each person told a story about a vacation in which something went wrong, there was a lot of "Ve Vere going zere and it vas running late and ..."

Oh yeah, they don't have a "th" sound either. They really struggle to say "the" and "than" and "then" and so on. Often they will substitute a "z" sound. I know I struggle with certain sounds in Deutsch that we don't have in English, too, such as the ü sound. I

I had a lot of fun with the group. I hope I was encouraging enough and made them feel they were doing a good job, while at the same time helping them remember how to pronounce things and when to use the past version of a verb.

One challenge for me in doing this is that for about seven years now, I've spent time on a regular basis with people for whom English is a second language. That means that I have gotten used to hearing certain "mistakes" in the way my friends speak English (it doesn't really matter if you're Chinese, Korean, German, Dutch or whatever, people tend to make the same mistakes). After a while, I don't notice anymore. Last night I had to focus and concentrate extra hard to hear those mistakes so I could help them speak the way we would as native English speakers.

After the meeting, everyone from the three different level classes gathers in the dining hall for cookies, pastries or cake. The class members take turns bringing the snacks. It's another great opportunity for them to practice their English in an informal social setting. I sat next to two older ladies, both of whom have family connections in Canada and who had traveled there this year. So we talked a lot about the places they went, what they liked about it, the animals they saw. They were so sweet and so into the conversation. This is also a great opportunity for me to get to know residents here, because in this setting you can have these conversations and build on them over the weeks.

I will be subbing for two more weeks on Thursday nights. Then the regular teacher will return and take over. I'm still thinking about whether I'd like to continue attending as an observer or assistant so I can keep getting to know people around here.

Me and my computer

I admit, in recent years I am on my computer a lot. When you shoot a lot of digital photos and need to process them before you can print them, that can take a lot of screen time. Then there's the ever-widening circle of long distance friends you keep up with over e-mail, IM and Facebook. And, well, I like to blog. And I like to read blogs. Then there's the vast amounts of free online newspapers and magazines when I want to find out about current events. And I don't know how you could operate a budget and keep it updated without some kind of software program.

Now that I'm living in Europe, I feel like my computer is actually growing out of my hand. Previously, I used my computer for a lot of things. These days I pretty much need it for everything.

I didn't think much about it until a friend came to visit and, after we'd return from several days of traveling, she'd see me jump on my computer at night. She said: "I've noticed that you are on your computer a LOT."

For someone who has not lived outside the U.S., an explanation was in order.

1. When you leave all your cookbooks in a box in someone's basement, your computer becomes your cookbook. Even if you're cooking convenience foods where you just take it out of the freezer and pop it in the oven or dump it in boiling water, you need Google Translate in order to read the German cooking instructions.

2. When you don't have English-language TV options, you have to watch all your shows and news on your computer.

3. When you don't have an international phone calling plan, you call your friends and family on your computer, or email them when you want to talk.

4. When you take pictures of your travels and want to share them, you have to process them on your computer, back them up on CD and post them to a website so your family can see them. No more whipping out a scrapbook.

5. When you want to pay your American bills, you have to go to the bank Web site and send electronic checks to pay your bills, rather than writing out paper checks, stuffing them in an envelope and popping them in your mailbox.

6. If you want to read an English book, you have to download it from an e-book store and read it on your computer.

7. When you ordinarily would run to Borders to spend a few hours reading manga, now you have to read free scanlations on manga websites.

8. Having left all your CDs back home, and when you don't have a stereo in your borrowed apartment, you listen to music on iTunes or download songs to your computer to put on your iPod.

9. When you have a remote job that involves operating a Web site 7 hours ahead of most of your coworkers, you frequently check your email and make additions to the site in the evening before going to bed, not mention doing it all day at work.

10. When you don't have local TV stations and you want to know what the weather is going to be that day, you have to jump online first thing in the morning so you'll know what to wear.

11. When you're living in an unfamiliar place and want to go somewhere new, you have to go online to map out a driving route or look up train schedules.


So, dear friends, that's why it might seem like I have a computer growing out of my hand. Anything I would have done in the States in other ways, I have to do it here on a computer.

Fall photos

I have new photos of the area during autumn.

Yay for German ingenuity

Since we've been here, A. and I have been getting prescription refills on our medicines, and been pleasantly surprised to find out that they are hundreds of dollars cheaper in Germany than back home. Our insurance here doesn't cover pre-existing conditions, so our prescriptions have to come out of our own pockets. When you're volunteers, the cost of medicines can be really stressful, and having the cost come WAY down has removed a large pressure from our financial bottom line.

Yesterday, I went in to the doctor for the first time to get a new prescription for my migraine medicine. I'd brought about 9 months' supply with me from the States and only recently began getting low, so I hadn't needed to buy any in Germany yet.

The doctor said, "Do you want 9 or 12 pills?" My old insurance only allowed me to get 9 pills every 30 days, so without hesitation I said "Twelve." He told me that the prescription would be 41 euros. I tried not to let my mouth hang open. That is only $56. Previously -- without insurance -- the generic version of my medicine would have cost $180 for 9 pills.

I asked the doctor why all our medicines cost about 30% of what they did in the States.

"Oh, because we make them here."

I'd learned recently through a friend who works in the U.S. medical industry that many medical instruments used in the U.S. are invented and/or manufactured in Germany. I wasn't aware that pharmaceuticals were widely made here, too. I guess if you can buy it in the country where it's made, you can really cut down on the extra costs of shipping, duties and customs, middle men, etc.

Yay for German ingenuity!

Crooksling and Stepaside

I'm trying to make a map of the Republic of Ireland coastline for our newsletter. It reinforced in my mind that someday I very much want to live in a country which names its towns things like:

• Crooksling
• Stepaside
• Manor Kilbride
• The Scalp
• Ballinascorney
• Oldboleys
• Ballygannon
• Three Castles
• The Rundle
• Woodenbridge
• Quitchery Great