Michael's graduation

13 Mar - We were invited by the Stoffel's to attend Michael's High School graduation. We were very honored to be included. The day started with a non-denominational church service at a local church. It was a very nice service. The kids had a few comments, sang a few songs. The church was beautiful inside. From there we move to the gym at the school for the graduation. The graduation was very nice and different from an American graduation. It is a private school so it was a small class. It was also the first graduation for the school. There were 10 speakers - principal, teachers, etc. There was not any speakers by students like in an American graduation by the Valedictorian. The students presented gifts to the teachers. One of the gifts was a bottle of Stoffel wine so you know it was a First Class event!!! There were some prizes to students called "buchpreis". These are books given to students with the highest grades, highest grades in certain areas like Chemistry, etc and to those with the highest grade on the Graduation exams. Of course it was all in German so that was difficult but the experience was very good to see the difference. There were no cap and gowns and no High school rings. Also, the student's don't get a "diploma", they get a certified transcript. After the ceremony, there was some open face sandwiches and sparking wine. There are three wine makers in the graduating class and each contributed some of their "Sekt" or Sparkling wine for the ceremony.

After we met a few people, we went back to Michael's home for lunch. Petra made two wonderful pizza's - Hawaiian and Peperoni/Mushroom. YUMMY... with a special treat. We got to try one of their new wines for FY09. It was the Summertime kabinett Wine - a light citrusy wine perfect for a summer day. It went well with the pizza :)))) Jamie took a nap. Later we went back to the school for a dinner reception. The food was excellent - several appetizers, fish or pork tenderloin and a cream dessert with berry sauce or chocolate mouse - all EXCELLENT and of course Stoffel wine with dinner. We met a few of Michael's teachers and friends. We took a very good family photo with Michael and one with the Stoffel/Kennedy's together. It was very nice. I also got to dance the Vienesse Waltz with Petra. Well, she danced, I followed and tried not to embarrass her!! Vielen danke Petra!!! We left Michael to his friends and went home. Michael stayed to dance and enjoy the evening.

The next morning, Petra prepared a wonderful breakfast, we bought some wine. Michael woke up and we heard all (??) about the evening.

It was an honor to be part of their family celebration. Thanks sooo much to them for inviting us. It was a priceless experience and one will will cherish and remember along time!!

Michael receiving his certificate. He finished with an A :)

Differences living in Germany vs US

Well, after much thought we wrote down some of the unique things that are different for us living here in Germany. They are not better or worse - just different. This is not your obvious list of langauge and money..... 1 - They don't have Diet Coke in Germany. 2 - They have Coke Lite and it is Soooo different. 3 - They don't serve ice in soft drinks like Coke Lite. 4 - Coke Lite costs more at a resturant than beer or wine 5 - You don't get free refills on Coke Lite. 6 - My wife thinks about Coke Lite alot!!!! 7 - When you are in a traffic jam (stau), trucks get in the right lane and cars in the left - so organized!! 8 - Dogs are allowed in most restaurants. 9 - Germans sweep the sidewalks every Saturday morning. 10 - Germans recycle everything even having a day to collect kitchen food waste for compost. 11 - Distances are in kilometes but your car might be in miles - you get goooood at converting!! 12 - Armed Forces Radio is broadcast on even #s like 100.2. Check your car - it is on odd#s like 95.7 sooooooooo AFN comes in broken with static and only when you are close to the station...yeah!! 13 - You anticipate the euro/dollar Exchange rate at 4pm - daily! 14 - Windows in the house open with a handle sideways or a tilt at the top. There are windows in the roof (dachfenster). There are generally no screens. 15 - You have to have your ID - everywhere. To get on post, to buy gas, grocery store, etc. You are a nobody if you don't have it. It is your security pass. 16 - There are no re-runs on AFN TV - you miss it - you miss it!! 17 - Polizei use camera cars or stationary cameras to catch speeders - you fear the RED FLASH!! and you get the ticket in the mail a month later. 18 - There are FEW fast food places on the economy...They have the McDonalds, Burger King but not the same amount of places we have in the US. Germans enjoy taking time and enjoying a meal. 19 - Germans have quiet hours in the towns where you cannot make noise like cut grass, play music. Very nice especially when the loud rock band starts to practice across the street. 20 - When you live on post, you have a building manager, area mayor to watch out and make sure others are keeping the are clean - like an HOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! except positions are based on the rank of the service member. 21 - There is no air conditioners in the homes. 22 - You pay to use the restrooms at rest stops on the Autobahn but get a receipt to use at the store. It is not unusual for the attendant to walk in the restroom while you are in there as well. 23 - On post, different denominations use the same buildings - this the the only installation in the military where the Jewish and Muslim faith use the same room for services. Catholic and Protestant, etc. 24 - You can pass a parked school bus and the school bus does not have a bar that comes out to stop the stupid kids from going infront of the bus. 25 - School buses are not yellow like in the states - they use commercial buses. 26 - It is not uncommon to see kids - walking alone - all over town with no adult. 27 - On post, they play the National Anthem before movies and the movie costs $3. 28 - Sales Tax is 19% 29 - Tip is included in the resturant bill. 30 - For the US military, gas is rationed because we don't pay the tax - we pay an equivalent rate for gas. On post it costs, $3.16/gal. Off post is approx $5.40/gal. Cars get 400l and vans/trucks get 600 liters/month. 31 - In Kaiserslautern, there are 10,000 people and 3 gas stations on post. 32 - There is one store that sells American goods. If they don't have it, you don't get it or you order by mail. 33 - Traffic lights go from Red to Red and Yellow to Green instead of from Red to Green. 34 - There are ALOT of traffic circles. 35 - There are many more small towns here - really small towns. 36 - The bakery and butcher are main stores in just about every town. 37 - The refrigerators are alot smaller than in the US. Europeans buy what they need for today and maybe tomorrow and don't have many leftovers. 38 - Ovens are a little smaller. 39 - Trucks don't drive on the Autobahn on sunday unless with a special permit so there are VERY few and it is sooooooooo nice. 40 - You can pick and buy your own flowers on the side of the road - on the honor system. Pick what you want and put the money in a cash container. No one is there. 41 - The electicity plugs are different so you carry and adaptor everywhere and have to make sure that what you have is 110-220v. 42 - European hotels don't have washclothes so you always pack some on vacation. 43 - Toilet paper is a little rougher so you always pack some on vaction. 44 - Phone calls are based on a unit of time depending on how far it is to call and not on the minute so one call might be .15c for each unit that is 3 minutes or .15c for each unit that is 5secs. 45 - AFn TV is only 10 channels. 1 spots, 1 news, 1 kids, 1 TV guide, 1 Pentagon Channel, 1 Movie, 4 variety shows. 46 - AFN shows sports live or delayed the next night. Same with TV shows. 47 - German homes floors are mostly tile or wood - very little carpet. 48 - German beds have a fitted sheet and comforter - no top sheet. 49 - Germans will put their comforters on the window sill to air out. 50 - Europeans have "rolladens" basically metal shades for the outside of windows to keep out the noise and light. That is it for now. I'm sure we will think of a few more. No matter how different Europeans and American things are - we are enjoying EVERY MINUTE of our time in Europe and seeing as many differences as we can :))))