Tuesday 30 November 2010

Things that make you go wowzers!

The past few days have been dotted with unexpected surprises.  Sunday I was woken by the doorbell ringing, I padded down the hallway in my PJs to have a nose through the spyhole at the cold Jehova Witnesses but it wasn't them.  It was the postman!! My immediate thoughts were that I must be mistaken and it is Saturday, or that I had managed to sleep right through to Monday, but no it really was Sunday and the postman handed me 2 packets.  One of Uwe's crimbo prezzies had arrived and so had my new glasses! On a Sunday!!

I excitedly explained to Uwe what happened and he being used to the 'odd' things we can do on Sundays in England said "wow and even you are surprised by this happening on a Sunday"  In Germany Sundays are still days of rest, not only do the shops not open but well anything that involves too much noise as I can see is also a no go.  It is actually one of the things I am looking forward to, enforced laziness!  Seriously though it gives people time to do non-shopping-related stuff together as a family, besides café's and restaurants are open so what better time to discover new towns?

My gorgeous new Black/Brown Jessica's from Glasses Direct, a bargain to boot!

Yesterday I was surprised by my Mum, I had spent about 3 hours trying to teach her how to use MSN Messenger a week or so ago.  I thought it best to get as much practice in before I go to Germany rather than afterwards, this way I am actually here to sort out any problems she has in person.  I wasn't entirely convinced she had the hang of it, especially as later the same day she'd logged into msn, I sent her a message which she seemingly ignored before logging off.  Later she told me she'd seen the message and was replying but nothing had got through, a quick explanation that using the 'enter' key is a work around for a lack of a 'send' button solved this problem the next time.

I hadn't moved on to the more complicated step of sending me a message without being sent her one first, but she managed it anyway! Her and my step Dad have been in Scottland for the last week and I have received a couple of email updates telling us what she's been doing.  Yesterday I saw her log on and about 20 minutes later a message box popped up which just said "Love Mum xx" an admittedly odd opening line to which I replied "Hi Mum xx" which she followed with a "This is so much quicker!", although at her typing speed that is slightly debatable (love you Mum!!).  I find it very cute that she does a proper written ending to her messages, more as if she were writing a letter or an email instead of a phone call.  This makes me feel much more confident she'll be pro by the time July comes.

This morning I woke up to the sound of excited children squealing outside my bedroom.  In a B-movie zombie like style I dragged myself to the bathroom, noting that the light outside was brighter than the past days.  You could see the cogs moving in my brain.  Screaming happy children... brightness... the rest of Europe being covered in snow... **CLICK** omfg we have snow!!  A whole inch of white fluffy loveliness!! As an adult my inner child is always impressed that having my own garden means I have my very own personal patch of pure, white, uninterrupted snow.  It has had the added side affect of the temperature warming up from a chilly -6 to a heady -1 degrees.

I had hoped that the surprises would continue and I'd log on this morning to find out my English assignment had been marked but nope not yet.  However my first OU German mark is awaiting release so I will be staying up late tomorrow night to grab it the minute the submission deadline passes!!

3 comments:

  1. I love Sundays in Germany and you do see so many families enjoying time together, but it took me a while to get used to, especially for grocery shopping. Also laughed about your comment about trying to teach your mom Messenger. I'm trying to get my mom to use Skype but she wants to wait until I'm home to show her - which isn't until next year! Hope you did well on your German test!

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  2. It took me a good while to get used to the Sunday thing too but I have to say now I have got the hang of being prepared in advance (how hilarious is that... it's the shops being shut for ONE DAY, not the apocalypse) I totally love it. An actual day that happens every week where you are made to do absolutely nothing except perhaps go out and eat cake.

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  3. @Expat I did really well on my test thanks, I was very pleasantly surprised which was nice! At least if you are at home when you teach your mum to use skype it should be easier than my trying to describe what it should look like. Unfortunately I didn't learn my lesson and was trying to teach her to use something else via phone yesterday. Next time I will be hanging up and going round lol. Bless her, this is the woman that thought Lady GaGa was actually a member of the aristocracy...

    @Frau Dietz I worked in retail for many years and the absolute panic people get in when the shops are closed at Christmas or Easter is quite amusing, I think what I will miss more than shops on Sundays is the lack of a ordering my groceries online, which I don't do often but it is so convenient when I need it. Will just have to send my new live in delivery boy instead ;)

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