31 January, 2006
20 January, 2006
Surviving the Holidays
Our first big holiday crisis was the 4th of July. It is Darin's all-time favorite holiday, and I doubted that it could be as good as it was when we were living near DC, but I was determined to make a good try. So I was planning on renting a car for the weekend so that we could go to the picnics and other events planned. I also asked for the day off on Monday, 4 July, since it's not a holiday in Luxembourg.
Then some friends of ours offered to lend us a car for a couple of weeks, starting on 1 July. Perfect! So that day, a Friday, I left work and took the train out to Liz and Stu's house. Liz had me take a test drive in the car before I left. Darin wanted to go somewhere as soon as I got home, but it was already 19:00. So Saturday morning Darin and I went to Conforama and the Belle Etoile for some shopping. There was a Dixieland band playing in the halls at Belle Etoile. It was nice, and it reminded us of the Republican picnic we used to attend in Virginia.
After a quick snack, we went out to find the American picnic at about 16:30. The directions were not very good, and we ended up in France, but turned around and found the place. We parked where they told us to and took the bus to the park.
The picnic was at a place called Parc Merveilleux near Bettembourg. They had amazing playgrounds, rides for the kids (though the rides were mostly for kids younger than mine), and a zoo. The US Embassy had set up tents, and in the tents was free food: hot dogs with Wonder Bread buns (and relish and ketchup), Pizza Hut pizza, brownies and cookies, ice cream, popcorn, blue cotton candy, and American beer and sodas. They had a live country band that played, and three groups of country line dancers that used country CDs, and a local city band that played some American music, including music from "Pirates of the Caribbean." And the Ambassador spoke, and then the band played the Star Spangled Banner and the Luxembourg National Anthem, which is very calm and quiet compared to ours. They also had set up bull riding with lots of padding around for the kids. M especially enjoyed that. It drizzled a bit early on, but then it cleared up, and it was nice temperatures, and nice to sit out on a veranda and listen to the music. I met a lady named Pam who lives in Nancy, France with her French husband. She had never come before, but her husband really liked it, so they said they would see me again next year. And we met a couple named Jill and Chris. She is from Canada, and he is from Texas. And we saw my friends Cary and Kristina, the French horn players. The picnic started at 17:00 and lasted until 22:00.
After church on Sunday, we drove to Kirshberg to the mall for shopping. The stores are usually closed on Sunday, but 3 July was an exception because it was the start of the summer sales. So we ate at Subway (very American), and then went to Auchan to buy a TV set. Then we drove the TV set home and drove back into the center city for Evensong at the Anglican church. It was a nice service.
Then we walked to Place D'Armes to the outside tables at Quick. There was a city band playing, from Schuttrange. We caught the end, and I bought everyone supper. Then we stayed for the next concert, the "Rhythm and Swing Big Band" from Trier, Germany at 20:30. During that concert, I bought everyone ice cream. About 21:40, the girls were getting a bit restless, and maybe Darin also, so we went for a walk around the city walls. We didn't get home until midnight.
Monday (The Fourth) we went to the military cemeteries at Hamm (American) and Sandweiler (German). But then it really started raining, so we went to Aldi for pizza and soda, and spent the rest of the day eating and watching movies at home. I really wish I had remembered to bring my Ronald Reagan/Irving Berlin movie (This is the Army) in my suitcase. I love to watch that on the Fourth of July. I also usually watch 1776, and this year I have them both on DVD, just not in Luxembourg. Oh well. Hopefully we'll have all our stuff with us when the 4th of July rolls around again.
Our next big holiday crisis was for Thanksgiving. I tried to talk the girls into eating something other than turkey, but they were determined. Turkey is a fairly traditional meal in France and Luxembourg for Christmas and/or New Year, but you can't usually find them in the stores in November. So I convinced Vincent from my office to go with me to his favorite butcher shop, and he helped me order a large turkey for Thanksgiving. The owner's name is Yves Krack, and I talked with him personally. He said that big turkeys are no problem because he has lots of American clients and he understands American Thanksgiving. The name of his shop is Boucherie Krack, and his sign has pigs running very fast. As an American, or at least an English speaker, I can't help but think of pigs on crack.
I had suggested early in the planning stages that since it's not a holiday in Luxembourg, we could do something really different on Thanksgiving, like go to a movie and to the Subway for turkey sandwiches. That idea didn't seem to fly at first, but then I guess it started to catch on, except that everyone still wanted a big turkey at home. So the plan became to go to the movies and Subway on Thursday for Thanksgiving Day itself, and then to have the big turkey dinner on Saturday. There was also some concern that if I had to work that day (which I did), then they would have to work on school. I gave them a holiday with school assignments only for Monday-Wednesday. I convinced then that Thanksgiving could be good even if it wasn't exactly the same, and the good times for the 4th of July helped me make my case. Just because it isn't exactly the same (Macy's parade, turkey, and football), doesn't mean it can't be fun.
I was a little bit nervous about going to the butcher shop by myself since my French is still not so good, but when I walked into the butcher shop on Wednesday, the lady knew exactly who I was -- I didn't have to explain anything. "You're the American lady who wanted the big turkey, right?" It wasn't the 10 kg turkey they were trying to find for me, only 7.33 kg, but that was fine. When I went to order it, the owner of the store was all excited about trying to find a 10 kg turkey that I didn't have the heart to tell him that 8 kg would be fine. The owner seemed so excited to have an American client. 7.33 kg works out to about 16 pounds.
On Thanksgiving Day itself, Darin had the girls practice the piano, and then they all came downtown to eat lunch with me at the Quick. Then they went out to the Auchan to finish the shopping. They did find some yams from Israel, and some marshmallows. I met them after work at the Auchan to go to the movies together, The Legend of Zorro. The music was excellent, the themes done by James Horner around a lot of traditional music like "Malaguena", and also some lovely songs by Eduardo Gamboa. It felt like a very American movie.
When we got out of the movie, we went to our usual spot -- Subway for dinner. Some of us had turkey sandwiches. (The Subway is just downstairs from the movie theater.) When we left Subway, we saw that it was snowing. The girls were very excited. We took the bus to the station and then to home. By the time we were home the snow was already coating the trees and making the roads slippery.
The turkey dinner on Saturday was a success. Everyone seemed very happy with the results. My youngest and I set the table, and everything looked really nice. Besides the turkey, we had mashed potatoes and gravy, Darin's sweet potato casserole, Brussel sprouts, broccoli with cheese, and cornbread. In the States I would buy crescent rolls, but I was feeling like I wanted something more American, so Darin made cornbread for us instead. We never did find the pumpkin we needed for the pie. I know they have pumpkin here, but I didn't buy it when I had the chance and then I didn't see it again. We had vanilla ice cream for desert instead.
We watched Chicken Run that afternoon, and then Darin listened to football. We also did piano lessons.
All in all, I think that our first Thanksgiving in Europe was a success.
Christmas didn't seem like such a shock, maybe because it's a holiday here and in the States. They celebrate St. Nicholas Day (6 Dec) here, but we've always celebrated that in the States. I had always wanted Santa Claus to be separate from Jesus' birthday.
The Christmas lights and trees in town were really pretty, and with sunset at about 16:30 right around Christmas, there was a lot of time to see the lights.
But even though familiar, nothing in Europe is quite what I expect. I had a surreal moment at work on 25 November. "Surreal" happens more often in Europe for me than in America. I suppose just living in Europe is still a bit surreal in itself. But this moment was special.
I was in my office, about 16:00, and I hear what sounds like a marching band playing a polka. They are getting closer. When they sound like they are really close, I get up and look out my window. It's a band of marching Santas. Very strange. Then the polka that I didn't recognize ends, and they start up a new song -- "Roll Out the Barrel." The marching Santas march on down the street. I'm just standing by my window thinking, "Did that really happen?", when Bertrand comes in and says, "Did you see the Santa Band?"
"Playing 'Roll Out the Barrel'?", I ask.
"Yes, of course," he answers.
Just one of the many pleasures of being in Europe.
Christmas weekend was nice. On Christmas Eve, I made the girls stay up until past midnight singing Christmas carols at the piano, then we slept until 9:00 on Christmas morning. We ate breakfast, did more singing (but not the whole hymnal this time), read the Christmas story from the Bible, and then started opening gifts about noon. We took a break for lunch at 14:00, and then came back and opened the rest of the gifts. We spent Christmas evening and Boxing Day (also a holiday here) watching new movies (Moonstruck, Kingdom of Heaven, and Episodes I-IV of Star Wars though only Episode III was new) and playing with new games and toys.
After Christmas was over, I was focusing on the girls' January birthdays, and I wasn't thinking much about New Year's Day. When the day came, we decided to finish watching some of the new movies we'd gotten for Christmas. I was wondering how we would know it was midnight if we couldn't watch the big ball in Times Square, but I shouldn't have worried. We had been hearing a few random fireworks through the evening (and even while I was at work the week before), but when midnight came they started for real, all over town. Darin and some of the girls went outside for a while to watch, but I stayed inside and watched from the windows where it was warmer. It was so much nicer than watching something on TV.
My middlest daughter has an August birthday, and she got to spend her birthday at the Mall of America with her grandparents when we were back in the States over the summer. So how do you celebrate for the other two in Luxembourg? At first the girls wanted to spend the weekend in the Black Forest in Germany because we have really happy memories from being there a few years ago on vacation. But this year in Luxembourg, we still don't have a car, and a trip to the Black Forest seemed really difficult.
So the day before their birthday, Darin took the girls to see King Kong on the big screen, and I met them for supper at -- you guessed it -- the only American restaurant in town, Subway.
On the day of their birthday, they spent the mornings decorating their birthday cakes while I was at work, but I made it home about 12:30, and we opened gifts. Then we played games and they played with their new Barbies. It was a very low-key day, but hopefully next year we can have a real birthday party and do something special, maybe even invite over some friends.
Of course, some holidays that are holidays here aren't holidays in the States. Easter Monday for one. The shops are mostly closed, but in the city center, near the palace, there is a craft show. I got there about 08h30, and when I left a little after 10h00, it was starting to get crowded. They said (on the web site for Americans) that the traditional thing to buy in Luxembourg for Easter Monday was a bird whistle. And that seems like it would be very cool, and it was for a while. But when it gets crowded, and every little kid is blowing on a whistle, it was just a bit too much.
Luxembourg also has a holiday for May Day (1 May), Ascension Day, and Pentecost Monday. The next big holiday is in June for the Grand Duke's birthday, which is really in April. But the official holiday is on the birthday of some past GD, and there are fireworks and parades. So it's a bit like the 4th of July in America.
And then there are the holidays that they don't have here. One of them is the 11th of November, which is celebrated in Belgium and France, but not in Germany or Luxembourg. I guess that Luxembourg identifies more with Germany when it comes to the wars?
One holiday they don't celebrate at all in Europe is Columbus Day, which I understand completely. We needed to have something notarized around the time of Columbus Day, and I called the American Embassy to ask about notary services because there was some contradiction about their opening hours listed on the web site. The answering machine message said that the Embassy was closed and we should call back during open hours which are 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, Monday through Friday. Since it was 10:30 on a Monday, I called Darin to ask if this was enough of an emergency to stay on the line for emergency assistance. He tells me to go for it, so I call back and stay on the line.
Usually when you call the American Embassy in Luxembourg, the phone is answered by a woman with a heavy French accent. But this time, it was answered by someone who identified himself as a Marine. I told him that it wasn't really an emergency, and I hated to bother him, but I couldn't figure out from the answering machine message when the Embassy would be open. I told him that the message said Monday through Friday, and today is Monday. He reminded me that it's a holiday in the States, and so Embassy staff have a holiday today. "Oh, right," I said. "Today is Columbus Day. I should have remembered that."
He was very nice. He said that it's really no problem, and that it would be easy to forgot because it's not a holiday that gets a lot of attention usually. He wished me a Happy Columbus Day, and I returned the wishes. He was definitely nicer than the French women who work there. It's good to know that if there is an emergency, then the phones get answered by very polite Marines who can speak American. But I felt bad that I had bothered him when it wasn't an emergency.
Looking back on this past year, I can see why everyone said that the first year would be the most difficult. Adjusting to new holidays and trying to celebrate the traditions of the American holidays would be easier the next time around.
Then some friends of ours offered to lend us a car for a couple of weeks, starting on 1 July. Perfect! So that day, a Friday, I left work and took the train out to Liz and Stu's house. Liz had me take a test drive in the car before I left. Darin wanted to go somewhere as soon as I got home, but it was already 19:00. So Saturday morning Darin and I went to Conforama and the Belle Etoile for some shopping. There was a Dixieland band playing in the halls at Belle Etoile. It was nice, and it reminded us of the Republican picnic we used to attend in Virginia.
After a quick snack, we went out to find the American picnic at about 16:30. The directions were not very good, and we ended up in France, but turned around and found the place. We parked where they told us to and took the bus to the park.
The picnic was at a place called Parc Merveilleux near Bettembourg. They had amazing playgrounds, rides for the kids (though the rides were mostly for kids younger than mine), and a zoo. The US Embassy had set up tents, and in the tents was free food: hot dogs with Wonder Bread buns (and relish and ketchup), Pizza Hut pizza, brownies and cookies, ice cream, popcorn, blue cotton candy, and American beer and sodas. They had a live country band that played, and three groups of country line dancers that used country CDs, and a local city band that played some American music, including music from "Pirates of the Caribbean." And the Ambassador spoke, and then the band played the Star Spangled Banner and the Luxembourg National Anthem, which is very calm and quiet compared to ours. They also had set up bull riding with lots of padding around for the kids. M especially enjoyed that. It drizzled a bit early on, but then it cleared up, and it was nice temperatures, and nice to sit out on a veranda and listen to the music. I met a lady named Pam who lives in Nancy, France with her French husband. She had never come before, but her husband really liked it, so they said they would see me again next year. And we met a couple named Jill and Chris. She is from Canada, and he is from Texas. And we saw my friends Cary and Kristina, the French horn players. The picnic started at 17:00 and lasted until 22:00.
After church on Sunday, we drove to Kirshberg to the mall for shopping. The stores are usually closed on Sunday, but 3 July was an exception because it was the start of the summer sales. So we ate at Subway (very American), and then went to Auchan to buy a TV set. Then we drove the TV set home and drove back into the center city for Evensong at the Anglican church. It was a nice service.
Then we walked to Place D'Armes to the outside tables at Quick. There was a city band playing, from Schuttrange. We caught the end, and I bought everyone supper. Then we stayed for the next concert, the "Rhythm and Swing Big Band" from Trier, Germany at 20:30. During that concert, I bought everyone ice cream. About 21:40, the girls were getting a bit restless, and maybe Darin also, so we went for a walk around the city walls. We didn't get home until midnight.
Monday (The Fourth) we went to the military cemeteries at Hamm (American) and Sandweiler (German). But then it really started raining, so we went to Aldi for pizza and soda, and spent the rest of the day eating and watching movies at home. I really wish I had remembered to bring my Ronald Reagan/Irving Berlin movie (This is the Army) in my suitcase. I love to watch that on the Fourth of July. I also usually watch 1776, and this year I have them both on DVD, just not in Luxembourg. Oh well. Hopefully we'll have all our stuff with us when the 4th of July rolls around again.
Our next big holiday crisis was for Thanksgiving. I tried to talk the girls into eating something other than turkey, but they were determined. Turkey is a fairly traditional meal in France and Luxembourg for Christmas and/or New Year, but you can't usually find them in the stores in November. So I convinced Vincent from my office to go with me to his favorite butcher shop, and he helped me order a large turkey for Thanksgiving. The owner's name is Yves Krack, and I talked with him personally. He said that big turkeys are no problem because he has lots of American clients and he understands American Thanksgiving. The name of his shop is Boucherie Krack, and his sign has pigs running very fast. As an American, or at least an English speaker, I can't help but think of pigs on crack.
I had suggested early in the planning stages that since it's not a holiday in Luxembourg, we could do something really different on Thanksgiving, like go to a movie and to the Subway for turkey sandwiches. That idea didn't seem to fly at first, but then I guess it started to catch on, except that everyone still wanted a big turkey at home. So the plan became to go to the movies and Subway on Thursday for Thanksgiving Day itself, and then to have the big turkey dinner on Saturday. There was also some concern that if I had to work that day (which I did), then they would have to work on school. I gave them a holiday with school assignments only for Monday-Wednesday. I convinced then that Thanksgiving could be good even if it wasn't exactly the same, and the good times for the 4th of July helped me make my case. Just because it isn't exactly the same (Macy's parade, turkey, and football), doesn't mean it can't be fun.
I was a little bit nervous about going to the butcher shop by myself since my French is still not so good, but when I walked into the butcher shop on Wednesday, the lady knew exactly who I was -- I didn't have to explain anything. "You're the American lady who wanted the big turkey, right?" It wasn't the 10 kg turkey they were trying to find for me, only 7.33 kg, but that was fine. When I went to order it, the owner of the store was all excited about trying to find a 10 kg turkey that I didn't have the heart to tell him that 8 kg would be fine. The owner seemed so excited to have an American client. 7.33 kg works out to about 16 pounds.
On Thanksgiving Day itself, Darin had the girls practice the piano, and then they all came downtown to eat lunch with me at the Quick. Then they went out to the Auchan to finish the shopping. They did find some yams from Israel, and some marshmallows. I met them after work at the Auchan to go to the movies together, The Legend of Zorro. The music was excellent, the themes done by James Horner around a lot of traditional music like "Malaguena", and also some lovely songs by Eduardo Gamboa. It felt like a very American movie.
When we got out of the movie, we went to our usual spot -- Subway for dinner. Some of us had turkey sandwiches. (The Subway is just downstairs from the movie theater.) When we left Subway, we saw that it was snowing. The girls were very excited. We took the bus to the station and then to home. By the time we were home the snow was already coating the trees and making the roads slippery.
The turkey dinner on Saturday was a success. Everyone seemed very happy with the results. My youngest and I set the table, and everything looked really nice. Besides the turkey, we had mashed potatoes and gravy, Darin's sweet potato casserole, Brussel sprouts, broccoli with cheese, and cornbread. In the States I would buy crescent rolls, but I was feeling like I wanted something more American, so Darin made cornbread for us instead. We never did find the pumpkin we needed for the pie. I know they have pumpkin here, but I didn't buy it when I had the chance and then I didn't see it again. We had vanilla ice cream for desert instead.
We watched Chicken Run that afternoon, and then Darin listened to football. We also did piano lessons.
All in all, I think that our first Thanksgiving in Europe was a success.
Christmas didn't seem like such a shock, maybe because it's a holiday here and in the States. They celebrate St. Nicholas Day (6 Dec) here, but we've always celebrated that in the States. I had always wanted Santa Claus to be separate from Jesus' birthday.
The Christmas lights and trees in town were really pretty, and with sunset at about 16:30 right around Christmas, there was a lot of time to see the lights.
But even though familiar, nothing in Europe is quite what I expect. I had a surreal moment at work on 25 November. "Surreal" happens more often in Europe for me than in America. I suppose just living in Europe is still a bit surreal in itself. But this moment was special.
I was in my office, about 16:00, and I hear what sounds like a marching band playing a polka. They are getting closer. When they sound like they are really close, I get up and look out my window. It's a band of marching Santas. Very strange. Then the polka that I didn't recognize ends, and they start up a new song -- "Roll Out the Barrel." The marching Santas march on down the street. I'm just standing by my window thinking, "Did that really happen?", when Bertrand comes in and says, "Did you see the Santa Band?"
"Playing 'Roll Out the Barrel'?", I ask.
"Yes, of course," he answers.
Just one of the many pleasures of being in Europe.
Christmas weekend was nice. On Christmas Eve, I made the girls stay up until past midnight singing Christmas carols at the piano, then we slept until 9:00 on Christmas morning. We ate breakfast, did more singing (but not the whole hymnal this time), read the Christmas story from the Bible, and then started opening gifts about noon. We took a break for lunch at 14:00, and then came back and opened the rest of the gifts. We spent Christmas evening and Boxing Day (also a holiday here) watching new movies (Moonstruck, Kingdom of Heaven, and Episodes I-IV of Star Wars though only Episode III was new) and playing with new games and toys.
After Christmas was over, I was focusing on the girls' January birthdays, and I wasn't thinking much about New Year's Day. When the day came, we decided to finish watching some of the new movies we'd gotten for Christmas. I was wondering how we would know it was midnight if we couldn't watch the big ball in Times Square, but I shouldn't have worried. We had been hearing a few random fireworks through the evening (and even while I was at work the week before), but when midnight came they started for real, all over town. Darin and some of the girls went outside for a while to watch, but I stayed inside and watched from the windows where it was warmer. It was so much nicer than watching something on TV.
My middlest daughter has an August birthday, and she got to spend her birthday at the Mall of America with her grandparents when we were back in the States over the summer. So how do you celebrate for the other two in Luxembourg? At first the girls wanted to spend the weekend in the Black Forest in Germany because we have really happy memories from being there a few years ago on vacation. But this year in Luxembourg, we still don't have a car, and a trip to the Black Forest seemed really difficult.
So the day before their birthday, Darin took the girls to see King Kong on the big screen, and I met them for supper at -- you guessed it -- the only American restaurant in town, Subway.
On the day of their birthday, they spent the mornings decorating their birthday cakes while I was at work, but I made it home about 12:30, and we opened gifts. Then we played games and they played with their new Barbies. It was a very low-key day, but hopefully next year we can have a real birthday party and do something special, maybe even invite over some friends.
Of course, some holidays that are holidays here aren't holidays in the States. Easter Monday for one. The shops are mostly closed, but in the city center, near the palace, there is a craft show. I got there about 08h30, and when I left a little after 10h00, it was starting to get crowded. They said (on the web site for Americans) that the traditional thing to buy in Luxembourg for Easter Monday was a bird whistle. And that seems like it would be very cool, and it was for a while. But when it gets crowded, and every little kid is blowing on a whistle, it was just a bit too much.
Luxembourg also has a holiday for May Day (1 May), Ascension Day, and Pentecost Monday. The next big holiday is in June for the Grand Duke's birthday, which is really in April. But the official holiday is on the birthday of some past GD, and there are fireworks and parades. So it's a bit like the 4th of July in America.
And then there are the holidays that they don't have here. One of them is the 11th of November, which is celebrated in Belgium and France, but not in Germany or Luxembourg. I guess that Luxembourg identifies more with Germany when it comes to the wars?
One holiday they don't celebrate at all in Europe is Columbus Day, which I understand completely. We needed to have something notarized around the time of Columbus Day, and I called the American Embassy to ask about notary services because there was some contradiction about their opening hours listed on the web site. The answering machine message said that the Embassy was closed and we should call back during open hours which are 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, Monday through Friday. Since it was 10:30 on a Monday, I called Darin to ask if this was enough of an emergency to stay on the line for emergency assistance. He tells me to go for it, so I call back and stay on the line.
Usually when you call the American Embassy in Luxembourg, the phone is answered by a woman with a heavy French accent. But this time, it was answered by someone who identified himself as a Marine. I told him that it wasn't really an emergency, and I hated to bother him, but I couldn't figure out from the answering machine message when the Embassy would be open. I told him that the message said Monday through Friday, and today is Monday. He reminded me that it's a holiday in the States, and so Embassy staff have a holiday today. "Oh, right," I said. "Today is Columbus Day. I should have remembered that."
He was very nice. He said that it's really no problem, and that it would be easy to forgot because it's not a holiday that gets a lot of attention usually. He wished me a Happy Columbus Day, and I returned the wishes. He was definitely nicer than the French women who work there. It's good to know that if there is an emergency, then the phones get answered by very polite Marines who can speak American. But I felt bad that I had bothered him when it wasn't an emergency.
Looking back on this past year, I can see why everyone said that the first year would be the most difficult. Adjusting to new holidays and trying to celebrate the traditions of the American holidays would be easier the next time around.
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