Farewell to France

We are really feeling like our time in Fontainebleau is slipping away quickly! P only has classes until the very first week of December (thanks to his good course-planning), in order to be work-free for when baby E arrives, and so we are planning our exit. After navigating prenatal care in four countries, we have finally decided to give birth in Germany. We have decided that giving birth in Vancouver is out of the question as I would have to fly home earlier than P and he could possibly miss the birth! The birth culture in Germany is very natural and hollistic, which I really appreciate, and the midwives I have met there so far were really amazing. Added to that is the fact that P has family in Germany, an empty apartment, and staying in Europe means we can attend his graduation! All in all, we are happy with our decision and are now faced with the daunting task of packing all of our things and saying goodbye to our amazing friends.

I didn't think that I would be so sad to leave Fontainebleau. My french never improved and I didnt train to Paris half as much as I thought I would! But the fall was really stunning and the small french town really grew on me. Every Sunday afternoon lingering on the cafe terrace in the sun and each fresh baguette (and macaron and chouquette and croissant) at the patisserie nearby made me realize how difficult it would be to leave France behind. Here are some highlights from our last weeks in Fonty:

The Fontainebleau forest was a beautiful place to wander in the fall and was a great backdrop for some pregnancy photos! 35 weeks and counting...!

Raclette with our wonderful roommates was an absolute dream!!

Before leaving for Germany, our amazing friends got together for a farewell dinner at our favourite spot Pizza Pazza!

I guess I should also mention what P has been up to these days! Wrapping up his courses has been time-consuming, but the main focus of this semester has been job-hunting! Interviews and information nights have been busy and he is waiting to hear back from a few companies. Competition is tough, of course, and the current economic situation in Europe isn't making it easy for anyone! We are anxious for news of where we might be going next...

I know that P is sad to leave as well (he is a life-time student at heart!) but he is also eager to enjoy what is coming next: meeting baby E and starting a new adventure!

A Fabulous Fall in France!

October brought us sunny days, beautiful coloured leaves and visitors!

My best friend L stayed with us for a week and we did some great sightseeing together in Paris! Though we planned not to go to all of the Paris tourist spots, we just couldn't resist! The iconic Paris monuments were magnificent in the autumn sunshine and our days were filled with photo opps and french cafes!

After a week together learning all about champagne at the Moet-Chandon champagne house in Epernay, visiting Versailles, and relaxing in Fontainebleau, we said our sad goodbyes.

Then P and I were off to Kempten to visit P's extended family for the second time this year! There we met up with P's mom, spent four days exploring Allgau together, and then brought her back to France with us! We spent the P4 break travelling in Normandy and Bretagne which was beautiful!

 We were so happy to be back in Germany, sampling the kaffee and kuchen (and spätzle and kartoffelsalat and schnitzel...) of Bavaria!
We were taken aback by the beauty of the french countryside on our road trip north! We dipped our toes in the Atlantic sea at Normandy beach and wandered through adorable towns with beautiful architecture and fantastic croissants!
It was a wonderful way to finish our fabulous time in France!

Fonty state of mind

Fonty State of Mind

Class started up again on August 29th and P basically hit the ground running. Though coursework has slowed down a bit this semester, recruiting season has started in full force. Every afternoon or evening 2-4 companies present on campus to an amphitheatre full of eager almost-graduates, "coffee chats" have started with recruiting executives, and cover letters are being written and re-written. There is a whole new batch of students and partners on campus now, who have started their first semester in September. For the first few weeks of the month, I helped with the new partner orientation and activities, like showing them around the market, and introducing our clubs. There is also a batch of students and partners that have come on exchange from Singapore and it's been fun to connect with the partners that I met there in this completely different sleepy little town.

Fall in Fontainebleau has been surprisingly beautiful so far - sunny and warm with the odd cloudy day. This time around it seems much easier now that things are familiar and I can find the grocery store, the pharmacy, the post office, the alterationist. I even know which stores are open on mondays (probably because i can count them on one hand). We have settled back into a routine here that includes some studying, but mostly interview prep for P, and prenatal aquagym classes, yoga, thesis stuff, and cooking for me! We are definitely not taking advantage of the chateau parties so much this time around, which I am noticing is a common story among the other P4s as well. The mood has shifted from work hard, play hard, to oh crap, now I have to find a job! Students are researching companies, practicing cases, doing mock interviews - anything they can to feel on top of their game.

Last week we took a mini road trip to Reims, about a 2-hour drive away in the Champagne region to get a taste of another small french town, and to learn about French champagne!! We toured the Pommery champagne estate, which houses 8 million bottles of champagne in underground caves that were orginally a Roman quarry!  Naturally, the tour ended with a tasting, which P enjoyed very much (two glasses for him!).

P is heading to London this week with the Real Estate club, in order to do some networking with companies there, while I am getting ready to pick up my best friend L, who will be visiting from Vancouver on friday! I am very excited to be spending a week with her in France!!

Baby E continues to do well.. just growing and moving constantly. Here is a picture we took today. I am 2 days shy of the 31-week mark. For those of you counting, that means that I am just about to start my EIGHTH MONTH! eeks!! I reached a point where barely any of my clothes fit anymore, and so this week I bit the bullet and went in to Paris with my (also pregnant!!) friend C and hit up H&M for some cheap maternity duds. With only two months (and a bit) to go, I refuse to spend money on pregnancy clothes, but with literally no pants that fit, I was at the end of my rope! I was able to find some fantastic pieces (jeans included!) that will hopefully last the rest of the way! It feels great to look normal in clothes again and not have to be constantly checking to see if my belly band has ridden up or wearing flip flops everywhere because my shoes are too tight! I'm actually hoping that the weather will cool down soon, because my fall wardrobe of long cozy sweaters will be just perfect!

The baby is the size of a squash now, and will probably hit "pumpkin" just in time for Halloween. Now that it has all of it's senses ready to go, I've been trying to get P to talk to my belly more! This usually starts with a: "Baby.. I am your father" in a Darth Vader voice, and ends with a dialogue in some random accent: Sergei the Russian, a hunter from the Australian outback, a old German woman... P is very good at accents. HOWEVER the point of talking to the belly is so that the baby will recognize his voice and so I have given up. The baby probably thinks I live with a bunch of wierdos.

In other news, our apartment is big and wonderful and has plenty of extra rooms so come and visit if you can!!!

Entering a new decade

My 30th birthday was our last day in Berlin. We celebrated with birthday pancakes at a cafe nearby that had ``Canadian pancakes`` on the menu (a fabulous discovery) and then set off on our week-long road trip that would eventually lead us back to Fontainebleau.

Day one (still my birthday) was a 7-hour journey to Kempten. Just outside of Munich, this is where P`s extended family lives! We were lucky enough to see all three of his cousins while we were there and indulge in Oma`s delicious cooking! Throughout the weekend we took little road trips around the countryside to check out the lakes and the famous castle Neuschwanstein, celebrated cousin E`s birthday, and heard all sorts of fabulous stories about life when Oma was growing up!

From Kempten we drove all the way to Siena, in Tuscany and were shocked by the heat and the breathtaking countryside! We stayed in a villa outside of town and had amazing views of rolling hills and striking gladiator trees! We wandered through the city of Siena, making sure to taste-test the gelato and cappucino, and then through the tiny towns of San Gimignano, Montereggiano and Voltara! We also had to stop in Pisa to see the infamous tower, with its poor structural design ;)

Our next stop was Cinque Terre, probably one of the most striking places I have ever visited! 5 beautiful towns perched on cliffs above the ocean, each with it`s own beauty and character, and connected by hiking trails, trains, and tiny winding death-defying roads. Unfortunately, because we reached Cinque Terre by car, we had to drive on the scary roads and I am not exagerating when I say they are terrifying! They are less than one lane wide in places and have completely blind corners and insane switchbacks and the outside driver (US as we arrived) gets to look down at a sheer cliff drop-off, sometimes with NO BARRIER! I`m not going to lie, I cried. But the views from the cliffs were unlike anything I had seen before and it really was an amazing experience, once the trauma wore off. We spent the next day and a half hiking and training between the towns in the 40 degree heat.

I don`t know if all of you are aware of this, but every time we arrive in a new town or city anywhere (not just this trip, but always), P needs to get a good vantage point and always has us climb to a lookout point or walks up a million stairs to get to the top of some random tower to get a view of the city. Cinque Terre is 5 beautiful towns on cliffs. So up we went. 5 giant cliffs. Up and down and up and down... you get the picture. But being 6 months pregnant in 40 degree heat was intense! By late afternoon, I was almost always walking like a 95 year-old woman with arthritic hips and I couldnt even recognize my own feet!! I was a walking marshmallow man! Luckily, almost every town had a marina to dive into and so we celebrated each gorgeous viewpoint with a glorious swim in the mediterranean! After a swim in the cold salty water my legs would magically shrink down to normal and I was relieved to know that this would be temporary! (Thats me in the picture.. if you look very closely.. im the starfish in the bottom right)

From there we drove through the south of France, stopping in Monaco for a glimpse at the casinos in Monte Carlo, and of course, a hike up the the (ahem) lookout in the old town, and in Cannes for dinner and a walk on the beach. We ended up in beautiful Avignon in Provence for a glimpse of the beautiful countryside and of course, the famous bridge. We celebrated our return to France with a delicious breakfast of (what else!) croissants and tartine and cappucinos, and then continued our drive north to Fontainebleau.

We arrived last night and have spent the last little while getting organized here. I am happy to say that we have a beautiful and BIG apartment here now, still in Avon, but slightly closer to the school, and a sleek new automatic Megane! woot woot!! P begins class again tomorrow and I need to hit the books as well as I am now a good 2 weeks behind on my own thesis deadlines.

As for the world-travelling fetus, baby E is growing furiously and so am I. Six months pregant now (to the day!), I am looking large and feel like I am bursting out of my own skin. Luckily, I have German herbal oils to keep stretch-marks in check! Aside from the incredible water-retention in the heat of Italy, I am still feeling good and healthy and we are counting down the last 3 months until baby E is here!

Ich bin eine Berliner!

It's hard to believe that two months have passed since we arrived in Berlin. It flew by and now I feel like I have to play catch-up with this blog! My thesis seems to have taken all my writing juices lately, which is great, but here I am with two whole months to report on!

We basically loved Berlin. The vibe is very down-to-earth and the people are friendly and eclectic. The city is not exactly beautiful, per se, but has interesting neighbourhoods to explore, art, history, parks galore! I was especially impressed at the family-friendliness of the city. In our area, Prenzlauerberg, just about every person I saw was pregnant. One day P and I had a contest to see how many pregnant ladies on bikes we could count, and we reached 10 in less than 2 hours! There are parks on every corner, and there are amazing children`s playgrounds in them, with natural materials and interesting playthings. There is one specific park near our apartment that has 4 different playgrounds in it - each one for children of different ages and developmental stages! A schoolyard nearby has a completely 100% natural playground, with slides built into hills, lots of bushes and trees with natural tunnels and passageways through them, interesting boulders for climbing, and an area with different sized sticks for building and imagination! Ì was amazed with natural playgrounds before coming to Berlin, but now I`m obsessed! I really appreciated how nature is valued in German culture. From the strong presence of naturopathy (even within modern medical practices!), to the abundance of organic markets and products, the compost stations in apartment complexes, and bike lanes on every street, and especially the green spaces within the city! I really felt like it radiates a certain sense of well-being that other western countries just don`t have. Aaand I also must give a shout-out to the 2:00-5:00pm kaffee and kuchen time that just rocked my world. But for the other highlights of our short stint in Berlin, I`m going to do this bullet-point style:

* Free weekends meant road trips, of course! We made our way to Hamburg to visit my friend Jenny and her family (who I had met in 2004 when we studied in Singapore together). Her little 4-month old, Idris, is amazing and he makes me so excited to have our own little baby in a few months!

We also managed to go to Prague - a must-see for both of us! We wandered through the streets admiring the architecture, seeing the sites and enjoying these amazing cinnamon bun things!!

The city was packed with tourists, but it made for a buzzing atmosphere that was lively until late into the night.

Little did we know, Berlin has some lovely weekend destinations of its own! A short drive took us to Potsdam and it's famous castle San Soussi, the Wannsee, and Pfaueninsel. We lounged in the gardens, sampled the ice cream, and had a pedal boat adventure.

* We were also lucky enought to have some fabulous visitors of our own! S moved to Berlin in August for a change of scenery and has made it a personal mission to taste-test every kaffee and kuchen place in Berlin! Happily I have been joining him and let me say it has been a very successful month!! E and O, our good friends from back in Fonty drove over from their summer location in Luxembourg to check out Berlin! We shared our love of kuchen, kindercafes, beergartens, and the sites! AND just this weekend, Jenny and her brood came to us! We strolled the streets of Prenzlberg and had some delicious meals and lots of gorgeous baby smiles!

* In baby news, it seems that we have taken the term "babymoon" to new extremes. In it's 6 short months of existence, this fetus has been to France, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Next up: Italy! We have exactly one week (and two weekends) to make our way back to Fonty for the fourth semester, and we're going the long way through the north of Italy! It's always been a dream of mine to drive through the countryside of Tuscany, and so we figured what better time than now?! Just in time for my (gulp) 30th birthday, and 3 short months before the birth of baby E, I just can't imagine anything more beautiful and exciting!

Baby Update!

I thought I would include an update on Baby E, as this pregnancy seems to be flying by! At 21 weeks today, baby is the size of a canteloupe (according to my weekly updates from babycenter.ca) and weighs just about a pound.

Being pregnant in four different countries has been an interesting adventure in itself and I thought I would shed a bit of light on some interesting practices i've come accross so far:

Weeks 1 to 8: France

When I suspected I was pregnant, I called the local hospital to make an appointment to confirm it. Luckily my french class had covered this exact scenario and so I used my limited vocab to set up an appointment for the following week. I managed to write down the directions that the secretary gave me and made a mental note that it seemed like a lot of steps to go through before actually seeing the doctor. I arrived at the hospital and was able to find the administration building relatively quickly. After a few failed attempts, I finally ended up in the right line-up and waited with about 20 others to register. When it was my turn, I was hoping for an english-speaker. Nope, no luck. Luckily I can give someone my particulars (name, birthdate, address, phone number) in french without much trouble. The secretary handed me a few sheets of paper and sent me off. Then I had to find the gynaecology building. Easier said than done when there is no signage. Finally there, I waited in another waiting room line up to speak with the secretary there. Still no english. I communicated that I had an appointment and was directed to another line up outside some some offices. At this time P had met me there, and after waiting for almost an hour, he asked the nurse for more info. It turned out that we had to wait for the one gyno who was on staff today, and he was currently called to do a C-section. There were also three women ahead of us. They told us the wait would be anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours. We LOVE French efficiency! I made up my mind then NOT to sign up with an OB in the hospital because I knew that I couldnt manage this every time. Once we got in to see him, I was a bit unnerved. He was just a little bit older than us, dischevled, with dark red bloodshot eyes. He looked like he had been awake for three days. He asked me in french for the purpose of my visit, and I started out with my rehearsed " je pense que je suis ensante..." and his first question to me was "Est-ce que vous voulez le grossesse?" (do you want this pregnancy?") I burst into a stream of "oui!!!"s while P was trying to figure out what "grossesse" meant. Realizing that my lack of French could have made this appointment go terribly wrong was really unsettling to me. Anyways, after we had gotten passed that, we had an echography and actually saw the tiiiiny baby (really just a speck) and even heard the heartbeat! It was exciting and thrilling! The doctor sent us off with a prescription for an anti-nausea (i wasn't even sick yet), a pain reliever, and an antibiotic (for just in case. WHAT?). I took the prescriptions without any intention of filling them, and away we went to the payment building to pay up. Before we left, the secretary told me my due date would be December 7, 2011. 

I spent the last few weeks in France sick as a dog, surviving only on rice crackers, tea biscuits and cereal; I slept about 20 hours per day.


Week 9 to 12: Vancouver

I went to my family doctor in Vancouver to fill her in on the pregnancy and to see what she had to say in terms of prenatal care. I had a few questions and I was ecstatic to speak with someone in English. The appointment was the standard 15 minutes, and after congratulating me, my doctor told me to be sure to take prenatal vitamins (me: "anything specific?", her: "no, just grab one from the drug store") and gave me a referral for a dating ultrasound. She told me there was nothing else to do until 20 weeks, so good luck. And off I went.

Tiff and I went to my ultrasound appointment at about 9 weeks and saw the tiny jelly bean with arms and legs doing a little dance. The technician told me the due date would be November 29th, 2011.

I spent the next few weeks in Vancouver relaxing, seeing my acupuncturist, and eating homecooked meals! I also had a strange obsession with mangoes and ate about 2 a day for the duration of my visit.

Week 12 to 18: Singapore

After a few weeks in Singapore, I thought I should check up on how the baby was progressing. I made an appointment at the University hospital nearby and went in for my visit. The maternity wing was brand spanking new and it looked like I was about to enter a spa. The reception area had a long tall desk with attendants behind it in matching lavender suits with scarves around their necks. It looked like a hotel lobby employed by airline hostesses. I checked in at the desk and was given a stick to pee on, and a post-partum depression checklist to fill out (do I cry everyday, am i feeling hopeless etc.) I was told that I would be given the pee stick and the checklist every time I came in in order to compare my results each time. The receptionist also gave me about 4 forms describing their prenatal "packages" with their fees and information about birth in the hospital (what to bring etc). I explained twice that I was only here for a visit and I was leaving Singapore in a matter of weeks, but was given the same answer each time (I must give you these forms, it's protocol). Ah, Singapore. After I was "checked in", I waited in the waiting area and read a few of the magazines there that advertised magic potions for baby brain development and preschools that start in infancy to help your child get ahead. When it was my turn, the doctor took a brief medical history, checked my blood pressure and the baby's heartbeat. When I asked some questions, she told me to make an appointment with a GP, and gave me a prescription for a specific prenatal vitamin that was sure to make my baby a astro-physicist ("it's like being breast-fed in the womb"). I thanked her, and returned to the reception desk to pay.

My seven weeks in Singapore involved near-daily swims in our pool, thesis-writing, and lots and lots of dim sum. I was having a hard time eating in Singapore as I have had a major meat aversion almost the whole pregnancy and the only thing that seemed to help was dumplings! So dumplings it was! Apart from the continuing mango obsession, I was worried about my diet very generally as most of the food we were eating was pre-prepared chinese and malaysian food at the hawker stands and food courts around town (how much msg is too much msg?!?!). Cooking in our apartment was harder than hoped, as tiny little ants seemed to appear out of nowhere as soon as food turned up on a counter. I ate lots of basics that could be safely kept in the fridge (yogurt, cheese and crackers, fruit, cereal etc) and relied on some tried and true nearby cafes for the rest (a soup and salad bar, sushi etc).

Week 19 to 21: Germany

 I had done some research while in Singapore about prenatal options in Germany and discovered that since we are now covered by health insurance (hurray!!!!), I can see a midwife and a gynaecologist every two weeks if I want to! I researched a few offices, and found a midwife practice within walking distance from our apartment. I had set up an appointment with a German midwife for our first week in Berlin, so when we arrived in Berlin, I gave her a call. The phone rang quite a few times and when my midwife answered, she sounded a bit out of breath. She apologized and told me that she was in the countryside picking berries! Immediatly I thought, this is perfect! Our first visit was an hour and a half long. She made me hot chocolate and we chatted about pregnancy and birth, Berlin, my thesis. She measured my belly, checked my blood pressure and the baby's heart rate and she gave me a referral for my 20-week ultrasound. It was brilliant! I also received my "mutterpass" which is a little booklet I have to carry around at all times with my health info and my midwife/doctor's info to all of my appointments so that I am literally carrying my medical records for every provider to see and add to. I thought this was very smart.

So a few days ago, P and I went to the gynaecologist for an ultrasound. We were both nervous to see how everything was progressing, and I was extremely excited to find out the sex (P doesn't want to know)! After a mix-up with some insurance paperwork (contrary to popular belief, German beaurocracy isn't any more efficient than the French!), the doctor (who spoke perfect English) whisked us in for our appointment. She chatted away happily, telling us how she had lived in Winnepeg and hated it, and how horrible the prairies are. Finally, she set up the ultrasound and we saw the baby - now actually the shape of a real baby - and P left the room briefly so she could tell me the sex. She checked and measured it and determining it healthy, we were on our way.

I seem to have grown exponentially here in Germany. It is most likely due to the fact that the baby has doubled in size over the last three weeks, but I also can't help but contribute it to the healthy and fresh food here! All of our meat, milk and eggs are organic and the fruit and veggies are so fresh! Now that I finally have a full kitchen, I have been cooking like crazy and I'm feeling great! 

I tried to take a picture of my belly by myself because we never seem to get around to it but it didnt work so well. Eventually P came home and could help me! I also decided to wear white for the second picture because everyone was commenting that I was too small! I think the white really emphasizes the bump nicely! We took the pictures yesterday, at exactly the 21-week mark.

Google Translate is my best friend

Six weeks in Singapore went by in a blur of studying (for P), weekend trips, and dim sum. I blinked, and then it was time to leave. We said goodbye to Asia with a long weekend in the Perhentian islands in Malaysia (see below) and packed our bags for Berlin.

Part III of our 2011 adventure has us living in Berlin for July and August, during P's supposed "summer vacation" as he has a paid internship with Groupon. Although we were tempted to spend the summer travelling like many of P's classmates, the opportunity to finally make money this year (imagine that!) and to live in Germany (which both of us have always wanted to try) was too good to refuse!

So far, we are loving it! We are renting an apartment from a friend of a friend of P's work colleague, and it is simple and beautiful, with high ceilings, a small terrace and a fully stocked kitchen (FINALLY!). It is in the heart of Prenzlauer berg, which seems to be a pretty well-to-do area with millions of coffee shops, restaurants, parks, a beer garten and a twice-weekly organic market!! The only downside so far is that we are on the fifth and top floor of our apartment building and there are no elevators. This means climbing 84 steps (yes, we counted) every time we get home. I can make it to the fourth floor without collapsing, but the last leg is a doozy.

The more I find out about Berlin, the better my impression gets! For instance, we can recycle everything! Our building has an amazing number of bins for sorting garbage, and even compost! I am so impressed. Take that, Singapore! (in Singapore there wasn't even recycling for paper and I cried the first time I had to throw a cereal box in the garbage). Also, most things in the grocery store are organic and local - just a normal everyday corner store - no Whole Foods anywhere! AND they're cheap! Groceries in Berlin are half the price of groceries in Fontainebleau and I am shocked how far a euro will go. The best example may be ice cream.  In Fonty, we were lucky to find un petit boule for 3 euros; in Paris, 5 euros, minimum. In Berlin, a kugel (scoop) is 60 euro cents!!!! zwei kugeln are 1,20! Things like this make my day. (Side note: is it weird that my German vocabulary only extends as far as ice cream flavours? Literally, I am lost reading street signs, or anything in the markets, but take me to an ice cream shop and I can order like a champ).

So, I guess maybe some of you are interested in what P has been up to....! His third period in Singapore was INTENSE. I think I mentioned that for the month of May, I saw him for maybe 20 minutes a day. Luckily, things eased up in June and he had more time for sightseeing and some great weekend travel. His courses were mostly electives that semester and so he was eager to do work with courses that he chose himself (corporate finance, negotiations, real estate, international political anaylisis, dynamic pricing and management, project management, and macroeconomics in a global economy) and only had exams in the two core courses. We were both ready when it was time to leave Singapore, and P especially was looking forward to a summer "break" - no school meant free time in the evenings and on weekends! Unfortunately, his new office in Berlin was less than prepared for his arrival, and the first few days of work were frustratingly disorganized. On top of that, the work is done entirely in German, which is some extra added stress! It's been about two weeks now and P is much happier there. His role is mostly analytical, and since the Berlin office is the headquarters for all of Europe, he gets a pretty interesting perspective. He still works long-ish hours (9am to 8pm), but the days are long here (it gets dark around 10:30/11pm) and the weekends are still lavishly work-free! We are renting a car for the summer and have spent our first two weekends exploring the sites and suburbs of Berlin, taking in a few museums, castles, and parks. P also has quite a few road trips in mind for the remaining weekends, including yesterday's jaunt to Hamburg.

I will also just say that listening to P speak German is sooooooo cute!! Though his vocab is still growing, he can express himself fully and I often need to rely on him to translate just about everything. Most people around our age speak English fluently, but I have been surprised by the number of people who don't speak any at all, and so sometimes this can be a bit of a road block. This is why I love Google.

With thesis deadlines all summer, I have been taking advantage of the many coffee shops and the serenity of our apartment to write like crazy. Not knowing anyone in Berlin has served the purpose of allowing me absolutely no distractions, so I'm getting farther this month than I have all year (oops!). Most of my days are spent working, exploring the neigbourhood, going to midwife appointments, and cooking/baking. Next week I am starting a beginners German class to take advantage of this amazing opportunity of living in Berlin. I don't have any high hopes for fluency in my two week course, but if I can come out of it able to pronounce Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgaben-übertragungsgesetz, i will be satisfied.