This past weekend was a huge festival in Bamberg, downtown. I'm not sure of the purpose of the festival (do we really
need a reason for a festival?) but anyway, Jake and the little one and I all went for a few hours on Sunday. It was the first time I have seen so many people on a Sunday in Germany! Germany is usually 'closed' on Sunday.
The festival was, on the most part, enjoyable. We really didn't know what to expect. We took the city bus to the downtown (old) section of Bamberg and there were tents and picnic tables everywhere with food concessions and people EVERYWHERE. The little one was pretty good for a short while but I knew she would be a handful in such a crowd. The only thing she could think of was feeding the ducks on the river. However, the regular bakeries were not open to buy bread from and as usual everything takes a while to figure out and we couldn't get bread fast enough to suit the little princess. Finally we got some and made it to the river so she could feed the ducks. She ended up throwing a temper tantrum for some different reason, (I think it was because she wanted to ride one of the only rides set up and we didn't let her).
We didn't let her basically because we couldn't figure out where the line started, how much it cost...(or did you buy a ticket???) and how to go about letting her on the ride. Especially because she is not patient enough for us to stand around for a bit and figure it out. We had to walk away from the ride with her screaming. Now, just because there were a thousand people in the immediate vicinity doesn't mean that her screams were drowned out by all the people talking. Because a thousand German people are NOT loud. In fact they are very quiet...so you can imagine that her screams drew a lot of attention. But oh well, kids will be kids, right? And just then she starts yelling at the top of her lungs...."YOU STINK, MOMMY!!!!!" over and over. What a lovely little child.
And for the record it WASN'T me but rather some one's terrible body oder that we all three noticed. The only consolation is in hoping not very many people understood her English. Her fit was pretty typical for her, if not a bit subdued. It was basically us trying like hell to get her away from everyone and she refusing to walk...so we carry her and she kicks and screams. Jake stuffed her in a corner and we waited out the tantrum. I had a bread roll in my purse and told Jake, "Why don't you go ahead and go feed the ducks and when she is going to be a good girl we will come and join you." We stood in the corner for another few minutes and joined up with him. No more problems for the rest of the trip (only another hour left). So then we found a wonderful band and listened to German favorites like Roll out the Barrel (except in German, duh) and other beer drinking songs. The little one had a great time for a bit; dancing and watching the band. The band was great; all were dressed in traditional German clothing and even had some participatory songs. There were about 11-13 members in the band. Jake and I enjoyed part of a beer and then the little one let us know that she was ready to go home. We decided to go ahead and leave else she let us know in a different way (tantrums?).
As I was standing there in the crowd; drinking my Hefe Weizen, watching my youngest daughter dance and listened to the music that the band played I was having an awesome time. I LOVED it. The culture is just so wonderful. BUT, I find myself so concerned that I will do something culturally incompetent that it is difficult to have a good time for very long. And that goes for taking the little one. If I am not dealing with her tantrums then I am living in fear of her having one...especially in a culture that I am not comfortable in to begin with. I don't know; maybe the tantrums are coming fewer and farther between but I have said that before.
About the language barrier and being self consious. Ok, here is a story. Jake was the one who went up and bought our beers. Whoopity doo; he asked for two hefe weizen and they gave them to him plus two tickets. (For the record I was the one who had ordered (read: stumbled through) our lunch order earlier...two small pepsi, one small 7-up, chicken nuggets, a kids meal cheeseburger and a bratwurst meal, plus the bread rolls for the ducks). He came back puzzled about the tickets and I told him it is probably for the glass deposit...in order to get your deposit back you must turn in the ticket with it. So when it was time to go...he handed me the glasses (which were half full...or is it half empty???) and the tickets. I have to admit that I was aggrevated that I had to do that...deal with taking the glasses back, because I didn't even know how much he paid for the deposits, but oh well...I did it.
So I gave the tickets back along with the glasses and wouldn't you know that the guy had to start talking. I figured out that he said something about being more beer in the glasses to drink and so I laughed it off and then he said something about the 5 Euro he was trying to give me back. He was holding it and kept repeating something over and over, and then over and over. And then he figured he would say it in English (which he seemed to speak fairly well) but by now I was so upset and the music was loud (we were very near the band) so that I still could not understand him. Finally Jake comes up behind me and gets a handful of change out of his pocket and says...'give him a euro!" So I fished a Euro out of the stack of change and gave it to the man and he gave me the 5 Euro bill. Good Grief, was that all it was?? I tell you that I was so upset by that and often by other things like that that happen. Makes me not want to go back "out there". It is a very exhausting experience doing anything. Maybe it wouldn't be if I didn't care but I am very concerned about making someone annoyed because yet another American didn't bother to learn their language. How many times have I heard people in USA talk about the 'foreigners' needing to learn to speak English!!!!!!! Now I am so self consious about my short comings that it is hard to have a good time. I was pretty much upset the entire bus ride home and then some. When we got home B asked us if we had a good time. I said, "well it was a festival...I wouldn't actually say it was a good time, but it was a festival."
Tomorrow is the little one's 4th birthday. She has a spider man cake and presents to open. She is so darn excited. Several times per day she says, "feel my head mommy! I'm a big girl now!" She is going to wear her "pretty pink dress with the flower" and she is going to share her birthday cake with us. She tells us this all the time. We are going to drop by and visit the German kindergarten that she will start on Thursday of this week. Jake got home Saturday night, spent two nights at home and is gone again tonight. He will be here for the little one's birthday and that night and will be gone the next.
