theatre crawl

Adam and I did a quick trip to London this week... Tuesday to Thursday morning. A mere 48 hours. But you'd be surprised how much you can get done in 48 hours when you arm yourself with a Tube ticket, a bottle of water, and some money.

We saw the cutest little kids on our way to our awful hotel.

Hello, cutie little British children. I just want to pinch your cheeks.


We saw Billy Elliot at the Victoia Palace Theatre. The main actor couldn't have been more than 10 or 12 and he was just amazing. He could sing, he could dance up a storm, and he had such a stage presence.


The next day we wandered down Portobello Road and contemplated buying a big leather trunk. But, I don't think EasyJet would have let it count as our carry-on. So, sadly, it is still on Portobello Road. However, we did buy a cupcake. Not really a replacement for an awesome piece of furniture, but it does soothe the soul. And the bakery was just the cutest.





Then it was on to Shakepeare's Globe Theatre for Romeo and Juliet. More from Adam on that later.



That evening we grabbed one last show. We saw Waiting for Godot with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan. They were captivating. It was thrilling to be that close to big famous people. Adam stifled his desire to wave. I was very proud of him.


I can't say that I really understood the play. But, I'm not sure you're supposed to. In my opinion, it is purposefully vague. You know, so you can make your own interpretations. I confess, we pulled it up on Sparknotes when we got home.


I am definitely going to miss the incredibly cheap European travel when we return to CA. EasyJet, will you please have $50 tickets to London from LA??

I can't wait to not feel like an idiot

Today Laura and I actually had a full morning. We woke up early (before 8am! Oh, this summer thing gets tough.) We took the car in for an oil change and to get some new brakes put on.
We did some errands in Kandern, stopped at the bakery for a croissant and coffee, and picked up the bill from the dentist for the work he did a few months back.

When we returned home, Laura logged onto our German bank account to transfer payment to the dentist. I was sitting next to her on the couch and as she clicked on the online-banking tab she said "online banking." Now, I can forgive a mistake or two every once in a while, but we have been here for nearly a full year, and I thought it was high time for my wife to get her pronunciation correct. So, being the German expert that I am, I corrected her by saying "bonking." She repeated "online bonking," and giggled. It was cute. Then she unleashed the quotation of the day: "I can't wait to not feel like an idiot every day." This, of course, is referring to our daily struggle of German culture, language, and living. But if you ask me, Laura has really done an amazing job of learning a lot of important words and phrases. So though she might feel like one sometimes, she is no idiot. And I'm proud of her.

Just some pictures

Since we have been so lazy about putting pictures up here, we thought we would just load a few at a time. These are graduation and the awards ceremony the night before.

Awards Ceremony

these 4 students have attended BFA since 1st grade... all of them

Between Adam and I, we had all of them in our classes. Each of them are amazing individuals. They were recognized for their "longevity"... we always called them lifers.
Here they are watching a video of themselves in the 1st grade.

They really were precious as their elementary selves.

Graduation

before
after
this is the insanity after graduation...

Adam is in this picture... I'll give you a hint, he's wearing sunglasses

I borrowed some of these pictures from our resident camera-toting, dedicated photographers: Sandee and Mark.

I didn't even ask. I just did it. Thanks!

More pictures to come...

Work Week

I wish we had pictures to show you because my words just won't do it justice... but I'll try.

All of the staff at BFA are supposed to put in two weeks of summer work, to help get all the stuff done around here that schools in the States hire crews to do. Like paint and put in flooring, and make curtains, and stuff like that. This week, Adam and I are putting in the first of our two weeks.

Monday we drove our dear friends to Frankfurt airport and then back. About 7 hours in the car and nothing to show for it except an empty travel mug and sore bums.

Tuesday we joined the work crew. I helped move furniture out of a dorm that is getting some new beds, desks and schranks (free standing closets, since they don't really do the built-in kind here). Well, in order to get rid of the old furniture, we had to take it apart. And since it was going to the Recyclinghof (no dumps here, everything gets recycled) anyway, we just had to bust it apart. So, with hammers and pure brute strength, we tore it all into pieces.

Adam was working in the basement of another dorm removing carpet. Apparently this carpet was attached to the ground with cement or super glue or some magic compund that makes it impossible to remove. After removing the carpet with a shovel, he and some other very strong men moved debris from a building project going on and helped tear down very solid German-engineered walls.

Today, we had more moving of furniture... loading a moving van, driving, and then unloading said van. I spent the afternoon packing up the pantry of a dorm. Imagine flats of tomato sauce, gallons of ketchup, and the largest rubbermaid you own full of brown sugar. That's what I was packing.

Adam painted. and hauled furniture. and generally worked very hard, doing very tiring things. We come home exhausted, filthy, a little beat up and hungry. It is about all we can manage to make dinner and plop onto the couch until it is time for bed. I think I am building some muscles in my arms though, because, wow are they sore!