Oh Dear, We Are Raising a Bilingual Child!

It should not have come as a surprise. We are a Finnish family living in Germany and our daughter spends her days in a German Krippe.

And as I have wrote here before, spending some time daily in the Krippe seems to be the easiest way to learn German.

Unrelated photos from last week, when it was 20 degrees warmer than today

But still, I have only now come to realize that we are actually raising a bilingual child!

It has taken quite long for Fräulein to learn to speak, but now that she does, it is easy to notice that she speaks two languages. Two languages! My child! I have always been poor in learning languages and now I have a bilingual daughter!

And I have no idea what to do. At first, when Fräulein said something in German to me, I repeated it in Finnish. But it soon started to sound like I was correcting her and that is not the impression I want to make.

I think I should find some books about raising a bilingual child. I think it is important that a child learns to master one language perfectly. Learning other languages is just a bonus.

But for now, as she is only two years old, we will let her use her own combination of the two languages. The only 'rule' I have is that I speak consistently Finnish to her myself.

Poor Fräulein has inherited my hair, which becomes all curly when it is moist.

We will fly to Finland next week and spend several weeks with our friends and family. So, in case some of you don't speak German, here is a small dictionary of Fräulein's most common German phrases:

 

German	English	Finnish
Mein!	My!	Minun!
Nein!	No!	Ei!
Nicht du!	Not you!	Et sinä!
Ich auch!	I too!	Minä myös!
Zu viel!	Too much!	Liian paljon!
Nur bisschen!	Just a little!	Vain vähän!
Ich möchte ... haben	I would like to have...	Haluaisin...
Danke!	Thank you!	Kiitos!
Morgen!*	Morning!	Huomenta!
Tschüs!	Bye!	Hei hei!
Laut!	Loud!	Kovaa!

Do you notice a pattern here? Most of these phrases end with an exclamation mark - useful in kindergarten :)

*) Fräulein uses 'Morgen!' as a greeting at any time of the day...  

*****
O-ou, vasta hiljattain oivalsin, että Fräuleinhan on kaksikielinen! Itselläni on aina ollut huono kielipää ja nyt oma kaksivuotias tyttäreni puhuu kahta kieltä!

Olen myös oivaltanut, ettei minulla ole hajuakaan, miten kaksikielisyyttä tulisi tukea. Mutta toistaiseksi menemme periaatteella, että Fräulein saa puhua kieliä sekaisin, kunhan itse olemme johdonmukaisia suomen kielen käytössä.

Fräuleinin sanastossa on paljon saksankielisiä sanoja, mutta yllä on listattuna yleisimmin toistuvia sanontoja. Jotenkin huomaa, että nämä on opittu päiväkodissa... :)

The Ultimate Language Test

My German is horrible.

We have been living here for two and half years now, but I barely manage to visit the local grocery store without making a fool out of myself.

And it is one thing to have a conversation with one person, but to participate a group meeting with people you are about to meet many times in the future...

Unrelated photos from our photo session on Sunday...

Yesterday we had an 'Elternnachmittag', or parents afternoon at the Fräulein's Krippe. There were three teachers and the parents of five other kids present.

And the ultimate language test? It consisted of five points.

1. Introduce yourself in German: passed 
The other parents nodded their heads as I was talking, so I guess they understood what I was saying...

2. Understand the information given by the teachers: passed
I think I understood about 95% of it. Especially the head teacher speaks very foreign-friendly German, as she is used to communicating with toddlers.

3. Follow the conversation: partly passed
Some of the parents were very easy to follow, but I have no idea what some of them were talking about. But I was able to laugh at the right moment!

4. Ask questions yourself: passed
I asked if they are really singing christmas carols in May, as Fräulein is singing "O Tannenbaum" at home. And apparently they are...

5. Survive the meeting without making a fool out of yourself: passed
At least I hope so...


The result: I was able to take Fräulein to the Krippe this morning holding my head up high!

Needless to say that neither of these were chosen as the official Mother's Day photo! :)

*****
Fräuleinin päiväkodissa oli eilen vanhempainilta. Oma kielitaitoni joutui koetukselle, kun yritin selvitä tapaamisesta kunnialla. Ja täytyy sanoa, että ymmärsin kyllä valtaosan asioista ja onnistuin jopa itse kysymään jotain!

Hyvää Vappua!

Like I mentioned last year, the celebration of May 1st is quite different in Finland and in Germany.

In here it is more about protests, where as in Finland it is all about having fun.

It is nice that as an expat you can choose the good parts of both cultures. First the German Fasching and now the Finnish Vappu!

Last week we had a chance to celebrate early Vappu in a Finnish playgroup in Frankfurt.

Even though our Vappu delicacies will arrive only this evening, we are getting into the right mood.

Happy May Day! Hyvää Vappua!

The Great Surprise - And Disappointment

This is just cruel.

When you are living as an expat in another country, you are sure to miss some things from your home country. For me one of those things are pick & mix candies. You cannot find them here in Germany!

Last Saturday we visited Ikea in Wallau. We were actually heading to the Toys R Us, but stopped by for some meatballs.

On our way out we noticed something great: pick & mix candies!

And I was delighted to see a wide assortment of liqourice and some Dajm look-alike chocolates. Yum!

But no, it wasn't yummy at all. Both the liqourice and the chocolates tasted like cheap copies of the originals. Yuk.

How cruel of Ikea to give me first a great surprise and then such a huge disappointment!

I guess I need to add pick & mix candies to the shopping list, which I am preparing for my mother. She will visit us next week!

*****
Piipahdimme viime lauantaina Ikeassa lihapullalounaalla. Samalla huomasimme iloksemme, että Wallaun Ikeaan oli tullut myyntiin irtokarkkeja! Niitä ei yleensä löydä täältä Saksasta.

Valikoimassa näytti olevan erilaisia lakritseja ja Dajmin näköisiä suklaapaloja. Nam! Mutta ei, karkit olivat suorastaan kammottavan makuisia. Mitä iloa on pahanmakuisista karkeista? Mikä valtava pettymys irtsarien ystävälle!

The Easiest Way To Learn German

Yes, I have found the perfect recipe for learning German! This is based on a comprehensive empirical study*.

1. Spend daily (Mon-Fri) 4-6 hours in a German speaking group
2. The group should have simple routines, which are repeated day by day
3. There should be a couple of teachers, who speak simple, clear German language and are willing to repeat themselves patiently
4. The daily program should involve learning basic skills such as the use of scissors and toothbrush.

And where do you find these groups?

They are called Krippes. Unfortunately you must be under three years old to attend.

Unrelated photos of Fräulein playing the piano...

Six months in the Krippe and Fräulein understands and even speaks German!

As a prove, here is a discussion that took place last week, just after we got back from our three week holiday in Finland.

It was noon and I was picking up Fräulein from the Krippe. Outside we saw a lady.
Fräulein: Morgen! (Morning!)
Lady: (in German) Is it the right time to say that?
Fräulein: Ja! (Yes!)

If this conversation would have taken place in Finnish, I would have been a bit embarrassed (it was noon). But now this made me so proud!

It is nice that at least one of us is learning the language...

* the study population included the members of one family, which has been living in Germany for 2.5 years...

...and Baby listening.

*****
Olen löytänyt täydellisen tavan oppia saksaa! Oppiminen edellyttää päivittäistä osallistumista saksankieliseen ryhmään, jossa toistetaan samoja rutiineja ja opetellaan perustaitoja. Ryhmässä tulee olla pari opettajaa, jotka puhuvat helppoa, selkeää saksaa ja ovat valmiita toistamaan itseään kärsivällisesti.

Fräulein on nyt osallistunut tällaiseen toimintaan puolen vuoden ajan ja ymmärtää ja jopa puhuu saksaa! Valitettavasti Krippet ovat vain alle kolmevuotiaille...

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times...

The title of this expat blog seems to describe my last two weeks pretty well...

As you know, the best part of being an expat is having guests. And we have been very lucky on that front recently! First, my good friend was visiting us. We went shopping, ate breakfast (several times) at Cafe Extrablatt's buffet and just spent time together. Awesome!

And then last weekend, Herr Welle's parents came to visit us. It was nice for Fräulein to be able to spend time with her grandparents. And we visited the Christmas markets both here in Wiesbaden and in Rüdesheim.

But then to the not-so-nice part. First of all, I have had a cough for two weeks now. You know, that kind of dry cough, when it doesn't bother you much when you are awake, but you are not able to fall asleep, because just when you are about to, you start coughing again... And no chance taking any powerful medicine when you are pregnant.

But this Monday was the total low-point (I hope). Since morning, I wasn't feeling too great. Herr Welle was driving his parents to the Hahn airport, so I had to pick up Fräulein from her Krippe with her buggy. Naturally, it was just that afternoon, when it started to snow and it was a bit of a struggle to push the buggy through all that slush.

At home, I felt my temperature rising (and not just because I was unhappy with the situation...). Within an hour, I had +38.5°C fever. I was just laying in the bed under several blankets and asked Fräulein to be very quiet and watch the Moomins. And then I threw up. Twice. Feeling sick is not nice, when you are in your normal condition, but it doesn't make it any easier, when you are 37 weeks pregnant.

The following morning I went to see my doctor. I was told that I was the fourth patient there that morning with the same condition. Apparently, it wasn't a stomach bug as such, but some sort of virus, which caused cramps in the abdomen. Normally, that wouldn't feel too bad, but for pregnant women it was worse.

But the important part was that the baby was fine. And I am starting to feel better, although I'm still coughing.

And I have been able to take part in two of the exams I had scheduled for this autumn, so now I can finally start my maternity leave for real!

Let the Christmas season begin!

*****
Viimeiseen pariin viikkoon on mahtunut niin huippuhetkiä kuin aallonpohjia. Ensinnäkin olemme saaneet nauttia lukuisista (tai no kolmesta) Suomi-vieraasta. Mutta toisaalta myös virukset ovat vierailleet meillä - lähinnä minulla. Ei hauskaa, etenkään raskauden tässä vaiheessa. Mutta nyt alkaa helpottaa ja mammalomakin on alkanut. Joten Joulua odottelemaan! 

The End of an Era

It has been two years and two months since we moved to Germany.

And today we finally ran out of the kitchen foil, which had been packed with our other belongings into the moving van in Finland....

*****
Erään aikakauden loppu: kaksi vuotta ja kaksi kuukautta muutostamme Saksaan ja nyt loppui muuttokuorman mukana Suomesta tullut Elmu-kelmurulla

Expat Hausfrau's Peek into Local Customs - St. Martin's Day

As an expat Hausfrau, it is sometimes a bit difficult for me to get into the local habits and customs. Fortunately, Fräulein's daycare provides a great connection to German everyday life.

Yesterday, we had the first free-time activity arranged by Fräulein's Krippe. The kindergarten arranged a St. Martin's day procession for children and their paper lanterns.
(I'm sorry for the hideous quality of the photos!)

The small bright spots are the lanterns...

It was already dark at 6pm. when the procession started from Nerotal, so the lanterns looked beautiful. Along the route, there were musicians playing their trumpets. After a short walk, everyone gathered by the local church, where there was a play about St. Martin and some singing.

Fräulein's selfmade lantern

And last but not least, all children got one of these:

It was a great experience not only for Fräulein, but for me, too.

*****
Eilen pääsimme tutustumaan paikallisiin traditiohin, sillä Fräuleinin päiväkodista järjestettiin Martinpäivän kulkue.

Escort Service

If you have ended up in this post with Google search 'escort service', you might be disappointed: 
I do not provide any 'friendly' services nor maintenance for old Fords. 

The life of an expat is sometimes a bit lonely, as your family lives in a different country and you are not able to see them as often as you would like to.

I often read from the other expat blogs, how people miss their family and try to gather the finances to be able to meet them every now and then.

So, I must admit that being an expat within Europe is a "light" version of expat life. The flight from Germany to Finland takes just over two hours and by choosing a cheap airline (read: Ryanair), the expenses of the traveling aren't too high.

For example, during September, Herr Welle was traveling for two weekends. But my family was able to rush in and keep company to Fräulein and myself. First my grandmother was here, then my mother. For both of them, the costs of traveling were less than 100 euros.

On Wednesday, I will be flying to Finland for a couple of weeks together with Fräulein. Unfortunately, Herr Welle is traveling on business, so he cannot fly with us or even give us the ride to the airport.

If you have ever travelled with a toddler, you know that two hands are just not enough. First, I must get myself, our 20kg luggage and Fräulein in her buggy from the parking lot into the airport building. Then I must let Fräulein run around and consume energy before boarding the plane. And at the same time, I must take care of our belongings. The flight is scheduled so that Fräulein will (hopefully!) take her nap there. But as she is under two years old, she won't have her own seat and must sleep in my lap. Again, two hands won't be enough for me to, for example, reach my bag for a bottle of water, while she is sleeping. And then there will be the same problem with the luggage, the buggy and the toddler, when we will land to Tampere, Finland.

But to my great relief, my grandmother promised to help us! She arrived yesterday (her second visit within a month!) and will fly back to Finland with us on Wednesday! I couldn't be happier!

This escort service will definitely be worth the 100 euros, which her plane tickets cost!

*****
Expat-elämään liittyy monenlaisia hankaluuksia, kuten läheisten ikävöiminen ja lentomatkat naperon kanssa. Täytyy kuitenkin myöntää, että kun asuu suomalaisena Saksassa, nämä asiat ovat helpommin hallittavissa kuin jos elelisi jossain valtamerten takana.

Esimerkiksi pelkästään syyskuun aikana saimme sekä äitini että mummoni meille kylään. Ja nyt kun aiomme lentää Fräuleinin kanssa keskiviikkona Suomeen, mummoni riensi meille taas avuksi. Kuinka paljon helpompaa onkaan matkustaa, kun on kaksi paria käsiä huolehtimassa Fräuleinista ja matkatavaroista! Ja tämän seuralaispalvelun hinnaksi tuli vain noin sata euroa - todellakin sen arvoista!

The Return Of the Energetic Guest

We were very lucky last week and got my mother to visit us for a few days! As I have told you before, she is a very energetic guest!

Herr Welle and I have been thinking about changing our study / guest room into a room for Fräulein for a while now. However, during the end of last spring I didn't have any extra energy to make that happen, so Fräulein's bed is still in our bedroom.

But as there must be something for my mum to do while Fräulein is in daycare and taking her nap, I thought we could move our desk and bookcase from the study to the corner of our living room.

But we ended up doing a lot more than that! We even visited Ikea and bought some new furniture for Fräulein's new room. And as you saw in yesterday's Silent Sunday picture, we had some help in assembling them.

Helping grandma

Testing (no, this is not her new bed)

Moving books to the new room

I don't have any nice before and after pictures,
but here you can see some of the new things we got for Fräulein's room

But the visit was not just hard work. After many days of rain and autumnal weather, we were able to visit our favorite playground, too.

*****
Äitini oli meillä loppuviikon kylässä. Kuten olen kertonut ennenkin, hän on kovin puuhakas ihminen. Tällä kertaa olin ajatellut hyödyntää äitini paikallaoloa siihen, että siirtäisimme kirjoituspöydän ja kirjahyllyn pois vierashuoneestamme. Tarkoituksenamme on nimittäin ollut tehdä huoneesta Fräuleinin oma huone. Huonekalujen siirrot oli kuitenkin niin ripeästi tehty, että ehdimme vielä Ikeaan ostamaan uusia huonekaluja ja saimme jopa koottua ne valmiiksi!

To Do List Revisited

My mother was visiting us for four days.

My mother's luggage was full of gifts for Fräulein, like these Nokian boots.
It is good that Ryanair has the 10kg limit for luggages...

So, lets see, did we get anything done:

• Go shopping with her. 
• Go shopping alone ( = without Fräulein).

The first two points were combined and we went shopping together without Fräulein. She ended up buying two picture frames, I bought a bit more...

• Have dinner with Herr Welle. Yes, just the two of us!

Done! Saturday night dinner at Spital. I felt a bit old there, as the place was packed with people in their twenties enjoying their fancy-looking drinks.

• Have an appointment with hairdresser.

• Have a German lesson.

Not done - the teacher cancelled.

• Throw away a plant that does not have any leaves left (well, she can do that).

• Have our windows cleaned (by her).

Not done - wasn't warm enough.

• Arrange the bathroom cabinets.

Not done - I was lazy.

• See a doctor to have some moles removed.

Not done - I hadn't booked the appointment early enough.

• Clean the coffee maker and the water boiler. 

Not done - I was lazy.

• Have a cup of coffee outside.

Not done - everyone else had the same idea, so there were no free seats outside when we went out for coffee.

• Eat lunch outside.

Actually it was THAT warm only on Thursday, but Fräulein was in no mood sitting still while we ate lunch (well, she rarely is...). 

As you can see, quite a few things were left undone. But what was more important was that she played with Fräulein so that I could drink my coffee in peace. And taught her new things, like how dogs howl and how to show with her fingers how old she is (Fräulein, that is, not my mum). 

And she'll be visiting us again in two months, so I can copy these things to the new To Do list, which I'll start writing shortly.

On our way back from Frankfurt-Hahn airport.

To Do List

My mother is coming to visit us tomorrow.

She is the perfect guest.
I don't need to clean up the apartment before she arrives, because she likes to do that (yes, really!).
She is more than happy to spend time with Fräulein, so that I get things done.
She is full of energy, so she gets many unfinished things done while she is visiting us.
And beside fixing and cleaning our apartment and playing with Fräulein, she does not need any special activities arranged.

For a while now, I have been writing down the things to do while she is here. Things that I need help with, things that are nice to do with her and things that I need a babysitter for.

• Go shopping with her. 
• Go shopping alone ( = without Fräulein).
• Have dinner with Herr Welle. Yes, just the two of us!
• Have an appointment with hairdresser.
• Have a German lesson.
• Throw away a plant that does not have any leaves left (well, she can do that).
• Have our windows cleaned (by her).
• Arrange the bathroom cabinets.
• See a doctor to have some moles removed (Fräulein already took one off, but I would rather see a specialist...).
• Clean the coffee maker and the water boiler (I don't know why I need my mum for this, but somehow I get many things done while she is here, maybe the energy is transmitted to me, too). 
• Have a cup of coffee outside (yes, it really is that warm here!).
• Eat lunch outside (yes, it really is THAT warm here!).

I guess that is enough for four days...

(I hope she doesn't check my blog before she leaves Finland...)

Last year my mother was spending her birthday here in Wiesbaden,
so I took a photo of her under the Fossil sign...

Having a Baby In Germany: the Hospital Part

Now, don't get all excited - I'm not saying that we are having another baby! But I have been writing about all baby related things I have come across here in Germany, like the paper work required and how the healthcare of a newborn is arranged. So the two things missing are the pregnancy and the hospital parts.

We moved to Germany about a month before Fräulein was born, so I don't really have much experience about being pregnant in Germany. But she was born here, so I can tell you about choosing the hospital and what is to be expected there. I know that more and more women are giving birth at their own homes or these 'birth homes', which are not medical facilities. But when I was pregnant with Fräulein, I only considered different hospitals, so this post is really only about that choice.

Like all doctor's offices, also the hospitals are private here. In Finland, you must have your baby in the hospital, which happens to be 'your' hospital, based on the city you live in. But here in Germany, you are able to choose the hospital. Because of this, there is a bit of competition between the hospitals, as they want as many customers as possible. And I guess that is partly the cause why especially the smaller hospitals seem to be very cozy and friendly. That is something I'm not sure I could say about Finnish hospitals...

The hospitals have introduction events (Info-Abend) for future parents, usually 1-4 times per month. There you have a short lecture about the hospital and their services and afterwards you can have a look at the delivery rooms and the maternity ward. I think this is great, because then you can meet the staff and really feel the atmosphere of the hospital. Although some of the lectures might be a bit too praising...

When you have chosen your hospital, you should contact them to arrange a meeting, in which their collect your personal data and information about your pregnancy. Hospitals usually recommend to have this meeting about 8-6 before your due date.  You can also go to most of the hospitals without this pre-meeting, but when you have done this beforehand, you don't need to worry about the paper work when you are going to the hospital to have your baby.

When we moved to Wiesbaden, we were a bit in a hurry in choosing the hospital. There are three hospitals with maternity wards in Wiesbaden. One of the hospitals, HSK, is a big one and they also have a ward for sick children. The other two are smaller and cozier, but if there is something wrong with the baby, she/he will be moved to HSK for treatment.

We went to see all of the three hospitals. It was clear for me that, as there wasn't anything exceptional in my pregnancy, I would choose one of the smaller hospitals. A friend of mine had had her baby in Paulinen Klinik and had liked it a lot. So, I called them to make an appointment. Already on the phone I got a bit funny feeling, as the nurse did not speak any English and giggled a lot. I was able to make an appointment, but at the meeting the nurse, who was taking my notes (not the same one as on the phone), giggled in trying to find the right words. So much so that she had to leave the room at one point.

This experience made me think that I wouldn't like the nurses behaving like that while I was in labor. There is nothing wrong in trying to find the right words or being in a good mood, but I really didn't like to face that giggling in the delivery room!

There are a lot of Americans here in Wiesbaden, because the U.S. Army is based here. I thought that maybe these American families would prefer the other smaller hospital, catholic St. Josefs-Hospital. And I was proven right. I was able to make an appointment on a short notice and in the waiting room I talked with an American mother, who had given birth a couple of hours earlier (she was already leaving the hospital!). The nurse I talked with spoke perfect English and they even had many documents translated in English. So, my decision was made: Fräulein was to be born here!

And so she did. I won't go into details of her birth here, but I must say that I was very happy with St. Josephs Hospital. Everyone was nice and professional. On the maternity ward they even arranged so that we were taken care of by the nurse who was the most experienced in speaking English.

Three-days-old Fräulein in her hospital bed.

Before Fräulein was born, I had some questions about the German system. There were also things I didn't even come to think of. I'll list some of them here, in case someone else in wondering the same things. And yes, some of these things might sound completely normal for some of you, but I'm from Finland and used to the ways things are handled there.

• There are anesthetics available for you while in labor, if you choose to have some. At the pre-meeting I was given a document about all the possible drugs so that I could read it in advance and just sign the consent when needed. Everything went so quickly that I didn't have time to get any drugs, but I wondered afterwards, why they didn't offer me any laughing gas, which is quite popular in Finland. 

• In Germany, you usually stay in the hospital for three nights, because then your baby can have her U2 check done at the hospital. You can leave the hospital as soon as a couple of hours after birth, if you feel like it, but then the hospital wants to make sure that you have booked the U2 check with the baby's doctor before you leave.

• Many hospitals have family rooms, but you cannot book one in advance. In our case, there was only one other mother with her baby in the ward when we arrived, so Herr Welle was able to stay with us in the room which was normally equipped for two mothers.

The view from our 'family room'

• In Germany, the hospital doesn't provide the towels or the clothes for you to wear while you stay there, so you must pack those in your hospital back. They do provide clothing for the baby.

For some reason, all the baby clothes at the hospital
were very big for a newborn (56 or 62cm)

• If you are not German, you should take your own birth-certificate to the hospital with you. And if you are married, take also your marriage-certificate and the husband's birth-certificate. I can say from experience that it makes things a whole lot easier...

• In Germany, you must give a name to your baby soon after the birth (in Finland you have two months to do this). They asked for the name as soon as Fräulein was born. We only had one name decided at that point. The two other names we filled in the form, in which all birth details were documented. This had to be filled before we left the hospital.

• They do not teach how to wash the baby's bottom under running water. I have been told that, in Finland, you cannot leave the hospital before you know how to do that safely. But here you just wipe the bottom with baby-wipes or wet towels.

• Many German hospitals have a certificate called 'Baby-Friendly Hospital'. The main points of the certificate are that the breastfeeding is encouraged in every way possible and the hospital practices rooming in, so that the baby shares the room with the mother. I would have taken these things as granted, but apparently they are relatively new practices.

• And something I did wonder a lot, although it now sounds a bit silly: You can go to a catholic hospital even if you are not catholic yourself. The nurses were not dressed as nuns, actually the only 'catholic' thing there were the crucifixes above the doors.

Encounters of an Expat Hausfrau

It is not easy to move to a new place and create new social networks. I have had to do this a couple of times. First, I moved to study in the capital of Finland, several hundreds of kilometers away from home. Then, few years after graduation, I moved again, this time together with Herr Welle.

But what usually makes it easier to adjust, are the groups you automatically fall in to. Like when you start the studies at the university in your twenties, there are a lot of similar people in similar situation. Not to mention all the partying... And when you move to work in another town, you meet all these new faces through your new job. I have been lucky to make some great friends during my studies and in my jobs!

But the start here in Wiesbaden hasn't been all that easy. First of all, there is the language problem. My Deutsch is not strong enough to just casually start chatting with someone. Secondly, there is the problem of being a Hausfrau. Fräulein was born about a month after we moved to Germany, so the first six months went by in a haze and without many contacts with the outside world.

Thankfully, I met the family of Herr Welle's colleague. They are also Finnish and their daughter is 10 months older than Fräulein. Through them, we also found the Finnish church in Frankfurt, which has some activities for families with small children. Last spring, we joined their music group and have been able to spend time with other Finnish families.

In the playroom of the Finnish church,
Fräulein has found some new toys and friends 

Although it is great to meet another Finns, it has bothered me that, due to my poor German, I'm not really able to connect with the locals. When we went to baby swimming, I spoke with the other mums in English. It was great to be able to do that, but quite often the general discussion turned into German and I was not able to follow.

But now I have reached some sort of turning point. Yesterday, Fräulein and I took part in a German playgroup! An hour and a half passed, and I didn't ask anyone 'Sprechen Sie Englisch?'. Although I might not have been very chatty, I managed to follow the conversations and even answer some questions in German. Yay!

I was quite exhausted afterwards and I do admit that my German was faaaaar from perfect, but it was a start. I do believe that it will get easier with some practice. Although I'm not sure what I am going to say there next Monday, as I have already used all the phrases I know in German: "Sie heißt XXX", "Sie ist fünfzehn Monate alt", "Wir kommen aus Finnland"...

Odd German Way No. 9 - The Daily Airing

The German apartments do not have ventilation. This means that you must open the windows for a while each day to let the fresh air in. Even when it is cold outside. But, I quote Cara's blog post, "Ten minutes of cold is worth not having the mold".

I once saw a German TV program about lousy tenants. One of the tenants had not done the airing in the apartment and the window frames and bathroom ceiling were covered in mold. The tenant said it was the house owners problem, but the house owner showed that all tenants had been provided with instruction sheets, where the daily airing procedures had been explained. So, even though we haven't been given any clear instructions, I have realized that it really is our duty to keep the air fresh and dry.  

"Exhaled 3742 times,  cooked 1 liter tee water, watered the plants,
slightly sneezed 3 times, washed 2 pairs of socks and
cried 1.6 minutes while peeling onions... hmm...
according to my calculation the window should be kept 2.5 cm open now for 4.3 minutes..."
Source: Passivhaus Institut

I have previously thought that tumble-dryers are useless, but now I have changed my mind. As the weather here is very moist, you cannot dry your laundry outside most of the time. And because of the lack of ventilation, it takes ages to dry it inside. Plus the air inside gets very moist.

The only thing helping in refreshing the air are the small ventilators/blowers in the bathrooms. Usually these work so that when you put the light on in the bathroom, also the ventilator starts. It helps to dry the air a bit when you take a shower, but it does not actually give any fresh air.

The fact that Fräulein takes her nap on the balcony, resolves the problem of airing for us. I always keep the balcony door open a crack while she is sleeping, so that I hear when she is waking up. I also keep the bathroom ventilator on and the door open so that the air circulates a bit. Although this isn't based on any complicated calculations, I hope it is enough...

Making a Difference - The Election of Finnish President

The election of the new President for Finland is now on. Although we live in Germany, we are still Finnish citizens and thus able (and obliged, I might add) to influence the political matters of our country of origin. The main election day of the first round in the presidential election is next week, but the advance voting outside Finland ends tomorrow. So, tomorrow we will drive to Finnish Honorary Consulate in Frankfurt and vote.

As this election is quite a big deal in Finland, I thought I would introduce the candidates to all my readers. This is not a political blogs, so I'll just keep this introduction very superficial and refer mainly to the tabloids.
(Please note, that I haven't made my selection based on these facts!)

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The candidates in alphabetical order (all pictures borrowed from Wikipedia):

Paavo Arhinmäki (Left Alliance)

Current Minister for Culture and Sport, seems to prefer sport over culture.

Married the mother of his unborn child a week ago.

Has quite many tattoos, for example the logo of the sport club he supports.

One of his campaign adds has been made by an artist, who became popular because of killing a cat on an artistic video.




Eva Biaudet (Swedish People's Party)

The Finnish Ombudsman for Minorities

Nothing very striking about her.

The only headline of her in the tabloids was created, when she commented the differences between Timo Soini and herself in a TV show: 'I'm taller and you are bigger'.





Sari Essayah (Christian Democrats)

World Champion in race walking and Member of the European Parliament.

Known mainly of her career in sports. Has kept herself out of the tabloids.









Pekka Haavisto (Green League)

Member of Finnish Parliament.

Mainly in the tabloids due to his Ecuadorean husband (or what should I call him, registered partner?), who got a speeding ticket, but didn't first come clean about it.

In a test, did not recognize the picture of Russian president.






Paavo Lipponen (Social Democratic Party)

Former Prime Minister of Finland.

Also known as 'Moses'. Plain-spoken - many of his minimal comments are quoted time after time.

Declined to take part in a walking test arranged for presidential candidates.






Sauli Niinistö (National Coalition Party)

Former Minister and Speaker of the Finnish Parliament.

The biggest speculation in the tabloids is, if he will win on the first round of the election (gets more than 50% of votes) or on the second round.

Won the hearts of many Finns after his wife died in a car-crash in the mid 90s and when he was caught in the middle of the Tsunami in Thailand with his sons in 2004.

Known of his hobby of rollerblading.



Timo Soini (True Finns)

The leader and the face of True Finns party, which grew up to be the third biggest party in Finland in the parliamentary election one year ago (19.1% of votes, compared to only 4.1% of votes in 2007).

The party has been criticized of it's populism.

He is a practicing Catholic (very rare in Finland) and has made the headlines with his opinions of abortion, contraception and homosexual lifestyles.





Paavo Väyrynen (Centre Party)

A veteran politician of the Centre Party. Has held many Minister positions since 1970s.

Very self-confident. Has blamed media for example of loosing his place in the Parliament last spring and and not making it to the second round of the presidential election in 1994. Does not believe in the polls, as they do not show his 'true' popularity.

More popular than the man himself has been the coffee cup in his election material.

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But do you know who is the current president of Finland?

During the parliamentary election last spring, a German lady said to me: 'I saw your President in the News. How great that she is so young, energetic and beautiful, unlike our Angela Merkel'. I was a bit puzzled, as our current president Tarja Halonen looks like this:

Later that day I realized that she must have talking about the Prime Minister we had at that time, Mari Kiviniemi!
(We had the discussion in English, but Prime Minister is caller Ministerpräsident in German - maybe that was what confused her.)