Book Learning, Hoopdydoo, and All That Jazz

I have had emails from several of you asking me the same questions, so I want to take a moment to address them.

1. Are the kids attending German schools or American?

Claire started at the elementary school on Patch Barracks while we lived at the Marriott. Our new house is outside that assigned zone (see previous blog entries all about that) but she is allowed to finish out her year where she started, so that is what she is doing. Next year she could attend the elementary school on Panzer, which is in our zone. Or, if she gets accepted into the German Immersion Program on Patch (which we wouldn't find out until the Friday before school starts), she could be exempt from the zone rules and continue going to Patch. That would require that she continue to ride the high school bus 45 minutes each way as she does now, which I don’t really like. Also, Luke would be with her at the kindergarten so he would ride too.

The third option, and the one that seems most appealing right now, is to put both kids in the German schools near our house. Claire has met three kids in our neighborhood who would be in her class, and they are very nice. She is scared about not speaking German, but I have met one of the teachers, who is the best friend of my wonderful neighbor Steffi. She has agreed to assess her informally and address any questions she has. She would sort of mentor her in the school. She said that Claire’s class would be a good group of kids. Since German schools start more slowly than US schools, they are behind academically the first couple of years. That is good for Claire since it will allow her to focus on learning the language. She is already really advanced in her reading in English, so that is good.

Luke could attend the kindergarten three blocks from our house. We visited and nobody spoke any English, but again, my wonderful neighbor Steffi rescued me. She went with me the next time to translate. Luke’s German is coming fast, so I think he will have no trouble.

Both of the kids’ German schools would go only half days year-round. They get tons of German holidays off, as well as several weeks over the summer and at Christmas. Although instruction is in German at both schools, the Americans I have spoken with say that if kids can hang tough through four or five months of awful tearful days, they will be rewarded with complete fluency and lifelong friendships. I will just have to hide in the closets so the kids won’t see me cry. Oh, wait, we’re in Germany…we don’t have closets. I guess I’d better toughen up, then.

My one concern is that in German schools parents are not encouraged to volunteer. I fear not having any way to observe or give help to my kids if they need me. This, compounded by the fact that my German is still of the “me-Tarzan-you-Jane” variety, makes me scared I might miss an important rule, announcement, or assignment. My second fear is that I’ve heard from many Americans that the German style of classroom management is very hands off, meaning that if a bully runs amok, kids are expected to work it out themselves. And unfortunately, American kids often fall at the bottom of the pecking order because the language barrier. I can’t stand the thought of my babies being picked on. It brings out the angry mama bear in me. I’m scared I might have to open a can of ugly American whoop-bootie if that happens. But we’ll cross that bridge if we get there.

2. How is the hula hoop business going?

Well, this one is painful (darn, where IS that closet when I need it?). I started Hoopdydoo in October, making custom hoops out of irrigation pipe, connectors, water, marbles, beads, ribbons and designer tapes. They were so much fun! Already by February I had hoops in six toy stores, had done numerous parties and school events, had mailed hoops all over the world, and was looking into corporate and recreational events for the coming months. I had already made and sold hundreds of hoops and I was especially excited about getting to experience the busy summer market with fairs and shows and lots of outdoor fun. Hoopdydoo was doing great! Ah, the potential.

But then suddenly we had a chance to realize our 15-year dream of moving to Europe. I had to make a choice between the happiness of my family and pursuing my own creative ambition. It was easy. Hoopdydoo would have to die.

It was kind of like sitting down at a big feast and having the plate taken away after the first bite. But at least I had tasted sweet success. And I guess it’s better to have it go while it was still hot than after it had gone stale.

So why can’t I do the biz here in Germany? The reason is that the rules about spouses of US government owning businesses here are so restrictive that it could never work for me. Here are some of the rules: Because the government paid for our car to be shipped over, I could not use it for deliveries. I could never buy supplies or gas on post to use for the business. I could not use my house as a home base because the government pays our rent. I could not ever advertise or sell on base. I could not use my APO address to ship hoops. And I haven’t even touched on the issue of German taxes, which would have meant doubling my prices just to make it worthwhile. So what does that leave me? There was one loophole where I could sell at craft shows on post if the government did all of my advertising and got 20% of all sales. But that sounded weird to me. I like to represent my work my own way.

To rub a little salt in, before I left the US, another hoop seller across the country had already lifted verbiage straight off of my website for use on hers. She even stole names of some of my designs (I found my hoops sold much better when I named them things like “Neopolitan” or “Raspberry Swirl” or “Tree Hugger” or “Citrus Squeeze”). My first response was a very unladylike desire to throttle her. I had worked so hard on my first attempt at a website, on all of my marketing and design ideas. But my next, more sane response was to let it go. What could I do? I had some great marketing ideas and I wouldn’t be able to use them anymore. Why shouldn’t she gain from them? It hurt like Hades, but I figured if my words made someone else successful, that was okay. After all, I am first and foremost a teacher, and helping others succeed is supposed to be my mission in life. Still made me &*#$ mad, though.

Oh, and by the way, my German neighbors won’t try hooping with me. Occasionally they will joke about it, but they are too dignified to make fools of themselves like I enjoy doing. They think I’m crazy. Maybe I am. But that is what makes life so much fun. Life’s too short to worry about what everyone thinks.

3. Have you and Dave had any dates since you have been there?

One. They had a parents night out on post where the kids were watched for five hours. So Dave and I went to an amazing old Jazz Hall in downtown Stuttgart and acted like real-live grown-ups. We dressed up, had drinks, and remembered what it was like to get through an entire dinner without someone spilling milk or whining about the vegetables (in other words, I was on my best behavior). It was so cool to see a 20-piece big band blaring the best of American jazz and big band standards to a packed room of enthusiastic listeners. Here is how the MC sounded: “Damen und herren, German word German word German word “Girl from Ipanema” German word German word.” It was great. I was really proud to sit and listen to music so uniquely American that my country contributed to the world. It was American entertainment that didn’t involve car chases, hoochie mamas or blowing things up. Just good old Cole Porter, Satchmo and Sinatra. It made me tear up a little with patriotic pride. And this time I didn’t even think about needing a closet.