Category Archives: Relationships and family
Raising kids is challenging but in a foreign country, it is even more so. It becomes particularly challenging when you discover that your kids know more than you do about the language and the culture.
The 37 Days of Christmas
Germans don’t celebrate Thanksgiving but they celebrate Christmas half the winter. Starting at the end....
Nov
What happened to my pumpkin pie?
It's not a holiday without pumpkin pie, but what I bake is a far cry....
2 Comments
Nov
Celebrating St. Martin from the comfort of the couch
Americans celebrate fall with Halloween, but Germans have St. Martin. Children carry lit lanterns in....
2 Comments
Nov
No Halloween? No way. My sneaky and successful plot
Some Germans celebrate Halloween, but not all of them. I was determined to find a....
2 Comments
Oct
The nightmare of motherhood in Germany
School has started, a good moment to consider the burden on mothers with children in....
Oct
Getting lost the old-fashioned way
Those of us who predate GPS know how to get around without using technology. Knowing....
4 Comments
Aug
Germans delight in overengineering, taking helicopter mothering to new heights
Any foreigner in Germany knows all about the country’s love of overengineering. All it takes....
2 Comments
Aug
Knee-high by the 4th of July
I fully expected a lot of cultural differences when I moved to Germany. They speak....
2 Comments
Jul
A kindness repaid, 40 years later
After an overnight trip from Spain, I was thrilled to finally arrive at the doorstep....
May
Bring out the Easter eggs – the kids are coming home
Just as I was getting used to not being a mother, my COVID-harassed daughters came....
Apr
Home sweet home – only better
I fantasize about taking my kids back to where I grew up to show them....
Mar
The nightmare of motherhood in Germany
Germany has the reputation of having generous social programs, with vivid descriptions such as "cradle-to-grave"....
1 Comment
The French girl who wouldn’t talk
Language class is where you learn to speak a language, but just memorizing vocabulary and....
Aug
Emotional baggage: why I pack too much on trips home
I used to feel sheepish whenever I took an overpacked suitcase home on a trip....
1 Comment
Jul
The travails of travel, from Mozart to the moon
I was tempted to feel sorry for myself when my plane was delayed by a....
May
Juggling work and family, German minister drops the ball
German minister for the family Anne Spiegel recently resigned after major errors of judgment. Did....
Apr
Bring out the Easter eggs – the kids are coming home
Just as I was getting used to not being a mother, my COVID-harassed daughters came....
Apr
Can your dog help improve your listening skills? Yip!
What can dogs teach us about communication? Quite a bit....
Jan
The Unwilling Stage Assistant
If you raise your kids with humor, funny things can happen....
2 Comments
Feb
The Secret Second Life of Balconies
Balconies are great in summer, but they can be useful in winter in surprising ways.....
Jan
Of planes to Spain exploring new terrain
I was thrilled when my daughter decided to study Spanish in Spain for three months,....
May
The ghost hand
What are all of these mittens, socks and scarves doing hanging from bushes, tree branches....
Mar
Studying in Germany is nothing like the U.S.
Nothing prepared me for when my daughters set off for German universities. They have little....
Oct
Looking for the elusive blood moon
Determined to see the Blood Moon, we wandered through the neighborhood to get a better....
1 Comment
Aug
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