So today we had the big test. And after all my efforts in getting to class on time, the test didn’t start until around 9am. Geez, I could’ve taken my time. Anyways, the test was very hard, the listening part was excessively hard. The speakers spoke really fast and it was hard to figure out what they were saying. We should be prepared for this more, I think. At one point, I was still processing what I heard when the next one started, so I mised half of that one. The reading comprehension though was pretty easy. So, hopefully I did ok overall and will scrape by with a 1. But I’m more likely to get a 2. Tomorrow we have our “mundlich” test, which means an oral test. It should be ok, we’ll see. It’s not something you can really study for.

After class, I took the boys to the playground. They did pretty good. They like to play with everyone else’s toys except their own, even when it’s the same toys. Go figure. We only stayed about an hour since Rowan started to get really fussy. Michael came home early and he took them on the roof and down in the basement so they could ride their cars all though the storage spaces. That storage area is becoming a playground for us. The boys are so cute, they really like going up in the elevator. It’s so bizarre though, because once they leave our apartment, they start crawling. They will wait for the elevator, then crawl in and sit on the floor with big smiles on their face. Then when we reach the top, they’ll crawl out. It’s like herding cattle.

For dinner, I decided to try a recipe from our neighbor Riki. It is for Empanadas German style. We made Empanadas before, but it was the south american way. This way was the German way. And it’s super easy to make too. The best part about it is that we can get all the ingredients from our local Tenglemanns! I don’t have to go to some special store. I have this frozen pastry dough called Blätterteil. It’s rectangular and I cut it in half. Then I put schinkenspeck (smoked bacon) and then put some dates on it, then put the other 1/2 on top and “seal” it. I then take a beaten egg and brush a light layer on and just pop it in the oven. It was really good. During dinner I imagined all the possibilities we can make - ham and cheese, tomato and cheese, etc. But it’s probably like croissants and super fattening. I don’t think it’s quite as buttery, but I’m almost positive it can’t be too good for you…

This evening we had another sprach-duo meeting with Angelika. We had so much fun talking about whatever. Before the meetings I’m always nervous that we won’t have much to talk about so I write some stuff down. Then when we actually meet, we have lots to talk about! She told us about this song contest in Europe called the “Grand Prix”. We haven’t really heard about it, but we did know that there was some really weird band from Finland, and they are dressed up like Orks from Lord of the Rings and sing really badly. Well, they won! Everyone was shocked. All the other countries had nice songs, pop, folk or rock songs. But Finland was waaaaay out there. She thinks that the countries feel bad for each other or have some kind of alliance, that’s the only reason they won. It couldn’t be because of their song! I wish I had seen it now, but it was funny when she was talking about it. She also said that my German has gotten better since the first meeting, and that was only 3 weeks ago. I was very shocked at this compliment, and it’s making me hopeful. I guess it’s a lot like the boys growing up. You can’t really tell when they grow, but all of a sudden they are bigger! I hope to reallly improve once I start taking my private lessons. In fact, if my German improved just from this sucky class, then it will REALLY improve. Hoffentlich!