Greetings from, Bockswiese, Germany!
I arrived in Bockswiese with the Koster Family on Sunday afternoon, after having flown for 7 1/2 hours and being in a car for 3--all without sleeping. I promptly took a nap and felt refreshed enough to stay up for all of 2 hours before going back to sleep. Jet-lag can kill you...
On Monday I did very little, other than try to get oriented. We went with a neighboring family that the Kosters are friends with to pick up their 7-year-old girl, Lea from elementary school. We walked there, naturally, and when we arrived, I was surprised at what I found. All of the kids were outside playing after school ended, alone. They were waiting for their parents to pick them up, but it was no big deal if their parents weren't there on time. Young kids are capable of being alone on the playground--something my parents generation did, but that this generation didn't grow up with.
I also noticed the size of the kids. None of them were overweight. They were all "thin" by American standards, normal by German standards. These children eat and drink full fat things, they aren't on diets. They simply move more! They walk to school, walk back home, play during the day, and aren't allowed to watch 10 billion hours of television. I don't think they'd really want to. These kids appear to love playing outside.
Today, we took Jan, Thies, Maya and Lea to the park in Hahnenklee. We got them ice cream and watched them play at the park. Then we played with them outside in our backyard. Lea and Ashley, 2 neighbor girls, were at the house as well. I was also surprised to see how fascinated they are with the snacks that I've brought from America. It's so weird to think that they have never heard of Cheez-its or Rainbow Chips Deluxe cookies here. They all think it's so cool that these things come from America, when to me it's just old hat.
**I am in no way saying that all Americans like to watch TV, that they don't exercise, etc. I am just making observations.**
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