Teutonophiles
This summer, I overheard Myles trying to lay down the law with Brigid and their cousin Mia. I don't know what was the reason behind it all, but every time he said, "No if's, and's or but's," both girls giggled at him, especially the last word of that declaration.
Tired of being subject to this, he changed his pronouncement to "No if's, and's, or aber's!"
I was surprised he switched out "but" for the German translation, or rather, that he knew the translation in the first place. Since then, though, I had noticed that other German words have crept into his vocabulary.
More after the jump
Whenever Myles thinks I need convinced that a late afternoon stop at a Starbucks or other coffee shop is necessary (like today), he reminds me that we need to stop for "Kaffee and Kuchen." Normally, I don't need convincing to drink coffee any time of the day, but I appreciate his trying to to tie his hankering for sweet food and drink with a German tradition.
And don't even get me started on their obsession with voXXclub.
Both kids are such fans of all things German, partly because of our trips to Germany and partly because of Beijing's little slice of Himmel at Oktoberfest. This year we were fortunate to go again and immerse ourselves in German joy.
This year we almost did not make it. We were only able to secure reservations for the final night of the Kempinski's Oktoberfest, and it came at a time when everyone in our family was in various stages of recovering or developing sinus infections and stomach viruses. We knew it wouldn't be the same as last year because our German friend Jenny moved to another city in China earlier this year and couldn't make it to Beijing. However, Oktoberfest is something both kids started to look forward to as soon as they realized summer was turning to autumn. We had to go.
It was still a great time. We enjoyed some drink. A Bier for me, Weißwein for Randy, and Apfelschorle for Myles and Brigid. We were ready for any time we needed to respond to the call "Tiki taki tiki taki!"
"Oi! Oi! Oi!"
After eating Spätzle, Knödel, countless Brezeln, it was time for dancing. The band this year, Donautal Duo und Gaudimax Franz Greul, played several of our favorite songs we associate with Oktoberfest and many more we did not know.
They were ready for the mixed crowd of Germans, other expats, and Chinese guests. They employed Mandarin in their calls to drink (at times "干杯" stood in for "G'suffa") as well as a few songs. We got to hear "Country Roads" again, which wasn't a surprise this time. Brigid and I joined the conga line, after which it was time to climb up on the furniture.
The way Brigid lit up when she heard the intro to "So ein schöner Tag," you'd think she understood German or something (this song she does know, and quotes it often, particularly the line about being "stark wie ein Tiger"). She happily helped the Chinese women beside her know when to "flieg" and when to "spring."
We didn't stay as long as we would have liked, but we definitely satisfied our Teutonophilia for a while.
Tired of being subject to this, he changed his pronouncement to "No if's, and's, or aber's!"
I was surprised he switched out "but" for the German translation, or rather, that he knew the translation in the first place. Since then, though, I had noticed that other German words have crept into his vocabulary.
More after the jump
Whenever Myles thinks I need convinced that a late afternoon stop at a Starbucks or other coffee shop is necessary (like today), he reminds me that we need to stop for "Kaffee and Kuchen." Normally, I don't need convincing to drink coffee any time of the day, but I appreciate his trying to to tie his hankering for sweet food and drink with a German tradition.
And don't even get me started on their obsession with voXXclub.
Both kids are such fans of all things German, partly because of our trips to Germany and partly because of Beijing's little slice of Himmel at Oktoberfest. This year we were fortunate to go again and immerse ourselves in German joy.
This year we almost did not make it. We were only able to secure reservations for the final night of the Kempinski's Oktoberfest, and it came at a time when everyone in our family was in various stages of recovering or developing sinus infections and stomach viruses. We knew it wouldn't be the same as last year because our German friend Jenny moved to another city in China earlier this year and couldn't make it to Beijing. However, Oktoberfest is something both kids started to look forward to as soon as they realized summer was turning to autumn. We had to go.
It was still a great time. We enjoyed some drink. A Bier for me, Weißwein for Randy, and Apfelschorle for Myles and Brigid. We were ready for any time we needed to respond to the call "Tiki taki tiki taki!"
"Oi! Oi! Oi!"
After eating Spätzle, Knödel, countless Brezeln, it was time for dancing. The band this year, Donautal Duo und Gaudimax Franz Greul, played several of our favorite songs we associate with Oktoberfest and many more we did not know.
They were ready for the mixed crowd of Germans, other expats, and Chinese guests. They employed Mandarin in their calls to drink (at times "干杯" stood in for "G'suffa") as well as a few songs. We got to hear "Country Roads" again, which wasn't a surprise this time. Brigid and I joined the conga line, after which it was time to climb up on the furniture.
The way Brigid lit up when she heard the intro to "So ein schöner Tag," you'd think she understood German or something (this song she does know, and quotes it often, particularly the line about being "stark wie ein Tiger"). She happily helped the Chinese women beside her know when to "flieg" and when to "spring."
We didn't stay as long as we would have liked, but we definitely satisfied our Teutonophilia for a while.
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