Tomato is the New Apple

I'm starting to receive gifts from students, one which being a tomato.

It's a rather small tomato, really. Nothing particularly special about it, as it isn't too small to merit remark nor too orange or under ripe. Just your standard German tomato.

But it's kind of awesome.

The kids have been warming up to me. Let me rephrase that: they kind of warmed up to me immediately. Take today, for instance. I still take the bus to work in the mornings, since I don't know how to ride the bike that the family gave me and do not (nor desire to) have a car. After work, though, I have all the time in the world, so I walk back to the apartment. Anyway, back to the story: some students who either are not allowed to ride their bike until after they pass the cycling exam at school or do not own a bike also take the 7:23 bus. Let's also establish that I'm fairly well-known with the children now, it being Thursday. One child I recognized approached the bus, got on, looked around, and lit up when she saw me. She and another girl insisted on walking with me from the bus to the school, chattering away in (very) garbled German.

Children: "Hello, Jenni-fuh!" (Or "Jenni-fair," depending on accent.)

I get that about thirty times per day. It's kind of awesome.

My favorite class is 2a (shh, don't tell anyone). They're approximately in the second grade, and I've been in their class four times this week, both for English and German. They're adorable. Really. Truly. And, for children that age, they're fairly well-behaved. Some of the students want me to sit next to them when we form a circle in the singing/reading room and seem proud of the fact that I consent.

Also: My German is worse than a second-grader's. Lovely, lovely.

Still, work is going very smoothly. I think I'm really going to enjoy my time at Grundschule Klein Hehlen.