I hear an American!

Martin and I have been together for almost 10 years and we have been going to his parents’ house for almost as long. In all of those years I have never heard another person speak English let alone American English in his home town or nearby city. And if I was completely honest (if not somewhat shallow) I have never seen a group of people that I could potentially see myself being friends with (other than the people I have met through Martin). Which, when we discuss potentially moving back to Germany and specifically the area his parents live, this fact makes me a little nervous. All that changed on the Thursday of our trip.

After our successful trip to the goat farm and seeing Oskar play on the big playground, Martin’s parents suggested we check out the new playground in Iserlohn. We went on Thursday and my life changed completely.

Located on a man-made reservoir with a path around it, I was immediately reminded of the Lafayette reservoir. People were riding bikes, pushing strollers and out for an afternoon run. And even better than the Lafayette reservoir, this one had a cafe where you could grab a coffee or beer (we unfortunately did not, but I plan to if we ever make it back). From the parking lot it was a quick 10 minute walk to the playground. And I was definitely impressed. It was huge and pirate themed with a pirate ship and wooden palm trees.

Upon arrival Oskar and Martin took off for the big slide and I parked Alva in the stroller at the end of the low concrete wall. With at least a half dozen other moms seated along the wall with their strollers and bikes I had a good vantage point to check out the local scene. Upon sitting down I couldn’t help but notice the cool mom group and began to imagine myself as their friend. They were seated furthest away from me, most with blond hair pulled back into a messy bun or ponytail. The majority wore baseball hats and all had on sunglasses and casual t-shirts. They looked like they would drink mimosas at brunch and get dressed up for a martini or nice glass of wine at night. I wanted in.

It was shortly after (and right before Alva started crying) that I heard one of my future best friends speaking American English to her son playing just in front of me. Of course with Alva starting to cry and my BFF grabbing her son to leave I never got a chance to say hi, find out what she was doing in Iserlohn and make her realize I would be a perfect friend to have based in the US but could hang out with every time I came to town. I would even bring her favorite items back from the states. But alas. My opportunity was missed and my attempts to go back were unsuccessful due to previous commitments. I fully plan to visit this playground again every chance I get, I mean Oskar loved it and I would be a bod mom not taking him back to enjoy.