So many lessons to learn...

Mia has such a great group of friends. There is so much diversity within the group, yet they all come from Germany. First, you have my Chinese, American girl who happens to be "German" (she might even top the list for the most interesting background :-)). Then you have the Family from Siberia, you have the family from the former Yugoslavia, you have the family from the Ukraine, you have the family from Africa, and then muddled in there are a few original German families who offer so much as well. When all together, the conversations are amazing. Lives were not always easy. This morning, I chatted with the Ukrainian about the huge protests in her country with regard to siding more with Russia or the EU, we spoke with the lady from Siberia about the Olympics in Russia, and then also about the general idea of how History tends to repeat itself. So much depth and so much to learn from.  Truly.

In my class that I am subbing for, we had a lesson about Producers and Consumers. After, the discussion, I asked if it was better to be a producer or a consumer - the kids joked and answered "consumer" (at least I hope they were joking). In our country, it is so easy to be a consumer when you have never seen hunger. One of the aids spoke up about an instance a few years ago, when he had brought one of the sport teams to a tournament and they stayed in a small German "Bed and Breakfast" type place. In the morning, the old German owner observed the students taking huge portions and not eating all of the food they took. She held up a rolling pin and started yelling at them, telling them of the days back during the war, when she would dig up roots and make soup with roots and water because there was no food. Never waste food! Such lessons to learn!!!

Finally, a proud Momma moment to share.... In preparation for our upcoming move, I have spent quite a bit of time "thinning out" on this end, so we don't have to bring as much with us. Mia has the biggest room in the house, and lots of stuff. We have been slowly going through her things, and she said to me, "it feels good to go through and donate the toys/clothes that I don't play with or wear anymore. I want to donate half of it to kids in China and half of it to kids in Egypt." For her to mention China was not a big surprise, but Egypt really made me stop and think. I would never have thought of Egypt to donate to, but she was able to see first hand and remember the poverty there and it must have created an awareness that stuck with her. There are so many lessons to learn!!!