Heiko's Birthday

Dear Jack,

[Transcribed from handwritten journal. Links added for enhancement]

Today Heiko went to get his drivers' license, so I went with Jewe and JP to school. At school, Jewe was helping close down the computer lab, so JP and I were allowed to play computer games. We played "block Out". It is a 3-2 Tetris game. It was fun at first, but got boring quickly. At 11:30 we met Heiko at the front and he drove us home, but he had to go back for a math test, so I went to Jewe's house with JP next door.

[The families lives in a "Hof Complex". I was told that eight families built the complex around 1984 out of wood. Heiko's family and Jewe's family were part of the original eight families. The handwritten journal has a drawing of the complex layout.]

At Jewe's we talked, listened to music, and horsed around. Jewe has a linguistics computer that speaks English...so we tried af ew words and phrases. Around 1pm Jewe's step-mother Monica came home with Gypsy their dog...who had got to the vent to remove a cataract. Gypsy was out cold, and her tongue flopped deadly in the wind.

Monica's aunt came also. She was very nice and was born before the war. They fixed lunch for us of Hot Dogs, and hot potato salad with white asparagus. It was very good. The women went upstairs for a nap, and Jewe went to the bank. JP and I hung out till 3 when Heiko came and got me.

Back at home, Heiko's grandmother and cousins were visiting for Kaffee... a special one for Heiko's birthday. 5l3 made many treats...the best being Apfelstrudel. Hekio's aunts also came and two of his friends... Sabah his ex-girlfriend and Samona... a female friend. With everyone speaking at once, I started to loose interest and concentration.

At 7m Heiko drove to the 13th grade graduation. It was fairly formal with tables and servers. Heiko and I sat with Ute and the other teachers. There we ran into David and he joined me to talk. It was nice to have someone who I could understand. We then had a buffet and finished the commencement ceremonies. I must say I miss the non-smoking sections in the US. We got home around 13:30 am.

Bonn and Köln

Dear Jack,

[Transcribed from handwritten journal. Links added to enhance.]

Today Heiko and Jewe took JP and me to Bonn and Köln. In Bonn we visited a history museum. It was rather un-interesting, but we had fun anyways. We rode a train to Köln from Bonn. In Köln we ate lunch and walked through the Dom. I can hardly believe the height of the Bell Towers. They stab the sky like two steep mountains.

Today was Corpus Christi and so a lot of people were there, and it was decorated. No shops were open... and of course there was no school. After touring the Cathedral, we waited for Jewe's father to pick us up. We talked while we waited. The ride from Köln to Aachen was short for there are no speed limits on the Autobahn.

When we got home Ute made pizza-pasta. It was fairly good. It was like penne pasta with pesto sauce and mozzarella. I read Ute and Heiko the story "Love You Forever". I think they liked it.

Over the River and Through the Woods

Dear Jack,

[Transcribed from handwritten journal. Links added for enhancement.]

Today I went to school mit JP und Jewe. Wir haben eine Klasse von Geschichte, eine Klasse von Mathe, und zwei Klassen von Englisch. Um 12 Uhr, Ute und ich haben zu Heikos Großmutters Haus gegangen. There we ate Tomatensalat, Gurkesalat, Pilze, und Schweinfleisch. Es hat mir gut geschmekt. Für nachtisch haven wir Vanillen Eis gehat. His grandmother is very nice.

We ate with his parents, sister, cousins, and aunts. His uncle has a few horses. The stud is at least 6'4" at his shoulders. The mare is 5'8" and the two babies are eye level and chest level. They are all brown.

After dinner we came home, and I took a nap while Heiko mowed the lawn. Later we went to school for a welcome dinner. We ate quiche Lorraine. Heiko did not like it, but I liked it. Heiko, Anna, Joy, Barbara and I hung out together being the elder kids. Heiko is the eldest. We passed a wet ball around to pass the time.

Back at home, H23k4 and I talked about Russia and his trip to Tampa. He is very friendly and speaks exceptional English.