Another One Eats The Bug

First day of orientation! We also met Neighbor Thahn who was heading off to work.

Here we are at the bus stop on Thompson

After I dropped off a smiling Christoph in the foyer of his building I chatted with Carol North and Dr. Briscoe, the principal. I don't really know what Carol's job is at SPP but she seems to be vital to the operation of this school.

This photo is from the Ecolab plaza on Wabasha. I did some reading at the outdoor tables of Dunn Bros Coffee when I looked up and saw Andrew Zimmern from the Travel Channel TV show called Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern walking down 5th Street looking like he wanted to be recognized. There were two tables of St. Paul ambulance crews enjoying a coffee who didn't pay any attention to him. Either they did not want to invade his privacy or they don't watch Travel Channel programs about a portly guy who likes to eat bugs.

This guy has an unmistakable face. He lives in the Twin Cities so it is not so strange that he'd be walking down 5th Street looking for some bugs to eats.

Here is one of Christoph's first views of Cray Plaza, the building where his school is housed. St. Paul Prep is in part of the first three floor of the taller tower. I'm happy that Christoph seems to like to look at and talk about sky scrapers.

I strolled through Mears Park for another good view of Cray Plaza. Cray makes supercomputers or the 21st century form of supercomputers.

This is a sideways view of Christoph's first A+ that he earned on my neighborhood walking tour quiz. It was mostly fill in the blank with some multiple choice questions. The tour was designed to orient Christoph to his South St. Paul neighborhood.

Christoph Abroad

 On Monday afternoon we had record heat while we waited for Christoph's flight to arrive from Chicago. On the arrivals board I was fooled by "Frankfurt arriving at 445pm". I wondered why Christoph wouldn't have taken this flight. . .It took me a few minutes to realize this was probably Frankfurt, Kentucky.

We positioned ourselves be the number 11 baggage claim area--the only one of the 14 used by United Airlines. And there he was!

 Yes, we made a sign.

Sue drew the picture while I added the German text. I hope it means what I think it does:

From Germany!

Ravel and Nigel's older brother!

Football player!

Trumpeter!

The King!

Chess Player!

Christoph was very talkative and he claimed to not be so tired from his incredibly long day.

After a dinner of hot beef sandwiches, Serrano pepper mashed potatoes, salad, and bubbly water, we took a walk down to the river just to have a quick view of the Mississippi River, America's Rhine River.

In 10 minutes, Christoph and I will take the bus downtown for his day of orientation and tests at St. Paul Prep.

Here!

Waiting for Christoph

The Day Christoph Discovers America

Today is a big day on several fronts. Sue is back to school for four in service days before the kid's return the day after Labor Day. Today is the first day of my next on-line class and I don't know what to expect. I'll probably try to log on today to see if there is any information about anything. At 10am I'm meeting Daniel, our new pastor intern, for a cup of coffee. And of course, a certain German teenager will arrive this evening.

Naturally, I've started learning German again. I've done this many times in the last 20 years but it still hasn't stuck very well. Don't worry, Christoph, we'll speak mostly English! 

This is me "finishing" the woodwork in the kitchen. Aunt Mary, Uncle Duke, Mike and Judy came over for some lunch yesterday and offered some advice on how to finish this job. We'll get it done eventually. 

Ravel impressed the guests yesterday with his leaping abilities.

Nigel is looking more full grown all the time--he's getting wider and portlier.

 This is a ball that lights up when the cat touches it. 

We hope Christoph gets through Chicago OK. He has three hours there to get through customs and immigration and go from terminal 5 to terminal 1 to catch his Minneapolis flight.

Tonight for his first meal here we will have crock pot beef sandwiches, Serrano pepper red skin mashed potatoes, and a civilized salad. More photos to follow. . .