Orientation Weekend / Orientierung Wochenende

Peter is in the middle of his orientation week as the new semester is finally to begin next week. He had a couple days of meetings and touring with his four new students (bringing the total up to eleven), and now has gone to Regensburg with ten of the eleven for the weekend. We were all supposed to go, but after a month full of traveling, we thought it best not to uproot Nikolas for the fourth time in four weeks. We knew we had made the right decision earlier in the week, when for three days straight Nikolas said something along the theme of: I'm happy to be back in Salzburg.

Nikolas has already been missing Peter this week as he has had to miss afternoon playtime and bath/shower time and even bed time on various days. When I picked him up from school today, Nikolas asked, "Is Papa at home?"

I explained (not for the first time) that Papa was on the train with his students going on a trip.

"Will Papa be home when the sun goes down?" Nikolas asked.

"Papa will be home when the sun goes down and then goes up and then goes down and then goes up," I said.

Nikolas laughed. "Down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up," he said. "Okay."

And so off we went, starting our weekend of being best buddies. So far we've played in the snow (where there is snow), splashed in the puddles (where there are puddles), slipped on the ice (where there is ice), baked muffins, watched Finding Nemo, played cars and airplanes, "ice skated" on a plate in the hallway, played hide and seek, and kept watch on the neighborhood through toilet paper binoculars. Tomorrow, among other things, we have a lunch date at McDonalds. The sun will have gone down and up and down and up, and Peter will be back home before you know it.