On Christmas Day, while having a full house with five family visitors here from France and the U.S.A., the door bell rang at about 1:30.
My husband and I just looked at each other and wondered who this could be. Surprise – one of my former students had come with his newly wed wife from Singapore! They had gotten to the end of their European vacation, reserved a room at the Hotel Waldlust in Oberursel, and decided to visit Frau Shipley (as I’m still being called by him since 6th grade).
Jon, my former student, has done this kind of surprise visit before. Once when he lived in London, and another time when he lived in Canada, he stopped by here on a surprise visit.
Oh my, it is wonderful to keep in touch with one’s students over such a long time. This is only feasible through the internet though. These expat kids live and work around the world, not often in the same place for more than a few years. Who’d be able to keep in contact if not through e-mail, Facebook, and the like.
Mariann and Jonathan from Singapore
The beer was just a prop though. None of us felt like having one in the afternoon. But I served them some typical German mulled wine later.
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