Caroling

One night earlier this week, our doorbell rang. Once I figured out what "that sound" could be, I opened the door to a group of kids. They immediately started speaking in German. I stared at them without comprehending a word. They spoke some more. I finally cut in and said, "I don't understand. Sprechen sie English?" The kids looked around in horror. I'm sure thoughts of "Is this a pop quiz? Is our English teacher hiding in the bushes?" crept into their heads. They eventually all turned to one boy, who I assume gets the best grades in English. He explained that they were caroling and collecting money for a charity. Other kids jumped in to explain that the charity they selected this year was to feed the poor. The organization collected food from stores that was past its date, but, they quickly explained, not bad. I asked if I could take their picture. They rolled their eyes like pre-teens across the world. I said, "Let me get my camera. And my kids." They wondered when this crazy lady would ever let them sing. We came back to the door, and I said, "Ok. Sing." They looked at each other, probably wondering if the crazy lady would expect them to sing in English. They opted to sing in German. Then, they opened up the mouth of the stick donkey they were carrying. We'd already discussed the donkey. I had asked if it was a horse, and they explained it was a donkey. I said, "Oh, right, because Sammi Claus has a donkey." They looked at the poor crazy woman, and said "No, not because of that." I put the money in the donkeys mouth, hoping it was adequate for the amount of stress I caused them and they walked off to the next house. I imagine that house had read the flier they left earlier in the week explaining their purpose. The next house probably didn't require them to speak in English either. I have to say that I was really impressed. Not only did they explain their purpose and answer all the questions, but they did it all in English, fluently.