Trains and Potty Training

I have officially been in Germany for exactly 1 month! I can't believe an entire month has already gone by. But you know what they say- "Time flies when you're an au pair in Stockdorf." At least that's what I heard. This is a post about two completely unrelated topics: train security and Mimi's ongoing struggle with toilets. I had my first unpleasant experience with both about two weeks ago.

The week that Stef and Mimi were in France, Stef gave me her monthly transportation card so that I wouldn't have to worry about stamping my stripe ticket every time I got on the train. The first Monday that Stef and Mimi were back and my schedule was back to normal, I met my friend in the city for coffee.  I totally forgot that I had given Stef her monthly pass back, so I didn't remember to stamp my stripe ticket going to or from the city. When I was on my way home about 2 stops away from my town, two train security women got on. I immediately realized that I hadn't stamped my ticket, which is automatically a 40 euro fine. I was really mad at myself, but I didn't try to play the dumb American card to see if I could get away with it, because nothing angers them more. The few train security people that I have encountered seem like generally miserable humans, so I decided to be very compliant and take the 40 euro fine without questioning it.  And I also realize that train security is really important and it's one of the reasons why it is so safe to take the trains in Munich and throughout all of Germany. I told my host family the story when they got home, and they were awesome enough to give me 40 euros to pay for the ticket, despite my feeble attempts to refuse their money. I'm kind of glad this happened, because I will NEVER forget to stamp my tickets ever again. I don't think there is anything that stops my heart faster than hearing a security person somewhere in the distance say, "Fahrschein, bitte." Tickets, please.

Equally unnerving is the thought that goes through my mind every single day as I ride the bike to pick Mimi up from Kindergarten: Did she pee in her pants again? The reason I have to ask myself this question is because Mimi absolutely 100% refuses to use the toilets at her Kindergarten. She is completely fine going to the bathroom by herself at home, at the store, outside in a bush, but under no circumstances will she use the toilets at school. In the last two weeks she has peed in her pants at school 8 times. It is a huge mystery as to why she refuses to go to the bathroom at school, considering she will pee EVERYWHERE else.  I don't really know how the teachers at her school deal with this every single day, since they are usually the ones who have to change her into dry pants. I guess it's all part of the potty training process. 

As I'm writing this, Mimi is taking a nap. Naps are also a dangerous time. There is about a 50% chance that when I wake her up, she will have peed her pants. But on the bright side, there is also a 50% chance that she will have dry pants! I'm hoping for the latter.