Sunday, September 30, 2007

German Culture Training

More things you all need to know about our adopted home.

  1. Mowing on Sundays is illegal in Bavaria (…and the Lord said, “On the Seventh Day, I took repose. Ye shalt too. Thou Shalt Not Mow.”)
  2. You can be “pulled over” and arrested for Bicycling under the Influence. (Not sure, but think it’s called Der BUI.)
  3. Telephone numbers have any variety of length. It’s not just the 10 digits that we have in the states. Consequently, remembering them is just ridiculous. I honestly have no idea what either of my phone numbers are and have given many new friends the wrong numbers. That’s why the phone hasn’t been ringing…right?
  4. 911 doesn’t work. The code here is 112. This is good to know as Tim is monkeying around with the drier, trying to get it to work on European voltage. He’s blown a breaker at least five times. Not sure that’s the best sign.
  5. And most importantly, I read somewhere that it may be illegal to have a Brazilian wax here. Something to do with cosmetologists dealing with mucous membranes. (Yow-zah!) Sorry if any of you are eating…

And so goes my German culture training.

As for my German language training, I’m halfway done with my four week intensive. I can now say such important phrases as, “My name is Heather and I come from the USA.” “I need 500mg of liverwurst.” (Remember, we’re metric in these parts.) “Is that your BMW?” And to the painter who just painted my living room an aqua straight from Miami Vice, “I’m an idiot and chose a terrible color. Can you come back next Thursday to repaint?”

This class has been the best possible thing I could have done to ease my transition. Honestly, I’m pretty sure that if we were graded, I’d get an A. (Maybe even an A+.) It reminds me how much I love school and how intoxicating the thirst for knowledge is for me. I think I’m understanding at least 80% of what my teacher is saying. Plus, I’m communicating pretty darn well with the Pakistani mom of six kids, the Hungarian teenage soccer player, and the Bulgarian McCafe employee that sit right next to me. (McDonalds is called the much more classy ‘McCafe’ here…and yes, not proud, but I have eaten there.) I’ve also made good friends with Fatima from Mexico, who challenges me to remember un poco Espanol. Last week I went to coffee after class with Fatima and one of her Latina friends, Zaleica (sp?), from the Dominican Republic. Fatima’s German isn’t wonderful, my Spanish has serious limitations and Zaleica doesn’t really speak English. So I was speaking English with Fatima, those two were rattling off Spanish and Zaleica and I were attempting German. What a crazy triangle! But we all understood, I think, what the other was saying.

So after meetings like this, I start to feel good, maybe even a little cocky. Then I get on the train to go home, immersed in the German world, and realize that I can’t understand a single word of any of the conversations going on around me. Slice of humble pie, anyone? Honestly, I really prefer strudel.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Paradigm Shift


Well, I think the Heather of old has returned. For a few days (okay, week and a half) after we moved, I wasn’t exactly sure who it was that was inhabiting my body. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed with the language barrier and quite honestly, I think was trying to make myself as small and invisible as possible for fear someone may talk to me. This is quite unlike the Heather that most of you know (and I’m sure adore.) But…somewhere in between Geneva and Grenoble, a shift took place (actually I think it may have started in that Starbucks) and I moved from being scared as all get-out of this German life—back into gratefulness and excitement for this blank slate I’ve been given. This seems to be a pattern in my life, that when huge changes come about, my first reaction is to completely wig-out. After a few tears one day, my big brother Tom put it something like this. “Heather, sometimes things stink in the beginning, but then turn out really, really great.” (Rather poetic, I thought.) Tom, I’ll let you believe that it was your advice that I listened to, but actually I think it had more to do with this cute new pair of red shoes I bought. It’s awfully difficult to be invisible with bright red patent leather shoes. So anyway, I’m feeling good.

This week has been crazy, but wonderful. I feel like life has truly begun here. First of all—shame, shame, shame on me for not writing during the week. But, I’ve been so tired after my days that the words weren’t coming. I did attempt to write this on Wednesday, but my sketchy Internet decided it wasn’t good enough for the World Wide Web.

“Klaus Haus to US.” “Klaus Haus to Us.” “Come in US...The Eagle has landed.” “We have been connected.”

Internet—check.
German landline—check.
Vonage phone—chickety-check.
Delivery of air shipment—yep.
Arrival of sea shipment—uh huh.

Exhaustion from packing—intense. Please send reinforcements. Over. SOS. Mayday!

That pretty much sums up what’s been going on at home. We now have Internet, phone, and most importantly Vonage. All of you can call anytime (and when I say that, please remember that we are 7 hours ahead of Central Time.) We haven’t quite got all the kinks out yet, so sometimes it boots me off, but that’s a small price to pay to talk to your friends and family for free.

We are slowly digging ourselves out of what feels like a million boxes. I was on the phone the other day when I realized that box number 186 was right in front of me. Ay Carumba! Holy Stuff! But we’ve made serious headway and may only have 15 boxes left. Of course nothing is in a logical spot (toothbrush next to hairbrush…ewww.)

But more importantly, I started my German Intensive class this week. Wow, how to even describe…all I can say is that I just love it. There are 15 students in my class and no two people are from the same country. We have someone from Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Mexico, Canada, Kenya, Mali, Togo, Yemen, Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand. There is every race, color, language, and religion, that you can possibly imagine. I’m very lucky that some of them speak a little bit of English, but honestly the common language is German, so we have to use that. I’m just amazed at the number of things that transcend every culture, for example smiling, laughter, blushing, and (Janene close your ears) the word for shit. This is a HUGE exercise in thinking outside the box. Trying to communicate your point with only about 100 German words is very tricky, BUT, as I’m learning, it can be done. If nothing else, this course is boosting my confidence and making me less frightened to attempt German in public. Each day I’m getting better at ordering food, asking questions, heck-I even had a German conversation with someone from my cell phone company today. I may have just signed up for a calling plan to Egypt, but I think she was asking me to buy insurance for my phone. Anyway, the journey has begun.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Calm before the storm


Bonjour from Grenoble! Tim and I are in France right now enjoying just a little bit of downtime before Monday comes in like a freight train. We have eaten soft cheese, drank red wine, attempted to speak French, and strutted around town with high cheek-boned women with miniature, yippy dogs, and beautiful men with 20 inch hips. I'd say we covered a lot of ground for two days!

Friday, Tim hit the Grenoble CAT plant to meet-n-greet the guys that will be manufacturing the Wheeled Excavators that he'll be working on. (At least that's what I translated from his nerd-speak.) Meanwhile, Amanda picked me up, with her mom, grandma, and baby Maddie in tow, and we filled the day with quite a bit of shopping--including a trip out in the middle of the French countryside to see her favorite potter. I happened to walk away with a few Provencal looking pieces, which I'm sure makes my parents a little nervous. My dad may be taking bets at on how long it will be until I brake something. People don't call me 'Grace' for nuthin!

Grenoble is a pretty darn big city, maybe close to 750,00 people, surrounded on most sides by the Alps. "The Hills are alive...with the sound of ooh-la-la!" We may not have had the greatest view from the window of our Best Western, but I personally fell in love with the charm of the Old Town and Tim with the mountains. Truly, both are amazing. Last night we finagled Amanda's mom into babysitting Maddie and we went out for a fabulous French dinner with Brian and Amanda. Today, the four of us hiked a mountain. Ok, not entirely true. We hiked on a mountain. (I just think it sounds a little more impressive when I say it the other way.) Then the Lowrys invited us to dinner at their house a little outside of Grenoble in the quaint village Herbeys (not like the VW bug, remember the French don't really believe in consonants. Think something like "Errr-bay.") Good food, good wine, good friends equals great evening.

So hitting the hay soon, in fact, Mr. Sandman has all ready visited my husband. Tomorrow we'll drive back and hopefully leave ourselves enough time to get our heads around what needs to happen Monday. Quick run-down: I start class, we should have both Internet and phone (which means Vonage should be good to go) AND all of our stuff is arriving! Cannot wait! Ah, actually, not entirely true. Sounds like a lot of work. Mom...are you coming over here yet?

Thursday, September 13, 2007

United Colors of Benetton

Right now, I’m sitting at our Hotel Bar in Archamps, France, just outside of Geneva. No, Mom, I’m not drinking yet (although it is past noon.) Actually I’m having an Orangina in honor of my little neighbor Emma and enjoying a view of the beautiful courtyard. It is sunny and warm here, but when I say warm, I still mean long sleeves and jeans.

Side note: I’ve gotta find dance soon. I am completely uncomfortable in ‘normal people clothes.’ I’ve worn a leotard, tights and comfy jazz pants for the last five years of my life and now I’m totally unsure of how to wear anything else. How do you people do it? I feel so stuffy and prohibited in my movement. Jeans are so constricting!

Speaking of uncomfortable, my self-esteem has just plummeted. We are now in France, the land of beautiful people. No, it’s not quite Paris, but darn close. As my mother says, “Our finest clothing is about on par with what the French would wear to walk their dogs.” It’s true. Maybe there’s a Wal-mart close by that I could go into so I can feel good about myself again!

Geneva, Switzerland is what I would consider an International city. I think most of the people here actually speak French, but I did hear some Swiss German and a little bit of English. In fact in driving here, and by the way we went through 4 countries Tuesday, it seemed Switzerland was just blending us from Germany into France. One big difference is that they use the Swiss Franc here, because neutral Switzerland is not a part of the EU. (Almost found that out the hard way at the parking deck.) Yesterday I drove into the city from our little French village and did some sight-seeing while Tim was in his conference. I didn’t really have an agenda, but for some reason I always seem to find myself seeking out gardens and churches…usually in that order. Yesterday was no exception. Highlights: A Rose Garden with over 40,000 rose bushes (I thought of you, Mom), and the old city-complete with a Roman wall that rises up to the cathedral. Churches here are always built on the highest spot in the city. Not only does it create a beautiful skyline, but it gives you some point of reference in case you get lost (which I do quite frequently.) I also got in some good people watching while I sat at Starbucks (see, maybe I am in Seattle!) The women I mentioned before and the men all look like David Hyde Pierce, complete with dark suits. Think they’re all bankers.

Last night, as a part of Tim’s conference, we took an excursion to this medieval French village. Yes, that was truly beautiful, but I was much more entranced by the people that Tim is training with. I met four guys from South Africa, a very charming Frenchman, a Brit, a Dutchman, an American who’s lived in France for 27 years, a Russian chatter-box, and Sergio Garcia (no, not the golfer) who is a Spaniard living in Italy. It was the United Colors of Benetton!

Side note 2: I’d like to just take a moment to say how proud I am of my husband. He’s accomplished so much thus far and his intellect and laid-back personality amaze me everyday. Not to mention his nerdiness—we have to make a drive by of CERN before we leave today just so he can sense the brain-power behind those walls. (Nerd alert!)

We take off later today for Grenoble. Tim will meet some of the guys he’ll be working with tomorrow and I plan to hang out with the Lowrys. Oh, good news! We just found out that both our air shipment and sea shipment have cleared customs. Everything is supposed to be delivered Monday. Halleluia!!!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Home of Starbucks or Liver pate'?

Another little German quiz for you. Our Street name, Buchenstrasse, means:
a. Book Street
b. Bridge Street
c. Beech Street.

Guesses??? Text or e-mail your answers to http://worthlessknowledge.com
The correct answer is actually c. Beach Street. We had originally thought that Buchen must be plural for Buch, which is Book. But, nay, we were wrong. That Buchen appearantly has an umlaut over the u and is a completely different word. Nor is it Bruckenstrasse (Bridge street) that the IKEA drivers thought it to be. Our home is now on Beech Street and actually a lot of the streets around us are tree names. UlmenStrasse (Elm Street), NussStrasse (Nut Tree), SensibleStrasse (Sensibili-tree.) Okay, made the last one up.
Hmm...is this interesting to anyone but my Dad, probably not.

Moving on. We took Kevin out to dinner last night up by Cat at the Hotel Jacob. The Jacob brewery has won the best Wheatbeer in Germany for something like the last 17 years. The food ain't bad neither. We were bribing Kevin to let us use his washer and drier so we could again wear underwear. The three of us got into a discussion that we actually think we might be living in Seattle instead of Germany. The weather here is exactly what I would picture Seattle to be like. Cold, overcast, rain everyday. Do you think Cat just imported a couple thousand Germans? I mean, I didn't actually drive here afterall. The plane could have just done loops for all I know and landed in Washington State. Consequently I'm freezing my cha-chas off. I packed only four long sleeve shirts and no warm jackets. Not to mention flip-flops instead of boots. Customs---let my clothing go!

This last weekend was great and pretty relaxing. Tim went to the 'Dult' Friday with the boys and saw much of what I had described earlier. I believe the highlight of the evening was when the band, 3 men in lederhosen, did a stunning rendition of "It's Raining Men." Then on Sunday, Tim and I again wandered the streets of Regensburg tyring to soak it all in. Claudia had given us a book, in English, that has three walking tours of the city complete with historical background. I am just so humbled by the History that is here. There is still a portion of the old Roman Wall here that was built in 179 AD. I mean, that's old. My Grandmother hadn't even been born yet!

Well, we are just about to take off for our first excursion. We are headed today (it's Tues) to Geneva, Switzerland then on to Grenoble, France on Friday. Tim has some of his black belt leadership training to finish up and I'm going along for the ride. Hoping to spend the weekend with our friends Brian and Amanda Lowry who've been living in Grenoble for the last year. Maybe it's warmer there...

P.S. Tim just finished his first package of liverwurst. "Amazing," he says, "Looks terrible, smells worse, yet tastes delicious!" I'll take his word for it.

Friday, September 7, 2007

German-glish, Germ-glish, Eng-man

It's Friday and our IKEA couch finally showed up Yipee!!!! Yes, it was supposed to arrive on Wed, in fact I sat around our apartment feeling like a caged bird waiting for it to show up all day. I was starting to get a little nervous when about 2:45 I got a call, in German, from a very lost delivery man. Well, he didn't speak English and my German is, well, let's just say not fluent, so our discussion did not go well. After a few hours of trying to figure out what the problem was (ended up our address was spelled wrong) the couch went on back to Munich without making it into our office. Grrrr.
But, all is well today. Neighbor Claudia to the rescue who discovered the problem and set the delivery people on the right course. We also found out today that our sea shipment has arrived in Germany. It's probably now in customs, for god knows how long, but at least the boat didn't sink.

Tim and I are becoming more German everyday. I went to the grocery store Wed and bought red cabbage, sauerkraut and schnitzel, all of which were very good. I actually had intended to buy some chicken, but got a little flustered at the meat counter and decided to cut my losses and head for the frozen food. First of all, I couldn't even find chicken among all the different types of sausages, plus I had completely forgotten the word for chicken and didn't have my pocket dictionary on me. Travel tip #3: Never leave home without your pocket dictionary...or your house keys. (The door locks behind you, as I've discovered.) I guess I could have just clucked around the aisle a little and the butcher may have gotten the idea, but I opted not.

Things I love about Germany all ready:

1. The country side is green, lush and just breath-taking (due to the fact that it rains everyday here. Should have known. "Regen" means "Rain.")
2. Our house (as soon as we have furniture) is just perfect.
3. You can buy bottles of wine here for $3!
4. Driving on the Autobahn. Weeeee!

Things that I will need to learn to love
1. 80s music. We've heard some killer tunes on the radio stations. In one day we heard such classics as "Beat It," "Take My Breath Away," some Wham song that I can't remember at the moment, and Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All." Yes folks that was from at least the '88 Olympics, if not recorded before. But, ah, a classic.
2. The grocery carts have four wheels that swivel, not just the two that we're used to. Consequently, I cannot steer the stupid things. It makes trying to be as invisible as possible in the store quite difficult. I'm too afraid to make eye contact with anyone in case they speak to me, so I end up spending all my energy trying to take my cart in the right direction.

Other than that, not much to report. Tim is going to the Dultfest tonight with some boys from work. I can't seem to find out from anyone what a "dult" is, but I think it's just another excuse for Bavarians to get together, have a festival and drink beer. We actually went with Ewan and Kevin last Friday (that would be the part of Day 1 that I still haven't finished...and actually may not) and it was a blast. Picture an outdoor market place that sells everything, including socks, and dentistry tools. Then you find yourself in an enormous beer tent complete with Bavarian food, HUGE mugs of beer, and a band in the front wearing lederhosen singing all American songs and a few German drinking songs. Tim will have more details for you all tomorrow. Until then...bis spaeter. Auf Wiedersehen!

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Breaking Rule Nummer Eins

Little bit of trivia from one of my German books:

How should you demonstrate your efficiency at work?
a. Always leave on time.
b. Always work late.
c. Work late in an emergency

Guesses? Great news---the answer is a! In other words, Tim, get your cute little tushie out of the office. I’m currently waiting for him in the parking lot after work since we are sharing our rental car. Oh, did I mention that we’re driving a Mercedes as our “hired car.” Nice. Very, very nice.
The last two days we finally had to break neighbor Laurie’s Rule #1. You may not know these rules by heart as Tim and I do, so here’s a quick refresher.

1. Always stay with your buddy.
2. Use your party manners.
(and for good measure) 3. Don’t show your underpants to anyone.

The time has come for my buddy to leave me and go off to work. Honestly, I had been dreading this all weekend. Not sure I was ready to function in this new country with nary a language skill. I should have had a little foresight and weaned myself off of the social interaction, but the last few weeks before the move were a race to spend every waking moment with friends and family. I think I may have forgotten what it feels like to be alone. Isolation is probably the thing that scares me the most here. BUT, I’m glad to say that I’m doing just fine. Well, most of that is because I really haven’t been alone that much. (Not quite sure if that’s good or bad, but I’m so grateful!) Yesterday (Monday) Claudia took me to the DEZ (pronounce Deets) which stands for the Donau Einkaufen Zentrum—auf English, the Danube Shopping Center—aka the Mall. No time for shopping, just getting signed up for Internet. I’m so glad that Claudia was there. I can only imagine the mess I would have gotten myself into without her.

Today I was prepared to spend the day by myself. I got up, took Tim to work so that I could have the car, went for a nice long run (and when I say run, I mean mostly walk after my weeks of sitting on my can before we left) and a quick German lesson. I was walking out the door to go into Regensburg to wander around when our Dutch friend Heidi called. Heidi’s husband Maarten works at CAT with Tim and we met her during our house hunting trip. She is exactly what I needed today. She is warm and outgoing, not to mention she’s fluent in both German and English. So instead of spending the day by myself, I went shopping with Heidi and her mom.

That reminds me. My mother-in-law gave me the most perfect book for my birthday. Can’t remember the exact title, but it’s something like “A Guide for Spouses Abroad: How not to Lose Your Identity.” In it, one of the first comments they make is that wives abroad tend to either eat too much, eat too little, drink to much or shop excessively. Wonder if I can knock out all four of them!

Monday, September 3, 2007

Lazy Weekend



Saturday:
My fellow America expat and I made a trip to IKEA for a scratch and dent sale, and each ended up with a brand new couches. Good news is, I acquired a sofa-bed for the office to help accommodate visitors. Bad news is, I had to jump through about seventeen hoops to get up the cash necessary to buy it. German Travel Tip #1: Even places that you are certain will take credit cards, probably won't. Cash rules, credit drools. So, after signing up for some sort of IKEA family card (isn't that kind of like having family in a cheap trailer park?) and maxing out my daily withdrawal limit via 13 tries and 2 successes at the ATM, we are having the couch delivered Wednesday.
After dropping off Kevin's purchases and gathering up my wife, we headed into Regensburg to meet our British friend Ewan Scattergood for lunch and a personalized tour walking tour (provided we buy lunch.) Ewan's knowledge of Regensburg was impressive from the old Roman walls to the Thurn und Taxis castle. Cheers Ewan! We loved it!

In the evening we made our first trip to the supermarket, had our first meal at home, and headed to Kevin's to hijack some internet and make some phone calls. Good day.

Sunday:
Slept in again. We're still adjusting to the time zone. Tomorrow is my first day of work and getting up on time is going to hurt. We bummed around the house and sat on our front patio and soaked up some afternoon sun. Then our wonderful neighbor Claudia cam over and we chatted and borrowed her internet to answer some e-mails. She has been amazing and will continue to be a lifeline until our language and local knowledge improves.

This evening we decided to tackle the train system and fumbled our way onto the local train to Regensburg. We had a nice dinner outside and wandered the old city streets. Travel Tip #2: With the exception of a few restaurants, nothing is open on Sundays. We are sitting in the train station waiting for our return train and had time to type out the weekend. We hope to upload it tomorrow (which Heather is currently doing :) ) Love you all and miss you.

Klaus'

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Day 1


First full day in Germany. Well, we got up about 10am and had a full day planned. Both Tim and I couldn't wait to explore our neighborhood and get in some exercise. Our village is something straight out of a storybook. Quaint, quiet houses, mostly white or pastel colored with red tile rooves. After our long walk we made friends with our baker then went home to shower. So, at this point, it's about 12:15 and I hear my cell phone ring. It was our friend Kevin. The conversation went a little something like this.
"Hey Kev. You at work?"
"Um no. I'm home."
This was strange because Kevin borders on workaholicism (is that a word?) and I knew he would never have taken a half day.
"What are you doing there?" I ask.
"Well, it's what I do most days after work."
"After work???" About that time the light went on. We had no working clocks. We had relied on Tim's old cell phone which is pretty darn confused since we are no longer in the U.S. "Kevin, What time is it?" And here's the kicker...
"5:15."

In one sentence Tim and I lost five hours of the day. In our defense it was very cloudy.

Ahhh.. our wireless time has run out. To be continued...