26 December 2008

Quiet Day after Christmas



Well, it has been quite a while since I updated my blog. Since the last time I wrote several things have happened and I will try to get them all in this post. If I think of anything else later I will add it to a different post.


First. For all of those that I have talked to, you know that I have been very sick since the last post. Actually that night I started this terrible journey that had me wondering what on earth I was doing in Germany so far from those who care about me when I am so violently ill. Well I found out that there are several people here that also care about me so you all in the U. S. do not have to worry about me dying in my apartment and no one knowing for several days until the smell coming out of here is as bad as the smell when my neighbors cook. I am not sure that I know what on earth they are cooking, but I can't imagine anything from my apartment smelling that bad unless I had been in here for days decomposing.


Oh well. I am on the mend now. After almost 4 full weeks of this. Last Friday when I went to work, my co-workers told me that I looked so bad I needed to go to the doctor. So I went to the clinic at work and the doctor there set me up with an English speaking doctor near my apartment. When I say near, I mean a block and a half away. It is easily in walking distance. So Friday afternoon I went to see her and she thought that I probably had the Norwal(sp?) virus and prescribed some medication for the nausea and gastrointestinal problems. So I went back to the apartment to fall in bed like I did whenever I was not at work. Saturday morning I heard a very strange sound and got out of bed about 9 am to make sure it was not the smoke alarm. It was the doorbell and someone was on my monitor but I could not tell who it was. So I said 'Hello' and she said 'This is Dr. Adelberger. I am here to check on you.' I could not believe it so I buzzed her up. She came in the apartment and said that she just stopped by to make sure that I was ok and to tell me that I needed to come into the office on Monday for some blood tests. I said great and she left. I don't think that she realized how shocked I was that the doctor came to my apartment. This Monday I went into the office for the blood tests and she said that she thought that I should go to the clinic (hospital) because I really needed to have IV fluids. I resisted the idea and she relented and said that they could give me the fluids in the office. So I voted for that option and they gave me 2 liters of the clear stuff. She told me to come back the next day and get some more. So Tuesday morning I went back again and got another 2 liters. I guess that I just needed a fill up because I am feeling much better now and am able to hold down some food. Blood tests came out ok also so I felt great about that! At least I have a doctor over here now that knows my history.

Aside from being sick there have been a few things that I want to share.



December 1-7

This week, Duane Lemke was here from the U.S. He is the head of my department in Moline. I could not wait to see him because he was bringing something very special for me. A Vonage phone. This phone would hook up to my internet connection and I would then have a Rock Island number so that everyone I know can call me without it being long distance (very long distance!). I did not get to see him until Tuesday though because I had a couple of things to do on Monday. First was my driving lesson. My instructor Tom came to my apartment at 9:30 am and I was ready! When he rang the buzzer I told him that I would be right down. I was not feeling all that well and had been up most of the night. which was good because I could listen to the Bear's night game with Minnesota. They Lost:(. But anyway, I met him downstairs and he led me out to his car. I was glad to see it was a Mercedes A class like mine. When I got in though, it was just a little different. Besides the smoke smell that made me even more nauseous, I noticed that it was not an automatic. I have not really driven a manual transmission in about 17 years but I figured once you know how, why not try it. This was not a normal 4 speed, it was a 6 speed transmission. It took me a few minutes to get used to it again and I only killed it 1 time all morning. I did have it in 5th gear a couple of times instead of 3rd, but nothing major. We started off and Tom asked me how long I had been driving. I told him that I have been driving for over 36 years, but only 5 minutes in Germany.

We left Mannheim and went out on the autobahn. This is not one of the autobahns that you can go as fast as you want, maximum is only 120 KM. We drove over to Heidelberg and into town. He wanted to give me some experience driving in different situations. The worst thing was making sure you were on a priority road (yellow diamond signs) or you have to let the person on the right at an intersection go first unless there is a light control. I was doing ok for the first few intersections and then there was one that I was going to go through and Tom slammed on the brakes on his side of the car. A truck went through and I just looked and could not figure out why I did not have the right of way because there was a green light. He said that this is where he always takes American drivers. The light there is usually green, it is not a priority road and there is a lot of traffic coming from the right. He explained that the light was not controlling the intersection. It was for a walkway just past the cross street. In the U. S. the lights are on the far corners. In Germany, the light for your lane is on the near corner. If you pull up too far, you can not see it change. So lesson learned and we continued through the narrow streets of Heidelberg. Then he wanted to take me on some of the roads on the outskirts. So we started driving up this hill and soon it became very winding. Not just winding, but in come places almost like a snake. By the time we got to the top of the hill, I had to pull over and tell him that we could not do that again or I would barf. I had to get out of the car into the cool air and stand for a few minutes to try to settle my stomach. We continued through the town going through school zones, tram stops, and streets so crowded that I was surprised that the car could make it through. Then we went on to Weinheim and then back to Mannheim. We were gone until noon and when we got back, he told me that I did very well. I asked if I could take his picture for my blog and he said yes. So... here is a picture of a guy that gets into cars with people who don't know what they are doing.



Monday afternoon I had several meetings and then left work feeling worse than I did in the morning. I would have to catch up with Duane on Tuesday.

Tuesday morning I did not feel much better. I got up and went into work looking forward to seeing a familiar face that would speak English. I looked up Duane and was he a sight for a homesick person! He gave me the Vonage box and I held it in my hands like it was a fragile piece of glass. I could not wait to get home and hook it up. Cathy said that she had no trouble hooking hers up so I was very excited! First I had to get through the day. I have been fairly busy at work so I got to it, trying to forget about the nausea, etc. I had other things to do also. I was starting my German lessons after work.

About 4:15 I left the office. I had my Vonage box securely in my hands and walked out to the car. I drove home and parked, took my computer and Vonage box into my apartment and got my Bears spiral notebook and headed out to the Goethe-Institut for my first German lesson. I walked to the tram and rode the 2 stops and got out. I knew that this would be difficult, but the sooner I started the better it would be. I was to meet my instructor at the reception desk on the 2nd floor. I got in the elevator and realized that I did not ask if that was really the floor numbered 2 or 1. Here the ground floor is usually labeled "E". I don't know the German word for it, but then floor 1 is the 2nd floor. I live on the 3rd floor, but it is really the 3rd floor off the ground not the 3rd floor of apartments. I know it is confusing, but try being here and figuring it out! So I looked at the directory in the elevator and saw that on the floor numbered 2, there was a department that looked like 'reception' so that is where I went. I guessed right and met my instructor there. His name is Fred Wallbrecht and I was surprised that he looked Asian. I should not have been, this is really a melting pot here and I am constantly amazed at my misconceptions. Anyway, we went to the classroom and got into my first German class. Of course he wanted to get to know me, why I was here and what I wanted out of class. He is really a good guy and very interested in his students. Then we got down to actually looking at the German language. There is a lot that you have to know, just like any language and after the class I could say "My name is", "I am called", "I am from America", "I live in Mannheim, Neckerau" and "My hobbies are" all in German. Well kind of in German. As I have told several people, when I try to speak German, I feel like the tongue in my mouth must belong to someone else not me since I can't really control it. But I think with Fred's help, I will learn.

Fred also consented to a picture. Here he is....


Wednesday even more sick, but it was the departmental holiday celebration. After work, I went back to my apartment and laid down for a while and then got up to walk to the restaurant. It was less than 1/2 mile and I had directions so I set out. I found the first 2 streets to take and thought I was doing pretty well. Continuing on, I decided that maybe I had missed my last turn. After I had walked about a mile, I stopped to ask someone where the street was that I was supposed to turn on. They looked at me like I was out of my mind and pointed back the way that I had just come from and said 1 KM that way. So I started back and this time I stopped a couple of other places and asked. Finally I found it and walked in and joined the group. The restaurant was very nice and the meal was good, but I just could not eat that much. After dinner when the first person left, I left too so they could point me to the tram line. I knew that I could find my way home from there. They told me to go to the end of the block and turn right and I should be a couple of blocks from the tram. I could not believe that since I only live a couple of blocks from it also and I know that I walked at least 2 miles. So I went down to the end of the block, turned the corner and just laughed. Not only could I see where to get the tram, my apartment complex was actually closer than that. I live about 2 blocks from the restaurant. Well, at least I know now where to go for a good meal! By the time I got home, I was so sick though that I again fell in bed.

Here are some pictures of the group:
This is Werner, Gudrun, Roland, Dirk and Ulrich.
This is Guido, Robert, someone else, Manfred and Marianne.
This is Brian, Peter, Guido and Robert.
This is Me and Gudren. Werner took this so that you all would know that I was there also.










Then I had to call in sick on Thursday and Friday. It was a real bummer since Duane had asked me to join him and his wife Dorothy for dinner. All this time, I still had not been able to figure out my phone so Cathy said she would come over Friday and we would get it set up. She did and it works and I am forever grateful to AMY for buying the phone, DUANE for bringing it over and CATHY for setting it up. The first person I called was Mike of course. I could not believe that it really works as well as it does, but I am truly thankful!


Dec 8-14

Still sick this week, but making it to work. Roger Koppen was here on business from the U. S. and we usually have a good time. This time however, I could not even go to dinner with Roger and Cristiano since I was so sick. I am sure that he was looking forward to taking me out for some tuna taco salad again! We did get to spend some time together on work and a couple of lunches. On Tuesday, he came over to my desk and told me that he had something for me. I looked up and he put down a blue bag with ribbons tying it closed. I knew it was an Isabel Bloom. I did not think that I would see that familiar blue bag for another year yet. So I ripped it open. He and Amber got me the friendship heart and a stand for it. I love it!! I have it just inside my door on the new piece of furniture that they brought me with my picture of Me, Mike and Kelly at the Bears Game. They thought it would help me feel more at home and every time I look at it, I think of them.

Nothing else that week, work then home to bed. I thought that I was getting over it, but it just kept hanging on.


Dec 15-21

This was the worst week. I was sick Monday through Thursday and finally Friday I thought that I would be able to be upright long enough to go to work. Every day I thought that I just had to get better because I wanted to go to Heidelberg on Saturday for the last weekend of the Christmas Markets. Then I would try to get up and would be very dizzy and knew that I would never be able to get to work let alone work once I was there. On Friday I was able to stand and go to work and you read about the rest at the beginning of the post.

I never did get to the Heidelberg Christmas Market. It was one of the things that I was so looking forward to but maybe next year.....


Dec 22 - today

Monday and Tuesday were spent at the doctors and then at home in bed. Slowly getting better. I did not mention at the beginning that it was in the 50's those days. The walk to the doctor's office was like early spring, a little damp and foggy but sunshine and it felt good to be out of the apartment. Tuesday afternoon Fred, my German instructor called just to make sure I was ok. I assured him that I would be ok and that I had not been back for lessons because I had been sick. The Institute is closed now until after the holidays, but on the 8th, we start up again and I can't wait. I really need to learn more and find myself looking forward to it.

Wednesday, I forced myself to get up and go to the bread store so that I would have some for over Christmas since nothing would be open. I was not sure about Friday either since that is Boxing Day in Germany. I don't know what they do on Boxing day, but I will find out. It was still in the upper 40's and the bread store was busy but I did get a couple of croissants and buns. I am not always sure what most of the other stuff really is. They do also have something that looks like pizza, but could not eat that yet. I will try it some other day. After I got back to the apartment, I was reading (CNN had stuff on about soccer) and the phone rang. Not my Vonage phone, but the other one. It was Gudrun from work. She was just calling to make sure that I was ok. On Tuesday, she had come to Sentastrasse and looked at the mailboxes in every building trying to find me. From the street you can only find buildings 1-12. I live in 13 so she did not find me. It was very sweet of her to check on me though and after the holidays, I will have to have her over so that she will be able to find me in the future.

One of the things I really miss over here is the Christmas lights. You do not see very much here. At least around where I live and work. Of course there are not any houses here, only apartment complexes but I still would love to see a Christmas tree lit in someones window. I was going to get something to have at my apartment to go with the table runner that my mom made me with Santas on motorcycles on one side and Bears on the other, but never got to the store since I was so sick. From my balcony, I can see a couple of candles in windows and 2 balconies with lights on the railings. Then there are about 10 balconies with Santa hanging off them. I don't get it unless it is try to symbolize Santa trying to climb onto their balcony to get in the apartment. I will have to ask someone about that and Boxing day.

Yesterday was Christmas and it was not as bad as I thought it would be. I miss everyone at home but I know that they are all thinking of me. When I got up I realized that I was actually feeling better. Not completely fine, but I felt about 1000 times better than I did last week. Perhaps the IV fluids did some good. I had decided a few weeks ago that I would spend Christmas day watching the Christmas DVDs that I brought over with me. So I started off with Christmas Vacation, then Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, The Santa Claus 2 and White Christmas. I also stuck in Jesus Christ Superstar in there since I wanted to make sure that I did not start White Christmas too early. I always like to watch it in the evening. Of course I could not wait until afternoon so that I could start talking to people from the U.S.

I was happily surprised when Donald called me. I don't think it was quite 6:30 in Rock Island, but he was ready to go over to Amanda and Emily's house for breakfast. I knew that he was so excited to see Emmah on her first Christmas. I wish that I could have been there to see her, but Emily said that they will send me some pictures. By evening, I was able to speak to everyone in the family as well as my in-laws. They were all having ham dinners and family gatherings. My mom was going to eat at the hall in the trailer park she stays at for the winter with all of her friends. Mike went to Kelly's parent's house so he was with family also. I again felt blessed to be able to speak to everyone by phone to let them all know that I was thinking of them all day. One of the funniest conversations I had all day was with Carter, my brother David's grandson. His conversation was all 'Guess what', I would say 'What?', and he would tell me one of the presents that he had received for Christmas. After doing this about 15 times, I asked if he could go find Grandma Bush. I imagine I would still be here listening to 'Guess what' if I had not cut him off. I hope that they also send pictures. David and Donald are getting together this next Sunday to celebrate our family Christmas. I hope the weather is good enough that Mike and Kelly can drive down from Racine also.

Well that is about all that I can write now. I will keep it up now that I am not sick and I hope that I will be having some adventures to write about.

Keep well and I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

30 November 2008

Quiet Sunday at the apartment

Today has been a quiet day. Almost like being at home except there is no football on TV. Whoever complains about nothing being on TV should be in a place where there is only 1 channel in English and football games on Eurosport are really soccer.

This morning after I got up, I went for a short walk outside. Just a beautiful Sunday morning with the sun shining and cool temperatures. It was about 5 (41 to you Fahrenheit people) and the air is crisp. A day made for FOOTBALL. I just know that right now the people in the states are sitting down watching the game. I am keeping up with the scores on NFL.com. The Bear's don't play until 7:15 CST so I won't know the score until tomorrow morning. I expect Don to email me right after the game. He knows how much I would love to be there watching it with him, David and Mike. Nothing like seeing it in person.

I have been busy today. I am going to a party next Saturday at an Expat's house and started a cross-stitched ornament to take. I have been working on it almost all day and it is coming along very nicely. I should have it done by Saturday, but I will let you all know. I did want to do some stamping but decided to do the ornament instead. I will get to stamp this week because I will need to make a card to give with the ornament. I can't wait!

I also decided that I would cook something today. Yesterday when I was at the market the sauerkraut looked so good that I have been thinking about it since then. I had some red kraut in the pantry so I thought I would go ahead and fix it for lunch. Well, I am not used to an electric stove (and I am not the best cook anyway) so the kraut burnt. This was quite a mess. I emptied the pan and set it back on the stove never thinking about an electric stove remaining hot after you turn it off. At least I thought that it was off. Pretty soon my apartment had smoke all over it and I went back out into the kitchen and found that the stove was not all the way off. There is an extra step to turn it off. Now I had a pan that really had burnt on stuff in it.

So now I had to do the dishes again. I do not like to do them, but they don't wash themselves. The only problem that I had this time was that I had this pan but no scratching pad. It took me forever to get that stuff off even with soaking it. Top of my shopping list, after laundry detergent, is a scratching pad for dishes.

After the dishes, I sat down again to work on my ornament when I noticed something moving out of the corner of my eye. I jumped up and went over by the dining room table to discover that there was a crawling bug. Not just any bug, but one of those Japanese Beetles. I thought that I would not see them over here and I hope that if I brought it with me, it did not bring any friends with it. I have not seen any others but you can be sure that I will keep my eyes open for them. There are too many back in the states that I have had to deal with, I don't need that headache here.

Tonight I am just going to finish watching CNN Heros then go to bed. Finally something interesting on the English channel!

Have a wonderful Sunday... GO BEARS!!!!!!!

29 November 2008

Mixed experiences today...

Today I woke up after a wonderful night of sleep. I finished putting away all of my 'stuff' that arrived on Tuesday from the US. On my bed now is the quilt that my mother made me about 15 years ago and a Bears pillow. When I went to sleep last night it was like she was hugging me. I felt like I was home in my own bed. Here is a new picture of my bedroom so that you can see what I am talking about.

At the bottom right are my new Bear's bedroom slippers. I found them the day before they packed my stuff from the US. How lucky was that?

I could see the sunlight streaming in the windows and thought that I would have a beautiful day to go to the Mannheim Christmas Market. I have been looking forward to this day since I found out that I would be coming to Germany. Everyone that has been here during the month before Christmas has raved about the markets. I guess that just about every town has one of some sort. One of my co-workers said that in some of the smaller towns they are just gatherings for bratwurst and gluhwine. Mannheim is supposed to have a good one so I was very excited.

I was just making the bed when the phone rang. My first phone call! I did not realize at first what the sound was because it is not like a phone ringing in the US. So I went first to the door monitor thinking that someone had erroneously rang my buzzer. That wasn't it so I looked at my desk and sure enough, the phone was blinking red. I answered it and it was for Hope, the previous tenet. I tried to explain to the person on the phone that she had gone back to the US and that I would forward an email address to her, but it was very difficult. I did get an address, but I am not sure of the domain name since she was having trouble understanding me when I kept asking what was after the @ sign. Oh well, I hope that Hope can figure it out.

I finished getting ready to go to the market. When I was done, I felt like I was ready to go work at the Bear's game. Long johns, Bear's hooded sweatshirt, Bear's fleece headband and gloves. I thought that it was the perfect outfit. I got cold yesterday when I was downtown so today I was going to be warm enough that I didn't have to leave early. I walked outside and the weather was perfect. It was about 38 degrees, no wind and bright skies. I went to the tram and was on my way. I am constantly surprised about the number of Germans that use mass transit. People of every age. Today there was an elderly couple as well as a mother with baby in a pram on the tram. The tram riders are also very courteous. They will give up their seat for an older person to sit. Very impressive!

I rode the tram down to the stop across from the Market. I got out and looked toward the market and took these pictures:

The first picture is the water tower. It is a central part of the entrance to the pedestrian mall for the downtown area. In the summer it is alive with beautiful, colorful flowers. Now it is filled with the small buildings that you can see in the second picture. These buildings are setup for the vendors. So I anxiously went crossed the street and stepped into my first Christmas market.

I did not know what to expect so everything was great. There were rides for the kids. I saw a ferris wheel, train, a carousel and pony rides. Just like a summer festival in the states. The vendors were varied. There were Christmas items, candles, pots & pans, kid's toys, cold weather clothing and of course food. I wanted first to get a sandwich. You may have noticed the clock on the picture. It said 12:00. So I found a booth that looked like there were a lot of people buying from it and I got in line. Of course I did not recognize most of the menu, but I did see something that the others were buying that had sauteed onions and looked like a pork chop so I pointed to it, paid the 4.50€ and stepped out of line. I took a bite and realized that I did not make the best choice. It was ok, but was definitely not a pork chop from 'Pork Chop Hill' at the classic. I think next time I will get a bratwurst or reinwurst. Later at another food vendor, I saw that there was a dish being served with sauerkraut and I was interested in remembering that place for a future visit to the market until I saw the dreaded word Leben in the description of the dish. I did remember that is liver so I crossed that place off. It seems like most people came to eat, drink and visit. Here is a picture that I took just off the 'food court'.

I walked around and ate my sandwich and then found what I was looking for. Kathe Wolfhart's shop was just in front of me. I had been to the shop in Rothenberg and Heidelberg on my previous trips to Germany and was thinking that I could find something in there to add to the Christmas runner that my mom made for my coffee table. I think I forgot to tell you about that but will leave that for another day when I finally get something to put on it. Anyway I stepped inside the building (this building was actually a shop instead of a booth) and was transported into a Christmas haven. It was just like being in the Heidelberg shop. I was looking at the smokers and pyramids and have not decided yet which one I want to get. I am trying to decide if I want to get something just to have here or to keep and transport back to the states with me. The items from the Wolfhart shop would be keepsakes that can be passed on to family members in the future so that is probably what I will do, but I could not make up my mind today. So I went through the shop, picked up a pamphlet that I think offers a discount (I will have to babelfish it to make sure) and stepped back outside.

Something seemed wrong outside. All of a sudden people were talking in more hushed tones and there was not a sense of holiday spirit and fun. I looked around and saw several police officers walking through the crowd watching people. They did not seem to be in a hurry or upset about anything but it was just unusual. I looked across the street to the pedestrian mall and there were a lot of police over there. Then I heard sirens and saw about 10 police vans go past the Christmas market. I could not understand what people were saying, but I decided that it would be a good time to go back to my apartment. I was not really worried because no one else seemed to be overly concerned, but I just wanted to be safe so I left the market, crossed the street and got on the tram. It was extremely crowded this time and everyone was talking and pointing at all of the police. Before the tram left the stop, I could see more police walking up and down the pedestrian mall. There were at least 60 that I could see from my seat. They were dressed in gear that resembled riot gear, helmets with face shields and leg protectors. Now I was nervous and was glad that the tram finally started on it's way.

We started off toward the main station that we had to go past to get back to my apartment and I started seeing a lot of police. On horses, segways and on foot, but they were all over. The closer we got to the train station, the more I saw. Then finally I saw what I think was causing all of the commotion. At the train station there was a gathering of some protesters. I am not sure what they were protesting and it seemed not be non-violent so I was feeling better about it. I have not been able to find anything on the web about the protest and I am safe so I guess that is just one of those things. I don't think that I have seen a protest like this (except union strikers) in the Quad Cities before. Perhaps there were some during the war, but I was too young to remember.

I got home with no trouble and am very safe now in my apartment so don't worry about anything (that's for you Donald). I had just a minor experience, but was on alert because of the happenings this week in India. I feel so sorry for all of those people there and hope that no one I know was directly affected by it.

Tonight is just a normal evening. After I finish this update I am going to set up my stamping area so that I can get some cards done that I need. I will update you on that tomorrow.

I hope that this finds all of you safe, sound and happy. Have a great day.

28 November 2008 - Black Friday

Black Friday and I had to work!

This morning while I was getting ready for work, I realized that had I been in the US, I would also be up and getting ready…TO GO SHOPPING. As most of you know, usually I am out shopping (or waiting in line) very early. So again I am missing out on something that I felt was a tradition. This is the first time in 26 years that I had to work the day after Thanksgiving. Of course it was the first time in 36 years that I had to work on Thanksgiving. The last time was when I was in high school and worked at the Capri Theater downtown Rock Island. Last night after I finished my blog entry I actually went out on the web and looked at the ads for the major retailers. I saw some items that I would be keeping my eyes open for today! I hope all of you shoppers got what you wanted.

The other day at work, I was telling my coworkers about shopping the day after Thanksgiving. I told them that for a couple of years, I was out shopping at 2:00 so that I would be sure to get the laptop and TV that I wanted to buy for Michael in successive years. Then after that was done, I would be out shopping with Kris, Mick and Amanda, Nell and Josh. I told them we would start at 5:00 or 6:00 depending on how early the stores opened and have a plan as to what we needed at each store. At the store, if I did not need something on sale, I would go get what one of the others needed and vice versa. We would usually hit 5 stores (Walmart, Kmart, Target, Menards and Kohls) by 10:00. Then we may go to Gordmans and Farm & Fleet. Afterwards there was always Panera for breakfast. After that we go back to Kris's house and divide up the shopping bags. I would head home, drop off the bags and the back to pick up Kris and the kids to go to the craft fair at QCCA expo center. What a full, fun day. I was telling them that I can’t wait for the next one that I will have at home and can head out on this particularly US trek.

So at work this morning I was feeling very sorry for myself when I started talking to Willy and Dirk about going to the bank this afternoon. I was laughing at myself and telling them that I am still having a hard time when I buy something and the cashier gives me a lot of change for a 10€ bill. They were telling me about the change from DM to Euro in 2002. This was a very traumatic time for a lot of people in Europe. 2 DM was converted to 1 EURO. However the price was not cut in half so something that cost 10DM now cost 10Euro. That really put shopping into perspective. Besides gas, I don't know of much that has doubled in price in the US in the last 5-6 years.

This afternoon, I was off to the bank again to sign more forms for my EC card. I received a bunch of forms in the mail this week, but they are all in German. It is very difficult to decide what to sign when you can’t read the information. Of course it is evident where to sign, but I was told that I only had to sign 1 of the forms and there are at least 3 with spaces for signature. So I had to go in and talk with the banker. Just one more of the necessary steps to my moving to Germany. The EC card is used instead of a debit card. The person that I spoke to last week was not in today so I spoke with another customer service rep. However, this person did not speak English as well as the other one did. After quite a while she went through my papers, I signed what I needed and was on my way. Fortunately the online banking is supposed to be in English. When I get my pin to use I will let you know.

After the bank, I decided that I would walk around the downtown a bit. I had not really spent much time down there on my previous trips to Germany. I mainly stayed around the Holiday in or went over to Heidelberg. I was really amazed at the number of shops that were downtown and how expensive everything was. I went into what I would call a lower end store to look at Christmas decorations and a 35 bulb light string for indoor use only was 9.99€. That would be close to $15. I wish I would have thought to bring some with me. I love Christmas lights. Perhaps I can get one of the people coming in the next couple of weeks to bring some with them.

I was getting cold so I did not stop at the Mannheim Christmas Market today, but I am going to go down there tomorrow. I rode the tram past it and it looks really nice. Several small shops and some amusement park like rides for the kids. I will fill you in about it tomorrow.

I went to the grocery store on the corner on my way home. I think that I have gotten most of the things that I need now except laundry detergent. I need to ask my coworkers or German instructor next week how to say it in German. I am afraid that I will get some more dishwashing detergent or hand soap instead and what a mess that would be. When I got the dishwashing soap last weekend, I did so only because it was in a container that looked like the one in the US and there were pictures of dishes on it. Did you ever see pictures of clothes on laundry detergent? Oh well, I guess that I can wait a couple more days.

So tonight I am planning on finishing the job of putting away all of my stuff. I just have to find room for all of the extra stuff that I brought like a jumbo bottle of Tylenol, 6 toothbrushes, 10 deodorant sticks, 6 large shampoo bottles and 18 months of medication. Several people that I know that lived over here told me that it would be very expensive to buy that stuff over here so I brought it with me. At least my apartment has storage in it.

I want to thank all of you that wrote to me on Thanksgiving. I miss my friends and family and hope that you all are having a wonderful weekend.

Until tomorrow...

27 November 2008 - Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

I wish that I was in the US to celebrate with all of you. Here in Germany it is not a holiday so not only did I have to work today, I have to work on Friday also.

I am sorry to all that logged in and wanted to read about my day on Wednesday. I went to an afterwork party at the John Deere Forum and left my computer at work so that I did not have to take it with me. So I will start my update today with yesterday’s information.

Wednesday 26 November 2008

I woke up with a scratchy throat and a slight case of laryngitis. I know that for many people, me not being able to talk would be a blessing. However, it is difficult enough for me to get my point across without croaking out the words. Anyway, I used my mom’s favorite remedy, warm salt water gargle, and headed off to work.

Wednesday was another overcast day in Mannheim. We have not had any rain/snow since last weekend, but it was looking like we could any minute. The temperatures here are about like they would be in the Quad Cities but I notice it since I am spending much more time outside walking to the tram and then to the office (about ¾ mile each way). Maybe when it is really cold, windy or raining I will drive but I will decide on that later. I really am enjoying the convenience of the public transportation here. The only thing that I don’t enjoy is the smoking. I have been surprised that the number of smokers here in Germany seems to have decreased except on the tram platform. For those of you in smoke free Illinois and Iowa, Germany is also smoke free in almost every public place including restaurants and airports. This is not going to be good news for Mike and Kelly.

At lunch Sylvia asked if I was going to the afterwork party that was being held at the Forum (the German counterpart to the Pavilion). I had forgotten about it even though everyday at lunch there are huge screens in the cafeteria that remind us about the date, time and cost and the posters are all over the factory grounds. I thought I would give it a try so I spent the 3€ (Euro) for the ticket. More later on the party.

After lunch, I called into the department meeting in Moline. This was the first time that I was available to call into one the regularly scheduled meetings. It was great to hear everyone’s voice especially Kylie from Australia and Travis from Tennessee. It was almost like being there and will help me keep connected in the future.

I did find out that in the next several weeks, some of my fellow coworkers from Moline will be here. If you are planning a trip over, be careful who you let know that you are coming because whenever I find that someone is coming, I request something from home that I forgot or just decided that I can not live without it like I thought I could. Duane already has a phone that he is bringing with him. That will be a big help. I will then have a Moline number that people can call. THANKS AMY for getting everything that I need and giving it to him to bring. Then Roger is coming the next week. I will have to get my list together for him? I also think that seeing people from home here will help and I can’t wait to see them.

After work I walked over to the forum with Sylvia and Ulrich. The party started at 5:00 but we did not leave to walk over until 5:20. Sylvia said that we did not want to be the first to arrive. I guess things are the same all over. When we did get there, they had moved the farm equipment that is normally in there outside and setup tables, DJ, drink and food stations. Of course after finding the coat racks, that were conveniently hidden in a back hallway, we headed to the bar. There were several drink selections available including beer, pop, wine and mixed drinks. They even had a drink called ‘Moline’ that was a tequila sunrise. I decided on a beer and paid 2.50€ and found my group. Several people from the AD department went. Sylvia also invited several ‘external’ friends that were all very nice. I know that I heard their names several times but as you all know I don’t remember them. I could guess but I am usually only close.

I did not have my camera and really missed out on some good pictures. Things that I have not seen before like the condiment dispenser and people that I met would have all been subjects for photos. I hope that they have another party like this in a few months. This one was very nice, but all of the conversations were in German. I know that the people I was with tried to include me in the conversations, but it is difficult when so many are speaking at once to keep it in English. Since I am starting German classes on Tuesday I hope in a couple of months, I will be at least able to follow along. I did enjoy myself and learned a few new German words. I did not eat there but they had a couple different wursts and other sandwiches. They also had a dish that looked like a pizza with a crust that was as thin as crackers. Sylvia said that it is a French dish. The funniest thing was to see how they were dispensing the ketchup and mustard. They were each in a large container that was hung from a bar over the table and looked like large cow udders. When you wanted some, you squeezed the end of it. I was thinking that I had never milked a cow and could probably not get anything out.

I did not stay really late. I left about 8:30 and went back to my apartment. I walked in, thought about not having a computer and realized that I would not be able to update my blog. Oh well, I would just watch some TV. CNN was broadcasting the news about the attacks in Mumbai, India. Enough for the day. Time for bed.


Thursday 27 November 2008

Today I woke up and instantly was homesick. Thanksgiving Day for me has always been a day for family and friends and no one here understands the significance of that. I do want to wish everyone a safe and happy day.

I had to go to work so I got up and decided that I would wear a new pair of slacks to work that I got just before I left the states. I washed the slacks before I packed them so that I would be able to wear them as soon as my air shipment arrived. I put them on and was going to put my keys in the pocket before walking out the door and realized that the pockets were still sewn shut. What a problem. I can’t go a whole day with no pockets and this pair must have been sewed by someone in a bad mood. Usually you can just pull on the string and it will come out since it is there just to make the pants hang nice before you buy them. This one seems to have been sewed over many times. That seamstress does not want it to come undone prematurely. I think that I will have to get my craft knife out to open the pockets. I hope that I don't cut the fabric, but since I don't have a seam ripper here I will just have to take my chances. So I had to stop and change. Life can never be easy.

When I did get to work, I had an email from my brother Don. He was concerned about the attacks. How close is Germany to Italy? I assured him that I was very far from the attacks and that Mannheim is a very safe city. I feel safe enough to walk all over town. I guess that he is just concerned. What can you do, he is my brother!

He was also telling me that his family will be at his house for a traditional dinner. I can see them all in my mind, especially Emmah. I hope they will send me some pictures.

Not much special at work today except that today I could read the menu somewhat. One of the items on the Speiseplan was Streifen von der Kalbsleber in Apfel -Zwiebelsauce. I learned last Friday from Detlev that leben is LIVER. If I did not learn anything else, I knew that I would have to remember that. So when I saw the word kalbsleber I decided that I would have to pass on it. It is calf’s liver. In any language, I am not going to enjoy it and I would eat almost anything else that they were serving. As I hear German words, especially one like leben, I try to remember it so that I won't order something in a restaurant that I can't eat. I will also have to scan the cafeteria menus each week. Perhaps I will have to babelfish (translate) the menu in case something is not spelled out in a way that I can recognize it. The Germans do tend to combine several words into one!

This afternoon, I started thinking about all of you back in the states. You would be getting up, starting to cook dinner or travel to family and friends houses. For about the millionth time I thought I must be crazy to have done this. I really feel like a stranger in a strange land. No one is thinking about being with family and friends. The papers are not full of ads for 'Black Friday' and I will not be out shopping at 5:00 in the morning with my friends.

Well, one of the other things that I am missing is football. Right now, the Titans are whipping the Lions. I am following it on NFL.com so I get play by play updates. It really is not the same as sitting in front of the TV with a plate of turkey and potatoes, but it will have to do.

I talked to Mom this afternoon. She is getting settled in down at Texas Trails. She was trying to find her mixer so that she could prepare her dish for the park potluck luncheon. I want to say hello to all of the people there. Sid and Lois, Dave and Marlene, Uncle Bob and Aunt Sylvia, Paul and Elsie and everyone else that I have met when I have been there.

I also spoke with Michael. I actually woke him up. I did call before noon Central time, but I thought that he would be up and possibly on his way to Craig and Jeanine's(sp) house. He and Kelly will be spending the day in Orland Park and then back to Wisconsin tomorrow morning for him to go to work. Like me, he does not have Thanksgiving Friday off.

Both calls were hard and they both know that I miss them more than I can say. Just as I miss all of you.

Have a nice day today and be thankful for all that you have. Friends, family, health and freedom.

25 November 2008 - Tuesday

My shipment from the US arrived today!!!!!

What can I say, I am sooo excited that I can hardly stand it, but more on that later.

First, Happy Birthday to Anurag Khare. He is a developer at John Deere TCI in Pune, India that I have worked with for over a year. He im'd me today just to let me know that he was enjoying my blog and told me that it was his birthday. Anurag - I hope your day was great!

I am also glad that so many of you have been reading my blog. I hope that I don't ramble on too much. I just miss everyone and want to let you know what is going on in my life. For anyone that is interested in starting a blog, it is so easy at blogspot.com you should try it

So on to my day...

On my way to work this morning (back on my regular schedule), I was standing on the tram platform waiting for it to come when I noticed that there were several people with dogs waiting for the tram also. Here in Germany it is not unusual for people to take their dogs everywhere with them. I have seen them on the tram, in restaurants and at the mall. Of course they are well behaved but sometime they must have to go to the bathroom. I never see the owners with the little 'poop' bags that you see all dog walkers with in the US. I also do not see a lot of the droppings on the ground. What happens to it all? I guess that I will have to ask one of my german co-workers.

I could hardly concentrate at work today, it went slow because I had to leave early to get back to my apartment for the shipment to arrive. At lunch, my coworkers asked if I was going to lunch and I told them that I was leaving early because my stuff was being delivered. Manfred asked if it weighed 40 tons. I laughed and told him that I wish I could have brought that much. I would have put a lot of the people I know in it!

I left work at 12:45 because the delivery was supposed to be at 1:30. I got home and straightened up a little since I knew that there would be several boxes when the driver arrived. Well 1:30 came and went. I was really anxious and by 2:00 thought that maybe I should call the movers. I overcame that impulse since I figured that I would have a lot of trouble communicating with them anyway so I would give them another bit of time. Finally at 3:27 my door monitor sounded. The driver was at the front door. I could not understand what he was saying into the speaker but I could see my boxes and buzzed him in.

I grabbed my camera to take some pictures of the delivery. First my batteries were dead and I had to find some new ones. Then when I started my camera it told me that the SD card was full. Thankfully I had another one so I did not have to take the time to delete any from the old card. I popped in the new card and went out to the balcony. When I say that I went out to the balcony, it sounds so simple, but in germany nothing has been simple. Here the doors and windows open not only with hinges on the side like in the US, but also tilt in from the bottom. The first time I tried to open my balcony door, I thought that I had broke it and it was falling in on me. I just had to find the right method to open it. So I finally opened the door to the balcony that is off my living room and took the following pictures of the delivery van in front of my building:



I could see the boxes in the back of the van. I was surprised that all of them fit in there, but I don't think that anything else would. For those who did not hear me lamenting that they were only allowing me a standard size shipping crate, the size was 4' X 4' X 4'. I had it marked off on my sun porch at home. I was amazed at how much actually fit into it. But I am off topic.

It took the driver a while to get up to my apartment, I kept looking off the balcony and did not see him so I finally decided to go down to the front door to make sure that he got in ok. He was just going back out to the van. He had been wondering around my building trying to find the apartment. In my building (I don't know if it is the same all over Germany), there are no apartment numbers on the mailboxes or doors. My name is on the mailbox and then it is supposed to be on the doorbell outside of my apartment. Well he knew that I was on the 3rd floor, and came up in the elevator while I was messing with my camera. I did not hear him and he did not ring the doorbell because it still has the name of the previous resident on it. So he went down and then up the other elevator at the other end of the building to see if my apartment was over there. When I finally found him, he was very flustered and worried that I was upset that he was a little late. Upset? No, I was just so glad to get my stuff that I could have kissed him. Well not really, but it tells you how excited I was.

He started opening the boxes and I could not get to the contents fast enough. The first one was one of my stamping cases that was very heavy and just wrapped in packing paper. He just looked at it with a puzzled expression. I just laughed and said that he would not understand. The next one actually had some clothes in it. Of course the sweatshirt on top was a Bears hoodie. I ripped it out of the box like I had never seen anything like it before. I did not have too much time to savor the contents of each box since as soon as he opened them, I had to empty them. He had to take the boxes with him.

After the first few boxes that he brought up were unloaded he went back down to get more. Here the poor guy is unloading more boxes from his van. You can see some of the empty ones waiting for him to take them away.





It took about 45 minutes, but I finally got all of the boxes unloaded so that he could leave. After signing all of the papers, I was finally alone with my stuff. That is when the work really began. When I was unloading my boxes, I just piled the stuff on the beds. You would not believe the mess. I slowly worked to get a few things out for the living room and put away enough so that I can actually sleep in my bed tonight. Tomorrow I will finish putting away the stuff that is on the bed in the other bedroom.

Finally, here is my living room with some appropriate decorations. Of course it is a Bear's motif:



With my Bear's afghan and pillow on the couch, it almost feels like home. It is not quite the same because I have TV on right now to the only English speaking channel, CNN International, and my friends are so far away.

It's getting late now and I need to get some sleep. I feel like I got a lot accomplished, but my apartment is a work in progress.

I hope you all have a wonderful day. Until next time...

24 November 2008 - Monday

What can I say... it's Monday.

It started off bad since I woke up late. I am not used to the new alarm clock so instead of hitting snooze I turned it off. I didn't sleep until noon, but I did sleep an extra 20 minutes. So that was going to affect the timing I use to catch the right tram to work. After getting ready for work, I decided that I was going to 'downsize' the amount of stuff I take to work each day. My handbag had to go. I really don't need it, I think that like all women I believe that it is expected that I will carry one. So I got my 'money bag', the small zipper case that I carry cash and coin in (very little of both!!) and my keys and walked out of my apartment and took the lift down to the ground floor. I was just walking out of the building when I remembered that I did not have the case for my tram pass. That means I don't have a valid tram ticket with me. Knowing my luck, this would be the day that there was a 'fare cop' on board. The penalties are stiff and I did not feel like contributing to the tram fund today. So I went back upstairs to get it and it put me further behind to catch the tram.

Finally I have everything I need (I thought) and went to catch the tram. I normally have it timed so that I am at the platform at about 7:35. The tram gets there about 7:40 so I get to work before 8:00. That in itself is a big change from being at work at 6:00 in Moline for my daily meeting with the TCI programmers. So now it is about 7:58 and the tram would be there at 8:00. I round the corner of the building complex and see the tram about a block away. I ran to the street and frantically started punching the cross walk button. Here comes the tram, the platform is crowed with all sorts of young kids on the way to school, the light won't turn and there is too much traffic to just step out in front of it. Too bad my mom wasn't there. I always say that I take her with me since cars will usually stop for a woman with a walker! Finally the light turns green for pedestrians just as the tram is pulling up. I run across the street pulling my rolling computer bag. Of course the sidewalk here is not poured concrete, it is interlocking bricks so the bag will not roll smoothly and it gets caught on the side of the sidewalk. I almost pulled my arm out of the socket. Then as I run up onto the platform I see that the driver has taken pity on me and will wait but all of the students are looking at the strange person running for the tram. The only thing worse would have been if I had actually fallen.

So then I get to work and I reached into my bag to get my badge. It was not there. Of course it is at my apartment in the previously declared useless handbag. In Moline, that would not be a problem. I would just go to the back door of the building and tell the security guard and she would give me a temporary badge. Here in Germany there is no security at our building except for all of the badge sensors. So I stand in the lobby calling my coworkers and no one is answering their phone (because they weren't there yet). Then I thought about the secretary that gave me a temporary badge the first day I was there. Of course I could not remember her name! I really need to work on that. Perhaps that could be a development goal for me this year. At least they have posted an list of employees in the building, their position and phone number, in German. I started looking down the list and finally recognized 'secretary' and the name seemed kind of like I remember so I called her. I told her that I forgot my badge and needed a replacement but she hung up before I could tell her where I was. I could see through the window that she went to the other entrance and I thought that perhaps she would just think that I got in some other way and not come to my door. Finally I see her walk up to the door and I was so glad to see her that I started blathering on about all of the trials that I had gone through already this morning.

The rest of the morning went fairly well, I am working on documentation for program that I worked on 4 years ago but I like doing that kind of thing. About 11:45, Roland got up and looked at the menu for the week. I thought that I would impress him with all of the German that I learned Friday night from Detlev. That really only consisted of a few words from the menu that he went over with me, but I thought that I would just wing it. Well I recognized a part of some of the words but nothing was really what I had seen in the menu. So Roland and Guido told me what the options were. I thought that it was time for me to start trying some things that I had not tried before so I tried the 'big noodle'. Well it was not totally inedible, but it is not my favorite. It is a spinach on a large flat noodle that is rolled up and wrapped with another noodle. I was lucky that it came with German potato salad and that was very good. The cafeteria here gives you such large portions that even if you like everything it would be difficult to clear your plate. So I ate one of the 3 'big noodles' and all of my potato salad without getting anything on me which for those who know me would know is a major accomplishment.

After lunch I called the Goethe Institute and started the process of enrollment for German lessons. I will have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays after work. They wanted me to enroll in intensive training, but that is 5 hours a day (8 - 1) for 5 weeks. I told them that I would not be able to do that because I work and the people that I work for are paying for the class. I will be having 1 on 1 classes because the next starting class does not begin until February and I would like to be speaking some basic German long before then. My coworkers are very good about using English when I am with them, but I feel that learning German is required since I am living in this country right now.

Next I called the person that will give me some driving lessons. They recommend that we take some lessons because of the major differences in signs and rules. The instructor asked me if I had much experience driving. I said not in Germany, but a lot in the US. I guess that 36 years would count as a lot of experience. He asked if I could drive a manual car and I said that I could but luckily mine is an automatic. We then setup a class for next Monday. If anyone is going to be in Germany next Monday morning, they may want to stay off the road.

The best news of the day was waiting for me in an email when I got off the phone with the driving instructor. My air shipment has cleared customs and the freight forwarder wanted to know if we could set up a time for delivery. I emailed back right away and set up delivery for Tuesday at 1:30. I can't wait!!!! I do wonder what the customs people thought when they xrayed my shipment. I have a lot of stamping/scrapbooking stuff in there. Those of you that know what I am talking about will laugh since the items are all fairly unrecognizable by a regular person. But anyway they put it through and tomorrow afternoon I will have my stuff.

Of course it is not everything. I have asked Amy to get me a couple of things and send it with the head of our department who will be coming to Germany next week. I sure appreciate everything that she is doing and hope that Duane will be able to get it in his luggage. Amy is going to try to get me a Vonage phone system so that I will have a Moline phone number here in Germany. I hope that she is able to work it out. I do miss talking to everyone and with the holidays coming up, I do want to be able to call and have people call me.

After work tonight I was able to get another week's tram pass all by myself. Last week Manfred went with me, but I thought that I would be able to handle it myself since I now had one that I could show the counter person and I would just gesture to try to get my point across. I am not one that talks with my hands, but Cathy told me Friday night that I should get used to it since it really helps her. Of course she is very petite and cute and I am sure that the gestures look much better coming from her. This time I was lucky, the clerk spoke some English.

I will be signing off now. It is 9:30 local time and I need to finish doing dishes.

Have a great day!

Sunday 23 November 2008

BEARS WIN 27-3!!!!


I just finished listening to the Bear's game on WBBM over the internet. I can't believe how clear it is. Now is the post game show. I am laughing at what they give to the players after they interview them. Do you think they need a $200 gift certificate to some jewelery store or pizza place. I guess that they would probably use the pizza one.

Again, the Bears won 27-3. I am so excited. Too bad that Minnesota won today. I was hoping that they would lose since we play them next week.

Since I am talking about the Bear's here are a couple of pictures from my visits to Soldier Field this year. The first ones are before we start handing out the premium distributions:

Here I am with Mike and Kelly:

This is a picture of David, Me and Donald (from left to right).

Now here are a couple that may interest the true Bear's Fan...

First my brother Donald with a Super Bowl Ring on his hand:

Here is a close up:

Here we are with the owner of the ring. He is Tom Andrews. A guard for the 1985 Chicago Bears.

I think that going to the final 3 home games of the season is one of the things that I am going to miss the most. I enjoy spending time with Donald and David and this year Mike has made it to most of the games too. Hopefully, they will cheer loud enough to make up for me not being there.

It is past 11:00 here. The game finished at 10:00 local time. I really enjoyed listening to the WBBM broadcast and getting the feel of being back in the US.

Leave a comment. I love to hear from all of you.

Saturday 22 November

Today I have been in Germany for 1 week. It has been quite an experience so far. I will try to bring you up-to-date. I have been writing down notes in Word and will try to get them into this blog.

14-15 November 2008

Left Moline for my new work assignment in Germany. I am to be there for 17-18 months. I leave behind my mom and older brother David at the airport. I could hardly stand to look back as I walked down to security and then on to the plane. I think that this is the hardest thing that I have ever done and I am very anxious about it.

I was very fortunate to be upgraded to a business class seat for the flight from Chicago to Frankfurt. I have always been in coach and usually in the last row just in front of the toilets. Then all you can hear the whole flight is flushing instead of the movie. You can also not lean the seats back so being in business class was an eye-opener to the way that a lot of other people travel. Reclining seats with foot rests, as much as you want to drink of whatever you want to drink (free even), good food and plenty of room. I wish I could travel like that all the time.

When I arrived at the Frankfurt airport, every thing seemed to be going according to schedule. This should have been my first clue that something would go wrong. I received one of my suitcases but the other one was missing in action. Here a picture of the luggage carousel with 4 bags on it, none of which I am looking for.



So I went to the baggage claim department and had to wait in line behind 2 men that were traveling in Germany and did not receive any of their 3 bags. When I finally got up to the desk I thought that I would be able to describe the entire contents of their luggage. I found out that my bag did make it on to the flight that left right after mine. The driver graciously waited with me for the plane to arrive and my bag was on it. He was also picking up someone else on that flight so it was not too much of a hardship on him.

Mannheim is about 45 minutes from the Frankfurt airport. The drive was beautiful. The German countryside reminds me of the Midwest without all of the large corn and soybean fields. Most of the German farmers have small farms.

In Mannheim we first dropped off the other passenger. He was also a John Deere employee that had been in Waterloo for a couple of weeks. Then we drove to my apartment. I started getting very nervous but it is in a very nice area. Waiting out front was Uli Wassong. He is the relocation specialist that has done so much for me that I will never be able to repay him. He helped me get my bags into the apartment and showed me a few of the basics. It was total overload for me. I was so tired (it was 2am Moline time) that after he left, I laid down for just a couple of minutes and woke up 5 hours later.

I decided to investigate my apartment and of course started with the bathroom. Guess what...NO TOILET PAPER. So I decided that I would go to the local grocery store and found out that it was already closed for the weekend. Stores here are not open on Sunday. I was lucky that I had the bag that I take to the Bears games with me since it had some McDonald's napkins in it.

My apartment is very nice. It is 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bathrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen and entry area.

This is the entry area where my desk is:



This is the living room looking into the kitchen and dining room:



And this is my bedroom:




I have been having some problems with some of the pictures turning out too dark. Unfortunately, my manual is in my air shipment crate and will not be here until sometime this next week.

I did not do much for the rest of Saturday.

16 November 2008

Sunday and just about everything is closed in Germany. This is really a good thing since families spend the day together. It is just a little inconvenient if you need to buy something. The only things open are restaurants and theaters.

After noon I decided that it was time to go out and try to find my way to the tram that I knew I would be taking to work on Monday. I walked out of my apartment and decided that I may not even know how to get back to it but I needed to go sometime. I was pleasantly surprised when I found the tram stop is only about 1/2 block from my building and I decided to be brave and walk further. About 2 blocks down the street, there is a gas station and I thought I would see if they had a convenience store in it. Luckily there was one but like in the USA the prices were high. But of course I needed something to eat so I got a frozen pizza, some pringles and diet coke. For those that know me, know that having to drink diet Coke instead of Pepsi is a hardship but I am in a foreign country so some hardships are expected.

I went back to my apartment and decided that dinner would be diet Coke and pringles since I could not remember what Uli said about the stove. Then early to bed.

17 November 2008

Monday morning came very fast. I was eager to get to the office to start on my new work assignment. I walked to the tram and rode the 5 stops to work. Then it is about another 3-4 blocks from the tram to building 25 where I work. Once inside, I felt a little better since I am familiar with the office. I have been there several times in the past but only for 2-3 weeks at a time. This was different. Sylvia was there and showed me to my desk. She is going to be my 'work buddy'. This is the person that helps me with any questions that I have during my stay here. I really did not have any questions until lunch time. Then of course I needed to know what was being served. The food served in the John Deere cafeteria has always been good and I knew that I would find something. It is just nice to have someone let you know in advance what you are eating.

After work Manfred took me to a local store to purchase a tram pass for the week and then showed me where the local bank was so that I could get some money out. Everything that I found so easy in the USA is a difficult task.

Again early to bed.

18 November 2008

Today is Tuesday. I am still very tired. Hopefully I will adjust to the time difference soon.

I have turned over my passport to the HR department so that they can register me with the local police (I told them I am not a criminal) and get it updated with my work visa.

Not too much else done today. Early to bed after a quick diner.

19 November 2008

Wednesday and I have made it through 4 days in Germany. Today I have an afternoon meeting with Uli and he is going to take me on a short tour of the area, help me set up a bank account at a German bank and then go over some of the questions that I have about items in my apartment. He had my passport with the work permit in it. I can't believe how bad the pictures look they took at John Deere before I left. They told me not to smile and look serious. I am not sure that is how I would describe it but the German government accepted it.

We went to Heidelberg and Weinheim. I have been to both of these towns before, but I always take the regional tram unless there was someone from work that had rented a car. I look forward to going back on my own to do some shopping. During the tour I bombarded Uli with questions about German rules for driving, signs and cultural habits. I am sure that he thought that I had stored up all of my questions for years. He was very patient with me and I enjoyed learning everything. It seems like I am a child again and need to learn everything.

I got a bank account setup also. This was very important so that I could get an EC card. This is like a debit card. You also need to have an account so that you can pay your bills. They do not use checking accounts here. This will be a big difference for me. Many of the stores will only accept cash.

We stopped at John Deere and I picked up my new car. It is a Mercedes A class and is fairly new. There are only 13000 km on the odometer. It is small, but that is a plus when you try to park it here. It is a lot bigger on the inside that I was expecting. I drove it to my apartment building and parked it. I don't think that I will be using it very much. I will try to continue to use the tram system and walk as much as possible.

Back at the apartment Uli went over all of the appliances. You would not believe the washing machine and dryer. They are very different from those we use in the states.

He also brought a wireless internet router for me and set me up. I was now able to get out on the net from home. I am sure it will make the time go easier since I will feel more connected with the US.

This is the first day that I am able to stay awake until after 8:00. I don't know how much longer I will stay up, but I feel that I am making some progress.

21 November 2008

Friday... I made it through the week at work. Tonight is a Thanksgiving dinner for the expats (John Deere employees not from Germany). It is in a town that is not too far from Mannheim. I will be riding with Cathy Leppo. She is here from Moline and lives about 5 blocks from my apartment. I am looking forward to seeing people from the US. I don't think that I will know anyone when I get there but hope to before I leave.

Just got back from the party. It is after 10 and it was a wonderful evening. The restaurant was decorated beautifully and the food was wonderful. The stuffing tasted like meatloaf, but it was ok. For dessert, many of the families brought their favorite holiday fare to share. I wish that I could have had some of them, they all looked delicious. There were over 40 adults and a bunch of kids. About 2 times as many as last year. Many of us have been in Germany for less than 1 year. I am the newest.

Cathy is a really nice and bubbly person. She pulled up and when I opened the car door she said 'How does it feel to get into a strange car with a person you don't know in a foreign country?' I knew that the evening was going to go just fine after that.

I did think that I would be hearing a lot of English, but I sat at a table with Vanessa and Jackson from Brazil and Detlev from Germany. Everyone was speaking German since that was the common language. Detlev did give me some lessons on words for different kinds of food. I will be starting German lessons next week. Hopefully by next Thanksgiving, I will be able to understand what they are saying.

22 November 2008

Saturday - 1 week with 71 to go.

First today is my parents wedding anniversary and I wish that my dad was still alive so that he and Mom could celebrate.

I woke up to snow on the ground. About 2 inches. This is the most snow that I have ever seen here. Usually it snows and then melts the same day. I did hear on the news that Berlin had quite a bit more snow than we did.

After I got up, I was trying to decide if I would take the car and go to the grocery stores that Uli pointed out (beverage store, ALDI and DM store in one small strip mall) or just walk to the local Tengleman's. While I was debating this with myself, I heard a buzzing that I had not heard before. I looked at the door phone to see if someone was buzzing me from the lobby. No one was there so I went to the door and looked out to see if someone rang the door bell on my floor. Since this is a secure building, I knew that they had to have a key to get up here. There were 2 men standing outside the door and I thought Oh boy?

I opened the door and one of the men started talking to me in German. I asked him if he spoke English and he just shook his head. The person with him did speak enough English to let me know that I had parked my car in his space and I needed to move it. I told him that I would move it within 10 minutes and realized that my mind had been made up about where to go shopping. I put on my coat and went downstairs. I had a hard time finding the garage since I had been there only one time and the door is not marked. I did find it and then found my car. I guess that 28 is not my parking space. I backed out and drove out of the garage and into the German traffic. This morning it was not as bad as I have seen it so I feel lucky.

When I got to the strip mall, I first went into the beverage store. This is where you can get any kind of drink imaginable EXCEPT DIET PEPSI!!!! I did find caffeine free Diet Coke so I got a case of that. When I say a case, that is 12 1 liter bottles in a plastic case. After the bottles are empty, I return the case and bottles for deposit. What a change for someone who is used to buying cans and then throwing those away. I did not know the procedure and was trying to ask the clerk but was finally helped by one of the other shoppers. Everyone here is very friendly and they want to help.

Next I went to ALDI. Here in Germany they also have the carts that you have to put a coin in. I needed to have 1 Euro, but of course did not. So I asked a man if I could just give him the change for his cart like I do in the US but he just started yelling and pushing the cart past me. I did not understand what was going on until I saw that he did not have a coin but was using a slug instead. A couple of very nice women saw that I was having a problem and gave me a Euro for the change even though they could not speak English. I did find enough food that I don't believe that I will starve, but I did not get everything that I need. I could not go to another store, I had enough for one day.

I drove home (I can't believe that I found the stores and then found my way back home) and parked in the parking lot instead of the garage. I will find out on Monday where I am supposed to park. I don't want to take someone else's spot. I put my groceries away and then started looking on the net for a blog site.

I think that this will be the way to keep in touch with everyone. I hope that you visit often. I will update and post pictures as I go. I am feeling a little homesick today and miss everyone in the US.

Until later...