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...
