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.