Sorry Folks, no pictures this week. I still have to get my Internet up and running at my apartment. I promise pictures to come fairly soon.
This week was a combination of moving into my apartment and a little program called ITC (Individual Transition Course?). My apartment is in a VERY small town called Erzenhausen. It is two bedrooms and 1.5 baths. It is great because I have three sets of neighbors in the apartment complex. They are all Air Force and all very nice people. Two energetic boys live below me who are homeschooled and constantly playing pranks. One night the boy knocked on my door wearing a ski mask and said, "I am a burglar! Give me all of your money." Needless to say, I wasn't very scared and just laughed at these two poor kids who obviously are desperate for interaction. I hope to go sledding with them soon! ;)
ITC is a program to help soldiers make their adjustment to Germany. We take classes such as defense German driving, financial planning, and learn about all the recreational opprotunities available to us here in the great Kaiserslautern Military Community. It is neat to be apart of such a neat community.
Living alone is...quiet. I am used to being surrounded by lots of people and voices. I am an extrovert which means I get my energy from being around others. This living alone thing will be a hard adjustment for me. God created us to be in community with others. I hope to get keyed in more to my community and start feeling "at home" here. Alas, St. Chuck, MO will ALWAYS be my true home.
I am thankful for all my fellow Nurse Corps members who I met at Officer Basic Leadership Course and came here with me. We are going through this transition together! Having friends definitely makes the frustrating times easier!
New hobbies of mine include scraping the endless amounts of snow and ice off my car (worst snow in 9 years, go figure), online shopping (got to love free shipping to APO addresses), and eating lots of Doner (if you come to visit, I will take you!).
The moral of the story is LIVING in Germany is different from VACATIONING in Germany. I am going to Frankfurt this weekend to explore. Skiing in Switzerland the week after that!
Auf Wierdersen!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Germany Week #2
Okay, so this moving to Germany thing isn't as simple as I hoped. For one thing, I have to make DECISIONS. One of my favorite "songs" is the Sunscreen Song. You know, "If I could offer you one piece of advice sunscreen would be it." Well, there is a part of the song about all choices being 1/2 chance. I feel like half the decisions I make are good and half are bad! Life is quite frustrating at times...
I finally was reunited with good ol' Katydid this past week. Isn't she a beauty? It was crazy seeing MY car in a foreign country. I decided to switch apartments too. (Oh Caitlin Jo) I picked this one in the end because it was cozier and furnished. I move in the end of this week!
Adventures of the past weekend included going to Cologne to visit Yvonne, my friend. Yvonne and I first met when she was an exchange student from 2004-2005 at my friend Nicole's. She was a great hostess and showed my friend Shannon and I a great time! Driving on the Autobahn there was actually very easy! (Thanks to Hanz, my GPS) Driving in the city was hard how
ever.
I also had a chance to visit the city of Trier. Trier was the Romans' vacation spot in the summer. It had incredible buildings and the atomsphere was VERY chill. People strolled lazily around on a Sunday afternoon. Dining here is so different. You have to pay for water and must a
sk for "no gas." There is no rush to get you out of the restaurant. You can spend all day just visiting.
I finally was reunited with good ol' Katydid this past week. Isn't she a beauty? It was crazy seeing MY car in a foreign country. I decided to switch apartments too. (Oh Caitlin Jo) I picked this one in the end because it was cozier and furnished. I move in the end of this week!
Adventures of the past weekend included going to Cologne to visit Yvonne, my friend. Yvonne and I first met when she was an exchange student from 2004-2005 at my friend Nicole's. She was a great hostess and showed my friend Shannon and I a great time! Driving on the Autobahn there was actually very easy! (Thanks to Hanz, my GPS) Driving in the city was hard how
ever.I also had a chance to visit the city of Trier. Trier was the Romans' vacation spot in the summer. It had incredible buildings and the atomsphere was VERY chill. People strolled lazily around on a Sunday afternoon. Dining here is so different. You have to pay for water and must a
sk for "no gas." There is no rush to get you out of the restaurant. You can spend all day just visiting.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
GERMANY WEEK #1
Gutten Tag from Deutschland. I arrived early January 4th on a Luthansia flight. I sat next to a German physical therapist who helped me learn about German culture and study for my German Driver's exam. As I descended from the clouds and saw this sunset in the air before we fell below the clouds. "for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens." Job 28:24.
My stomach sank as we sank closer and closer to Germany. I thought, "What am I doing here?!" "I have such a wonderful family and friends- why am I leaving them! I was comforted by the sun's rising and reminded that God still rises and sets the sun here, so HE must be in control. I was soon connected with the USO (after wheeling all my luggage around for awhile). There I signed in and reported for duty! It was comforting to see some familiar faces at the airport.
My body felt OUT of whack as we got on and off buses and then eventually met our sponsors at Landstuhl. My sponsor I like to compare to my fairy godmother. She is a blessing from above and one of the continual stream of the BEST people God puts in my life to help me along the way.
We hit the ground running trying to get ahead of the "in processing game." It truly is a game getting your endless checklist complete. In the first week I in- processed, started a cell phone, got a bank account, opened a mailbox, took a driver's course, looked at apartments, and passed my driver's test.
The biggest accomplishment of the week was finding this beauty:
It is my apartment. A two bedroom 1 1/2 bathroom house with a little backyard and patio. My landlord is a lady with two children. It is in the town of Quidersbach that I knew before coming to Germany I wanted to live in. It is a 15 minute drive to work, but it is my favorite town I visited. Schmitt bakery is right around the corner along with the grocer, cafe, and gas station. It snowed two feet last night and children took their wooden sleighs down the hills in Quidersbach. So quaint and exactly where I wanted to live. Now, it is my time to make it into a home. This will be a labor of love, money, and time. I look forward to the challenge and hopefully it will be very cute by the time my family comes to visit (or friends- I have a room just for you!) :)
I pick up my car next week on Monday and I get my "wings" as the veterans say. I can't wait to start settling into an apartment and eventually traveling!
I miss YOU if you are reading this. I carry my family and friends close to my heart always. Your love gives me my wings to fly! Auf Wiedersehen!
My stomach sank as we sank closer and closer to Germany. I thought, "What am I doing here?!" "I have such a wonderful family and friends- why am I leaving them! I was comforted by the sun's rising and reminded that God still rises and sets the sun here, so HE must be in control. I was soon connected with the USO (after wheeling all my luggage around for awhile). There I signed in and reported for duty! It was comforting to see some familiar faces at the airport.
My body felt OUT of whack as we got on and off buses and then eventually met our sponsors at Landstuhl. My sponsor I like to compare to my fairy godmother. She is a blessing from above and one of the continual stream of the BEST people God puts in my life to help me along the way.
We hit the ground running trying to get ahead of the "in processing game." It truly is a game getting your endless checklist complete. In the first week I in- processed, started a cell phone, got a bank account, opened a mailbox, took a driver's course, looked at apartments, and passed my driver's test.
The biggest accomplishment of the week was finding this beauty:
It is my apartment. A two bedroom 1 1/2 bathroom house with a little backyard and patio. My landlord is a lady with two children. It is in the town of Quidersbach that I knew before coming to Germany I wanted to live in. It is a 15 minute drive to work, but it is my favorite town I visited. Schmitt bakery is right around the corner along with the grocer, cafe, and gas station. It snowed two feet last night and children took their wooden sleighs down the hills in Quidersbach. So quaint and exactly where I wanted to live. Now, it is my time to make it into a home. This will be a labor of love, money, and time. I look forward to the challenge and hopefully it will be very cute by the time my family comes to visit (or friends- I have a room just for you!) :)
I pick up my car next week on Monday and I get my "wings" as the veterans say. I can't wait to start settling into an apartment and eventually traveling!
I miss YOU if you are reading this. I carry my family and friends close to my heart always. Your love gives me my wings to fly! Auf Wiedersehen!
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