Still Waiting

Am coming to you from a Starbucks in Old Town (Alstadt) Duesseldorf. Our Internet/TV/Phone will be set up on October 5. So for those of you planning a move to Germany, it takes about one month from the time you arrive to get these services.

We still have no lights, no table and no couch or chairs. We are waiting on the Arrigo family from North Carolina to move back to the states so that we can get their light fixtures, table and chairs and some closets. I think we can have them by next week. We also have ordered a couch and chair from Ikea. We (and by that I mean mostly Skip) have become experts at assembling furniture--because nothing from Ikea comes ready to use. There must be at least 100 screws and a few nails involved in each piece. But moving up a notch from Ikea means a HUGE increase in price, so suddenly the assembly process doesn't seem so bad.

Am starting to figure out where to get what and where to get it a fairly reasonable prices. My German is not great, but am starting to develop a good vocabularly in relation to breads, veggies, fruits and meats. I speak what I call market/resaurant German.

I have figured out what size clothes both Maddie and I wear in European sizes and have found that most book stores here carry at least a few English books. That's important, since our container of stuff we shipped here to Germany is still in the United States--held up because of some paperwork related to Skip's work Visa. We don't know when it will ship or how long it will take to get here once it does.

Maddie has already made some friends. One is from Canada, another from Korea and her "best friend" is from England. Meg lived in Jakarta, Indonesia last year. It's really bizarre to hear a little girl with an English accent say, "Last year, in Jakarta..."

I, too, have made some friends. The International School is great place to network with other displaced American moms.

I figure by November, we will be entirely visitable. We should be fully furnished, wired and know where everything is. For you shoppers out there, you may short circuit when you hit downtown Dusseldorf. It's pretty incredible. AND plan to gain at least 5 to 10 pounds when you come. The food is fabulous.

We are still having some homesickness. Bob Owen, a member of my church, died this week and it's the first funeral that I won't be there for. Skip will actually be in the states in October for some training and I'm sending with him a list of stuff he needs to bring back.

We're planning a trip to see Tante Rosel in southern Germany this weekend. Maddie has Monday and Tuesday off from school.

I may not be able to post again until October 5, but hopefully I can hit a Starbucks or a library before then.

AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!

Okay, I have a chance to log in from Skip's cousin's computer. Nothing here works right! The dishwasher is different. We finally got a washing machine and dryer, and the washing machine door locked and wouldn't open! The mops are different. The brooms are weird. I can't find a lunch box for Maddie to save mz life! We still have no television, telephone or Internet access at home! We have put together two Ikea beds and two Ikea closets--something I NEVER EVER want to repeat. I think I have carpel tunnel. Our container of stuff we had shipped is still in America waiting on all of Skip's work permit stuff to come through. That means all of Maddie's toys, my guitar, our towels, flatware and table are held up until ?????

On the upside, Maddie continues to enjoy school. Today was a teacher work day and Maddie and I had lunch with some of her classmates and their moms. We were the Americans. There were two Korean and one Japanese family. We are definitely expanding our horizons.


The other ex-pat wives who have been here awhile say the first month is awful, the next two months are not great, but after that, it's fabulous. We'll let you know!

Moving Along

Maddie started at the International School today and loved it. Her teacher is great and the principal reminds me of the grandmother everybody always wanted. After she took Maddie to class, we walked down the hall with her and she called at least six students by name as they passed by.

Today was a big day for another reason. We bought me a bicycle. That, along with the train and buses, will be my primary mode of transport. I have saddle bags for the back and will probably add a basket to the front. It's amazing how many people (of all ages) travel by bicycle here.

Our big gripe with Germany right now is the smoking. Skip claims that there are more restrictions than even five years ago, but it is still so much more prevalent than in the US. We won't be able to eat at resataurants in the winter. Now we can eat in the outdoor seating area, but there's no way we're sitting inside. We've had to re-educate Maddie so that she won't point to the smokers and hold her nose. We've had to reinforce that smoking is bad, but people who smoke aren't.

In spite of all the ice cream she is eating, Maddie seems to be getting even skinnier and we've adujusted her pants as tight as they will go. She hasn't quite made the adjustment to all the German food. Even familiar foods taste just a bit different here. I'm pretty sure that the frying oil here is more animal than vegetable and even some fruits are not quite the same.

This may be the last post for awhile. This is our last night in the hotel, and I will have to wait until the cable folks come and set up our tv/phone/internet at the house. Nothing is quick here, so I'm hoping we'll be up and running by this time next week.

Tomorrow I hit the annual activity fair put on by the American Women of Dusseldorf Club and I'm hoping all my remaining questions about living in Germany will be answered there.

It's Different Here

Somehow I think I had it in my head that with Internet, globlization, etc, that Western Europe would really just be a smaller, more quiant version of America where people spoke a different language and drank more beer. This is not the case.

For instance, we're sort of moving between our home and the hotel as we await delivery of beds. After our first meal at the house, we put our dishes in the dishwasher, used the box of stuff we got at the Aldi that said "dishwasher" on it and wondered why our dishes came out so odd looking--kind of drippy and spotty. Then I discover that German dishwashers require three separate products. What we had used as detergent was actually "special salt" which gets put in a certain compartment at the bottom of the washer and is replaced every two months or so. In another compartment, you have to add some water softener that also gets replaced every so often and THEN each time you wash, you add detergent, which comes in a square pellet form.

Also, and I have to say I found this kind of cool, they only sell condensor dryers here. You know how you have to have all that tubing and stuff in your laundry room? Not here. The water from the dryer collects in this little container and you just empty it after every load. I have to say I never really thought about where all the water from my wet clothes went. We still don't have our washer and dryer, but we went up to Skip's cousin's house in Dortmund to do some much needed laundry. His wife showed me how to correctly use all the appliances. In keeping with the smaller is better theme, the washers and dryers are small as well and the cycles take about an hour each. Letting laundry pile up here would not be a good thing!

We are still trying to get modem/cable/phone set up in our home. We can't get my new "handy" to work and we are looking for a place to buy me a bike. Maddie starts her new school tomorrow and was so excited we almost never got her to sleep.

Only two more nights in this hotel! I just want everyone to know that I have lived with my husband and daughter in one room for a week in a country where I don't speak the language and can't even get a real diet Coke (only a Coke light) and I have only broken into tears once. Apparently, many of you have been sending your prayers. Thanks!

P.S. As soon as we get Internet access at home, I can include pictures with the messages.

Everythings Smaller in Germany

The Germans do much better at taking up at smaller spaces for their living and leaving wider open spaces to just be open. However, that poses problems for Americans like us. Skip already has several bruises from getting out of the shower and trying to dress in the hotel bathroom. The sink in the half bath at our house to actually too small for him to wash his hands. He can't get them under the faucet.

And I've already figured out that when some of you visit, you will have to use the tub with the shower nozzel that is in the master bedroom because you won't fit in the shower in the other bathroom. I'm not sure my dad can could get his head under the shower head.

We've lucked out on our kitchen. It's quite large by German standards--even a larger than standard refrigerator.

We do have to get lighting fixtures. Rentals don't come with lights! Fortunately right now, it stays light till pretty late, and there are lots of windows.

We have two more nights in the hotel. Our beds are supposed to arrive on Tuesday. After that, we may even bust out and add a couch. Perhaps a chair or two.

We're Gonna Make It After All

I've been teaching Maddie the Mary Tyler Moore Theme song and we've been singing it several times daily.

Our Internet connection was down yesterday which is probably a good thing since it wasn't the best of days. I had a minor meltdown in the grocery store when I couldn't figure out what baking powder looked like and Maddie was singing some Veggie Tales song at the top of her lungs from the cart.

But TODAY, we have a rental car until we can lease one which allows us to begin to stock our furniture-free home with food and other staples. We also toured Maddie's school, and it was pretty incredible. She couldn't be unhappy at this place if she worked at it! I also got the American Women's Club of Dusseldorf's handbook which gives you all sorts of good information--including how to find baking powder!

Just three days in Germany and my principles have all gone out the window. We've been having issues getting money transferred and very few places here take credit cards. That, coupled with the fact that stores are just stocked differently here and it's hard to figure out where to go to get what, made me beyond happy to find a Wal-Mart. I think it's the first time Maddie has ever been in one. But they took Visa and had everything from paper towels to school supplies to brown sugar (hard to find here).

Maddie starts school on Monday. Though she actually handled all of this extroidinarily well, she may drive us crazy before we can get here there! She met her teacher today and gave her a great big hug.

We will try to master the tram system tonight and make it to downtown Dusseldorf. The goal this weekend is to get a washer and dryer for the house. Skip's cousin is going to let us come to laundry at their house this weekend!

Life in the Slow Lane

Life in Germany moves more slowly than life in America. Which might be nicer if you weren't waiting for service in a restaurant with a 5-year-old. It's weird to be in a crowded cafe where waiters seem to have no interest in turning tables as quickly as possible.

We're also held up with Skip's work permit. The process is (surprise!) slower than we expected, which we didn't think would be that big of a deal--but without it, we can't set up a bank account or lease a car. Very few places in Germany take a credit card--they only take debit cards (German debit cards). So we've been having to access cash from our Visa card, convert it to Euros in order to pay for things.

We went to get beds for our new house at IKEA and they can't deliver 'til Tuesday. So we have a choice of borrowing some camping cots from Skip's cousin Daetliff or extending our hotel stay. We're leaning toward the hotel--which is really great and serves a terrific breakfast. Not a donut in sight, but plenty of grainy bread, cereal, yogurt, fruit, cheeses, meats and, oddly enough, tomatoes. The coffee has been great everywhere we've been which is really important for my caffeine addicted self since Diet Cokes here are Coke Light and not exactly the same formula as back home.

Maddie has discovered that anywhere you go in Kaiserwerth-Dusseldorf, there is ice cream to be had and she is committed to trying every option. She is really rolling with this whole thing.

Chus!

We're Here!

We made it! It was a long trip. Maddie did great on the plane, but now that we're here, she's up at 2 a.m. because her sleep schedule is all messed up. We thought once she went to sleep we would be golden, but that is not the case.

We are at a hotel for three nights while we get our house set up. We it IKEA tomorrow for furniture. The house is great. It's just perfect and near everything including Maddie's new school. The only thing Skip did not notice is that none of the bedrooms have closets! The only disadvantage to letting the man pick out the house!

The first person I met today in Germany (other than the hotelier) is the president of the American Women's Club of Dusseldorf. I took that as a good sign.

This week should be pretty hectic--getting sleep patterns worked out and setting up housekeeping, but Maddie starts school on Monday and we should be settling into a routine.

Will start taking and uploading pictures soon.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

We'll be heading out for Dusseldorf in less than 48 hours. We leave at 1 p.m. from Little Rock and get to Dusseldorf some time on Tuesday. They're 7 or 8 hours ahead of us. We have no idea if we're taking too much or too little, but we're just going with what we got and hoping for the best!