My first normal day

I think today was the first time I had a normal (soon to be) routine kind of day. I woke up, went to class and 5 hours later met up with Patrick and some friends for lunch, stopped by an ATM so I could pay for my health insurance and then came home. I chatted online a bit and now I am just relaxing before homework and dinner. There were no crazy appointments or errands or anything today and I feel like I suddenly have a routine, I like it. I also realized where my free time comes into play and will soon be lost to a job. School is becoming more normal and less exhausting. I worked on socializing with my classmates today. During each of two breaks, I made it a point to talk to different people. On the first break I met Tisch (not correct spelling). She is from Tunasia, there she just completed 8 years of school and is a medical doctor but her family moved to Germany so now she is here, learning the language and unsure of her future. Her English is decent so we can kind of communicate. She lives in the next town over (the one where I will hopefuly be working for VW) so we may take the train together after class. We have a similar style (sweaters and jeans) and I can relate to her in that I also finished school (MBA not MD) but am not doing what I went to school for and am not sure what I will be doing. During the second break, I went outside for some fresh air where I met up with Iohanna. She is from Greece and at 18, she is the youngest student in my class. She just arrived in germany last week. It was a bit harder for us to communicate as her English is minimal and I speak no Greek. Either way we sat together, she smoked a cigarette, I declined when she offered me one and explained that no one smokes in America anymore compared to Germany. She laughed and informed me that everyone smokes in Greece, moreso than germany as cigarettes are cheaper. We talked about the sunshine she left behind and my cold winters. Additionaly, the reputation Americans have for not knowing languages is true, most of my classmates already speak at least two languages (not counting German) and all know a bit of English. One student from India speaks 4 languages fluently and is now learning German, I'm not sure how one can focus on all of that information in his brain. I hope I can reach fluency in German over the next year so I can at least have two languages in life. Today, I think I learned a lesson in communication greater than fluency in any language. A smile transcends anything you cannot verbalize and hand gestures are universal.

Germany Learned Vs. Germany Actual

In International Business classes you learn that Germany is very efficient. Germany is also the country with the least context culture. I'll agree that Germans are straightfoward for the most part but I have a bone to pick with the efficiency in this country. Much like the rest of Europe, germany is less efficient than the US. I would say Germany is more efficuent than Italy as I have yet to witness a countrywide strike preventing air travel but I have only been her for about a month so I'm not ruleing it out. My latest bout with inefficiency involves my future employer. Last Friday I made an appointment with the director to pick up an important letter I need for my visa. Previously, I sent him emails on two occasions asking for this document but he did not answer so I called and det up the appointment. Today I went to my appointment and was greated by his assistant who apologized and explained that she called me to cancel the appointment as he was sick. I missed the call since I was in class with my phone off. She offered to reschedule for NEXT WEEK! I wanted to have the visa in process tomorrow not next week. I understand being sick and all but for the next 4 days he is out due to a throat irritation and no one else can help me. This is where I become frustrated. Since we made tha appointment on Friday he could have printed the letter Friday or even Monday and asked someone else to be sure I got it, maybe his very capable assistant. Not in Germany, here one person is to complete a task and if something prevents them from doing so, you wait, it is not reassigned. During times like these, I miss the American world of business and commerce.

GSL

I sat in class feeling like a bunch of ESL kids and then I realized we were the German version of ESL, GSL (I'm sure the abriviation would be different and longer in German). That's right today was my first language class and it was intense. First of all it is frustrating that everyone speaks different native languages. Of the 17 students the ethnic breakdown is as follows; 4 Chinese, 2 Korean, 4 Tunasian, 2 Russian, 1 Indian, 1 Greek, 1 Bangladesh, 1 Spanish and me. This means I can most effectively communicate with the guy from India as he seems to speak the best English. Most of the class is taught in German with a few instances of translation mostly in English (thankfully). Five hours of class is really draining, I haven't been in the same class this long (and not teaching it) since elementary school circa 1995. To make matters worse attendence at all classes is compulsory so I can NEVER take a day off. I guess that is actualy a good rule for learning the language. I have about an hour's worth of homework to do tonight and then it starts all over again tomorrow and every day of the week until Dec. 8th. I hope I make it. Mostly, I hope my German improves and that I can pass the tests.

Getting to know the Neighbors

Last night, the guy upstairs had a birthday party (same birthday from halloween, he just waited to celebrate on Sat.) Random cultural information; Germans believe it is bad luck to celebrate or wish someone a happy birthday before their birthday, but after is perfectly acceptable. Anyway, this was the perfect platform to get to know the neighbors as the entire building was invited and most were present (aparently Boris has a reputation for hosting good parties). The party was fun and I now know who lives where. Here's a quick run down: On the ground floor you will find Tommy and Anna and thier daughter Lena (possibly the cutest blond child ever) We like them a lot, Patrick knew them before and as such they told him about this apt. They are very helpful and let us borrow things :) They are also quite fun. Anna is a photographer and Tommy is in a similar stage of studies as Patrick (about to finish). Next to Tommy and Anna are two people I don't know and did not get to know at the party. they have a large, unfriendly dog. I live on the first floor. Next door to us is Anya and her husband who likes to play ping pong. They have twin baby girls who are really cute but sometimes cry loudly in the morning when we want to sleep. Both are very nice, I see them outside smoking quite often. We adopted a tree from them, it is doing well. They also have a large dog but I think it is the friendliest dog in the building. Above us on the second floor lives this weird guy Stephan and I think his girl friend lives with him. I see him in the hallway quite often with his Rotweiler. I've never seen her prior to last night. He always looks like he is high. They are both quite young (he's around 20ish and she looks younger though I don't know). He is always around but never really talks to anyone which is why he has the reputation of being the weird guy in the place. Also, he took a shopping cart from the grocery store down the street and leaves it in the back yard then takes it shopping and brings it back to the yard. Next to him is Boris. He is always smiling and quite friendly. I caught him "cleaning" bu throwing things into a closte in no particular order and instantly knew we would get along. He also has a clothes dryer in said closet. Speaking of which we have this cool old fashioned key which aparently goes to the drying room which is in the building somewhere. I've yet to locate it but it sounds cool. Aparently no one uses it. On the top floor you will find Peter "Pete" and his wife Ulie or something. I like Pete, he's quite nice but I've never really spoken to his wife. They have no kids and no dogs. Rounding out the building also on the top floor is Robert. He has long curly blond hair and I thought he was a woman when I first met him. Then I heard him talk and felt he looked like a pirate as he was wearing jeans and a blue and white striped shirt. His girlfriend was at the party but I am not sure if she lives here or not. All of the above mentioned people smoke. This is a random entry I know but I just wanted to get it out there for now and celebrate that my computer is working again thanks to Patrick and Tommy.

Shopping Failure

I've been here for just about three weeks now and I have not bought a single article of clothing or pair of shoes for myself! If you know me, you instantly know this is a problem. This is more of a problem as there are items that I need since I packed a lot of "work" clothes and less casual everyday stuff and am not currently working. I have been trying to buy a jean skirt for the past 2 weeks to no avail. First of all, I think jean skirts are seasonless and a timeless fashion staple that is current with leggings. I packed 3 pairs of leggings (I am taking up yoga) and forgot my jean skirt. I did not think I would have trouble finding a replacement...wrong! Okay so Germany has H&M (like all of Europe) and I'm familiar with their type of clothing so I figure I'll have no problem finding a jean skirt there. They have one, it is calf length with ruffles, not cute. I wandered around downtown and didn't find another single jean skirt in about 8 shops. I tried again my next visit downtown also to no avail. The last time I was downtown (2 days ago) I spotted a window manican wearing a classic jean skirt (denim colored, short and straight). Excitedly, I went in scouring the racks. I found the jean skirts on the sale rack they had a blue one and a black one, none were my size...disapointment. However, this store was also very Forever 21 (not quality but the skirt was cheap) which is prob. why I missed it the first two tries. A similar store was next door and it had a ruffley model that was more teenie bopper than anything. I've pretty much given up on the jean skirt and asked my parents to mail mine to me or else I'm going without. In other shopping disapointment I am failing at buying black boots. All shoes here are either vinyl (yuck!) or really expensive or both. If you want leather shoes, expect to pay at least $100. This is kind of rediculous in my mind (I'm on a budget here!) as I have lots of nice leather shoes that I bought in the US for less than $100. How am I failing at shopping?!? Oh how I miss malls with chain stores where you a) know the quality of the merchandise you're getting b) can browse online before going to the store and c) are not paying top dollar for crappy stuff. I also miss Marshalls (my URI addiction), I'm getting desperate enough so that the Warwick mall is a super apealing option right now. I wish online stores would deliver here! P.S. Germans use the expression Super Duper

Fanny Packs are Back

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! This is something I never wanted to give in to. Aparently fanny packs are the thing for males these days. Hulk Hogan may have had something to do with starting this rejuvination, though I doubt it as I've seen fanny packs in Germany and the UK and I'm pretty sure Hulk Hogan's reality show is not exported. Julia called this weeks ago and I denied it but alas, I've seen enough of them to admit they may be making a come back, at least around here, much to my dismay.

Thankgiving

This is a pute, this is also a Turkey, they are one and the same. When I first told Patrick that I wanted to have Thanksgiving in Germany and that we would need a turkey, he told me that they have pute, a different type of poultry. It is true that the German language has a different word for turkey (truthahn)and puten are often small (about 3-5 lbs.). Yesterday, I was determined to find out what a pute actualy was so I googled things like turkey in Germany. I found a discussion board where someone had asked how to order turkey meat and pute was the response. I even went to an online translator and found that pute translated to "turkey hen." I assumed a turkey hen was a small turkey but could not confirm. I asked Patrick what pute look like and he said they resemble ducks so I was once again unsure what type of poultry this was. This morning, thanks to Wikipedia.de we cleared up the confusion. Just in time too as we went to the grocery store yesterday and found out that we could order a pute for Thanksgiving and I didn't want a pute unless it was a turkey. Looks like we will be having turkey after all.