And the Stress Builds

While some people have commented that I'm "leaving a dream" here in Germany, some days are actually a nightmare. I absolutely love being here, but this week has not been so grand and the stress continues to build!

1. You may have read my driving license post last week and here's an update. While I have done everything I could so far to get the needed materials completed as quickly as possible, I found out on Friday morning that there really is NO WAY I'm going to get my license by my November 16 deadline. That means I'm going to have to beg for rides from friends and figure out a way to get around this rural area of SW Germany via public transportation. The local driving office said they have all my materials, but they have to send it to an office in Northern Germany for approval, which takes 3-4 weeks. I heard from someone else that it usually takes 6-8 weeks, and there's nothing I can do to expedite it. I just have to wait!!! To top that off, I heard that 30% of people fail the test the first time, so I'm freaking out because if I don't pass it, I'll have to go at least another 2-3 weeks with no license.

2. I'm starting some new Business English classes soon and one language school I work for has said I'm one of their top trainers right now and they are choosing only the very important clients for me. Sounds good, right? Sure, except I found out on Friday that newest group, which I'm meeting on Tuesday, has had English training for a few years, but they weren't happy with the quality anymore, so now they've hired my language school to take over. I thought that wasn't a big deal, but since the company has always hired their own trainers directly (not through a language school), the HR Manager at the company asked for the training profile of each new trainer. NOT THE RESUME, JUST THE TRAINING PROFILE. I've only been training for four weeks and I have no official certifications for it! My manager said, "We know you're a great trainer, but the HR Manager at the company is very skeptical of your skills because you aren't certified and you don't have much experience. She's going to be in your first class, so please do a really good job and prove her wrong." No pressure there!!! "Oh, and by the way," my manager says, "don't use the books on the first day because we don't want students to write in them in case they want to switch classes, so just do a lesson with no book that day." Lovely.

3. It's getting cold here...very cold...and we're already seeing ice on the cars and roads. Thursday morning there were several accidents in our area due to black ice, which if you didn't already know, scares the crap out of me, because in March 2008, I hit a patch of black ice in Indianapolis and ran into a guard rail. My car and I weren't in too bad of shape, but my nerves when driving in cold weather are totally out of whack now. Every time I see a guard rail, I can picture myself slamming into it! I'm uncontrollably nervous when I have to drive on slightly wet roads and I'm also nervous when I'm riding with other people in those conditions. It's so stupid that I can't get past the anxiety, but it won't go away and I almost feel like it's worse here in Germany because I'm not familiar with my car's handling capabilities and I still have basic nerves every time I drive due to the different driving rules and my assumption that I'm going to do something wrong and have an accident. Plus, since I'm driving Alfons' Yaris, I have the added stress of damaging someone ELSE'S car and not just my own! He assures me that German cars are the best and that we won't slide off the road, but soon after saying that he reminds me to be very careful in the mornings when the temperatures are near freezing. I know I should always be careful when I'm driving, but how am I supposed to not worry? It's an impossible balancing act!!!

4. While it's not a big deal for most people in the States, the Euro/US Dollar currency exchange rate is going crazy and that's a VERY big deal for me right now. Since I'm earning euros here in Germany, it's nice that the exchange rate is high at 1.39 (that means it costs $1.39 to buy 1 euro). But until I get my paychecks, it's not a good thing! This summer the rate was as low at 1.19, which was great because I was living off the US dollars I brought with me from the States. Exchanging those dollars for euros wasn't SO expensive, but now I'm paying a crazy amount for the same one euro! The stress I have today regarding this currency exchange rate is that since I didn't start working until Sept 20, my paychecks in October are very small, so I have to keep pulling money out of my US bank account for expenses. One school I work for pays on the 12th of the next month, but the other school doesn't pay until the 26th of the next month. Today's the 23rd, so I haven't even received my September check from the second school yet and it will only be for two weeks of training anyway! So while I'm working my tail off this month, I'll get a little check (from school #1) on November12th, but my main check (from school #2) won't come until NOVEMBER 26th!!! I thought since I started working in September that the currency exchange rate hike wouldn't be a big deal, but it's a huge deal since I am forced to exchange money until I can get caught up in a month or so.

5. And finally, there's little to no sugar coating here in Germany. As you probably know, most Germans are very direct and that's something that's hard for me to get used to. When I have these stressful situations and my mom's not here to say, "it'll be okay," I have to hear, "that's the way it works here," from my German friends. There's not a lot of, "you can do it" or "hang in there" talk, which is extremely detrimental to my self-confidence right now.

I'm trying to keep a positive attitude and I keep reminding myself that in January, I'll look back and all of these stories will be laughable. Let's hope so anyway...

Note: I am totally aware that many people have far more stress in their lives than I have right now and that I have it REALLY good here in my dream land. But those who follow my blog have said they want to hear the ups and downs of this adventure, and I like use this blog as therapy sometimes as well. :-) So thanks for reading and send some good thoughts my way this week if you have a minute or two.

Homesick?

I wouldn't call it homesick just yet, but I MISS MY MOM!!!!!!!!

While I wasn't working this summer, I had the luxury of talking to my family (and particularly my mom) nearly anytime I wanted. With my helpful US-based Skype phone number, I can talk to everyone at home for free from 4,500 miles away...nice! The problem is, now I'm working and trying to catch people in the States with this 6-hour time difference is a nightmare!

When I get up in the mornings, everyone's sleeping at home. Then I have to go to work and by the time I get home from work, everyone else is at THEIR work. If I'm lucky, I can catch people at 4 or 5 o'clock their time, just before I go to bed and just after they leave work. But that only happens once or twice a week and some people are still impossible to catch.

Why not call people on the weekends, you ask? Since Alfons works outside Germany during the week, I only have the weekends to spend time with him. I would love to chat with people on Saturdays and Sundays, but usually Alfons and I are out and about, and when we're home, I don't want to spend too much time sitting at my laptop, when I know he'll be gone again on Monday morning!

We just booked our tickets to the States for the holidays and Christmas can't get here soon enough...I need a mother-daughter hug!!!

Important Note: I also miss my dad, sister, niece, extended family and friends....but it's a girl thing to cry for mommy first! :-)

A Few More Things

Here are few more things that take some getting used to here...

Light switches are upside down.
Toilets are tankless and don't touch the ground.
Stoplights turn yellow before going red AND before going green.
Keyboards have the @ symbol on the Q key, not the 2 key.
There are no 4-way stops. Instead the person coming from the right has right-of-way.

To Drive or Not to Drive

I knew I had six months to transfer my drivers license from an American one to a German one, but until now, I've had more important priorities. I thought it was silly to switch my license before I got my permission to work, because if I wasn't able to work, I would have to go back to the States and wouldn't need a German drivers license. Once I got my permission to work, I was so busy planning the lessons for my 30 hours of teaching each week, that I didn't have time to worry about much else.

Knowing that Nov 16 (my six-month mark) wasn't too far off, Alfons suggested I start studying for the driving test in early September. (My Indiana license only exempts me from the practical, on-road driving test, but not the written one. Thank goodness they offer the written test in English, although I still have to be able to read the German road signs.) So I bought a training CD in mid-September and started to go through the 900+ questions I have to master for the test. I thought studying would be the most time-intensive part, so that's where I stopped...for a bit.

Last week, Alfons suggested I go to the local county driving office to find out how the license transfer process works since he couldn't get any answers online or over the phone. So his sister and I went to the driving office (similar to the BMV) at 7am on Thursday when they opened. Luckily, we were the first ones in line, so we only had to wait a few minutes for the staff to get ready for business, then his sister explained my situation to the worker. While I couldn't understand what they were saying in German, I knew it wasn't good because their body language was not what I wanted to see. After a few minutes of wondering what was happening, his sister finally turned to me and said, there's a lot to do and the lady doesn't think you can get it done in four weeks by Nov 16. :-(

It turned out there were several steps including;

1) Get a paper stamped by the foreign office where I got my residence permit
2) Have my American drivers license translated by a certified translator
3) Return those items to the driving office to wait for an approval to take the written test
4) Schedule the written test (after approval)
5) Take the written test
6) Wait for the results to be returned to the driving office
7) Wait for the driving office to process the results and make my license
8) Pick up license!

The worker at the driving office said each step averages two weeks, and that it would be VERY unlikely that I get my license by the Nov 16 deadline.

While we knew the probable outcome, we wanted to get the process started as soon as we left the driving office that day, so we went across the street to the foreign office, but of course they didn't open until 8:30 and it was only 7:20. Alfons' sister needed to get to work, so she couldn't wait any longer. I suggested we knock on the door just to see if anyone was working early and sure enough, there was someone!!! She wasn't quick to help us, but once we explained that all we needed was a little stamp and five minutes of her time, she obliged. Step 1 complete!!!

Then Alfons' sister called the local auto club that does translations (since the driving office suggested this route), but they said it really would take nearly two weeks to get the translation. About the same time she made that call, I remembered a friend of mine in Stuttgart works for a translation company. Surely they have a "certified translator" for official government documents, I thought. So I contacted my friend that day (Thursday) and she said she could get me what I needed by Wednesday. Hallelujah!!! Step 2 in the works!!!

Sorry to end the story here, but that's as far as we've gotten...

I'm cautiously optimistic that we can expedite this process, although I'm already researching back-up ways to get to my training classes if I don't have a license for a few weeks. While I can work hard to speed up the first few steps of the process, I have no control over the length of time needed for the last few steps and will be at the mercy of the testing place and driving office.

Keep your fingers crossed for me and I'll be sure to post an updated story once the license is in-hand!

The Blood Drive

I've always wanted to donate blood, but figured it wasn't going to happen, because whenever I've had simple blood tests done at the doctor (where he only needs a little tube), I've always gotten lightheaded and nearly passed out. I assumed giving a big ol' bag would just do me in!

Alfons, on the other hand, is a pro at giving blood and since he was doing it last week, I thought I should give it a try too. Plus, I had some added motivation because my sister needed blood a couple years ago after a birthing complication and so I felt even more compelled to at least give it a try!

So...last Friday, Alfons and I went to a little community building in a nearby village that was having a Red Cross Blood Drive (or Blood Spend as they say in Germany). I was nervous on the way there thinking of the few times I'd been lightheaded when I gave little bits of blood in the past, so I warned Alfons that I wasn't 100% sure I could do it.

When we arrived, we got the paperwork to sign in (in German of course, which always makes me stressed), then we sat in a hallway where the doctors had little temporary offices to talk one-on-one to each patient. As we sat and waited, I began to recall the event two years ago when my sister needed blood after giving birth to my perfect little niece. Those emotions welled up in me and I couldn't hold back a tear or two. Alfons had no idea why I was crying and just said, "you don't have to give blood if you don't want." I answered, "I WANT to, but it's so scary!"

Alfons and I assumed we could go in to talk to one doctor together (so he could translate), but when the first available doctor said "next," she said only one person could go in at a time. That doctor said she didn't speak English very well, but assumed one of the other doctors would, so Alfons went with her and left me in the hall by myself! My stress level continued to rise as I didn't know what this doctor was going to ask me or even if he/she would speak English very well.

So the next door opened and I went in slowly. "Sprechen Sie Englisch?" I asked. "Oh, a little bit. Come on in and sit down," he said. It turned out that his English was excellent and he had a son living in Boston. He told me all about his son's triplets who are seven and how his son can't visit Europe so much since he only gets a few weeks of vacation time per year (silly Americans!). My visit with that doctor ended up just fine, but I was still super nervous and we hadn't even gone to the room where all the needles and empty bags were!

So Alfons was waiting for me outside and we walked upstairs together. The doctor had told me to drink some Coke before I gave blood because I hadn't drank enough that day yet, so Alfons and I went to the little drink station, poured me a big glass of Coke and sat down for a break. Unfortunately, I don't drink Coke very often and the bubbles made my stomach hurt. That didn't help my nerves any.

After I finished my soda, we walked into the donation room and there were lots of people laying on little cots giving blood and other people over at a table reading the newspaper with their arms held above their heads. I tried not to look at any of the people laying down just in case it would make me woozy, so I walked with Alfons straight over to the nursing table to get my finger pricked. Again, I thought Alfons and I could do that part together so he could translate, but they separated us and the lady who pricked my finger didn't speak English. I didn't mind the prick, but she started talking to me in German, which I couldn't understand, and when I looked over for Alfons' help translating, he was too far away to hear me.

At that moment, I couldn't play strong anymore. I started crying (quietly) and another nurse came over to me and said (in English), "It's okay. You don't have to give blood today. Come back another time." I told them I just needed a few minutes to calm down because I REALLY wanted to give blood, but by that time, they had taken my paperwork away and told Alfons I couldn't give blood because I was too upset. Alfons said they don't want anyone to feel forced to do it, and I understand that, but I just wanted a few minutes to get hold of my nerves and then try again. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option at that point.

Alfons still wanted to give blood while we were there, so the English-speaking nurse suggested I go with him and watch so I know how it works. She showed me how they measure the amount and calculate the time, then let me sit on her nursing stool. That was good, because going through the motions this time will surely ease my nerves for the next try.

After seven and a half minutes, Alfons was done and we walked over to the newspaper reading table. I noticed it was mostly guys and just one girl. I assumed more girls gave blood than guys, but now that I've been through it, I suppose guys do it more because they're stronger. But Alfons said I'm the strongest chicken he knows! :-)

Next time, I'm GOING to give blood...and I'm going to get a sticker too!!!

Entschuldigung, Wiederholen, Bitte?

While I felt like my German was improving so fast the first few months I was here, that has taken a nose-dive!

I can finally communicate basic things with the children playing outside and I can order food at a restaurant, but if someone starts talking to me in German, I have NO IDEA what they're saying. I know just enough vocabulary to ask for what I need, but it's not enough to understand other people when they respond. 

Plus, the Germans I meet don't know which words I have learned and which words I haven't. For example, when I order something at the bakery, if the lady says, "Is that all?" in German, I understand it and can say, "Yes, thank you." But if she says the equivalent of, "Do you need anything else?" or "Will that be it for you today?" I have no idea what she said and have to tell her that my German is bad, ask her to please repeat it more slowly, blah, blah, blah...it's a huge hassle!

Lucky for me, no one knows I'm not German until I open my mouth, so if I go through the grocery store and don't talk to anyone, I'm just fine. But on the other hand, since no one knows I'm not German until I open my mouth, they usually talk fast and use slang when they do talk to me. Then I have to look like an idiot and say I can't understand them.

One day at the grocery store, the package of sliced ham I was buying didn't have a bar code on it (because the sticker fell off), so the guy at the register called a service person on their phone system (and I couldn't translate it), said something to me (which I didn't understand), set the ham aside, finished ringing up the rest of my things, took my money, and then started ringing up the next person. I had no idea if I was supposed to get another package of ham myself, wait for someone to bring me another package of ham, or walk away with no ham. I had no idea! I stood there for a minute (thinking the person from his phone call would bring me a new ham), but I tried to look busy so people didn't think I was standing there for no reason in case no one was bringing me a ham! Thank the Lord, my neighbor came to the rescue. She was a few people behind me in line and so I went to her, asked if she could translate (since the cashier didn't speak English), and then she figured out that I should go get another package of ham myself, but I didn't have to pay for it since I was inconvenienced. Whew!

PS: Here are the definitions of the words in the title, which I use OFTEN:

Enschuldigung = Excuse me

Weiderholen = Repeat

Bitte? = Huh? (or please)

For Every Season...

Maybe we have the same trees in the States and maybe we don't, but I truly believe the autumn colors here are more beautiful than at home!

We live near a small forest, so I'm blessed to get to drive past the variety of trees almost daily. And at the train station the other day, I noticed some amazing leaves changing colors that were so pretty, they looked fake! I actually went up and touched the leaves just to check, even though I knew I had parked under those trees all summer long.

I hope the train station doesn't mind, but I brought a nice red one home as a keepsake. :-)