German surprises

I continue to be surprised when I find myself doing something I never thought possible... until I moved to Germany. This morning, rather than heading out for our usual "Sunday Family Outing", I am watching Jason pack as he prepares to leave for China.  I had an odd feeling in my stomach this morning and soon realized- Jason has not traveled for work since we moved.  In Alabama, we had grown accustomed to his being gone for a week at a time but Karina, Cooper and I each felt an odd sensation of "loss" the day he left the country for work.  As his travel schedule begins again, it feels strange to be living in a foreign country while he travels to other corners of the world.  I am writing this post while he packs and I am "surprised"  to feel nervous being in a foreign country without Jason near!  I am sure this list of 'German surprises' will get longer as we live here...

• Never thought going from 2 to 4 German classes a week would “kick my butt”…hence, the minimal blog posts this week. Sad...Sad...Sad how hard it is for my brain to learn this new language!

• I never thought I would ‘blog’ about my life and have people I don’t know read about our experiences.  I almost fell out of the chair when I learned how to look at our stats and saw we had over 5,000 page views.  BTW-any “true blogger” will look at my number and laugh since they get over 10,000 page views per month AND make money by running Ads.  I think I will do a whole post in the future about the blogging world.  I am learning so much but haven’t started “acting” on it all yet.

• I never thought that I would make such good friends so quickly.  The other night my friend, Kim, who lives in Texas and I were ‘Skyping’.  During our conversation she asked, “Are you lonely in Germany?”  Lonely I am not...going to too many restaurants with friends, I AM.  The people who have befriended me are tired, I am sure…not only do they have to try to understand my Southern English, but also understand my “Southern” German.  I must praise them….they haven’t let the language or culture barriers get in the way of building a new friendship. 

• I never thought I would hear someone call my name on the streets of Germany…much less twice in one week.  In Alabama it was a normal thing to see people you know in the grocery or restaurant.  However, It is a weird feeling to be in another country and hear your name being called on the street as you are leaving the cafe or walking around a museum.  It hit me-I actually LIVE here. 

• I never thought I would "see" my maiden name on a store shelf.

• I never thought I would begin drinking water ‘with ‘gas’.  When you have dinner in a restaurant here in Germany, don't sit and wait for them to bring you a free glass of water.  Nope, you must pay for that glass of water that I took for granted in Alabama.  If you don’t specify “Ein Wasser ohne Gas”, you will shortly receive a glass of German bubbly mineral water.  Typical water in Germany is mineral water with “gas”.  Now that I am living here, I have slowly begun to develop a taste for this water.  My first two months living here, if I forgot to specify no gas, I would have to hold my breath while drinking the water.  My change of taste probably had a little to do with my discovering all of the health benefits this water served up. (natural magnesium, calcium, and other natural minerals)  I even bought water WITH gas this week…..Here is their link with more information http://www.gerolsteiner.de/index.php?id=4099

• I never thought I would miss the phone ringing.  I miss the random ringing of my telephone.  This week, our phone has rung THREE times and I have jumped every time saying, “what is that?” I miss my family and friends being able to call with ease and not having to plan our conversations around the time difference.

• I never thought I would blow my nose in front of people.  I am disgusted to even write this…but it is true.  Bottom line…in bitter cold weather, your nose runs in a bad way. Yes I am crazy, but I still get embarrassed when I blow my nose.  I just have never like that whole process and prefer to hide in the bathroom when I must partake.  However, I WILL NOT PAY for a Toiletten on the street if I need to blow my nose.  I still don’t have that "German blow" that sounds like a honk to me.  (and I hope I never get that one correct!)
• I never thought I would hear my daughter exclaiming, "daddy said we could go with him to Africa on one of his trips so we could see Lions that weren't in cages" In Alabama, the most exclaimed phrase, "we are going to the pool!!!!" (we had to in order to survive the heat)

• I never thought I would throw back a good Espresso EVERY afternoon in about 10 seconds.

• I never thought I would over hear my child's Barbie speaking German.

• I never thought I would get used to people staring at me.  ‘Staring’ is not only acceptable here in Germany, but I have come to believe it is a sport; Lets see how long I can stare at you with out you speaking”

• Never thought I would be making my own ice in tiny trays.  I am learning to drink my liquids at room temperature and with no ice as the Germans do.  But on a recent trip to the store, I caved in and bought two tiny ice trays (that is all that will fit in my freezer.)  Nothing beats a good ole American Coke with ice! (and it takes a whole tray of ice)

• I never thought I would enjoy living in another country so much. I still miss Alabama, my family and friends and the warm weather.  But, I continue to discover what a wonderful place Germany is to live.