one, two, three...catch up time

17-07-11
ein:
So the food here is usually pretty darn yummy. They really get comfort food here and carbs are everywhere being eaten by everyone. Can't complain there! It is however harder to find lots of variety in the Heilbronn area. We have driven past this Chinese restaurant so many times, I convinced DH to stop and give it a try. The best thing about this place was not the fish tank or the golden painted lions outside (and I do love lion statues!) or that they really carried through a theme of birds and flowers (adorning the light fixtures, paintings, carvings on the back of the chairs and just about anything else that can have a motif of some kind); it was the carved carrots that come with your dinner.

While fun, I very much miss Szechuan Empire North. I know one of the places I'll want to go when we have a home visit!

21-07-11
zwei:
When people told us that EVERYTHING closes down on Sunday...they were not kidding.  The only open establishments are gas stations, a handful of restaurants and churches.  We attended service at St Catherine's Anglican Church in downtown Stuttgart, stopped by Old MacDonald's (DJ believes that the song "Old McDonald Had a Farm" and the fast food restaurant chain are one in the same) for lunch and headed to the Feuerbach apartment to do some laundry.  It was a rainy day and much cooler so no trips to the park or sandbox.

As we were heading back, DJ starts chanting as only a 3-year-old can: ein, zwei, drei.  DH and I looked at each other and asked did you teach him that?  Neither of us had, but we went with it and he now goes all the way to ten in German.  This apparently wore him out as he fell asleep in the car shortly after AND slept through the whole night!  Sweet, sweet boy.

25-07-11
drei:
Haven't had much to blog this past week as I've been rather home sick which is frustrating to me.  Isn't this a dream come true, opportunity of a lifetime, etc?  Of course...and my heart of hearts knows that it will just take some time to get adjusted.  It has been lots of little things:

• DJ's kid meal toy speaks German which we all have memorized, but no idea what it's saying.  Burger King and Transformers both owe me one.
• Finally finding ground beef in the fourth grocery store you go to...Kaufland!  The bio mart (organic shop) did have it for 13 Euro which is about 18.68 USD so I didn't count that one.
• Reliable internet connections so that I can FaceTime with my parents.  I'm hoping that our service in Feuerbach is more stable.  Also, not being able to pick up the phone and call someone because while you may have an idea what to say...probably will have no idea what they say back.
• Watching your child regress because they don't know what's going on either.  I know the saying it's just spilled milk, but when DJ has reverted back to spilling half the contents every single time?  Starts to get on your nerves when it takes hours to do one load of laundry at an apartment 40 minutes away if you happen to have the car when he only has a few pair of jeans since it's Summer so the rest are in the sea shipment...where the heck is that boat?
• It has rained here a lot...like almost everyday a lot which is hard on a kid and his mommy.  Did manage to get DJ to the park one afternoon this week.  Phew!

Like I said...the stupid, disorienting, easy, take it for granted stuff has been crazy because it's everything that is a big hassle.  So whoever first said Thank God for small favors was a genius!  Today I emailed a bunch of places trying to find English speaking playgroups, drove around for errands and kept DJ mostly happy, picked up DH from work, cooked a dinner we usually had when in the US and the best part - the clock is no longer chiming.  Not that I wish ill upon an historic and beautiful clock mind you!  I'm sure it will be fixed so the rest of the world can enjoy it, but the respite from horns and bells and roosters is nice.  

Not even an hour later there was a stunning double rainbow (though the outer one is so faint it didn't show in the photo) spanning across the sky and DJ was so excited about it.  

What fresh and complete joy!  

Thank you, God.  

I needed that!  

Thing I miss most about USA:  double stuff Oreo's dipped in ice cold milk
Thing I love most about Germany:  rolling hills of vineyards with lush landscapes and double rainbows  :)

it's really real

So we have officially been expats for 13 days and counting...it's really real.

We have figured out how to purchase a tram ticket, buy enough milk to keep from running out on Sunday and adjusted to the sounds of living with the bells of Heilbronn, though I still count every time they ring.  The air shipment arrived several days ago and it looks like a lot when in boxes, but not much when it's been unpacked.  Though most of it was toys for DJ, the most important part was the Thomas the Tank Engine inflatable sleeping bag which he LOVES.  We are all sleeping better.

Spending as much time as we can getting things ready at our new home which we have nicknamed the sandbox apartment to help DJ keep the two straight.  Home is an idea very much in flux right now.  DH and I are working to firm it up as much as we can so that when beds arrive, we will be ready to go.  

Having eaten there three times already, we are on our way to being regulars at an Italian cafe in Feuerbach which is down the meandering road on the way to the train station.  The owner is friendly, the food is delicious and DJ likes the rigatoni with tomato sauce so everyone is happy.  Thank you, Da Nello! Of course we have also been to Old McDonald's for happy meals with pommes (french fries) a few times too.

With about 40 hours of German lessons under my belt, I'm really in awe of anyone that is multi-lingual.  I seldom understand what people are saying to me, but did have a small conversation with a lady at the tram stop about DJ, language training and her sister who lives in California - at least I think that's what she said.  I am having trouble keeping straight my two's (zwei) and my three's (drei), but it's coming along.  How long does the immersion method take?  Meine Deutsch ist nicht so gut!

At last I have a phone!  After a visit to Vodafone with DH, we both have German cell phones.  They are now charging up and I'm looking forward to texting and calling and downloading apps and whatever else the thing will let me do.  The internet connection with the temporary apartment is weak and unreliable so this is going to make life a lot easier.

Tomorrow is market day so DJ and I will get some fresh fruit there and then we'll take the sand toys out to play.  Hoping to hit OBI again (a cross between Meijer and Home Depot) to get more light fixtures and maybe swing by Feuerbach in the afternoon/evening tomorrow.  

What I miss most about the USA?  air conditioning

What I love most about Germany?  Donner (a Turkish gyro with cabbage, sauce and tomatoes in a pocket pita)

photo: from our apartment window - Heilbronn Rathaus clock which is over 500 years old