Concluding 2012...

Luxembourg

Okay, okay, I know, I know, I’ve been seriously slacking on this whole blog thing.  Instead of calling me a blogging failure however, let’s put our euphemistic socks on and say I’m saving both you and me time AND energy by blogging not monthly, not quarterly, but YES, only TWO times per year. That’s TWO times for the price of one, and now with this special offer you will also receive.....sorry, silliness is the only way I will get through this blog post in one mental piece/peace.

Regardless of the whys behind the absence, I now find myself with the very daunting task of updating you on the last six months, which have been epic. I would be lying if I said I remember even half the occurrences at this point. As such, I will be referring to my handy (and oh so dandy) iPhone camera roll to remind me when we were where, why we were there and who we were with.

Since I am an organized (okay, maybe partially anal-retentive) ‘category’ girl, for whom new office supplies and organizational devices bring great joy and expansive bursts of energy, I will continue forth thusly...with categories.

Ahem....

TRAVEL

There’s simply no other place to start. If travel was what we wanted when we moved to Europe, then travel is what we GOT. In spades (and hearts and diamonds and clubs for that matter). I went to 16 countries in 2012 and Jeff went to roughly the same, though the exact countries differ. 

Strasbourg, France

Since June I’ve been on business trips to Washington D.C., Melbourne, Australia, and Doha, Qatar. Jeff and I have traveled to Berchtesgaden Bavaria (See fun and quick video here: http://www.youtube.com/watchv=e3gECsmObbk), Austria, Latvia, and a bunch of big and little cities in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and France. At much risk to life and limb, Jeff and Mathew “The Maff” Wilkins explored an abandoned former Soviet nuclear missile/tank base near Berlin. I also went back to Oregon for a few weeks in the summer and Jeff made a trip to California for his sister’s wedding in October (congrats Meghan and Nick!). 

Our friend Sommer came to visit and she and Jeff went to Estonia and Finland together, Jeff’s sister Meghan and brother-in-law Nick came to visit for part of their honeymoon, Jeff’s Aunt Linzel and her friend Jo came to visit after that, and to wrap up the year, Jeff’s Dad John and his step-mom Susan are now here for the holidays. We spent Christmas in Switzerland touring the Alps, and are now back in Germany with day trips planned all over western Europe.

Now...you may have noticed that most of the above visitors are on the McBride side of the family.  C’mon Knox/Gilbert/Goodman clan...PONY UP!!!

The ease of travel in Europe is still one of my favorite things about living here. It’s easy and cheap to get everywhere.  I imagine the rest of our remaining years in Europe will be just as traveled.  2013 is already shaping up to be another Doozy. See you here?

WORK

Doha, Qatar

Is still work. My department has been restructured for 2013. What effect that will have is still unknown, but I do have hope things will change for the better in the areas of leadership, organization and strategic planning (imagine that). Sadly, one of my best mates here in Germany has moved on to bigger and better things, so she leaves our team at work a little smaller and a lot drearier. The absence may provide me an opportunity for a promotion in 2013, but I would still rather have her on our team and in Bonn. Kaylois, you will be MOST missed. I still visit your empty office daily...RIP La’ Wonda. In good news, work IS providing quite a lot of travel opportunities, so I can’t complain too much or very loudly before Jeff bops me on the head and reminds me how good we have it.  And...he’s right.

Jeff is still working primarily for Copan, the Italian medical supply company. He finished a couple big videos for them in the end of 2012 (Check them out here http://vimeo.com/44525460 and here http://vimeo.com/55965348) While he didn’t travel to Italy as much in the later part of this year, his work load was steady without being taxing. By taxing I mean more than 10 hours a week. Jeff heartily believes in a life/life balance.

SCHOOL

Switzerland

I completed my 1st class towards an MSc in Strategic Public Relations from Stirling University in Scotland, and have just started my 2nd class.  Going back to school has been like going back to the gym after a long absence. Lots of reteaching the muscles how to work properly, followed by muscle pains and a lot of complaining. Thankfully this program is designed for professionals who have been in the field for awhile, so they were kind in the first class. AP-style-citation-say-wa?  So far it is A LOT of theory, which I’m struggling with, but I know is necessary. Just seven more classes and one dissertation to go.

(Warning...shmoop alert!)

At this point I MUST give a BIG shout out to my wonderful, fantastic, magical hubby who has been so supportive.  Most nights I come home from work and dinner is ready or being cooked, the house is clean, the laundry is done, and there’s food in the fridge. It’s such a luxury to not have to worry about anything but study. Thanks hun. You are a rock star and I couldn’t do this without you. 

(Okay, shmoop done)

OTHER

La Roche en Ardenne, Belgium

As Kaylois up and left her posse in Bonn, we decided to nick her fantastic flat.  As of 1 February, we will have a new place to call home. While we do NOT look forward to the move, we DO look forward to more space, an adult-sized fridge, two balconies, a real kitchen and a washing machine. Sayonara laundromat...sayOnara. Photos coming after the move.

Overall, things with the McBride clan in Germany are positive. It’s hard to believe we’ve been here for 15 months already.  We still don’t speak German, we still have some issues with culture shock and irritability on occasion, and I still dream of eventually living in warmer climes, but all in all, life is gut. COME VISIT!!!

I’ll endeavor to keep up the posting a bit more regularly in 2013, but I do depend on inspiration, which has been in short supply with work and study.  Perhaps next time I’ll just post my latest MSc essay...that is SURE to make you stop reading ;)

HAPPY NEW YEAR and all our best for a fantastic 2013.

Love and hugs,

Jeff and Hillary

On the road again...with "extras"

Today, I was officially accepted into the MsC Strategic International Public Relations program at the University of Stirling. Beginning October 1, I will be attending part time and online, with a week-long orientation in Scotland in October.  I’m excited to get some formal training in this field again. When I graduated from the UO, we used fax machines, e-mail was rare, social media did not exist, and it was always hard for me to remember that silly http:// thingie.  I also hope having a Masters under my belt will open up more job opportunities in the UN. It seems to be a prerequisite above a certain pay scale. I can hear Rome calling now...

And on that note of good news, hello to you all again after a VERY long absence! 

Klaus

If I had to sum up the last four months in one word, I would say “TRAVEL”.  We’ve barely had a moment to stand still. Jeff’s been back to Oregon, I’ve been back to California/New Mexico, we’ve been to France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, all over Germany, Austria, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Jeff has also been to the UK and back and forth to Italy for his work.  

Some of this travel has been aided by our fantabulous new car, purchased in February. He’s a dark blue, two-door Audi A3 named Klaus.  He has some serious get up and go and is just a tad snobby, but only because he’s so good. I’ve always wanted an Audi :)  And now, with the new addition of our handy GPS unit, aka “Jeeves”, we arrive at our final destinations quicker and without a headache (usually).

Montenegro

Allow me to make an aside here to comment on the road system in Germany. There are many things we love about the roads in Germany. Many have no speed limits. Rest stops are a quick steer off the freeway and include not just restrooms but gas stations, restaurants, and parks with walking trails. And, the restrooms have lots of handy extras for the man on the go, like the German “travel pussy”. I’m not kidding. Watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLxzGpcX9BE

What we do not like about the German road network however, is that in order to navigate without a GPS unit, as we did for several months, you have to know the minute geographic details of Germany. For example, if trying to get from Bonn to Munich via Frankfurt, you can’t just follow signs to Frankfurt and then to Munich.  You have to first head towards the hamlet of Morfelden-Walldorf, then head towards the 2-person village of Rhineland Palatinate Mainz, before passing through Gross Gerau and then heading towards Frankfurt. This took some time to get used to. I remember getting on the I-5 just south of Eugene and seeing a sign for Los Angeles.  Now THAT is pre-navigation.

Croatia

The San Francisco trip was my first official business trip at the UN. When you travel on business for the UN, they call it going on “mission”. Kind of makes me feel like a Mormon. Or a spy. Or a Mormon Spy.  My first mission was a great success, though the preparation nearly killed me. It’s a good thing I like traveling and event coordination because it looks like the success of my first mission will mean more mission assignments to come.  At best I would be assigned to Washington D.C., Bangkok (x2), South Korea, Australia (Syndey and Melbourne), and Qatar. At worst, I would only be assigned two.  By the end of 2012, I may well be sorry I planned that first mission so well... 

Things with Jeff are, well, fantastic! He’s been busy as a bee with Copan, the company out of Italy he’s contracting with. He just finished a rather large video project for them which went very well.  Much to my dismay, he has been traveling even more than me (which is just SO not fair). He drives down to Italy frequently, had a shoot in the UK, and was able to just “pop” over to Paris one day while I was working to visit family visiting. Have I mentioned we love living in Europe?

Bavaria

Because we have been such traveling fools, when we do find ourselves with down time we take it seriously.  On several occasions we've stayed in pajamas, not spoken to anyone, and not left the house all weekend.  We recognize this is also, in part, due to some culture shocking.  I always know when it has me in its grip because I crave white spaghetti, butter, salt, pepper and tons of parmesan cheese; I don’t want to talk to anyone; I get irritable and moody; and all I want to do is sleep and read.  

It was somewhat similar in Japan but also different. In Japan, everything was just SO in-your-face different. But in Germany, everything is just similar enough to lull you into security... then BAM...people are rude, you get publicly chastised for not sorting your trash correctly, and you can’t find any of the %#@*ing ingredients you need to make a dish you’ve been craving. Ah living abroad. 

Accordingly I will blame the travel and all-consuming sloth mentioned above for my lack of blog postings.  I would love to detail each of the trips mentioned above, but then we would be here until October. I will give a HUGE e-hug to Shelly though for being our first friend to make it to our new home in Bonn.  She broke in the guest bed, so the rest of you need to come visit already!

I will be in Eugene from August 20-30 and Jeff will be in Vegas/Paso Robles from October 10-15. We hope to see as many of you as possible on these trips and are both sorry we can’t make it to both places.

More soon from the McBrides,

Hillary

Chipiphany

Chip (or Pope's hat?)

I had an epiphanic flashback yesterday; a flashback to an epiphany I experienced while living in Japan. I still remember vividly the day I realized Japanese chip bags open differently than American chip bags. I’d been living in Japan for about 4 months at the time, and was relatively used to swearing at Japanese engineering every time I tried to enjoy the crunchy snack. The damn bags would NOT open. Was I doing something wrong? Was the bag design seriously, catastrophically, failed? I mean, how hard could it be to open a bag of chips? I did have some experience on this front after all...

Traditional chip opening process in the good ol’ U S of A:
Step 1: Firmly grasp either side of the bag near top seam.

Step 2: Gently pull sides of bag apart until the seam opens.

Step 3: Enjoy crunchy, salty goodness.

In Japan the process went more like this:
Step 1: Firmly grasp either side of the bag near top seam.

Step 2: Gently pull sides of bag apart until the seam...

Step 3: Firmly pull sides of bag apart until the seam...

Step 4: Swear.

Step 5: Grab either side of bag in a death grip, jerk, twist and pull apart until the seam...

Step 6: Repeat steps 4 and 5

Step 7: Search for scissors. Swear. You have no scissors.

Step 8: Grab knife. Consider chip homicide.

Step 9: Stab bag until it surrenders inner contents.

Step 10: Enjoy finely smashed pieces of previously crunchy salty goodness.

There must be a better way, I thought. Indeed there was. While eating lunch with a group of Japanese colleagues, one of them pulled out a bag of chips. FINALLY I thought, I would see how the locals convinced these little plastic vaults to release their fried treasures. He grabbed the chip bag at the top corner, twisted the seam and pulled straight down, opening a gap along the side of the bag, not along the top.

Stained glass in Aachen Cathedral, Aachen Germany

It was truly a beautiful moment.

I sat there for a few moments dumbstruck, a quirky smile frozen on my face; lost in this, the perfect metaphor for a foreigner living abroad. 

When we move or travel to a new place, we bring our own cultural “tool-belt” with us. Our definitions, interpretations, assumptions and rationale are always along for the ride. When we encounter something that seems similar, we naturally approach it with the tools we’ve brought with us. Often times to great frustration. Like using a hammer to type this blog post, or a screwdriver to stir my coffee in the morning. It might work, (I got the chip bag open eventually), but there is usually an infinitely easier and more graceful tool for the job, if we just open ourselves to the possibility of discovering it.

This is part of the joy (and pain) of living abroad; the opportunity to add more tools to our belts. If we can stay conscious after bashing our heads against the wall, that is.

Yesterday, I discovered that chip bags in Germany are the same as those in Japan, which led to the recollection above. I enjoyed the chips without incident or trauma, having just the right tool to complete the task. 

What chipiphanies await us here in Germany I wonder...?

Hillary and Jeff

"Sooooo Niiiiiiice."

Three months in Bonn

Church in Beaune

Working amidst people from all over the world can be entertaining, fascinating, and frustrating in equal measure. I’m learning to de-colloquialize my speech, omit slang and enunciate words to be more widely understood.  Not that misunderstandings are without their upsides. A couple weeks ago, I invited a group of colleagues to a local Spanish tapas bar for a few drinks and appetizers. I thought it would be a good chance to get to know each other better. At the time, the tentative and slightly horrified reaction to my invitation was a bit baffling. I found out a week later that everyone thought I was inviting them, not to a tapas bar, but to a “topless” bar. I’m not sure what’s more funny, the misunderstanding, or the fact that everyone still showed up.

January was a good month for the McBrides.  After a relatively sedentary December, we grabbed the “I’m-living-in-Europe bull” by the horns and gave him a good ride. Amongst our sojourns were a day trip to Cochem via train, a weekend road trip to Beaune, France, and a five-day mini-vacation to Rome, Italy. 

Each trip was magical in its own way. Cochem is a quaint, cobblestoned town nestled in the heart of the Mosel River Valley, a destination for regional wine connoisseurs and renown for its beautiful and dramatic vineyards. The vines seem to cling, more than grow on the steep hillsides rising up from the river.  There are certain views in the places I’ve lived that I never grow tired of seeing; that first glimpse of impossibly azure ocean north of Chatan in Okinawa; The aqueducts in Queretaro, Mexico; the old McKenzie highway drive in Oregon. The train ride down the Mosel valley between Koblenz and Cochem will be added to that list.  There’s just something about old castles, repurposed as wineries, perched on hillsides surrounded by vineyards that takes the breath away. Then again, I’ve always been a sucker for anything wine related.

Wine tasting in the caves in Beaune

Inspired by the beauty of Cochem, we decided to see what other locations we could reach on a weekend trip.  The options were...staggering. Especially for us Americans, used to driving 12-14 hours to visit family, only to turn around a few days later and drive back.  This type of “marathon” driving seems to stun people from most other countries. The British seem particularly horrified by the idea of driving for longer than two hours at a time. Distance is relative it would seem ;) 

Amsterdam? Liege? Paris? Champagne? Basel? Vienna? Berlin? After reviewing the long list of options, we decided two things. One, we would take a weekend trip to Beaune and Dijon France, heart of the Burgundy wine region (about 6 hours away). Two, we definitely needed to buy a car. Soon. 

Despite our “free” upgrade from Avis, a gutless monstrosity of a French minivan called a Berlingo, we had an excellent road trip. We drove through three countries before noon, a new experience, and found Beaune to be beautiful. Again, I have a hard time seeing anything wrong with a town thats “raison d’etre” is wine. Wine growing. Wine tasting. Wine aging. Under the cobblestone streets of the partially-walled city, 5 million bottles of wine age in miles and miles of subterranean caves. We spent 10 euros a piece to enter part of the caves and self-taste 15 selected wines. The tour began and ended in a 12th century church where we met Laurent, the lovely and rather bored house sommelier.  As January is off season, and we were the only visitors at the time, he invited us to his private wine library for some additional tasting. Gee....OK.

St. Peters Basilica at night

We spent a small, very delicious fortune on French wine that day and have an open invitation to come back and visit Laurent anytime. Who wants to join us? One thing of note to mention, I was always confused when I saw French wines in the wine shop because they rarely mention the type of wine on the bottle. What we learned was that French wines are very regional. So, if you are a drinking a white wine from Burgundy, it is always Chardonnay and if you are drinking a red wine from Burgundy, it is always Pinot Noir. They further classify the wines by the town where the grapes are grown.

Three days after returning to Bonn from Beaune, we took off for Rome. At this point we were feeling a bit glutinous with our traveling excess. Like a kid in a candy shop who gets two peanut clusters, a jawbreaker AND a pound of gummy bears. It’s hard to limit yourself with how comparatively close everything is and how comparatively cheap it is to get there. Regardless, Rome was no less amazing for all our recent traveling.

St. Peters Basilica, inside looking up

All I can say about Rome is, wow. It’s almost an embarrassment of riches. That one town houses the Parthenon, the Coliseum, Trevi fountain, and a whole ‘nother little country, is impressive to say the least. And I haven’t even talked about the food yet. The cheese, and the pizza, and the gelato, and the suppli, and the pasta, and the wine. I don’t know how those people are not all morbidly obese, but if they walk even a quarter of what we did each day, that might be the answer.  If we weren’t eating and drinking, we were walking.  That about sums up Rome. Walk. Eat. Drink. Walk. Dodge Chinese tour group. Walk. Walk. Eat. Drink. Walk. Walk. Plug ears as endless sirens wail by. Walk. Walk. Eat. Drink. Drink. Drink. Sleep. Repeat.

One morning, while sipping a cappuccino and watching the morning market spring to life in the Campo di Fiori, we watched as a truck slightly nudged one of the vendors boxes of produce. The vendor immediately erupted into frantic gesticulations and rapid-fire Italian with a lot of “EHHH’s!!!!!” and “OHHH’s!!!!’ a la Silvio and Pauli in the Sopranos. Immediately the other vendors joined in with a chorus of “EHHH’s” and “OHHH’s” ringing through the plaza. In Italy, you never have to complain alone. Your indignation will always find an echo. 

We will always remember Rome with two simple words: "Soooo niiiiice" spoken as if you were currently receiving a delicious massage. We heard these words from one of the many men lined along the street trying to make a living by selling various plastic pieces of crap to the tourists tramping to and from the coliseum. Strangely enough, this particular tout was selling a gelatinous ball that spats flat when thrown to the ground, makes the sound of a kitten being run over by a car, and then slowly metastasizes back to its original ball-shaped form. "Sooooo niiiiiiice."

We’ve been back in Bonn now for a week, getting settled in for a bit before our next trip (destination TBD). Yesterday, we test drove a lovely dark blue Audi A3.  Watching Jeff as he pulled onto the autobahn and shifted into 6th gear was hilarious.  Giddy is the only word that suffices.  Boys and their toys.  It goes without saying, there will be more road trips in our near future.

Love to you all.

One lightning bug, coming up

Mark Twain once said: The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.

Christmas market goodness

I’ve been waiting patiently over this last month for the right word, or words, to write another update of our European adventures; Maybe a funny anecdote to start it off, or an allegorical theme of some sort. Since inspiration has not struck, and it’s been well over a month since the last post, I’m just going to settle for the more banal lightning bug variety update to keep you abreast of the latest.

And what do all boring updates begin with? Cue weather discussion: The weather has been seriously bad, which limited our social activities to reading smutty books (Hillary), playing video games (Jeff) and watching movies in our pajamas whilst eating (joy of newly found joy) microwave popcorn. Quite the jet-setter life-style eh? We had lots of rain, a few days of snow, and everything in between. All in all, so far the winter here has closely resembled winters back in Oregon. Must. Find. Vitamin. D. Supplement. I even got my annual cold, which has kept me in bed more often than not over the past 5 days.

I will say though, that watching the weather in Bonn is really quite entertaining. The wind is epic, pushing storms in and out of the area with impressive speed. It can be sunny with a few clouds at 10:13, torrentially deluging at 10:14, thundering and lightning at 10:15, sideways hail and gale-force winds at 10:17, and sunny again by 10:20. Violent weather is fun to watch from the inside, but not so fun to deal with whilst commuting. I considered starting “umbrella dancing” as a new hobby, which consists of twisting/spinning/dodging in the wind to keep your umbrella angled correctly so you stay dry AND keep the umbrella right-side-out. It’s a highly technical sport and very tricky, especially when walking over bridges, in heels and a skirt.  In the end I decided against it as it required too much outside time in inclement weather.

Prague Castle and Charles Bridge by night

When we did manage to get out, it was usually to visit one of the really cool Christmas markets in the area. Germans really know how to do the holidays right. I’m already looking forward to more spiced wine, waffles, apple cakes, Baileys hot chocolate, sausages, mushrooms in garlic cream sauce, fried potatoes with applesauce, fish sandwiches, gingerbread and other German festival food in 2012. 

Jeff was the busiest of us both in December, finishing up several projects for clients back home, while keeping up his house-husband duties on the home front.  His man “lair” is completely set up now allowing him access to a ridiculous amount of electronics. Last week I came home to find him sitting in front of the mac desktop “Stig” whilst balancing the mac laptop “mini-stig” on his lap and holding his new iPhone “tiny-stig” in his left hand. Hello, my name is Jeff McBride, and I am a mac-a-holic. “Hellooooo Jeff.”

Prague

My work in December was also not much to write home about. It was a quiet month with most people at the climate change conference in South Africa and/or on vacation. I unfortunately was not eligible to do either as the newest recruit on the team. Hopefully next year, I will get to attend the conference in Qatar and take at least a week off over the holidays.

We did however, manage a fabulous 5 day trip to Prague, where we spent Christmas amongst the other holiday tourists. Prague was simply stunning and had been on my list of “must sees” for 12 years.  Whilst there, we accidentally attended the funeral of Vaclav Havel (With the Clinton's, two British Prime Ministers, Sarkozi and others of import in attendance), ate/drank nearly every consumable available at the Christmas market, visited a Dali and a Mucha exhibition, attended a performance of the Prague royal orchestra, drank a lot of delicious Czech wine (who knew?), and walked our feet off seeing all the sights of the city.

2012 sparklers

Also enjoyable in December was our new years eve celebration, spent in a Spanish tapas bar in Bonn with an Australian couple, a guy from Lithuania, a German, a Colombian, and a Peruvian. That night was very fun, until I mixed a lot of red wine with a lot of champagne. Midnight fireworks = awesome. My personal fireworks show beginning at 2:30am = not so awesome. Still though, a night to remember (or forget) and a a properly explosive transition between 2011/2012.

Next up, we’re heading to Rome for 5 days at the end of January for a little mini-vacation. Tickets were 50 Euro round trip so hard to beat. Also, we’ll be attending language courses for 2 hours, 3 nights a week beginning in February. Wish us luck!

  

Love and hugs. More soon in 2012. 

Same same, but different

Sunrise while walking to work

December greeted us with the first rain we’ve seen in well over a month. Apparently, this winter has been the driest on record for Bonn. The locals keep bundling up and carrying umbrellas, sure the bad weather will strike at any moment, but each day ends with clear skies and unseasonably mild temperatures. The Oregonian in me remembers what a valley in November is usually like, and is loving every gorgeous sunrise and sunset while they last.

Enough about weather...on to the good stuff.

Inside of Aachen Dom, Germany

Our latest observation on living abroad is that life is still, well, life. I still wake up every morning laughing at my alarm, thinking I must’ve set it wrong the night before because it can’t possibly be time to wake up yet. We still grocery shop, do laundry, clean, cook and do the dishes. I still go to work every day, stare at a computer screen for 8 hours, then come home ready for pajamas and a glass of wine. It all seems very banal and exceedingly...normal, even if everything is that much harder to figure out in German.  

I’m not sure what I expected, leaving everything behind and embarking on this new adventure. I think I just knew it was time for a change.  Change we got, though not as much as we might have expected.

Here are just a few examples of how things are (not so) different here in Germany:

Pledge:  Any housekeeper worth their salt knows that lemon-scented Pledge is the cornerstone to any positive dusting experience. Germany has Pledge, but it’s brown and smells like bug spray. #cleaningproductfail

Bonn Christmas market from a distance

Meat:  Jeff purchased a package of meat that looked a bit like SPAM. Thinking it was ready made slices of ham, he grilled it up and served it for lunch with potatoes. I was a bit suspicious, so translated the name on the front of the package.  Just so you know, LeberKase, means liver cheese. After further googling we discovered that liver cheese is not nearly as bad as it sounds, but I still refuse to eat it on the grounds that those two words should never be placed so closely together. In fact, if cheese is included in a two word title, it should ALWAYS be the first word. Cheese bread, delicious. Head cheese, gross. Cheese tortellini, bello! Liver cheese, no thank you.

Sunday: Is a day when you can do...nothing. We learned very early on that EVERYthing is closed on Sundays. Grocery stores, malls, laundromats, even the “convenience” stores close is observance of this day of rest. This last Sunday, we tried to take advantage of our day of nothing by hanging paintings in our apartment. Two nails in, we heard a knock at the door. It was our downstairs neighbor who asked, rather haughtily, if we were “working”. When we said yes, she stated “No working on Sundays! Too loud!”  And with that, we were silenced. Sometimes “Ze Germans” really need to lighten up.

Phones:  The local dialing convention is still a mystery to me. I always seem to dial the wrong number, or somehow dial the number so it doesn’t go through properly.  When trying to dial UPS to inquire after a package stuck in customs, I accidentally called a German phone sex line. I spent $6.50 before I realized what I had called and WHO I was speaking with. I don’t know who was more confused, me or her.

Gluhwein (and mug)

Gluhwein: Germans REALLY know how the do the holiday season. Now through December there are GORGEOUS christmas markets set up in the center of all cities. The speciality at these market is a hot, spiced wine called Gluhwein. When you first order Gluhwein from a booth, you pay extra to have it served in a porcelain mug, which you can then pay to refill as often as you want. Jeff and I thought we just needed to figure out how to ask for the “to-go” cup, and amassed quite a collection of these mugs over the past week. We just yesterday learned that you are supposed to RETURN the mugs and get your initial deposit once you are done drinking for the night. This weekend we’ll tour the market again and return all the mugs. Gluhwein kleptos no more.

We will be in Prague for Christmas and are still trying to figure out plans for New Years. We have looked into many different places, but may just end up staying in Bonn due to exorbitant prices this time of year. We are also trying to plan our trip calendar for next year, so if you plan to come to Germany, please put your request in now. Our IKEA fold-out couch is filling up for 2012 :)

All the best to you and yours, and may the end of 2011 bring many beautiful things.

Hillary and Jeff

The Ski Pole Ethic

One Month in Bonn...

Germans have a love affair with ski poles. Every Saturday, at train stations all across Germany, large groups of middle-aged Germans gather together to embark on outdoor adventures. Without fail, they are equipped with hiking boots, zip-off waterproof pants, day packs, and ski poles. Always the ski poles.

The use of ski poles in Germany is not just confined to weekend hiking trips however. People walk their dogs with ski poles. Carry home groceries with ski poles. Ride their bikes, you guessed it, with ski poles.

Initially I regarded this practice as overly cautious, heinously over prepared, and more than a little silly. But, when in Bonn...

While I have yet to adopt the ski pole fetish, I have adopted a rather ski pole-esk philosophy on various aspects of my life here in Germany. I'll call it the ski pole ethic for lack of a better term. After all, it can't hurt to be overly cautious and uber prepared when setting the foundation for a new life in a new country.

Example #1: Friends. 

I have become a people collector. The first few weeks in Germany, I felt so isolated and alone that the sight of groups of people laughing together made me weepy (see previous post). I've never been one to wallow in misery (for long) about things I could not change however, so I've adopted the ski pole ethic to finding friends and am becoming overly prepared.

I've turned down no invitation, let no social gathering go unattended, and doggedly pursued promising people to interview for "friend" status. During coffee breaks, or lunch with likely people, I cautiously probe, ask questions, illicit conversations and interview (covertly) said person to be my friend. These things take time however, and shared experience, and usually alcohol, but I am quickly amassing an international coven of good people that may fit the bill. I do wonder however, when the time comes, how to confirm their friend status. Life is not so easy as Facebook. I think I will just revert to kindergarden and simply ask "Will you be my friend?" and hand them a lollipop. That will surely work.

Example #2: Work. 

After two weeks of basically creating my own induction course to the UN, including recommended people to shadow and courses of self-study, something had to give. No one was telling me what to do or what was expected of me. I was left to my own devices all day everyday while my teammates and boss buzzed around me singing the busy-bee song. Time to extend those ski poles. I looked at what was being done by others on my team, compared that to the key objectives outlined by the Board, and filled the gaps. I wrote my own work plan with objectives, tasks, and time lines and presented it to my boss on Friday of week two. He seemed a bit flabbergasted but approved the plan, and now I get to make honey too ;)

Example #3: Language. 

I WILL learn German. Even though everyone here speaks English and the grammar rules are ridiculous. Even though there are18 ways to say the word "the" and a single word can be as long as the Emancipation Proclamation, I WILL adopt the ski pole ethic and learn German. You just never know when it might come in handy. In regards to other languages, I've spoken more Spanish here than I have since leaving Mexico in 1998. Portuguese is also widely spoken and my next-door neighbor is Japanese. I find myself speaking tidbits of five languages on a daily basis, and love every moment of it, even if it does make me forget English. Yesterday, while on a day trip with a Columbian woman, it took me three hours to remember what we call the wire stir thing we use to scramble eggs. It's a wire whisk. In case you were wondering.

Example #4: Life. 

Last weekend, a very dear friend of a very dear friend, drowned while rescuing her son from a riptide near their new home in Costa Rica. She was an amazing woman who never said "I can't" and lived life with an unmatched fervor, passion, and spark. She accomplished more in her short life than most do in a full lifetime and leaves behind two young sons, a husband, and swarms of friends. My, and her, dear friend said it best when she said "She died as she lived; loving fiercely." I do not yet know how to incorporate the lessons of this tragic event. I do know however, that I will never again miss the chance to say  I love you to those I care about, I will forgive faster, and I will give daily appreciation to those who grace my life.

You can never be too prepared.