Last Post

This is post #200 and my last post for the blog Oederweg. Our time in Germany is over and a new chapter of our lives has begun. Repatriation is an important part of expatriation, but certainly not as fun and light hearted. I made this video for my friends in Germany before I moved, then discovered Germany blocked it on YouTube. No problem, I sent it to all of them on Facebook. For my American friends, it will be less poignant not knowing all the faces or feeling the pain of saying good-bye, but still is a great summary of our time in Germany. You can watch Gianna grow from a little peanut into a spunky little Fräulein.



Yesterday we visited Gianna's new school and my old/new work. We returned the rental car and tried out taking Dan to the train station at 6am this morning (it was not sooo bad). The flooring is supposed to be delivered to our house today sometime and the installers will get to work on Monday. Our new phones are sitting at a UPS pack station ready to be picked up. Everyone has been pestering us for our new phone numbers. Why do I want to talk to you on the phone anyway? Hahaha, just being mean. But it is nice to travel around anonymous, no way for people to bother me. If you want to contact us, call the Candlewood Suites in Somerset or just send an email.

Last thoughts on repatriation and the new me...

We have been gone for a year and a half. Parts of Germany seeped into my subconscious; returning to America is disorienting. The previously familiar is now unfamiliar. American money seems odd; I forget the denomination of coins. Before walking into a store or doctor's office, I still formulate my greeting and questions in German. Sometimes German words pop out instead of the English. Last night I forgot the English word for mandel (almond). American milk tastes better, but the coffee tastes weak. This morning I stopped at Dunkin Donuts to get a donut for Gianna (as a reward for putting up with that 6am ride to the train station), but passed on the coffee in favor of my home brewed Tchibo German coffee back at the hotel room. I am frustrated by the waste (car commuting, plastic grocery bags, water wasting toilets), by laws and practices that discourage public transportation use, bike riding, and walking, and by the fast paced life that leaves little time for family, friends, or vacation.

Some people think of me as the same person I was two years ago. Don't you love getting back to suburbia, tending a garden, working in the yard, spending your weekends on home repairs, driving all over creation in your car? No. The past year and a half living in an apartment and riding public transit was great! I did not miss the house one bit. I thought maybe I would feel sentimental coming back to the house once I laid eyes on it, but all I feel is resentment. Being up at work yesterday felt great when I imagined living 5-10 mins away in an apartment. I can't wait to go back to enjoying life rather than being a slave to my commute and my high-maintenance property.

So now what? I like blogging too much to say good-bye forever, so I plan to start a 365 blog. What is a 365 blog? The objective is to post a photo each day for one year with only a title and small description, when required. Maybe after 365 days, we will be off on another adventure, who knows. Once I get the blog up, I will post the link. Bis später, tschüss!

Making changes

Today we ventured into a local "gourmet food store" with the hopes of finding a few European products. Instead, I walked out with some American delicacies from their gourmet bakery, chocolate chip cookies and brownies. Gianna gave them two thumbs up.





We have made a few life decisions that have somewhat put my mind at ease. If we can only survive the summer, life should get a little better. The plan is to fix up the house and put it on the market ASAP. New flooring is going in sometime in the next two weeks. Then we need to remodel the master bath and fix a few odds and ends. After the house is under contract, we will move into a rental closer to the city where Dan can walk or ride bike to the train station and my commute is 15 mins or less. Dan will still have a relatively long commute, but not 1.5 hrs. And having only one car will be less of an inconvenience if he does not need rides to/from the train station. We hope to find a community where we can walk to a playground and grocery store...well, I'd just settle for a playground or park. Gianna can't understand why everything is so far away here. Why do we need to get in the car and drive 15 mins to the playground? Can't we just walk 5 mins like in Germany? Clearly we are not in Germany anymore and will have to adjust our expectations.

At least we have each other

Of course there were going to be difficulties readjusting to life in the US. I prepared myself for more fat people and a highly commercialized society. I thought I was ready for dealing with the third world country healthcare system and fixing up the old house, but the USA has brought me to my knees. Today's low-lights:

1. Found an $850 expired check from the mortgage company in our pile of mail from the past 1.5 years.
2. Realized we don't have health insurance cards, and then got turned away from my doctor appointment for no proof of insurance...and then they tried to reschedule for next month. Complaining got me in Wed morning, as long as I bring proof of insurance.
3. When I tried to call Dan for a ride home from my failed appointment, I realized my German T-Mobile plan won't let me call out. This is the point when tears were streaming down my face as I stood there in the downpour with no ride and no way to call anyone for a ride. Then I realized SMS was working. That's very German. So I was able to contact Dan afterall.
4. Found out our ATM cards are expired when we tried to get some US dollars (does anyone here take Euros? Maybe IHOP?)

But on the bright side, that mail pile also revealed our 5-year ARM readjusted to a much lower interest rate than we were paying. We discovered an Indian grocery store within walking distance of the hotel, and Dan was able to get a replacement ATM card for himself and some US dollars from the TD Bank teller. Hooray!

Two days on US soil

We bought a car, a little piece of German engineering:


We stopped by our house. It is a bit of a disaster area. The landscaper is getting fired.


















We talked to both of our neighbors about what's been going on in the neighborhood while we were gone, mostly weather and crime related. The cell phones and flooring for the new house are on order. And today I went to Stop-and-Shop, forgetting with a car, it is possible to purchase more groceries than I can carry. So far, we are accomplishing repatriation tasks more rapidly than expected.