Official German Driver For Sure, Possible New House Renter For Maybe

So It has been a busy couple of days but I am happy to report that it has also been a successful couple of days.

Before I get to what I have been doing, I want to comment that I was excited to hear that the Saints won the Superbowl. I stayed up til midnight to watch the start of the game but gave up trying to stay awake for the whole game when I realized that there were no Superbowl commercials. (See they don't do American commercials here.. only army commercials which provides no comical relief of the Oprah/Jay Leno/Letterman commercial). But I was excited when I woke up the next day to a Saints win. Bobby Hebert I am sure is proud and I was a fan of him back when I lived in Mississippi so if it can't be the Vikings, this was second best. I also was so impressed when I signed on to facebook and I found that so many of you watch the whole game. Then I realized that it wasn't on at midnight where you guys are.. so I am not so impressed with all of you afterall.

Now on to me...

First, let's talk housing. I was about to cry on Monday because I was getting nowhere with finding a house. The problem is that they give me a big housing allowance but they don't have the resources to help me find a house to rent in that price range. So I could get a much lesser apartment or house and be fine with that, but then I would feel like a failure not using my full housing allowance :) Or they would give me a house with ten bedrooms and all this extra room and I wasn't really going for that. I have a nice friendly sargent from the hospital driving me around looking at places and he came into this one house that was two floors and each floor was made to be its own apartment: Therefore, it had two kitchens, two baths, and more rooms than I could count. It was outside a nice little town and he was all about me getting it. He promised me that if I got the house, he would provide the parties and would have no problem taking over one of the floors. I was impressed by his excitement and thought for a second about getting it but realized it was just too much house for little old me. And I was taken back from the landlord continuing to ask, "No children?" "No children?" "No husband?" I think that was the German way of saying "Are you sure you want all of this space just for you?" I did think about adopting kids but then realized I wasn't Angelina Jolie and this might not be the best option.



So I left that house feeling frustrated. I really wanted to find a house because it would make me be a lot more excited (and real) to be here but wasn't sure if I was going to find a place. Then comes Erica Jung. She is an immobilien (German for realtor) and I found an ad in a local online paper. She brought Gretchen and I to GERMAN UTOPIA. It is a German farmhouse that is redone so everything inside is BRAND NEW!!! It is actually two apartments separated so in other words, I have a one bedroom guesthouse for anyone that would like to visit the countryside of Germany!!! Instead of going through all the details, I will post pictures as soon as I can but let me tell you the high points. 1. I CAN HAVE A GARDEN!!!! There is already a plot and he said I could plant whatever I want. 2. There is a fresh farmer's market down the street in the summer. Fresh eggs everyday and produce as available. 3. Pond in the back yard. It is a huge backyard and out the back you see the German countryside and a pond. 4. A wood burning stove. 5. It is perfect. So needless to say that I am pumped. I am going to buy cheap bikes and my new favorite German pasttime is going to be making Gretch and Josh (and any other visitors) bike to the local town with me and go to local restaurants or bars and then bike back. And I am also pumped for fresh strawberries, green beans, cucumbers, and lettuce from the backyard in the summer. I am really pumped for a certain gardening partner to come and help me when she is here. And just for the record I am going to name my garden "The German Dowling Garden" and send pics to our favorite gardener, Jan. (that last blurb about the garden will probably only make sense to Emily J)



And I also got my driver's license today and rented a car. I drove on the autobahn for the first time and officially passed a car!!! But for the record, many more cars passed me... I think that is a typical autobahn experience. I am fine with driving on the autobahn but I am a little nervous about city driving. The signs and lights still confuse me. The most confusing part is that they have tons of traffic circles. I do have to take this moment to thank the City of Eagan for installing the traffic circle about three months before I left to help acquaint me with the joy of traffic circle driving but I still have a lot to learn. I also got a rental car which is a stick shift. I know how to drive a stick shift since Mama K taught me how to in the Miata but I haven't driven one for awhile. Therefore, between learning to drive in a new country and remembering how to drive stick shift, I now have the new adventure of driving without causing an accident.. so that is adventurous!!!

Many people have asked me about my job. I won't really have many updates about my job for the next few weeks. They allot me time to become assimilated to the new environment and country. Which is nice but semi frustrating because I can't just jump into the new "job." However, now that I found a house and have a driver's license, I can start to feel independent here which will help a lot. It has been a little hard to depend this much on Gretchen and other people. But Gretchen has been amazing!!!!!

So now I am sitting at The Rud house as they watch The Bachelor. And I would like to report that Josh is into this show as much (if not even slightly more) than Gretchen. He is commenting on who he wants to win and why they would or not work with Jake "On the Wings of Love" Bachelorman. I will give him the excuse that they only have two channels and I am on the internet but I think that he digs this show and the psychology of dating shows! He did just ask, "Why are girls so emotional?" Anyone that would like to answer this question for Josh can feel free to do so in the comment section of my blog and I will make sure to pass the answer on to him. My question about The Bachelor remains "How do so many people fall head over heels in love with the same guy? How come not even one says... this guy is not for me?"

And finally, Tyson is doing much better. I think that he is getting use to Germany and isn't freaking out during the day... so that is great!!!

I do think that is about all for now. Hopefully, the next time that I write I will be able to say that I got the farmhouse for sure and that I haven't gotten in any car accidents. Also, I do hope to post pictures soon.

Until then,
Meaghan Cherryling