This was not what I had planned for my 500th post but hey let's just roll with it.
I'm simply here to give my friends a sign of life and reassure you that I am managing to stay afloat despite the lack of regular internet connection.
Things are still crazy. We've moved out of the hotel and are now in an empty apartment. I'm having email problems. There was trouble changing things over from my old phone to my new phone. My domain is hosted at a German company called Evanzo and they are 7 hours ahead of us here which means in addition to another problem I'm having, we're straddling an entire workday between the correspondence with them. There are complications with our previous rental property in Germany & two boxes I shipped to Minnesota are still missing. Our container has apparently cleared customs but there's no word on when it will actually arrive on our doorstep. We are so sick of eating out but equally frustrated attempting to cook without our pans and dishes. The new appliances make no sense to me, and I'm inexplicably grieving my old German vacuum cleaner.
I can't find light switches, the rental car got returned and I'm trying to figure out all the buttons on the new one. I have no idea how to recycle or sort my trash. I don't know which electric toothbrush to buy. I get in the ketchup aisle and face so many choices I start to hyperventilate. I stand in line to pay for an item and I notice the woman in front of me is very uncomfortable. I realize I'm standing WAY TOO CLOSE by Minnesota standards and casually back off before she breaks a sweat. A man in a store asked if I was from New York! (I took it as evidence that I'm clearly observed as "not from here" yet people can't quite put their finger on it).
The city has changed so much over the last decade that just when I recognize where I am, I'm confused again within one or two turns. It's SO BIG compared to our old village. I wait at the light while my son goes wild over all the different cars surrounding us. We spot a pimped out Caddy painted in gold flake. It looks like a bowling ball on wheels. The rims still spin while it's standing still. I'm guessing the thugs driving it probably can't scratch two nickels together and I'm totally in love with how they express their creativity through their car. It's so impossibly cool we forget how hard everything feels at the moment.
We miss Germany, we equally love America. We know it could be worse, it's just going to take some time. For now, signing off #500, tj
Ahh your post makes me both happy and sad! But more than anything you have captured long-distance moving frustrations beautifully and with plenty of humour. I LOVE that you are behaving Fränkischly in supermarkets.
Thank you so much for sharing.
Wü misses yü!
xoxo
Posted by: Helen | October 04, 2011 at 09:22 PM
Seriously, who needs that many ketchup choices? Hope you're finding more fun than frustration in the whirlwind of reverse culture shock and international relocation. Oddly, you've managed to make me a little bit nostalgic for it. :)
Posted by: Jul | October 04, 2011 at 11:04 PM
Hi, tj! I left a comment on your last post, but somehow it disappeared. So happy to see you at least begin to get settled in. Have you gotten your art supplies yet? Have you had any US pretzel sightings? I hope you are well!
Posted by: Anne | October 04, 2011 at 11:52 PM
Helen -- I miss Wurzburg too. Get over here soon so we can be in the same time zone!!
Jul -- no kidding about that ketchup, and strangely, no CURRY ketchup. What the heck is going ON around here???
Anne - I'm so sad to hear that my site has lost one of your comments. I accidentally deleted one from my friend Janet too. It just seems to be kind of crazy all around these days. So happy you're here though!
Big hugs!! xxx tj
Posted by: TJ | October 05, 2011 at 02:43 AM
HB and I often say there are so many choices but everything is the same! Sorry to hear you're still having so many problems to deal with. I hope you can get settled soon. I'd be a basket case!
Posted by: Janet | October 05, 2011 at 02:47 AM
Sorry to read that your 500th post is not a true and happy TJ post.
Seems that the whole process of transition is much more complicated than one could have imagined. Hope you settle a bit more and let your American part come out again and adjust to that all-American lifestyle.
Keep hanging in there, girl. And if your art supplies don't arrive quickly, get some markers, some kid paint, glue or tape and some paper. You don't need much to go creating again and settling that mind of yours.
And yes, why do we need so many ketchup anyway...??? :-)
Posted by: Jacqueline | October 05, 2011 at 11:00 AM
Oh I hope things get easier for you soon; though your German-ness in the supermarket did make me smile!
Posted by: fiona | October 05, 2011 at 12:02 PM
What a great post, TJ; it just really captures where you are right now. It made me laugh that your "foreignness" was interpreted as maybe being from New York...lol! I'm sending you continued good wishes as you settle into your new space.
Posted by: Andria | October 05, 2011 at 09:11 PM
If it helps, you made me laugh. I love how you always seem to find something fun about the worst situations. Happy 500.
Posted by: German Gems | October 06, 2011 at 05:12 PM
TJ, Sending you....
Love, Love, Love ~
Art-Making Supplies ~
Time to get used to the Transition ~
Home-cooked meals ~
If all else fails,
Look into Lars' eyes and be well.
Hugs,
DJ
Posted by: DJ | October 09, 2011 at 04:47 PM
Wowzers, sounds craaazy! I'm totally familiar with the flip-side of being in Europe and trying to get used to light switches in odd places and opening doors the wrong way, but getting used to all then and then ten years un-learning it all must be so disorienting! Also, LOVE the fact that this disorientation is being mistaken for being a new yorker! I have a feeling you'd get the same reaction if you had decided to move down south. :) Best of luck, m'dear, and here's to hoping your box of art supplies comes quickly!
-giedre
Posted by: giedre | October 16, 2011 at 08:51 PM