Sonntag, 31. Mai 2015
Auf Wiedersehen Mai
durhamfamily, 13:49h
One month down, 31 to go.
There were complications extending our stay in our original apartment. As it turns out, that apartment was already booked by someone else. So Elizabeth and I were moved to a NEW temporary apartment this week! It's in the same building, just one floor up. *BONUS* we spent 1 night in Hotel Fortuna, drinking blueberry wine.
It pleases me to report that this apartment is remarkably smaller than the first one. There still isn't an oven. We don't have a microwave. There's no balcony. The beds are separate. The arms of the couch are VELCROed on. And the entire space is basically one "big" room. This is the college experience all over again! At least we aren't sharing our bathroom with anyone.
Living in this new space is actually a lot of fun. It is a nice change of pace, and it'll make our permanent apartment feel like a palace! No lie, our permanent place is huge. Come stay with us any time!
This week we had our 4th German lesson. I swear I know less German now than when I arrived. The class is very loosely structured, consisting primarily of the teacher telling us stories, slowly, in half German/half English. I recently realized that my expectations might be a little too high. I've never learned a new language before. We will have 1 year of lessons. That's only a drop in the bucket compared to the decade+ of English lessons the Germans have taken.
It's a shame because I really enjoyed the idea of becoming fluent in another language. When you are in Europe, you gain new perspective on our American laziness. Many Americans will say, "I'm not able to learn another language." Practically everyone in Europe knows and uses multiple languages. It can make you feel slightly mentally challenged.
Elizabeth took a trip to Munich to meet with Marie and Sarah earlier this week. It was awfully rainy, but she had a blast! I'll let Elizabeth tell the story, though.
I spent that time jogging and biking around Schwäbisch Gmünd. I also picked up our MediaMarkt appliances! They arrived at the post office, so I had to go get them. The nice ladies at the post office didn't speak any English, but that wasn't a problem. They let me borrow their hand cart so I could roll the 3 boxes the half mile to our apartment. I can't imagine the US Post Office lending me anything. There's such a trusting atmosphere around here!
Well, it's lunch time now. Have a wonderful Sunday, and I'll talk to you next week!
There were complications extending our stay in our original apartment. As it turns out, that apartment was already booked by someone else. So Elizabeth and I were moved to a NEW temporary apartment this week! It's in the same building, just one floor up. *BONUS* we spent 1 night in Hotel Fortuna, drinking blueberry wine.
It pleases me to report that this apartment is remarkably smaller than the first one. There still isn't an oven. We don't have a microwave. There's no balcony. The beds are separate. The arms of the couch are VELCROed on. And the entire space is basically one "big" room. This is the college experience all over again! At least we aren't sharing our bathroom with anyone.
Living in this new space is actually a lot of fun. It is a nice change of pace, and it'll make our permanent apartment feel like a palace! No lie, our permanent place is huge. Come stay with us any time!
This week we had our 4th German lesson. I swear I know less German now than when I arrived. The class is very loosely structured, consisting primarily of the teacher telling us stories, slowly, in half German/half English. I recently realized that my expectations might be a little too high. I've never learned a new language before. We will have 1 year of lessons. That's only a drop in the bucket compared to the decade+ of English lessons the Germans have taken.
It's a shame because I really enjoyed the idea of becoming fluent in another language. When you are in Europe, you gain new perspective on our American laziness. Many Americans will say, "I'm not able to learn another language." Practically everyone in Europe knows and uses multiple languages. It can make you feel slightly mentally challenged.
Elizabeth took a trip to Munich to meet with Marie and Sarah earlier this week. It was awfully rainy, but she had a blast! I'll let Elizabeth tell the story, though.
I spent that time jogging and biking around Schwäbisch Gmünd. I also picked up our MediaMarkt appliances! They arrived at the post office, so I had to go get them. The nice ladies at the post office didn't speak any English, but that wasn't a problem. They let me borrow their hand cart so I could roll the 3 boxes the half mile to our apartment. I can't imagine the US Post Office lending me anything. There's such a trusting atmosphere around here!
Well, it's lunch time now. Have a wonderful Sunday, and I'll talk to you next week!
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