Kitties and Their Christmas Ribbons

"Mom went shopping, I get the bag!

Nightly Nudi Walk

Napping with the Duki

Me and my Nudi

Lover Kitty

"Ah! Mom's butt, nice and soft!"

Mom's butt warmer

Suki Prints

"Mom wrapped me up for Christmas"

"Mom's favorite present"

"Get this stupid ribbon off me"!

Nudi Water

Why mom always wakes up with a stiff neck

"Mom's clothes are SO comfy!"

Daddy and his Bird

"I the Duki- Monster"

Crotchy

Yesterday was Christmas. Tony and I were invited over to a fellow teacher's house. It was really nice. We had duck (me for the first time, I think Tony had it in China), red cabbage (Tony actually ate and YES, we both stink now), and Knodel.

The fellow teacher's mom was there. That lady is something else. Tony and I have named her Crotchy. Its short for Crotchety Old Lady. She studied in some rinky dink town in Indiana like 40 years ago, but knows EXACTLY what life is like ALL OVER America still today.

She started by telling me how horrible American schools are. Sure most American schools are probably not as good as they could/ should be, but I just felt like she was unnecessarily ripping on my profession.

After I told her that I'm a German Teacher in America, she looked at me with this really confused face and asked me where I was going to teach German and told me they don't teach German in American high schools. It took all of me not to say: " Yes, my university just offered a degree in German Language Education for shits and giggles, there really is no such job in America".

Then she started complaining about how badly Black people are treated in the USA. Yes, I know America has had and still does have issues treating certain groups of people with respect and equality. I just felt like she was pointing fingers without looking at the issues her own country has and has had. It took all of me not to say: "Do I need to remind you that your country killed millions of Jews just over 60 years ago". (And just for the record, I know it was horrible of me to even think that... which is why I would NEVER dream of  saying it.) She also tried telling me that things haven't gotten much better in the USA for Black people. I really wonder if she realizes that Obama is Black.

Then she started complaining about how horrible her host family was because they wanted her to wear Bobby socks and she didn't feel comfortable doing that.... she wanted to wear her knee socks. It took all of me not to say: "Seriously lady, they're SOCKS".

Then she told Tony and I how ugly she thinks American English is and how stupid we sound compared to the British because we use a smaller vocabulary. I just can't imagine EVER saying that to somebody's face. That would be like me telling somebody from Austria that I think the language they speak makes them sound stupid because its not German- German. What does saying something like that accomplish?

She ended the conversation by saying that she had encouraged her kids to go study in America, but none of them ever did.... she thought probably because she had said so many negative things to them about Americans. It took all of me not to say: "If you have the balls to say such ignorant things to two people from America, I can only imagine what all you told your kids".

It doesn't bother me that this lady had her opinions about the USA. In fact, I don't even disagree with everything she's saying... America has had and still does have problems, but seriously lady, you don't think the USA has changed AT ALL in the last 40 some years? Right,  because Germany hasn't changed at all in the last 40 years either. There's still an East and West Germany and you still use the Deutsche Mark. America is a huge country with all different kinds of people. I'm pretty sure that rinky dink town you lived in in Indiana 40 years ago probably didn't represent the entire country very well. I'm not sure any one place in American can represent the entire country.

At the time of the conversation I just really wanted to throw my Knodel in Crotchy's face, but now her ignorance is just funny to me! I've had SO many of these conversations with Germans.

It's one of those cultural differences. A difference that I sometimes find  hard/annoying to deal with. I feel like most Americans probably wouldn't sit at Christmas dinner and rip on somebody's country and way of life.

Maybe she could have said what she felt in a way that wasn't so offensive.... of course that too may be a cultural difference. To a German what she said might not be offensive. Who knows!

I could have in turn listed off a whole number of things that I don't particularly like about living in Germany, but whats the point? There's a quote I've found to be OH SO true after having lived abroad.

It is: "When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make it's own people comfortable."

I wish I would have thought of this quote in the half hour she was telling me how much America sucks!

Snow plow? Shovel? What are those?

 Germans crack me up when it comes to winter weather.  Maybe I just find it funny because I grew up in one of the coldest parts of the the USA  and snow is just a HUGE part of life, but seriously, Germans provide silly entertainment in the winter.

Example One: Its 40 degrees out and Germans have their thick winter jackets, mittens, and hats on. Tony and I get looked at all funny because we've still got flip flops and shorts on.

Example Two: Tony and I were waiting for the bus the other day. It was WAY late (as usual) so we stood and watched a man across the street clean snow off his car. This was the highlight of our weekend. If he hadn't been only 10 ft. away from us, Tony and I would have been laughing hysterically. It took him (NO LIE) 40 minutes to clean four inches of snow off his car. 1. He had a scraper so small I'm almost positive it was made to use on a Matchbox Car. 2. Instead of turning on the car and cranking the defrost or even just turning it on, he kept spraying this liquid crap on the windows and then stared at it while it SLOWLY only kind off melted the snow/ice on his windows. 3. Instead of pushing the snow from on top of the car off the side of the car onto the ground, he kept pushing it back onto the windows which he has just spent 10 minutes spraying with his dinky little spray bottle.... which obviously meant he once again had to spray and scrape the windows. 4. By the time he would scrape one side of the car's windows clean, the other side's windows were frozen again... so he'd get out the spray bottle again. 5. Heaven forbid there be one little flake of snow on his car. He went around his car to get every little tiny piece of snow off of the car with his little Matchbox Car scraper. 6. Then FINALLY 40ish minutes later the guy gets in his car and drives off without warming the car up at all. If he really cared so much about his car to get EVERY LITTLE piece of snow off of it, you'd think he'd at least warm the thing up for a little. It was like watching something from a movie... like from the Three Stooges or something.... Then after spending all the time watching the guy clean his car off, Tony and I realized that the buses don't run on holidays, so we'd been standing outside for nothing! Sure was entertaining though. I wish we'd have been able to film it.

Example Three: It takes them like 4 days to plow 4 inches of snow off the streets. That's an inch a day, I guess. It probably doesn't help that most of their snow plows are glorified four wheelers with plows on the front. I've only ever seen two "real" snow plows.

Example Four: The other day, Tony calls me into the kitchen to look out the window at the woman shoveling across the street. Instead of shoveling the snow horizontally across her driveway, she was pushing the snow all the way from her house down to the street (not a short driveway). When she got to the end of the driveway, she would struggle to pick the snow up and throw it. The funny part: 1. She was throwing all the snow in the street right where the plow was going to plow it right back into her driveway and 2. half the snow she was throwing was being blown right back onto her driveway.

Example Five: People just plain don't shovel the side walks here. I'm getting calves like the Hulk from walking in all the snow. Its murder on your boots!

Catching Up

So, its been a really LONG time since I've written anything on here. Not really sure if many people are reading this anyway, but for those of you who do, sorry its been so long.

Things have been going really well for Tony and I. I (Emily) LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE my school! The teachers are great and have gone WAY out of their way to make me feel welcome. I love my students. I especially love teaching 5th and 6th grade. Things have worked out perfectly! Jesus knew just what he was doing when he placed me at the Schubart Gymnasium in Aalen. I've already requested to stay another year and Tony needs to finish he Master's, so it works out perfectly. I won't know for sure if I can stay another year until early 2011, but it sounds promising. Keep your fingers crossed for me! 

One of my favorite lessons I've taught was at Halloween. I carved Pumpkins with my seventh graders!



For more pumpkin carving pics. click here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2175347&id=185005169&l=6bf053f4b8

Apparently according to the bus company in my town, my name is Emily Znkger.

Kitty Litter

Today was a GREAT success!

We found cat litter that works!!!!!!!!

I'm sure most of you are rolling your eyes, but  NO NO NO...this makes me a VERY happy woman! I think the kitties were getting mad at us because we kept bringing home crappy kitty litter.

You should have seen BooBoo when we brought home the good stuff. She was just beaming. It's like she was saying: "Gee, thanks mom" like Cindy from the Brady Bunch.

Now, if only we could get them to scoop their own poop.

British? I think not!

I've (Emily) been teaching here in Aalen for about a month now. I really like it so far. 99% of the time anyway.

I'm teaching two 5th grade English classes, two 8th grade English classes, two 8th grade Geography classes, two 7th grade Geography classes, a 9th grade English class and an 11th grade English. At the moment I'm teaching a 13th grade (yes Germans go to school for 13 years, though this is changing) English class because the teacher is on an exchange to Pennsylvania with some students from my school.

I love my 5th graders. Both classes are so CUTE! On Thursday and Friday mornings I get to ride the bus with some of my girls to school in the morning. They are just the sweetest things.

One seventh grade class makes me crazy. I call them "little monsters" and they know it too. Last class period one kid flicked a little piece of plastic into another kid's eye. Yes, they were boys. I swear boys at the middle school level are the same in EVERY country!

The other other 7th grade class is my favorite class. It is full of the sweetest girls who actually want to learn and have a sense of humor. This is the class I carved pumpkins with. Click the link to see the pictures.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2175347&id=185005169&l=6bf053f4b8

My 8th grade classes are good too, although the hormones tend to take over sometimes.

9th grade is great. Puberty is over for the most part and the students are old enough that you can joke around with them, but still young enough that they still see you as an authority figure and listen to what you say.

The 11th grade class I have is interesting. It's one of those classes that makes time drag on and on because nobody participates. Their regular teacher tells me they're always like this, even when I'm not there. I guess they have the reputation of being the quietest class in the school. They literally just stare at you when you ask questions. I've asked then if they can understand me and they say yes and I know they really can understand me because when one of them FINALLY gets the guts to talk, it's always really good and interesting. I don't know if this class is just made up of a bunch of quiet people or if they're afraid to make mistakes in front of each other, but I swear I hear crickets when I work with this class. It's such a contrast to the other classes I teach and to the classes I've taught at home where you can't get the kids to shut up!

The 13th grade English class is pretty easy. I feel bad for them though. They have to read these REALLY boring stories about the Brits colonizing places like India and Africa. It's a real snooze-fest for the most part, but the kids have to learn it because I guess on  their "Abitur" (sort of like a graduation test) they ask specific questions about each story. UGG! The students are all really nice though!

I only have one complain about my school so far....

They seem to hold British English to a higher standard and sometimes make me feel as though my American English is somehow ugly and inferior to British English. One teacher even tries to correct my pronunciation and spelling. Like, I'll say something and then she says it three more times to the students as if I'm saying it wrong because I'm not saying it the way the British would. It can get annoying.  She seems to get annoyed with me because I spell things like favorite without the "u" and organized with a "z" instead of an "s". I guess I didn't realize how many differences there are between American and British English before starting at this school.

The other day in 7th grade Geo. I was teaching the students the parts of a tree and I came to the word "branches" I said it how an American would say it and then she said "No it's branches" with the British pronunciation. I felt like she was telling me that I don't know how to speak my own language and the worst thing is that she did it in front of the students. Yea, thanks for making me look like an idiot. I feel like she could say: "That's the way an American says it and this is the way the British would say it", but to just flat out tell the kids that the way I was saying the word was wrong is kinda of ridiculous, I think.  I think this teacher learned British English a long ago and hasn't come to the realization yet that American English is also considered proper English.

If the school finds British English better somehow, ok, I can respect that. I'd be more than willing to teach kids things the British way if that's what they need to learn, but I feel like expecting me to do it with no time to prepare is unrealistic. It's almost like expecting me to speak a foreign language.


.

My First Week Here

So I (Tony) have been in Germany for a week and it has been great.  I really enjoy being here and experiencing all the culture.  People are telling me they want to hear what I think of Germany, so here I go.  For the most part there are small differences like transportation, the way the houses are built, and the food.  The houses are so simple but still cool.  I like riding the bus, but the Aalen buses are not really good at being on time.  The first night I was here we went to the store to get some cat litter.  We put it in my luggage to carry it back, but cobblestone roads and luggage wheels don’t go together.  By the time we got back the wheels were all broken.  Opps.  I went to school with Emily on Friday and it was cool.  The kids were cutie and they knew a lot of English and they were smart too.  On Saturday we got up really early and went to Oktoberfest with Emily’s friend Susan.  The train ride was an experience because there were no seats because everybody was going to Munich.  There were some drunken guys singing and being crazy.  We were standing for 2 hours but we finally got there and in to the festival grounds.  I thought it was just going to be people drinking, but it was a carnival with people getting smashed.  It was like a fair, but with more drinking and no 4-H projects.  Susan almost got puked on and we saw a lot of wasted people.  It was a pretty fun experience though.   As you all can imagine Emily was greatly enthused.  We were talking to a girl on the way back and she said I was pretty adventurous going to Oktoberfest after being in the county for 3 days. 

All the cars here are Benz’s, BMW, VW, or Audi, well I am exaggerating a little, but not really.  Everybody has a nice car and even the buses and work trunks are Mercedes Benz.  Shopping in a grocery store is different here, one cause a lot of things are cheaper and they push you through the checkout line like a herd of cows.  They scan your stuff ask for money and move on.  I have been pretty independent in trying to order food and riding and walking into town.   

The best thing about Germany so far is the Doner, and the Windows/Doors.  Doner is a Turkish food that has finely sliced beef in a pita with lettuce, onions, and a great sauce.  It is so good and at 1.50 euro you can’t go wrong.   

The windows and door are so cool and usable.  They can be closed shut, open all the way and then just opened at the top to get some air in.   click on the link and you will see how cool they are   http://image.made-in-china.com/4f0j00tezQGIAaBUpr/German-Style-Wood-Window.jpg  They are so smart to do this and it works so well.  Well that is what I have to say for not, but I am sure I will have more to say.  

 Tschuess(Bye)

For more pictures look at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2174811&id=185000672&l=9941f0113b

Tony and the kids are here!

Tony and the kids arrived yesterday! It was def. a day to remember for a several reasons.

1. My train decided to take a 40 min. pit stop in the middle of a corn field due to electrical difficulties. (I don't seem to be having the greatest luck with German trains so far!)

2. Tony's plane was delayed by two hours.

3. Punky peed all over.

4. We had to give Spunky and Ruthie a bath.

5. We traipsed through town with 20lb. of cat litter.

I arrived at the airport almost an hour late due to the a fore mentioned pit stop in a corn field. I'm all freaking out thinking Tony and the kids had probably been standing there for an hour wondering where and the heck I was. I wasn't aware that his plane was delayed.

Then I get to the airport and I'm standing there forever and EVER. Finally, I overheard a bunch of American military men behind me complaining about how they too were waiting for somebody who was on the flight from Chicago. Then I at least felt a little better about my corn pit stop.... not that this pit stop had been my fault.

FINALLY, after what seemed like a million years later, Tony walks out with a mountain of luggage and my CHILDREN... in pink carriers. I gave him and big kiss.  Then I smelled something REALLY REALLY bad. Apparently Spunky had pissed herself on the ride over. Man, did she stink and we had to smell her on the train from Frankfurt to Stuttgart and then on the train from Stuttgart to Aalen and then on the bus to our house. On the train from Stuttgart to Aalen we didn't even sit down, we just stood in the doorway of the train because we didn't want to make other people smell Spunky stench. At one point, we looked down and pee was leaking from her cage...... Do they make diapers for kitties?

Spunk smelled so bad from sitting in her cage and pee that we had to give her a bath. At first she hated it, but then I think she realized "Hey, if they give my a bath, then I won't have to lick all this pee off of myself." and then she just kind of sat in the tub and willingly let me give her a bath. We gave Ruthie a bath too because she smelled a little funny too. She too took the bath really well. Very proud mama. Oh man did they look like little rats though. SEE PICS ON THE KITTY ADVENTURE PAGE

We didn't have enough cat litter for all three cats so we had to take the bus back into town to get bags of litter. Trying to get multiple bags of cat litter home is a lot harder when you don't have a car. We took a carry on sized suitcase with us, but the litter was so heavy that we ended up screwing up on of the wheels... I'm sure the cobblestones didn't help either.

So that was our first night together in Germany as a family!

Weekend in the Alps!

Second Day of School

Today was my second day of school. I had yesterday off because nobody needed any help. It actually turned out to be a really good thing that I had yesterday of because.... well lets just say the stuff coming out of my nose was not of normal color or consistency. Thank God my doctor gave me 4 rounds of anti biotic to take with me before I left so I wouldn't have to go to the doctor here in Germany when I have a sinus infection. (After you have sinus surgery you're extremely  prone  to sinus infections for about a year there after.... not that I wasn't already REALLY prone to them.)

So enough about the inside of my face.

School was really good today. I went to one on English class with the 13th grade. They were reading this story about an American in India. The point of the story was to show students things each culture finds important or significant. For example, the Indian man was very proud of his religion and his family whereas the American man was very proud of his money and material things.

After that class there was a 20 min. break, where I painfully hung out in the teacher's room. It's getting better though. I suppose it will get less and less awkward each day.

Then I went to an 8th grade Geography class that was in English. In eighth grade students learn all about America. Today their task was to fill in a few of the "important" states and their capitals on a map.

Then with that same class we did English.

Then I had an hour break.... again, painfully in the teacher's room.

Lastly I went into two 5th grade English classes. I was again really impressed with what they knew! As long as you talked very slowly and used very simple English, you could use only English with them. I really don't know why the United States doesn't get  it's act together when it comes to teaching younger kids foreign languages because they just soak it up like sponges!!!!!

Tomorrow I will be with a 10th and 11th grade English class in the morning and then 9th grade Geography in the afternoon.

I'm official now too because I got keys to the building and everything! I even have a key to the teachers bathroom. THANK GOD because the kid's bathroom is really gross!

This weekend I am going on a girls weekend to a spa in the mountains with some teachers from my school. The spa is near the Neuschwannstein Castle.... which I'm really excited about because that area is GORGEOUS!!!!! Hmm, maybe after a weekend away with some teachers the teacher's room won't be so painful!

First Day of School

Today was my first day of school. It was interesting. Up until now, I've always played the role of a student while in Germany. This time I am a teacher. It feels a little weird.

It was a little awkward at first because we got there really early and all the teachers were standing around talking and wishing each other good luck on the new school year. I tend to get overwhelmed in large groups of people where I'm expected to make small talk in English, so being forced to make small talk with people I don't know in my second language was well... overwhelming.  I just seem to function better in one-on-one or small group settings, but I know that's not always possible, so today I took as a learning experience. All the teachers were very nice though and were all very interested in talking with me.

I find how the teacher's room works here interesting. There are a bunch of table and chairs in the room and each teacher is assigned to a table and to a specific chair at that table. I was assigned to a table with student teachers and university students doing their practicums. This is very nice because they are all about my age.

Today I went to two eighth grade English classes. I was really impressed with how much they know. They are already at the point of using only English in the classroom. Eighth grade is the first year students get introduced to American English and American Culture. A lot of the students today said they had a hard time understanding me because they were used to hearing only British English. As the students were saying that couldn't understand my American English, in the back of my head I was thinking that my nasally Wisconsin accent probably doesn't help either.

Tomorrow I have off which is probably good because I feel like I might be getting a sinus infection and having tomorrow to sleep might help me fight it off!  On Wednesday I will go and see 10th and 11th grade English classes.

Overall it was a good day. I don't feel like there were very many surprises for me  because I've been a student at a German Gymnasium as well, but I'm sure there are many surprises lurking around corners that I'm not anticipating!

Cologne

Today I got back from a 4 day Fulbright conference in Koeln. Getting there was quite the adventure. NO... I did not get on a wrong bus or train. This time it was totally NOT my fault.

So we're supposed to the Fulbright people at the main train station in Koeln at 3:30 on Monday because the conference was outside Koeln and they bussed us to and from the train station. My friend Susan and I planned our train trip so we would end up getting there at 3:00. We were hoping to have some time to walk around a little because there's this REALLY huge and famous church built right next to the train station.

Everything is going fine. We're sitting on the train admiring the Rhein, but then we get to Bonn. The conductor comes over the loud speaker saying that the train is no longer going to be going to Koeln and that we have to get out. So we end up having to take an hour ride on a street car to Koeln. (Normally the train trip from Bonn to Koeln would have been like 15, maybe 20 min.) Keep in mind too that this street car was jam packed because everybody else on our train had to do the same thing we did. It was really hot and the windows didn't open.

Once we get to Koeln we're dancing around the train station for awhile because we had been told a lady from the group had stayed behind to find us. After what seemed like forever, we couldn't find the lady, so we left.

From the train station in Koeln we had to take another street car about 15 min. to the last stop and from there we had to catch a taxi to where the conference was being held. Luckily we ran into two other girls from the Fulbright groups so we were able to share a taxi with them which made it a lot cheaper.

We weren't the only four who had missed the bus to the conference from the train station in Koeln though. There were at least 8 of us.

It actually turned out ok because by the time we got there all the boring logistical stuff was over and we got to go straight to dinner.

We found out later that somebody had actually been hit by another train on the same track we were on by another train so our train couldn't get through because. We also heard that while the others were waiting for the bus at the main train station in Koeln a guy died on the steps of the Cathedral and the ambulance and everything had to come.

Weird day!

The conference was pretty good. I think it was aimed at people who have never taken education classes before so it got a little boring at times, but overall it was pretty good. Surprisingly the food was really good. I don't know what's wrong with American cafeteria food, but German cafeteria food is actually pretty good... and this is coming from a really picky eater.

I was REALLY impressed. I had brought sheets, blankets, a towel, and a pillow because I didn't know if the sheets were going to reek like detergent or fabric softener. Apparently Germans understand the concept that clean doesn't mean drenched in stench because I was able to sleep in the sheets no problem. They smelled like NOTHING. Imagine that. Usually when I stay at a hotel in the US I end up miserable and can't sleep because of the stenchy detergents they all use.

I am really glad to be home though. I find that I get really overwhelmed being around so many people for such a long time. (There were probably close to 200 people there.) I wasn't by myself for four days from morning until night. I like a little down or "me" time. It doesn't have to be long, but five or ten min. of silence does wonders for my brain.

Also, some chick was DRENCHED in patchouli oil. No matter where she was in the room I could smell her like she was sitting right next to me. Keep in mind too that the room was big enough to seat about 200 people and there were that many people there. OMG! I thought I was going to die! I really don't understand why people like to use that stuff. I really think it just makes you smell like dirty hippy. Not to mention it's really REALLY potent even to people who aren't freaks of nature like me. The patchouli girl was  friends with one of my roommates at the conference and I was SO afraid she was going to sit on my bed while she was in my room or something. After she left the room I swear it took like 20 min. just to get the stench out. EWW!

Boo Boo gave me an ear full when I got home. She was so happy that I was home she didn't stop talking... well it was actually more like yelling.... for like a half an hour. I'm so glad to be back with my little Suki bear. I really can't wait until Tony and my two other fluff balls are here. Then life will again be as it should.

Allergic to Madison?

I think I may be allergic to Madison. Since I've been in Germany I haven't had problems with my nose at all! No snot, no snorting, no NOTHING!

Madison is known to have a REALLY high pollen count 3/4 of the year.

I figure it's either that or I have an allergy to corn. Here not everything is made from corn. In fact, I haven't had anything with corn in it since I left home. The pop, juices, candies and stuff are sweetened with real cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.

Hmm I'll have to look into this corn allergy thing!

Yellow bus good, white bus bad!

So, I went on an adventure today.

Right in the middle of downtown Aalen there's major construction going on so a lot of the buses aren't running their normal routes.

I went into town today to familiarize myself with the city more and to go what I call "real" grocery shopping. For those of you who don't know me very well, I become a big ugly green hairy monster when I'm hungry. "Real" grocery shopping means making sure the house is stocked full of food so Emi couldn't possibly get hungry. I got 2 1L. bottles of apfelschorle, 1 1L bottle of water, butter, crackers, chips, popcorn, milk, muesli, peppers, onions, cabbage, carrots, grapes, salami, pizza, pretzels, milk, cookies, peanut butter, bread, rolls, and cheese.

I decided to try out a new grocery store today. It was a little further away than the one I'd been going to, but it turned out to be a good thing because they had a bigger selection and the prices were about the same or cheaper. I can't get over  how cheap food is here. You'd think with how overweight and obese Americans are that we'd be the ones to have the cheap food. Well, I guess our cheap food is the junk food, here everything is cheap. For instance I got a cardboard pizza for 1,80 Euros, 3 red peppers for .89 Euro, apple juice for .89 Euro and grapes for .75. (1 EURO= $.76)

I also found stenchless cleaning supplies today and they too didn't cost an arm and a leg. Imagine that!

Ok, so anyway, back to my story. After I went back to the train station which is where the buses are currently dropping people off because of the road construction I must have waited for my bus for over an hour. FINALLY a bus with my bus stop's name on it came through. I get on it and it drives away. Eventually we get near my neighborhood, but then it doesn't turn where it usually does and it keeps going and going and going and going. Two hours later I ended up right back at the train station where I'd gotten on the bus after driving out in the middle of nowhere through all these little farm towns. I saw lots of cows and lots of corn. Lots of cute houses though too.

So we finally get back to the train station where I can get on the right bus and it turns out that I've missed it by one minute and the next bus doesn't come for another hour..... and it has started pouring... and I'm still carrying all these groceries around. So, I said screw it and took a taxi home.

Turns out there are two different types of buses in Aalen and that the name of my bus stop is also the name of the neighborhood I live in. The white buses, one of which I took out to the middle of nowhere today, only drive on the main streets and not out into the neighborhoods. The yellow buses drive out into the neighborhoods. So the sign I saw on the white bus I got onto today was telling me that it drives past the Grauelshof neighborhood, not through it to my bus stop called Grauelshof.

Oh well! Live and learn. When I explained to the bus driver where I wanted to go, he told me that he could see how somebody who isn't familiar with the city could make that mistake really easily.

Good Bus

Bad Bus

We're here!

Suki and I made it to Germany at 6:30 in the morning German time yesterday. Suki made me such a proud mama! She did SUPER well on the plane and trains. She slept almost the entire flight to Frankfurt. She did however eat almost my entire piece of cheese that was part of my meal on the plane. She only meowed twice on the plane and those meows were in response to me talking to her.

First we flew to Frankfurt from Chicago. Then we flew from there to Stuttgart. After that we took 2 train rides to Aalen and from the train station in Aalen to our apartment we took a taxi. I think I probably shrank a foot from carrying all my stuff. I had two 50lb. suitcases, a 25lb. backpack, and a 7 lb. cat. Suki was the easy think to carry. There was only time that I had to do some stairs with all that stuff... THANK GOD!!! The stairs were HUGE though. They were at the main train station in Stuttgart. There were 4 sets of 20 steps. I had to take one suit case up a set and then go back down and get the other suitcase and then do it again and again until I got to the top. I bet I looked like a freaking weirdo! Of course when I got to the top I look down the hall to my left and see a sign for an elevator. Go figure!

All the stuff I had to do to get the cats ready for Germany turned out to be a waste of time. I told the people at customs I had a cat and asked them if they wanted her papers. They glanced at Suki, stamped my passport, and waived us through.  There was NOBODY behind me either, so it wasn't like they had a ton of people to deal with and just wanted to get rid of me. They just didn't care! Hopefully it's that easy when Tony brings the other kitties over. It may be different in Frankfurt.

Going through security with a cat was interesting. They make you take the cat out of the cage and hold her while you walk through security. The lady behind me had a cute little puppy. Her puppy just sat there all cute looking around. Suki was freaking out, meowing and crawling all over me. She was even worse in Frankfurt when I had to go through security. The people there were super efficient and helpful and made it super easy for me to get in and out of there with her.  Leave it to the Germans to be REALLY efficient. Poor kitty. I'd be scared of the crabby security people if I were just a lil kitty too.

All three time I went through security they had to go through my bags. Not because of the years worth of medicine I had with me, but for my neti pot salt. They had to take sample of it and put it in this machine to see what it was made up of. I suppose it could look like Anthrax or something else like it.

The apartment is REALLY nice. ANNNNNNNND it smells like NOTHING! Imagine that! Internet and phone were all set up for me. I bought a cell phone today. It's pink. I also had to buy a bag of cat litter. Then I had to carry it up a big hill. I'm pretty sure I lost another inch or two doing that! How long until Tony gets here?

Transportation is a breeze here. There's a bus stop 100ft.ish from our apartment and the buses come often and ALWAYS on time. Again leave it to the Germans.

I had my first Doener in 4 years. Suki enjoyed it too. I also got my Apfelshorle, Multivitaminsaft, pretzels with sesame seeds on them, and salami. Life is good. 

The weather here is great! Sunny, but not humid. There are also no mosquitoes. I leave the windows open all day and they only thing that comes in is an occasional fly and Suki takes care of that in no time!

Suki def. isn't used to the hard wood floors yet. When we play fetch, she runs after her santa and then always slides past it. Twice she has slid face first into the wall.

Change of Plans/ Book

So as it turns out Spunky can't come with me because her rabies vaccination won't be valid in time. It becomes valid the day AFTER I leave. Go figure. Oh well, Suki had a rabies shot in January, so she is still considered valid and will be coming with me. It shall be interesting because she's a wailer when you put her in her cage. I think she'll be the annoying screaming "baby" on the plane that deep down everybody feels bad for, but by hour 6 are honestly picturing smothering with a pillow. Oh well, I'll just bring my ear plugs so I don't have to listen to it. I'm horrible!

I started reading the book Eat Pray Love today. I had to put it down to make sure I have enough left for the plan ride. I'm debating whether or not I want to go see the movie before I leave even though I won't be done with the book. I'm sure it will come out in Germany, but.... ok I'll just be honest... it looks like such a great movie that I'm not sure I want to wait for it to come out in Germany. Julia Roberts is my favorite actress. I just lover her laugh!

18 days and counting!

The Packing Begins

I've packed my life away for a year in one suitcase before, but for some reason, this time it seems more complicated. I guess it's because I'm more high maintenance than I was the last two times I went over there for a year. What I mean by that is... Now I have to bring things like lotion, shampoo, conditioner, peppermint oil, Neti Pot, nasal spray etc. with me because of the stupid smell problem I have now. I suppose having to bring teaching materials and the kitties makes it more complicated too. Packing in the vacuum seal bags definitely makes it easier though. Oh well! It will all work out.

Got the kitties calming drops and wipes today. Hopefully they work! We got them water bottle things too. Like the ones you put in rodent cages. Now I just have to find little plastic food dishes/bowls.

I have laundry coming out my ears. I think I've done like 9 loads and have 2 more to do.

I found a bunch of cheap teaching materials at Target. (Thanks Susan for the heads up.) I found a bunch of flashcards... US States, Presidents, Animals, Homonyms, and Rhyming. I had to throw out a few of the rhyming cards though because they tried telling me that the word "spot" rhymes with bought, ought, and sought and that the word "doll" rhymes with wall, ball, call, tall.  I can see how maybe if you're from a different part of  the country and pronounced vowels differently how you could rhyme "doll" with those words, but how they think "spot" rhymes with bought, thought, etc. is beyond me. I also found a book on Native Americans and Laura Ingalls Wilder. I am bringing some measuring cups and rulers with me as well, so students can compare the metric systems to ours. That and all my recipes are in our system and I'm too lazy to do the math and convert them all the time.

Suki thinks she's going packed in the suitcase.

Poop on the Vet

So, my vet has to be the biggest moron ever.

You have to have certain accreditation to sign papers for animals going abroad. I specifically chose the vet we go to 6 months ago because they said they had the proper accreditation. 

So, in order to fly to the European Union you have to get a rabies vaccine, a health certificate, and a Pet certificate in German. I get all this stuff filled out and make an appointment to get is signed by the USDA. I go down to the USDA's office yesterday to get everything signed and sit there for 45 min. wondering what the heck is taking so long for them to simply sign a piece of paper. Come to find out the vet who signed my papers does not have the proper accreditation. She apparently thought she did. How you can think you have creditation that you don't have is a mystery to me. That would be like me saying: "I thought I was licensed to teach Social Studies just because I am already certified to teach German". Would somebody please explain to me how a vet doesn't know what he or she is or isn't certified for?

So, now I get to refill out all the paperwork, take it back to the vet, have the other vet at the place we take out cats sign the papers and then go back down and sit at the USDA again.

I've just about had it with this vet. First they put the wrong mircrochips, now this! I'm starting to think they got their licenses out of a Cracker Jack box.

When we get back to the States I will most def. be finding a new vet.

Grrrr!

And we're off...

Spunky and I are off to Germany August 24th!

Tony will be leaving with the other girls September 22nd!

It should be interesting flying with the kids.

AALEN

SO.... I forgot to mention that I FINALLY know where I'm going to be teaching next year. (I've actually know for a few weeks... I just forgot to post it on here). We'll be in Aalen. It's about 45 min. away from Stuttgart.

Downtown Aalen

Here's the city's website in English, if you're interested. http://www.aalen.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=46660&_bereich=46658

I'll be at the Schubart Gymnasium in Aalen. It's a bilingual school. That means that students start learning English at a very early age and by 9th grade students are learning core subjects in English.

It's a smart idea, I think.

Here's the school's website, if you're curious. www.sg.aa.bw.schule.de/

Wohnung (Apartment)

As of yesterday Tony and I officially have a place to live in Germany. It is a Wohnung (apartment) of a local teacher who will be going on Sabbatical for the exact time we'll be over there. Funny how God works his "magic" sometimes. The place is fully furnished AND we're allowed to have die Katzen (the cats) there too! Because God knows we CANNOT live without our Kinder (children).

das Wohnzimmer

das Schlafzimmer

das Esszimmer

der Balkon

das Badezimmer

die Küche

State

Well, I found out that I will be teaching in the state of Baden-Württemberg, which is where I had requested to be. I don't know the exact city yet, but should know early in June. I'm hoping to be placed in or near Stuttgart.

Getting the tonsils yanked on June 4th. What a lovely way to spend our first anniversary. FINALLY they figured out what the problem is.... or at least part of the problem.

I got the Fulbright!!!!!!!

So, I found out March 24th that I have received a Fulbright Grant! I don't know where in Germany I will be yet, but who cares?!?!?!? It's Germany! I'll be leaving the very end of August. Tony will most likely accompany me later after his cousin Justin's wedding. (He's the best man) Otherwise we will both leave right after the wedding together! We shall see!!!! I don't care how it happens! I just want outta here! :-) I am not a stay in one place kind of girl, though I sure most of you reading this already know that.

FINALLY! Something goes right! I've been itching to travel again. I haven't stayed put for this long EVER! It's about time! This will be WAY better than just traveling though! Not only do I get to travel, but I get to LIVE abroad again! You guys are going to have a hard time getting me to come home! I'm hoping to possibly find a job at an international school over there after the grant.... if Tony can find a job that is... which isn't too easy since the formation of the EU, but where there's a will, there's a way. Plus, I'm a Wiesel. Ask, Tony, I won't give up until I make it happen. Others might call this stubborn.

This time should be really interesting though because I'll be the teacher rather than the student like I was the last 3 times I was there for a long period of time. Tony will be there with me too. I think this will be a good experience for him. I'm hoping it'll teach him to live a little! (I love you Tooter, but you gotta loosen up and enjoy life a little more! Hopefully, Germany will help you realize this!) The plan is to bring the kids (the kitties for those of you who don't know me well enough to know I consider my cats my kids).

I'm excited, but at the same time I don't want to get myself too excited because a ZILLION things have to be taken care of before we leave. The biggest one being me getting my tonsils yanked!

The list goes ON and ON! Oh well! It will most definitely be worth it!

All for now! Keep checking back. Tony and I will post more as out journey to Deutschland continues!

-Emily