Transition to Germany

As I sit here in my very quiet home (minus the hum of the dishwasher and washing machine), I realize that this is it.  This is where God currently has my family and me.  We have been in Germany for just over a month, the kids started a new school today, and Pete and I are looking ahead to starting German Language School next week.  I’ve gotten the grocery shopping thing almost down.  I can go to the bank where they speak a good bit of English.  Restaurants are still challenging, but we are getting there.  Routine is good and I’m glad to finally be getting into one.

Germany, or Germans, are no what we expected, or were told to expect.  They do greet you on the street with a “Hello” or “Guten Tag” (Good Day).  They are nice and not rude.  The other day in the grocery store Pete pulled out his little index card of quick sayings and asked the teller how she was.  In very plain English, she said, “fine, thank you.”  She proceeded to speak to us, very slowly, in German and English so we could carry on a conversation.  We will definitely seek her out the next time we are in the grocery store to continue to build a relationship.

Speaking of the grocery store.  The breads and cheeses here are amazing!  Amazing in taste and surprisingly cheap in price.  Lily really likes Brie; it is her favorite.  It costs us just over a dollar for a nice size piece.  I watch the Sunday paper for sales.  Chicken is a bit pricey, but of course you can find any kind off sausage/bratwurst fairly reasonable.  I found a nice pork tenderloin yesterday for under five euros.  We will be having that for dinner tonight.

I’m learning to cook on an electric stove.  Not crazy about it, but it’s not as bad as I thought.  Lily is learning to bake in a much smaller oven and is experimenting with convection oven cooking.  There aren’t too many pre-packaged baking items here, like brownies or cake mixes, so she is making everything from scratch.  So far she has made a Carrot Cake, German Chocolate Cake, and Blueberry Pie, just to name a few.

Nick found friends right away.  He played basketball almost every day during the month of August.  He will be trying out for the school team sometime in September.  He has gone to the Kandern area pool a few times and loves hanging out with his new found friends.  Freedom is something that the kids have here that both they and us as parents are trying to adjust to.  Walking home from game night at school at 10 – 10:30 pm is not something we are used to.  It’s a learning curve, just like many other things.

We still don’t have a car, but are starting price negotiations on one today.  Please continue to lift this in prayer.  Kandern is a great little town, and much can be done by walking.  However, with my bad knee, it does make some tasks much more challenging.  I did by the $12 bottle of rubbing alcohol and made my homemade ice packs which help more than anything in keeping the inflammation at bay.

We are blessed to be close to the school and the GEM office where we can go and “get connected” since we still do not have internet access in our home.  It is supposed to be installed next Monday the 9^th of September.  We will see. 

First Day of School, 2014

So our journey continues.  Please pray for Nick and Lily and the upcoming school year.  Pray for their individual classes and the adjustment to a new environment and new teachers.  Pray for Pete and I as we start language school next week.  Pray for a vehicle to be purchased.  Please pray for my knee as I seek doctors to help me get it back to normal.  If there is something we can lift in prayer for you, please don’t hesitate to let us know.