A lot has changed since I last
updated...in September 2011. So, I guess it's old news that I'm not the
best at keeping an up-to-date blog but here I am now. Savor this post
because the next one will probably come in July. Anyway, after the
excitement of Oktoberfest died down I headed home to the states for some
family time...and let's be honest...for some turkey. I hadn't missed a
Thanksgiving in 24 years and I wasn't going to let 2011 be the first.
Plus, I hadn't seen my family since January and my heart was in need of a
little home sweet home...and Pretzel and Magoo.
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| Yes, I'm aware of how nerdy it is to pose with your pets...and I'm okay with it. |
But before the Thanksgiving eating fest began Patrick and I set off on our three day Vegas adventure. Las Vegas is basically Patrick's second home but I was still a Vegas virgin and had to see what all the fuss was about. Let's just say three days was PLENTY. Amazing trip and very little sleep but I can now officially say I've been to Vegas.
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| Our hotel, Excalibur :) |
Then it was back to Deutschland for my first Christmas ever away from home. I really missed my family but loved the opportunity to experience a real German Christmas with Patrick and his family. They opened their hearts and their homes and made my holiday one that I will never forget.
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| Board games before one of the most amazing dinners I've ever eaten. |
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| The presents starting to be stacked on the table |
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| Frohe Weihnachten :) |
Then it was time for New Year's Eve or Silvester as they say in German. In America you usually only see official firework displays that are put on by big cities or towns and under the supervision of fire departments or trained professionals. In Germany it is the complete opposite. Everyone and their mom, brother, uncle, and baby brother not only own fireworks but know how to shoot them off. No location is off limits and even the streets filled with passing cars are fair game. Patrick and I made our way to Starnberger See (Lake Starnberg) for what I thought would be a nice and relaxing way to enjoy a firework display. WRONG. Within seconds I felt like I was under attack as balls of fire whizzed passed my face. I couldn't even enjoy it because I kept thinking to myself this is it....this is how I will die...by catching on fire. Dramatic, I know....but hey, I'm American (that's my excuse for everything). After 25 years of only observing fireworks from afar, I have to learn that in Germany you enjoy fireworks by standing next to them. Life is a learning process.
But now, on to why this post is called APPROVED! Well, ladies and gentleman....I am the proud owner of a nice and shiny new...VISA! After what felt like a million interviews, appointments, pieces of paper, and trips to various buildings around Starnberg and Munich I finally landed myself a job and a visa and will be staying in Germany for a while :). I am a teaching assistant at an International Preschool and I absolutely love it. Most people react with a "poor you" when I tell them that I work with kids but actually it's a really fun and rewarding job. Babies and little kids put me in such a happy mood and if a hug from an adorable child doesn't melt your heart then you, in my opinion, have no soul. I can be having the worst day ever but when a kid flashes me a big smile (with a few teeth missing) then I can't help but laugh and forget about what I was upset about in the first place.
Right now I'm still commuting from Starnberg to Munich every day but the sbahn rides are nothing short of entertaining. As I've said in previous posts, Germans aren't big on smiling...or any friendly interactions with strangers for that matter. I am not judging Germans or saying it is a bad thing, it's just different from American behavior. With that said, I still haven't figured out the correct sbahn etiquette. First of all, the design of the inside of the sbahn is made for awkward interactions.
You are forced to sit facing two other people and in close proximity. Usually I take out a book and get lost in it until I hear the words "next stop Hauptbahnhof" but occasionally I either forget my book or I'm too tired to read. So what else do you do at 7am? Watch people. Germans are the Kings and Queens of staring and even when they catch you staring they continue as if it's completely normal. I, on the other hand, get slightly uncomfortable and offer at the least a tiny smile to say, "oops...you caught me" or if they were the original culprit a smile to say "hey...I see you...you can stop now". Well, little did I know that a smile doesn't dismay a staring German, especially if it is a man. It only encourages them. A little advice...don't give a friendly smile to a man wearing a bike helmet in the sbahn. It should already be a hint that he is a little bit strange if he keeps the helmet on inside the train. Second piece of advice, if a man is staring AND smiling at you for more than one minute and you aren't interested in reciprocating the smile it's better to just change seats. You don't know what stop he will get off at and it's better to leave the situation than endure another 10 minutes of being under constant observation. If I'm so interesting to watch then maybe I should get my own reality show. Or maybe I'm just a magnet for weirdos. I'm pretty sure it's the second one.
