Strict, stick to the rules Germans....

I <3 Germans... I've met a lot of good ones! but there is no doubt in my minds that Germans like rules, Germans like efficiency, Germans like things done a certain way, and Germans do not like when you throw a wrench into their routine. None of these things are bad....but they can be very maddening!!!

With roommates, I have always been a pretty clean person and I have always tried to carry my own weight when living with other people, but this is a whole new experience for me...I'm not living with an american....I'm living with a German....

I love the girl I'm living with. She is kind, funny and smart. But man, do I feel like I have been put in my place! American's are wasteful, have too many things, don't recycle to the extreme, and can be kind of naive (I'm talking about myself...) But I am learning I don't do anything right. I feel like a kid, and I have my mom following behind me re-doing everything I try to help her with. I don't wash the dishes correctly, I don't clean the floors well, I don't keep my room in order, and I don't take "German" showers.  I'm asked to do things differently all the time (in the kindest way possible) and I never quite live up to the expectations... this is totally weird for me, but maybe it is payback for all the times I've done the same thing to others....especially past boyfriends (yes, I admit it, karma's a b*%ch).... So, I try to stay out of her way, and when I move out, I will clean like I've never cleaned before! haha. She's taught me a lot in a short amount of time, and there are many things I will take with me.....German showers not being one of them!

Then there is the recent issue with the Germans and my police record check. I went to the Kreisverwaltungsreferat (say that 3 times fast!) office to have it sent to me because I "needed" it in order to get my Visa for Indonesia...

First, when I got there, I de-registered from my Munich address, the infamous Tal 28...
For everyone out there....when you live in Germany you have to register with the Rathaus, which is kind of like our county office, and tell them where you live, and every time you move you have to de-register from your old address and register at your new one....I guess we do sort of the same thing when we get a new drivers license every time we move...
Anyway.... I de-registered, which lets them know I do not live at this address any longer.

Next I requested a Fürungszeugnis, or a Police check. He then informed me that it would be mailed to Tal 28. The converstation continued like this...
Joanna "But I don't live there anymore"
German "I know"
Joanna "Which means I don't have a mailbox there"
German "I know"
Joanna "so could you deliver it to another address"
German "No"
Joanna "Not even my work address"
German "No"
Joanna "But my landlord took my name off the box and there is no where for it to be delivered"
German -Shrug of Shoulders "it can only go to this registered address"
Joanna "But I just de-registered!"
German "I know, but it has to go to that address"
Joanna "But I need this form in order to get my passport back from the Indonesian Embassy"
German "We have to mail it to that address"

And so forth....resulting in my getting NO WHERE and him just sticking to the "rule"

KILL ME NOW!!!!!

Luckily, the Indonesian Embassy, in Frankfurt, had a lovely Indonesian man working there (instead of a Strict, stick to the rules German) who helped us out after after my boss bought him a Harley Davidson t-shirt in Munich. This lovely man, has a collection of Harleys in Indonesia and was just THRILLED to get the t-shirt. He was so thrilled, that he gave us all our Indonesian Visas and returned our passports to us THE NEXT DAY!!!!! YIPPEEEEEEE!!! it was supposed to take 5-10 working days.... and with the lack of my police record check, I wasn't sure I was ever going to get my passport back.... what a relief!

It is obvious that I am about to enter into a country VERY different then Germany....

I'm not sure if I will like one more then the other, or if I will just love them both for different reasons, but I do know that when it comes to getting important paperwork done....I better change my tactics! Perhaps if I had offered the German guy a Harley t-shirt, I could have had those important papers sent somewhere else....

C'est la vie!


PS. A "German" shower is when you turn the water on only for a couple seconds to rinse off, then the water is turned off while you lather up and wash, then the water is only turned on for a couple more seconds at the end to rinse off all the soap. They're trying to save water, so many shower this way... All I know is it is WAY too cold in Germany to stand around dripping wet in the shower! I need heat and steam...these people are CRAZY! haha!  I <3 Germans!!

Crazy Girl!

While living with Dear Sweet Petra for 2 weeks, I tried to stay out of her hair as much as I could while still depending on her to drive me around...haha. On the weekend I would pack up my little black backpack and go stay with people in the city....AKA Bronwyn and Jenny :) and just hang out with them doing the usual weekend stuff....

Then there was last weekend....we had 4 days off.... a nice long weekend, but most the plans I attempted to make fell through....no biggie....

Well....no biggie, until I sat in Petra's apartment in Berg all day Thursday, never removing my big butt from the futon! I enjoyed my day on the futon...not gonna lie! But by 6pm I was pretty bored! So I got online and did some quick research only to discover every where I wanted to go was going to be expensive....Barcelona being my first choice.

Then, while fooling around I came across a website of the top things to do in Italy. Now, I had pretty much come to the conclusion that I was not going to see Italy during this year, because it was just too big and I wanted to spend a lot of quality time there...but then I saw these pictures of Rome.

ROME! Perfect! So I jumped online and found a ticket to Rome that was cheaper then anything else I looked up and bought it!  It was about 7pm on Thursday night and my flight was at 7am Friday morning. I BETTER START PACKING!

I've never packed so light in my life! I transfered everything I really needed from my big purse into a tiny wristlet, and then only packed my little black backpack with about 5 sundresses and a 2 t-shirts plus 4 pairs of flipflops and the bathroom essentials and I was off! I was proud of myself! Last thing to do....Leave Petra a Post-it note saying "Decided to take a last minute trip to Rome! Be back on Sunday! have a great weekend! <3 Jo".....I can hear her now..."Crazy Girl!"

Long Story short, I ended up sleeping at the airport that night, but arrived in Rome at 12:00 and was lucky enough to find a hostel with one open bed and was checked in by 1:20 and was out the door exploring the city by 2.....First stop, the Colosseum!!

And the Roman Forum!! I got to see where Caesar was cremated....

Then it was time to make my wish at the Fontana di Trevi.....guess I'll be returning to Rome one day!!

Then off to the Spanish Steps...there was a group rehearsing for a concert that I would go back for later that night after eating an AMAZING meal :P

And finally, the next day I would go to Vatican City and See the Sistine Chapel and other beautiful things from Michelangelo and Rafael.....

It was a whirlwind weekend, but I will never regret it! I had SO much fun! I still am not in love with traveling alone....but I made the most of it and had the best time! And I must go back because I definitely missed some things along the way....

I returned on sunday and on Monday I moved out of Petra's....

What next?!

3 eggs in a plastic baggy

There are so many things that I love about my life in Germany....I often feel so blessed....and then I return to my little piece of hell....my apartment...Tal 28.

I love the People I have met - They are some of the most open minded, down to earth, confident, knowledgable,  compassionate, considerate, fun loving, exciting, Risk takers I have come across in my life... (did I use enough PYP lingo!? hee hee) I'm in the right place, at the right time, for the right reasons... I am experiencing for the very first time something I wasn't sure I could.... I feel like I belong.

I love the country I'm in - It doesn't have a beautiful past, but it seems it has learned from it's mistakes and never wants to repeat them. It's admirable that they do not deny what happened here, but at the same time are trying to move forward and progress. I love that about this place. Munich is a beautiful city. I feel as if I've aged a couple years while living here, because it's not the most youthful city, but it is still a wonderful place to spend a year. And how could I not LOVE Oktoberfest! Not to mention how easy traveling around Europe has been while I'm here.

I love my job - The teachers are great, the administration is great, and the students are amazing! I didn't know if I would love teaching elementary school, but it is pretty great. I am not 100% satisfied with the job because I don't have a choir and therefore feel like I'm not teaching to my full potential, but I do love teaching fun silly songs, dancing around like a fool, and just having fun some days. The school is a great place, and I feel like if I could have stayed longer I would have been able to grow more professionally. But even after one year, I have definitely learned a lot and feel confident about my teaching. I know that teaching at this school is what helped me get a great job for next year.

Then there is my apartment....my personal hell. We started our relationship off on a positive note...I was nieve and didn't know any better... Then as I became more knowledgable I became more bitter. It's expensive and small and not all that wonderful....

Then there was a leak discovered in the bathroom and our shower had to be torn out...we were left with a toilet and sink in the apartment and were told to shower downstairs in the janitors closet...This would never be tolerated in the states...no way! are you kidding me! So with a lot of false promises of when it would be fixed, and a ridiculously small reduction in rest, I tolerated it for week after week....which turned into month after month...until 3 months past and I just decided to stop paying rent and move out... 

So, long story short, last week I packed up my life, or what was left of it after the movers shipped everything back to the states, and moved in with my dear sweet friend, Petra. She came to my apt and stuck my 3 bags of clothes in her car, and took me back to her place. To her surprise I showed up with more then 3 bags of clothes...

As I started to unpack a few things, I remembered that I had brought food with me that was left over in my fridge... including a plastic baggy containing 3 raw eggs...

"did you seriously bring 3 eggs in a plastic baggy with you?!" She was dumbfounded...who was this crazy woman that she just brought into her house?

"I couldn't waste them! and look....only 1 broke on the way!" haha

In combination with a tube of wasabi, 5 bratwurst, a tube of mustard, and 2 yogurts...what else would you expect from me!

What a great start to the next 6 weeks of couch surfing!! All future roommates should prepare for my complete randomness...Who's next?!