Alien Invasion! German Bureaucracy at its Finest and another visit with the Kellermanns

ALIENS!

This week was very exciting, especially for Preston and Paton, because we are now officially legal ALIENS. Ok, so maybe this wasn't really exciting. Maybe it was mentally exhausting, time consuming and most of all, expensive. Anyone coming to Germany for more than three months must register with the local government. We didn't really know how to do this, and didn't get a lot of help because the International office at the Uni recently moved buildings and had personnel changes, and the registration office changed from paper to smart cards on Sep 1. To sum it up, we were on our own trying to figure out what we needed to do.

We were not really sure what documents we would need. Luckily, Russell took pictures of all the documents that we thought we might need before we left Norfolk including: birth certificates, marriage license, insurance cards and letters of financial security as well as a copy of the letter inviting Russell to come to Uni Münster.

We had to fill out paper work, bring along photos similar to passport photos, and then have our electronic fingerprints taken. The first time Russell and I went while the kids were at school because we thought perhaps only Russell would have to register since he is the only one working. Turns out, we all have to go through the process. A very helpful woman attending our paperwork told us Dienstag (Tuesday) was a good day to come as they are not as busy. Both times, we patiently took a number at the sign in desk and then walked down the hall to the waiting room. The waiting room is where we ended up spending most of our time. Everyone waited for their number to be flashed on an electric sign also indicating which room you should go to. It would take about 30 minutes between numbers (even at the start of the day). It could have been murderously boring, but it was full of other people not quite sure of what they were doing. During our first trip a man asked Russell, in Broken German, if Russell would take his number IF the room he was assigned to was a particular number. Russell agreed, but it felt a little sketchy. Luckily, when the guy's number came up, the room was an acceptable number. There were a fair amount of other people waiting who seemed to be from all over the world. Some were registering because they were going to go to the University, some were married to a German and were just taking care of their business so they could be together. One particularly interesting observation was seeing a your Iranian couple making fun of the accents of a some Indian Students. It was odd to see racism here.

All in all, the employees were helpful, but I was reminded that Germans do love their Bureaucracy, as well as their efficiency. Speaking of efficiency, I forgot to mention that the office is only open Monday thru Friday from 8 am to 12 noon. A whopping 4 hours a day.  Of course this meant the boys had to miss school the day we went back with them. So, 300 Euros poorer, and several hours we will never get back, we are Aliens.

The real highlight of the week was another visit with Paulina and her Family. Our original plan was for them to come visit with us in our apartment. The weather had been a little cool and rainy, so when the forecast promised relatively warm weather Ute asked if we would rather meet at her father's house just outside of Münster.

Here we are with Paulina's Aunt, Hedi, her Grandfather and two of her cousins. You can't see the house or much of the garden, but it was lovely.

Ute was also kind enough to give us a few gifts. One was this lovely bouquet above.

She also gave us some marmalade her husband made from sour cherries - it is so good.
The smaller jar has a kind of jelly made from a fruit I am still trying to find the name of.  Ute said she wasn't sure if we would like it, since her children don't. However, as you can see from the jar, we LOVE it. Paton says it tastes like honey. They also gave us a bag of apples (already eaten, so no pictures) as well as some fresh walnuts (that need to dry out a bit).

We are so lucky to have friends here. Our adjustment has been pretty easy overall, and knowing that we have people to call on if we need it is very reassuring.

I wouldn't say that we are home sick or suffering from any culture shock, but there is just so much to get used to here that you would take for granted at home. At first we really only missed the more everyday things like being able to wash clothes whenever I want or having a cheese grater and slicer. Something as simple as making a bank deposit at our local bank, Sparkasse, took us days to figure out.  We finally learned, after having to ask at the help desk, that to make a deposit you have to go to a different part of the bank. There are ATMs (Geldautomat) for withdrawals and a whole different set for deposits. We would never have found it on our own.

That said, we really do love it here. Both of the boys are really doing well as school and have made friends.

The Little Things That Make it Home

Flomarkt

Russell and I were very happy to read in the local paper - well Russell was happy to read, I was happy to hear - that the last Flomarkt of the year would be occurring on Saturday. A Flomarkt is like a Flea Market and the one here in Münster is HUGE. The blurb in the paper described it as professional  and private sellers setting up booths to sell their unwanted items or merchandise with booths set up along the Promenade. The Promenade is a long winding pathway that goes, well I am still not really sure where it goes, but it is pretty long.

Even that day we really didn't understand how going the whole thing was. Russell and I ended up going back three more times and still did not see the whole thing.

We thought this would be a wonderful place to pick up a few sundries that would make our day to day lives a little more comfortable. We had no idea the extent people and wares that would be there. After breakfast, Russell and I left the boys to watch cartoons while he and I walked over to the Flomarkt. It was set up about 2 blocks away so it took no time to get there. We started at the very far end and walked along the pathway. The booths were spaced about seven feet apart and generally consisted of a table covered in stuff with plenty of stuff on the ground as well.

Russell and walked around for a while to get a feel for what was being offered. One of the first things I saw was the first Harry Potter book. I bought it for 4 Euros, which was a little expensive (teuer). Later I bought the next two books in the series for 5 Euros total.

After walking around a bit, I found a bike for me for only 25 Euros - not a very nice bike, but since we are leaving most purchases here it is exactly what I need. I didn't want to roll a bike (on flat tires no less) around for the rest of the time, so we walked the bike home and brought the boys back with us. Of course, they both found several treasures and charmed a few Geschenke (gifts) out of the sellers.

It is a little funny that missing a few sundries that you might not even think about can make your life so much easier. Like a cheese slicer.

(You really don't appreciate it as much until you don't have one.)

A rug or two (15 and 5 Euros). At our home in Norfolk, we have rugs al over the house, but here in Münster we didn't have any. I had forgotten that rugs not only help your feet to be warmer on the cold wood or stone floors, but they also collect a huge amount of dirt and dust that would otherwise end up scattered across your floor and embedded in your socks.

I also found these awesome boots to help me stay warm when I am on my bike or on the days (most days really) when it is too cool to wear my Mary Janes.

An apron - hind sight is 20/20! I can't believe I didn't think I needed to bring one. What was I going to do, not cook? I only saw one set of aprons as we walked around the Flomarkt. This little old lady set up a booth full of clothes and things she had made. I think this cost about 5 euros. I did not intend on buying such a patriotic apron, but it was this or something in pastel (yuck!).

An egg timer. So practical for timing how long the boys have to study their extra German lessons or when the Brötchen or cookies are ready to come out of the oven. I did bring my silicon baking sheet - so there!

We also bought Preston a bike as well as saddle bags for mine.

I am so glad we all have bikes now - it opens whole new aspects of the city for us that were previously to far away to go to. Right now, that primarily means grocery stores, but I know that soon we will get out a little more for recreation.

There is so much to see and do here. In future posts, I plan on focusing on the Picasso museum, the Zoo, the prolific amount of public art and the oldest parts of the city (Altstadt) just to name a few!

Settling In

Every day that goes by seems like we should be one day closer to feeling more settled in, but it hasn't seemed to happen yet. We have just been so busy that we haven't had much time to slow down. Just getting the boys set up in school has been exhausting.

We have had a little time to start running again. I have been spoiled by the YMCA in Norfolk. It was just so easy to jump onto a treadmill and pound out some miles watching Supernatural, my version of brain candy. Since we are really trying to keep an eye on our budget till we have a better grasp of what our day to day living expenses will be, I haven't even looked at a Gym here. I have resorted to running outside - I had forgotten how enjoyable it can be. We live very close to the Aasee, which has miles of trails around it besides just being lovely.

On the bridges around here we see these locks called "love locks". I can't find out much about them, just that they have been around for a while. Some of the locks have been scratched with something and some have been professionally engraved. Most of the locks are colorful and some look like they have been there a really long time. Here is a small example of what we see.

School started for the boys last Wednesday. I know I mentioned this in last weeks post, but I didn't really go into any details. I knew Preston would be fine because we had dropped by his school the day before and had spoken with one of his teachers.  The teachers said they didn't really have a school supplies list, but he would be told what he needed as they year went by. To start, all he needed was a pen, pencil and a Heft (notebook). They showed us where his class was and that was that.

I was much more apprehensive about Paton. When we dropped him off I had my own moment of panic. I looked at him, him sitting at his table with a his eyes wide with his own apprehension, and I felt like I was throwing him off a bridge.  Luckily, Russell gave us both a look of confidence and we left Paton to do his own thing. He was paired up with a boy who is American by birth and speaks English, but has lived in Münster for several years.

At Preston's school the new students came to school a bit later than the rest of the students allowing Russell and I to both go with him. After getting him set with his new class, the parents of new students and international students met for coffee and cake. This is where we found out that Preston's class was leaving for a class trip on the following Monday - in 5 days!

Apparently, a letter was sent out in July to all the German residents. It took a couple of days to find out exactly what Preston needed for his trip. One item he needed was a little tricky to find - Gummi Siefel, (Rubber Boots). Even though it rains about every 30 seconds here, we saw very few rain boots in the stores. I decided we were just not looking in the right places and remembered a shoe store from when we explored during our first week. Of course, it is about a 30 minute walk from our apartment. Success none the less.

The class was traveling to an Island on the North Sea called Wangerooge. You can read about it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wangerooge.

I think there are about 100 kids in the 6th class and their teachers (maybe 8 teachers in all)  going on the trip. They will stay in a Youth Hostel from Monday the 12th till Friday the 16th. A few of the kids do speak English, but I hope this will be a good immersion experience for Preston. His class is very friendly and one boy in particular has taken Preston under his wing. Last year Christian was the new kid who didn't speak any Deutsch.

Both boys had a great start to the school year. Of course, after a day or so of going to school the boys found out that some of their supplies were not like the others. So we spent most of the weekend looking for the "right kind" of school supplies (and Gummi Stiefel). No one uses a pencil bag or box. This is an example of what all the kids have to hold their markers and pencils.

You can see a cardboard fountain pen towards the right side. Children in Germany really do use fountain pens. Paton was given one a few years ago when Paulina came to stay with us, but we took it away from him because it made a mess. However, we brought it with us for some reason, and now Paton uses it at school. Of course, that also means the notebooks the kids use come with a sheet of blotting paper. Weird!

By Sunday we were ready for the coming week and had a chance for some fun. On Sunday afternoon one of our exchange daughters, Paulina, came to visit us from the nearby town Ronnenberg.

It has been wonderful to see her grow over the past 2 years. She met us at our apartment and then we dragged her around our new neighborhood through drizzle and a marathon. The boys showed Paulina their new schools and then we stopped at a cafe on the Aasee for a pick me up treat.

Later, we met her very sweet and dapper grandfather for dinner at a little Italian Restaurant about a block away from our apartment.

I keep thinking that soon we will have more time to really settle in, but I suspect that we will remain busy and will just have to settle in anyway. There is so much to do here and to see. I can't wait to share more next week!

Week One Under Our Belts

Our first week seems to have flown by. We are not nearly settled or into a new routine, but we are starting to get there. We know how to get to a few grocery stores, we can get the kids to and from school. We bought most of the boys school supplies - that was much more complicated than in the US.

Movie Park 

On Monday, Labor Day in the US, we were invited to go to a local theme park outside of Münster called Movie Park. You can see the web site for it at http://www.movieparkgermany.de.

Some of Russell's colleagues at Uni Münster were going as a group to celebrate the birthday of the former chair of the department. They thought we may be interested in going, especially Preston and Paton.

We were all going to carpool there, and halfway into our walk we realized we had left the camera behind. Hopefully we will get a few pictures from the other people in the group. One of the other professors brought along his 10 year old son who is just beginning to learn English.  They all knew just enough to confuse each other, nevertheless, with gestures and sticking to basic words, all three boys had a great time.

The theme of the park was American Movies and Americana. The different sections of the park were divided into areas with names like Nickland, Santa Monica Pier and HollyWood Street Set. Nickland was the area for children, even so the feel was not quite there. We went to a stunt show called "Crazy Action Stunt Show" that was based on an action film movie set. It really was pretty impressive. The premise was the audience was watching a film set where the director explained how certain stunts were done. The "actress" was a diva in a tight, shiny and red dress. The hero was a cocky police detective persona. There was even a lovable buffoon named Frau Passaufinsky (Mrs. "Look-out!"-ski)  They had motorcycle ramp tricks, car chases, men falling from windows and exciting car chases. 

Now that the excitement is slowing down a bit, the differences of living in Germany are slowly creeping forward. Or Maybe WE are the ones who are different. We must look different because we are stared at wherever we go!

So far, here a few of that we have noticed.

1. No woman uses a hand bag here. Every man, woman and child carries either a satchel or a back pack.

2. Every woman and many men and children wear scarves, even though it is supposedly still summer.

3. Bed covers and pillows are different. I like it because if Russell rolls over there is no blast of cold air infiltrating gap between us. They also fold the blankets differently. In the picture it looks like pygmies would sleep under those covers, but they are folded in half.

4. Toilets have a two flush system. One button is for if you just have to pee. It uses a small gush of water while a second, larger button allows for more (ahem) substantial flushes.

5. It is never to cold or rainy for ice cream (Eis).

6. Riding bicycles is the main form of transportation here. The statistic we were told is that there are 2.5 bikes per person. Everyone has their bike for going around town, another nice one for touring and a third for a back up.  There are bike racks EVERYWHERE and they are all full!

You are more likely to be run over by a bike than a car. Pass Auf! (watch out!) The bike riders and pedestrians share a divided sidewalk. The red side is dedicated to bikers and the grey side is only for pedestrians. All bike riders are required to have a bell on their bikes to warn walkers if they stray into the red zone. There are posted signs (you can see the blue sign on the right side of the top picture) to remind everyone of where they are allowed to be. If you get in someone's way, it is your own fault!

7. High school (Gymnasium Paulinum) begins at 5th grade. The class meets together in the morning and changes subjects together as an entire group. Paton's third grade class stays in the same room for the whole day - the resource teachers visit the classroom rather than having the students go to a special room for art (Kunst), music (Musik), etc. Also, both Preston and Paton have Religion as a school subject.

Germans seem to place a little more emphasis on art than in the U.S. Paton's class also gets to use water colors and oil pastels in art (Kunst).

We were not expecting Paton to have to bring a pair of slippers to school. When they arrive in the morning, the kids take off their school and put on their slippers, apparently only the teachers are allowed to wear shoes inside the classroom.

Here are the boys in front of their new schools.

8. Neither of the boys eat lunch at school. Around ten o'clock (zehn Uhr), the children have a Pausenbrot, a bread break. They all bring a little snack such as a small sandwich or a brioche or a brotchen (a bun that can be sweet, savory or plain). Both boys will be home by 1:15 (dreizehen Uhr funfzehn), so they can eat lunch at home.
9. At the grocery store, you are expected to place your purchased items back inside the basket and then bag them yourself at a nearby, designated counter.
10. Speaking of the grocery store, you are also expected to weigh your fruits and vegetables yourself. After you weigh them on the provided scale, a little sticker comes out. If you forget, they will grumble a little and have to weigh it at the register. Luckily, I can still rely on the "I am not from around here deer in headlight look" whenever I need to. Ich bin eine Ausländeren.

Till next week - Bis Nächste Woche!

Home

We have finally arrived in our new city - Münster. Luckily, the plane and train parts went pretty smoothly. After about 24 hours of traveling - 90 minute flight to JFK, 6 1/2 hour layover, 7 hour flight (thanks to a stiff tail wind), 4 hour wait for our train and then a 4 hour train ride WE ARE NOW HOME!!

On the plane, it seems like the boys did ok. They sat all in one row with Paton by the window. He had a lovely nap on the floor until the flight attendant made us wake him up (apparently it is against the rules).  I did not fare quite as well in my seating arrangements. The mother and teenage son I sat next to were still a little grumpy from Hurricane Irene forcing them to spend three days in New York. They had to stay at a hotel in Brooklyn! I guess they could have extended their vacation in Canada instead of visiting museums. We flew on Singapore Airlines, which was pretty nice. The food was questionable, but they did offer just about anything you could want to drink - juice, water, two kinds of white wine, cocktails and some strange drink Singapore Sling. I was relieved to see the TV worked to I could ignore the teenager for the rest of my flight. Well, I thought I could. I know that even a hotel in Brooklyn would have guest soap. That  boy needed to take a shower. Any time he moved foul odors wafted in my direction. Plus, I kept having to push his arm away because he was totally invading my space!

Finally, the flight was over. There were no lines at customs. We made our way to baggage claims. The plane was a 747 and it was full! So, there was a slew of people waiting to pick up their luggage. We waited and waited and finally, we see one of our bags. Then we wait and wait. The crowd is looking more and more thin. Russell helps a profoundly pregnant woman take several large bags off the carousel and then on a luggage cart while I and a few other people tried to keep her son nearby, but off the luggage carousel. Then, we waited and waited. There were only a few people left. We were all looking at each other with the same nervous edge. We wait a little more, then YAY! We recognize one of the bags. Of the 7 bags we checked, 6 were the very last ones to come out.

Finally, in possession of all 7 bags, we drag them about half a mile to our train platform, where we waited another 3 hours for the train. Getting on the train was no trouble since it was not crowded at all. Getting off was another story. With 7 pretty heavy bags Russell would hand me a bag and I would pull it off to the side where the boys were waiting. For Russell to get back to the other bags, he had to go up several steps fighting against all the people trying to get off. Remember, this is Germany where they pride themselves on  their efficiency. You are lucky to get more than about 2 minutes to get on or off a train.

Once we were off the train with all the luggage we shlepped them down a long flight of stairs.This was the only time I was worried about falling. In fact, when I reached the last three steps I started Teetering and fell/stepped to the bottom without injury.  We found the taxi stand and luckily there was a mini van sized taxi in line. But they couldn't get the back open! A few other taxi drivers came over to add their input to no avail.  The driver fiddled  with the door and then the button on the key ring. He looked on the side of the drivers side door to see if there was a button. After about ten minutes he crawled over the back seat. No luck. He walked around to the back door and tried the button one more time. Magically it worked and we were on our way. We gave the address of our apartment, and hoped the key would be under the mat as promised. We made the taxi driver wait till Russell got the key, otherwise we would have visited Hotel Münster. Not knowing what the apartment even looked like, Russell took about ten minutes to find the apartment and we could let the driver go on his way.

This morning we met with the manager of the apartments we now live in. She gave us an ethernet cable, a tour of the facilities (Newspaper Reading Room, laundry and etc.) and mentioned how to turn on the heat - which we wouldn't need, she said with a side glance, until winter. It isn't winter yet, but this morning when we walked to the little grocery store across the street, people were wearing parkas, jackets and scarves. It is still summer right?