{totally turned on!}

another fab thing to cross off of our list, the utilities are up and running. the dsl modem was shipped, phone is on (we just need to order one on amazon.de now), and our electric and heat are ready for action. we have cell phones through 02, i'm talking pimped out cell phones i must add. (do people still say pimped out because i live in new hampshire and we're a little behind up here). back to cell phones, which germans call handys. my handy is cherry red with a hello kitty charm. and i have a handy number. how do ya like that?

imagine having lighting in your home this grand? this was taken last fall at the hannover zoo in their india section. lovely faux-architecture too.

arcor is our telephone and dsl service provider. this is good because the service offers calling around europe free of charge and we signed up for a great long distance plan so calls to america are dirt cheap. i was under the impression that everything in germany was super expensive, you have to pay by the hour for web access, you know all those things people tell you who haven't lived there for like ten years and don't stop to think that maybe germany is also a nation of progress. so no, we don't have to pay by the hour for web access. if that were the case, i would not bother setting up haus in germany because i couldn't afford to live in a country when i spend most of my life online researching and writing. through this whole month long process of locating and contacting the right companies to hook us up with the needed basics, i've grown ever appreciative of the fact that my husband speaks fluent german and can do a lot of the stuff that i can't -- like utilities stuff -- on the web and through a simple fax machine. i'm realizing that it's somehow a 'cheat' on my part to bring with me a german husband, i mean how hard can it be to set up home in germany with him by my side... but still, it's challenging because that whole 'i'm not in control' thing pops up. i sometimes feel like a 2nd grader because i can't understand long complicated business forms and technical websites. so i need him to take on all the parts of this relocation that i cannot. is it hard to give up control? oh yes. i was trained for years on the job as a project manager so i'm used to task delegation and following up. but this is my husband and i'm not exactly the team lead. but i'm lucky, he's quite efficient when it comes to executing on tasks so i rarely have to circle back with him. it's a sweet deal. but still, i sometimes wish i could figure some things out for myself because it's part of learning and the struggle of adjusting to a new environment that makes us grow. and i want to grow. i want to experience the struggle and with a german husband i don't feel the struggle. it comes so easily and when it doesn't, i hand the ball to him. if we were relocating to france or japan, it would be different. but to him this relocation is as easy as an american family moving from one block to the next. to me it's a little challenging but again, when i am faced with a challenge i can hand the task to him. but should i continue to do this? no. so now that the utilities are on, i'm making a vow. to navigate some things for myself and ask for help, but not hand over tasks. i need to struggle a little or else i won't learn and learning is what gives us roots in a new country and helps us become wiser. but yes, the utilities are on. check!