Happy Happy Joy Joy

I've been having such a great time... forgive me for not writing so often but so many times I've wanted to hop on here and say a few words but then I get onto something else, or work calls, and I'm off doing other things. I still love living here, I'm learning so much about my new country and culture and my vocabulary is growing with new words every single day (my goal) so by the time I begin taking classes I'll be feeling pretty confident.

I've been checking several language institutes and local learning centers and the most challenging part for me has been to find one that fits my schedule. I work 50-75 hours per week, I don't know how I could go to school 5 hours per day, 5 days per week for over a year to meet the immigration requirements. At most, I can take 1 or 2 classes per week, but on nights and weekends only. It's such a challenge because Hannover is small in comparison to Berlin or Hamburg or Munich so we don't have the number of classes with flexible schedules here for immigrants. Plus, most immigrants aren't already working full-time, they are taking classes so that they can get jobs in Germany. I run a business, all of my work is in America, so I don't need to learn German overnight in order to live successfully here. But I want to learn and I'm studying on my own and soaking in as much as possible until I can get to formal classes because I'm really starting to feel like I must learn -- I don't like to feel dumb out in public! Dumb in the sense of not being able to converse properly, not dumb as in stupid. So yes, language classes... next on my list. And my driver's license - my goal is to have that taken care of very soon too but we're running into so many complications with it due to laws here -- in a nutshell my state only converts "some" driver's licenses in the states but not all. They convert Massachusetts licenses one to one. Meaning I can walk in with a valid MA license and walk out with a valid German license. But I have a valid New Hampshire license. I just got a NH license not too long ago. I went to driving school in MA at age 15 and drove there in that state for 20 years! So of course I'm upset because I have a NH license now. I don't know what to do honestly... I'm a bit lost with this one. But aside from those rather boring-to-you important-to-me details, let's see... what would interest you? Well perhaps that my perception hasn't changed since I arrived, I am still very happy to live here and have the opportunity to learn more about my husband's culture. I'm making friends, which is helping me out tremendously. I've been meeting up with at least one friend per week - it's a goal I set a few months ago - and it's been so helpful to me and my work/life and to also have balance. I have friends from many cultures in my new circle. I also met a lovely American lady from San Francisco who lives near to me, I pass her home almost daily while out on my frequent walks. I hope to get to know her better as the months go on. I also run into a lot of my friends while I'm out, which is nice because Hannover is not so huge that I feel lost or lonely or like a number -- I frequently see the same people as I'm out and pass by friends and spot my mother-in-law or another family member, and it's comforting you know? Another thing I love about Germany is that while I'm used to the holiday period being highly stressful this year it's just not. It's very nice, everyone is out at the markets sipping hot wine at night, chatting, it's all very informal and relaxed. Well the markets officially closed on the 24th, but we still have one outside of the train station that will run until the 31st. The holidays here feel as they did back when I was a very young girl living back in the states before things became really, really over saturated and commercial. It's not this way here, it feels a but old-fashioned sometimes. And I mean this in the best possible way. This part of Germany is the pace of how I remember life back when I was a young girl. There is an innocence here that I appreciate, and brands and marketing and slick sales promotions aren't part of the everyday routine. There isn't the feeling of being a better person because you wear Jimmy Choos or tote a Kate Spade bag. In fact, the average German has never heard of Kate Spade because even the designers-in-the-know crowd who I hang around with have little knowledge of what a Kate Spade wallet or bag even looks like! Most people don't even know who Martha Stewart is, and when I tell them, they aren't all that interested. It's so different to come from a country that is hyper-brand sensitive to one that just isn't -- I pull out my KS wallet at the cash registers around town every single day and no one looks at it as a status symbol, here it means nothing that you paid nearly $200 for your leather wallet with a brand stamped on it. I feel very REAL here. I feel like there is nothing to hide behind because people are not impressed by a woman's career and her brand name clothing as much as they were back home. You can be a very empty person with a very big car and people admire you -- just look at our celebrity culture. Of course not all Americans are impressed by money and fame, I'm not, but overall it does sell there. But here, you are judged by how healthy you are, your appearance of being fit and being a "good" wife or mother, how frugal you are, that you are self disciplined and show self control. At least in the circles I travel in. If you are buying lots of food at the grocery store, people give you stink eye like you are being selfish to buy so much. If your children are being bratty in public, you get the stink eye again for not having your children under control. If you bring a pre-made cake to a party or invite relatives over for something you yourself did not make, they will appreciate your efforts but sometimes ask you why you didn't bake something yourself instead. Also, kids don't run the family -- parents run the family. You also won't find twenty or thirtysomething woman like me in cafes huddled around tables Sex in the City style talking 100 miles per hour, over one another even, as they're text messaging. I often have a hard time not taking calls at the table and I have to slow down when I speak and learn not to talk over others. Most young woman are merely talking, normally, and phones are often discreetly tucked into their bags on mute or vibrant so as to not interrupt their time with friends. Some of the younger Germans are a bit Americanized by watching American movies and TV shows and they often intimate our behaviors, but most do not. And they certainly won't be talking loud. At all. In fact, they may be next to your table and you'd barely hear them. Teenagers are different, they are loud and obnoxious here like teens are everywhere and because they can legally drink alcohol, some are complete morons. But overall, people in my age group and older are quieter, less obnoxious I guess you can say. And I can say this because I can be loud at times and I giggle a lot. I have learned to turn down my volume! So... there you have it. Some recent thoughts... What is on your mind lately?