I'm starting this blog for a couple of reasons.  The first is to chronicle our time in Germany and all the experiences we are lucky enough to have while we are expats here. The second is that we have a way to let our family members know what we are up too.


There is a large expat community here in Kaiserswerth, the town we live in. Some of us are new and some have been around for awhile.  Our typical conversations are "have you been able to find..." "Do you have a Dr. for..." We help each other out and lift each other up when we have our homesick moments. I have made new and amazing friends that I wouldn't have made if we had stayed in Illinois.  They have enriched my life and I wouldn't have missed meeting them for anything. 


I will have to add pictures later of our experiences we've had, but I just want to reflect for a moment on how our lives have changed in the 7 months we've been here.  We've been fortunate enough to travel to some of the places I've always dreamed of visiting and I have a list of places yet to visit. I have learned that I'm a chicken when driving in a big city with narrow streets.  I prefer to take the train. There are so many things I have enjoyed experiencing here in Germany. Some of these things are the architecture and history. Florence Nightingale studied her nursing here in Kaiserswerth! The castles are amazing, the Cathedral in Cologne is incredible. The beer is the best and I enjoy eating outside when the weather is good.  The food and vegetables are very fresh.  There are fields of flowers you can walk though and cut blooms for a few Euro all summer. You can walk, ride the train or your bike almost anywhere you need to go. They love dogs and dogs are welcomed almost everywhere.  It is not uncommon to eat dinner in a restaurant with several dogs laying under tables (they are very well behaved dogs!). 


There are things I find challenging here as well.  Although the German people are very good about speaking English, I feel the need to learn the language. Even my German friends tell me it's a difficult language to learn. I have a personal goal to have a real conversation with a family friend back home in Albuquerque at some point (it maybe years though). Grocery shopping can be a challenge since I don't understand what everything is. It's difficult, if not impossible, to find what we American's think are necessities like all purpose flour, cheddar cheese, Jiff peanut butter, and good steaks. Making Dr.'s appointments over the phone can be stressful as well as trying to talk to home maintenance men.  I was at the grocery store the other day with my son and a sweet older lady was trying to have a conversation with him, when he politely told her he didn't speak German, she turned to me! I had to tell her in very poor German that I didn't speak German either.  Apparently, she thought that if she repeated it enough times slowly, I'd eventually understand.  That was a frustrating moment. Shopping for anything can actually be overwhelming. At home I had certain stores I went to for certain items.  Here either I can't find the items, or don't know where to look. 


We experienced our first Weihnachten in Germany along with the Weihnachtenmarkts including Gluewein. There are Weihnactenmarkts in almost every town. Some are bigger than others. Some are held at castles. We have also experienced Karnival here in Dusseldorf.  Wow, that's a party! 


It is now ski week for the boys at school.  We have decided not to travel anywhere this week, as we will be heading to Belgium next week to watch our oldest son perform with the school Honor Choir.  I'm looking to visiting yet another country. So, by the time we get back from Belgium we will have visited: Germany, Holland, Netherlands, Italy, France, Luxembourg, and Belgium. I have been shopping for pottery in Poland! What an amazing experience this has been so far, even if it is frustrating at times.  


Until next time, God Bless