We have been living in Germany for ONE month! We have:
- Enjoyed BBQ's and Kaffee and Kuchen with new friends
- Travelled to - Magdeburg, Erlangen, Coburg, Bayreuth (and local towns around Rehau)
- Hiked at - Waldstein, Waldbad, Luisenburg Rock Labyrinth
- Found a great church in Selb -
http://www.efg-selb.de
How are we adjusting???
- Disco Party - Turns out the time change didn't really sit well with Isaac. When we first arrived here, he was staying up until 1 AM. He has now decided that 9 or 10 PM is an acceptable bedtime. At some point in the middle of the night, Chris and I made up a song called "Disco Party". This song now trumps "I'm a little teapot" and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" (Lindsey's version) as his favorite song.
- Solids - Isaac has started to eat solid food. His favorite food is..... egg yolk. He has eaten - pears, apples, strawberries, banana, raspberries, apricots, cucumber, turkey, German sausage, and steak. (he hasn't tried German beer yet...)
Rolling and almost Crawling - There is no longer a guarantee that Isaac will be in the same place that you left him.
Disposables - I never thought I would say this, but I miss cloth diapering. I haven't met anyone over here that uses cloth diapers. We wanted to get through this initial adjustment before adding cloth diapers back into our lives.
Left Handed - I have learned to peal carrots left handed. (Random things you learn when you don't have your own kitchen utensils.)
10 to 6 - That's not Chris's new working hours, but the change in my pant size. As a moving bonus - I have lost all of the baby weight. The final weight dropped off really fast because of moving stress, walking everywhere, and my inability to grocery shop or cook food in a foreign country.
Disconnected - We don't have cell phones, internet, or a home phone. It was a nice vacation from technology, but it has been a month and I am ready for a little bit more connectedness. (Unfortunately, we might be disconnected for another month or even until November!)
Outdoor Internet Cafe - Since we don't have the internet, we have to sit outside in our courtyard to get online. It is great that we have a nice garden. But the downside is that on rainy, cold days, we can't get online very easily.
Place to Live - The most stressful thing so far is trying to find a place to live. There isn't much for rent in this area and it is an emotionally up and down process. If anyone wants to say a prayer that we find a house to rent (and soon), we would super appreciate it!
In summary, this has been one of the most exhausting months of my life. It almost trumps the first month after Isaac was born. We experience so many new things in just one day..... that time has slowed down so we can fit more than 24 hours into one day. That might sound like fun for a little while, but I don't think my brain was wired to process this much information each day.
The good thing is that we are blessed by all the new friends and connections we are making. I appreciate all the help and support as I adjust to a new life over here in Germany.
XO Judi
