Yes, it is true that we are really enjoying our time here. I can't believe how fast it is going. And I can't believe how little time we have left. I know, 13.5 months sounds long, but considering how fast the first part has gone, well, it will be over in no time flat, for sure!!! But ... it is not entirely a bed of roses. Just like any other place we have lived, there are also some things that we don't enjoy quite so much and will definitely not miss once we return to the states.
For me, the number one thing I will not miss is the cigarette smoking. It has been a topic of discussion for us lately in that my husband can't tell a difference between the amount of smokers in Charleston versus the amount of smokers here. And like in Charleston, smoking is banned from most indoor spaces - actually here, you cannot smoke in ANY indoor space unless it is a private club or a residence. But I definitely notice it more here. In thinking about it, perhaps I notice it more because in Charleston, we drive everywhere. People can smoke in their cars on the way to a place, so when they arrive, they don't need to stand around and smoke. We live in our own bubbles in Charleston. Plus, I worked for a school where no one brought their smoking habits to the door. And if the teachers smoked, it was well away from campus as far as I could tell. We had a couple of parents who were heavy smokers, and I could always tell when they walked into the building, but that was my only exposure to smoking. None of my friends did it, none of my family did it, and only on a rare occasion did I have to walk through a building crowded with smokers outside. Here, it is different. Outside all of the restaurants are tables for outside eating. And because it is outside, everyone can smoke - and many do. I also have to ride the local bus once a week, and the bus station is always full of people standing around smoking. Anytime you have to go into a building, there are people standing outside it, having a smoke - not off to the side, but right in front, so you have to pass through the cloud of fog to get inside. Some of my friends smoke. Most of my students smoke, and it has been part of the conversation in class before. Perhaps it is the same as in the US, but for me, it is much more noticeable.
I will also not miss the lack of modern technology in appliances. It still astounds me every day that people choose to live this way when it could be so much better. We finally did buy a new dryer - one much more like an American dryer. The sales lady was a little surprised we were interested in it. In all, they only have about 4 choices of these American dryers compared to 20 or more choices of the kind we hated so. And they are sometimes 1/3 the price of the less functional dryers. I just don't understand it. But man am I happier with my new dryer!!! :-)
I will also not miss the ambulances. They are much louder here, and because of not having air conditioning, it is now becoming ever more annoying how often they come by. Of course, some of that is due to our location of being both in a city and on the route to the local hospital. We all swear in our house, though, that they come by, wait to see if we are home, and then turn on their siren just to bug us. :-)
And lastly, I will not miss yet one more feature of the city - the snow plows. If they came by at a reasonable hour, or if they didn't insist on scraping the rock off the side of our building, sure - but the 5:00 AM wake-up call in the winter definitely rivals the 3:00 AM ambulance I heard last night!
My husband will not miss the early and Sunday closing hours for shops. He and I both feel the pressure to blow our entire Saturday doing the errands that require a car - or even those that don't. I definitely understand the concept of Blue Laws and the need for a day of rest, but it sure would be nice if we could spread out our chores a bit, so that we can enjoy the entire weekend. Having to rearrange our lives if there is a Saturday event that comes up is a real pain. And if we try to do it in the evening, the stores close either at 6:00 PM or at 8:00 PM. Since he gets home from work at 5:30, it really leaves little time to deal with much else.
He will also not miss the grocery stores here. In order to get a cart, you have to pay money (you do get it back when you return the cart, though.) Then, the process of shopping has to be done by the two of us if you shop for more than one day's items. In part, this is because of the check-out line. There are no bag boys. There are no bags. We brace ourselves each Saturday for the process of unloading the basket and either bagging our own groceries or restacking everything into the cart so that we can bag them in the car. If we have a lot of things, we have to do it the second way. There just isn't enough time to bag things otherwise, especially since there is not a metal bag holder like at our grocery stores. The checkout ladies try to see how fast they can ring you up. Then, they require payment as soon as they are done, whether you have cleared your things or not. If you have not, it doesn't bother them. They just start ringing up the next person and send their groceries into yours. Once we get to the car, then we deal with the elements - snow, rain or wind. All three cause definite problems. It is stressful, to say the least. We are much better at it now, though, than when we arrived.
He, as well as the rest of us, also miss American chain restaurants. I know it sounds wonderful to have a new adventure of restaurants each time you go out, but sometimes, we don't want to take our chances. We want something we can count on. Our only choices here are Subway and Burger King - not stellar choices. And because the names are foreign to us, remembering a good one once we have found it is kinda hard. There is also not the variety in food that you can get in the US. Basically, here, we only have German or Italian. There is one good Chinese place we like, but that is it. Fortunately, we don't eat out too much, so this isn't a major problem, but for the once in a while we do get to eat out, it would be nice to be able to enjoy some variety we can count on for good food quality.
Lastly, my husband will not miss the television here. Now granted, we also do not watch a lot of TV compared to some, but we do like to sit on the couch after the kids have gone to bed and have some time together enjoying a good show for a laugh or two. Obviously, the number one problem we have is that we cannot tell what they are saying. They speak so fast that we just can't manage the language. But more than that, there really is NOTHING ever on!! As I mentioned before, the horrible games shows, the home shopping channels, and the news in German channels dominate the airwaves. The kids have a couple of cartoons that they like to watch, but mostly we put it on CNN World - which honestly, we can only take so much of.
The kids each said they will not miss parts of school. For my older son, French is his nemesis. He will definitely not ever take French again. He also still struggles a bit with the German, so he misses a lot in his other classes. For a child who is used to making very good grades, it has been hard to adjust to the lower grades and lower expectations. My younger son has lots and lots of homework each and every day. It really bothers him that he sits doing homework so much longer than his older brother, although, he is now understanding almost everything that goes on around him and makes good grades again.
They will also not miss apartment living. Two boys their age want to wrestle, goof off, run outside and play in the yard, have kids living across the street that they can play with. Here in the city, that just isn't possible. And being on the top floor, all noise-making activities like wrestling and just being boys is off limits. For them, it will be nice to be able to live in a house again!!!
My oldest also will not miss the recycling duties here. He has been our trash man for a number of years now, but it got a whole lot more involved with the recycling duties that he has to do now. Since trash has to be farmed out to a variety of places depending on its type, it really is a big job.
My youngest son will not miss the smell of the cows that surround us in this rural, agricultural place. It makes the landscape picturesque, but I do have to agree that it comes with an odoriferous price.
They, too, are like their dad in not missing the restaurants here. When we do watch our American TV connection and see the ads for restaurants, the groaning and moaning commences. Although my oldest will miss the Käsespätzle here, they have already told me a list of places we will be eating within the first weeks of getting backThe word for today is to miss: vermissen (fair miss ehn).
The question for today is "How much hail is too much?"
Auf Wiedersehen,
Frau Spitzer
