Germany: An Update

Any time you move somewhere new, there are signs to yourself that you’re “settling in”, things like:

  • No longer needing the GPS every time you drive somewhere…
  • Walking into the grocery store and knowing where to go to get the couple things you quickly need…
  • Being recognized by people working at stores you frequent…

For us, another huge step was when our household goods finally arrived (2+ months after we did).

Well, another couple milestones happened today…

First, it was a gorgeous day, probably the best weather we’ve seen since arriving 01-Dec-2011, so I decided to scrub-down the old, filthy, rusted charcoal grill that the last tenant left in our back yard; the image of finally being able to grill, in my own back yard, has been a fantasy for me for some time, and I was eager to get it started!

By the time Marianne arrived home from work, I had the coals nearly ready for the brats to hit the grill. We poured a couple ice-cold biers into our chilled glasses and walked out the back door. Our American neighbors were outside in their back yard, building a swing set for their kids, so we finally had a chance to chit-chat with them a little; it was nice.

And as they went inside to prep for their dinner, the neighbors on our other side (Germans, this time) came out, so we had a chance to speak with her as well, auf Deutsch! :-)

But my really big news for the day was something that has been building since before we left New York: I officially have a job! Thanks to having worked at Time, Inc., and having been on a project that connected me to someone that knew someone that works for a company that just happens to be located less than 20-minutes from where we now live, and thanks to a very welcoming, cordial, and helpful staff at that company, I will start working full-time at Netbiscuits on Montag Morgen. It’s a huge relief…

Though I have been working on a couple freelance projects since we arrived, and I knew this was “in the works” (while I applied for and got my German Tax ID, registered myself with the Kaiserslautern City Hall, and applied for my required German Health Insurance), until you “have a job”, you somehow just don’t feel… here. Sad, I suppose, but that’s the facts, Jack.

And I have to admit that I am a little nervous about the new gig (Will they like me? Will I like them? Will I grasp what they’re doing? Will my fledgling German be compatible with their partial English?), but I’m also quite excited to be starting at a new place, with new people, in a new place, on new projects!

So anyway, here I am, nearly “all growed-up” and ready for the real world! Wish me luck, hopefully I won’t need it, but it could never hurt, you know?

Tschüss,
Atg

5 Responses to Germany: An Update

  1. furf says:

    congrats, groggy!

  2. Good luck Aaron! I’ve been reading posts from your blog for some time, and I’m from The Netherlands myself, so not even too far away. Ich wünsche dich viel Glück und Erfolg auf eurem neuen Job! :)

  3. Shawn grogg says:

    [email protected] name is shawn e grogg traced my family to Germany and swiss fluency but alot is hidden and Noone wants to talk to me about it. Lives In west virginia now traveled alot younger has 3 sons

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