my home in litzendorf pt 1

i finally found a house that i want and can afford with the housing allowance i get. the contract isn't signed yet, but there's a good chance i'll be ready to move in nov 1. my furniture doesn't come until around nov 9.

it has a 2 car garage (this is very rare), another 1 car garage (because the other one was built on), a nice backyard with apple and plum trees, a tiny brook at the back of the yard, 3 or 4 bedrooms (depending on how i use the rooms), 2 full bathrooms, a huge room i can use as a photo studio, and even a kitchen! in germany, rentals don't ususally include kitchens. the tennants own them and take them with them when they move, like their couch.

so here are some pics:

the front.

looking down the driveway at my prospective landlord and car.

both garages and a little of the backyard.

my home in litzendorf pt2

from the back yard.

the smaller bathroom. you must be skinny to use the shower, or just dont wash your hair or attempt to bend over for the soap.

comments? questions?

i promise that your keyboard will not eat your fingers if you post a comment here on my blog. c'mon peeps, work through the fear...

welcome to my life.

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there's a skeeter on me, peter

THESE PEOPLE DON'T BELIEVE IN SCREENS. i've looked at about 10 places -- apartments, houses in the city and houses near farms -- and including the nice modern place i'm in now, there are NO SCREENS ON THEIR WINDOWS. and oh yeah, they're very eco-concious, so they're very strict about harmful chemicals. every evening, i have to kill up to 5 mosquitoes in my little efficiency. it doesn't help that they're mutant super-skeeters: we've been below freezing 2 nights already and still they live! if i was in a beach hut in thailand in the summer, i'd take it in stride.

i'm going to talk to my german friend (my landlord) about this. we've had many conversations about our respective cultures. i've freely admitted the foibles of mine, let's see what she'll have to say about this. yes, we elected W, but they have more skeeters than a louisiana swamp house!

from the berg to the 'burg

my car comes tomorrow! i miss it.

here's some of what i've been looking at:

exterior of the famed 'monster truck.' the running board is almost knee-high. oh, the times we've had! like that time we got lost. or that other time, when we got lost. and let's not forget all the times german drivers have flashed their brights at me for not getting out of their way quickly enough. dna from my sweat is in on that steering wheel.

across the road from kevin and jenny's house: looking down at bamberg from one of the many bergs. [berg means hill or mountain, not to be confused with burg in the name of my "other home," which means fortress. groovy.]

fall is flinging. cool vines. i consider it a pretty significant event that i changed my desktop picture from the skyway photo to this one. it's like i'm moving to bamberg or something.

the skyway photo i took this summer. if you click on the pic it will get bigger and you'll actually be able to see the skyway.

here i am

shortly after i arrived here i said, "i can't believe tha this is all going to become familiar to me soon."

today i was running some errands on post. i checked my mailbox, bought a couple of things at the px and stopped by the office where i'll register my car to make sure i'm good to go. then, i drove back to my temporary home. it may not seem like a huge accomplishment, but just a few weeks ago i was freaking out; afraid i would take a wrong turn and end up in poland.

if i moved to springfield

the latest

the house in the woods is a no-go. the deal kept getting worse and worse. i’m still looking around. i saw a nice house yesterday that is the perfect balance between living downtown and having a house. it’s only a couple blocks from downtown, and yet it’s a very quiet residential street. this could work.

my dodds sponsor lent me his car: a huge toyota 4-runner with huge tires on it. i feel a little out of place driving it around town. on base, i blend in fine. but it has been extremely helpful to have transportation. i’m starting to learn my way around a little.

it is a typical german day- cold (46F) and gray. makes me want to stay in and watch tv all day. but out of the 12 channels i have, only 1 ½ are in english: cnn world and mtv. interesting thing, this mtv- it actually shows MUSIC VIDEOS! they still have some other shows. i like the one where a guy goes on dates with 3 moms and has to pick a daughter based on what he learns from the mom.

i’m starting to settle in at work. i was freakin because i started teaching the first monday i was here with no lesson plans, no knowledge of the materials in my room and very little knowledge of k-2 curriculum. so i’ve been pulling it out my ass. the cool thing is that kids this age are so easy to fool. i’ve had high schoolers who would call me on that. these kids are so CUTE! i’m more used to the thug and psycho variety. these kiddos smile and wave at me in hallway and fight to hold my hand. now if i get them all to count to 10…

Tschüß!
(pronounced “chews,” an informal good-bye in Bavaria)

drivin the "monster truck."

"What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do." - John Ruskin



"An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea." - Buddha