Friday, June 19, 2009

Chaos & Anxiety

Well, here we are again. :)

Last night we braved our first train ride. It did nothing for my anxiety. I tend to be a bit claustrophobic and taking a train through underground tunnels really didn't help it any. But it was fun to get downtown and see the shops and restaurants. And the people just sitting down everywhere. But can I mention once again that it is hot here? Yes, hot. What's with this no air conditioning thing? I'm not sure I can do this for long. :)

It's raining here again. It rains about every other day and it is cold out when it does. We will probably never be able to put away our winter clothes.

We have also discovered a mall close to us. It is an interesting place to say the least. We did find a place like a Dillard's and I found some things we will need for our house so I'm anxious to get in and get settled. Speaking of getting in and getting settled, we did find out that we will have to get rid of all of our things that plug in and buy all new things that have the european plugs. So there goes all of my small kitchen appliances, alarm clocks, phones, curling iron, straightener, hair dryers, etc. Bummer! Guess that's a small price to pay to experience Europe.

We had to go get Neeley a car seat. Did I tell you that she has to be in a booster seat until she's either 4'11" or 12 years old? She is no not happy about that. But that's okay.

Anyway, better end here for now. We've got to go get the stuff to get the tint off our car so we can pass inspection. We have temp. plates until we do and they request our registration and everything every time we try to get on post because of it. Oh well...one day it won't be so complicated.

Oh yeah, and to make this even crazier we did get it confirmed that if we do not do the OCS thing soon, we will be moving to Italy in about 2 years or so. Will keep you posted on that part!

Still promise to post pics soon! Where's our personal computer again? :(

3 comments:

Kendra said...

No one told you about the appliances? Bummer! I have a stash of European appliances for such trips. Maybe you can get a little portable AC when you get in your apartment? Good luck settling in. I know it's an adventure, but it's got to be stressful, too. And I would LOVE to live in Italy. BEAUTIFUL!

Mike and Elaine said...

No air conditioning? I guess you can pray for lots of rain! Sounds like there is an adventure a minute but it does sound like your pace is slower than it was when you lived in Arkadelphia and that could be a good thing. Seems strange that someone Neeley's size would need a booster seat but I guess they're big on safety there. Maybe Italy in 2 years - Wow! Better get used to living in Germany first. It sounds like that could be a big adjustment. We've only been on a train once and that was last year in Chicago - kind of exciting but not much faster than a car because of all the stops. We miss you all and love reading your blog. Take care!

Quite Sensible Indeed said...

Is there a wives club or board where you can find used appliances for free or a few dollars? Your hair dryer and straightener might work with an adapter if they are dual voltage. Same too with my laptop, ipod charger and battery chargers. Look for 110/220 or something like that. We bought a toaster and iron to get us started. Now I am slowly finding appliances and other extras as expats leave to go back to the US: lamps, a crock pot, blender, fans (no AC here either), shredder, power strips, grill and patio furniture. We bought a TV and DVD player but those are really easy to come by too.

Italy - you will be so lucky to get to move there. We want to retire there. But that is at least 25 years away after we put all our childrent through school!