(Half) A Milestone

Six months ago today I arrived, fresh off the plane, wired on nerves and excitement in Germany. It's hard to believe so much time has past; sometimes I feel like I just got here. It's also just as hard to believe that I have reached the exact middle point of my trip, the tip of this journey's mountain, and I am now on a downward descent. I figured today would be a great opportunity to take a look back at the last 6 months. I'll try to keep the sentimentality to a minimum, but seeing as I am a girl and we are by nature emotional beings, I can't make any promises.

September

i left houston after (quite a few) tears and (tons of) hugs

i explored my new home

and it's cute german buildings

i spent time with other au pairs

at an intercultural festival

i sat where the dalai lama sat. nbd.

My first month was spent intensely learning the language so I could communicate with the people here. I was also adjusting to my first time living so far from home and from everyone I knew. Let's also not forget my epic first day of work.

October

i explored frankfurt

i enjoyed some german beer

i fell in love with churches in mainz

they are so historic, it's crazy

i spent a week in berlin

and saw everything i could hope to see

j & l carved a pumpkin

which became an awesome jack-o-lantern

we dressed up

and went trick or treating

i even let them do my makeup

(you, as my reader, are lucky i have no shame, 

otherwise you would have never seen this photo.)

October was a good month for me. I was getting accustomed to German life, my school was going well, and I was all in all enjoying myself. 

November

we celebrated opa's birthday at a cute german restaurant 

but we mostly played video games

and played with coasters

i visited some family friends in bavaria

it was a great weekend

i made my own thanksgiving dinner in germany

and i apparently went home for thanksgiving too.

see if you can guess which one is(n't) me..

i saw my first weihnachtsmarkt!

it was a grand old time!

November was a fun for me. It was filled with spending time with my host family and my au pair friends too. I was starting to get homesick, but I was able to quickly remedy that with a trip to Bavaria to see some family friends who are stationed a few hours away. It was great to have a little taste of home!

December

i went to london

and i drank a beer at an english pub

i saw my first german snow

it was the most snow i've ever seen

i celebrated christmas with b's side of the family

we built lots of legos!

then we went to see d's family

and we of course played with our toys

December was a bit hard for me; probably because of the holidays and the distance from my family. I spent a lot of free time Skyping or on the phone with my family. I missed them so much and I wished I could spend the holidays with them. Lucky for me I was able to break up the bouts of homesickness with a trip to London and holiday celebrations with both sides of my host family!

January

went into nürnberg for new years. 

it was rainy and i didn't get many pictures, but it was a good time.

then i got to ring in the new year with some american friends!

i visited my first concentration camp in germany.

it was all very humbling. 

For New Years I went back to Bavaria to visit my friends from home. It was great. A week filled with friends, American food, and American TV. Whoop! But, January was also a lot like December. There was a lot of homesickness. At this point, I had my ticket to come home in February and I was counting down the days. Then one day, I woke up and smelled the coffee. I realized how much time had passed since I got to Germany; and therefore, how much time I had remaining. So I vowed to change my ways. And change them I did.

February

i went home for 10 GREAT days!!!

i spent time with my beautiful sisters!

and my handsome brother!

we rocked our onesie pj's

back in germany i celebrated karneval with my cousin

where i dressed up as america, duh!

February was such a great month, maybe the best one yet. I started it off by spending a week at home. When I returned to Germany, I spent time with my cousin in Bonn for Karneval. After that, I kept my word and began trying new things. My favorite one? I went to a bar in Wiesbaden. What bar? Can't tell you, because I promised the manager I wouldn't disclose it IF he let me be an honorary bartender for a bit. I totally didn't expect him to go for it, but I guess I was more persuasive than I thought. Score one for America!

March

That second time I almost got deported...

Last year I went to London and wrote about how I almost got deported here. Well let me tell you something, that may have been scary at the time, but it looks like nothing compared to the story I am about to tell you. Buckle up, it's a wild one.

First, let me start off from the very, very beginning; September 6th, the day I got to Germany. I came here as a tourist to live with a German family, learn the language and make sure it would be a good fit for me. It is very common for American au pairs to do this, and it is the easiest way to get your visa, or so I was told. Americans can stay as a tourist for up to 90 days, I just had to start the visa process before then. To get a one year work visa for Germany, you have to pass an A1 language test (we had taken several practice tests in school and I was averaging 85-95) as well as file the appropriate paperwork with the ausländerbehörde (immigration office).

So I researched where the nearest ausländerbehörde is and found one in Frankfurt, the nearest big city. So I went there one (very cold, rainy) day in November and waited in a long line for them to tell me I must first register at a different government building. When I explained that I had already registered with the government in Groß-Gerau, the city where I live, I was told I must go there to file my paperwork for my visa. So back to Groß-Gerau I went and the next week I went to the ausländerbehörde in Groß-Gerau to pick up and turn in the visa forms. 

Then I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, about 3 weeks before my flight home, I got a letter from the German government saying more or less:


Dear Rachel,


Please come see us and bring international identification. 
Thanks a bunch, 


Deutschland


P.S. You're super cool.


I said more or less, which means I might have condensed it and then added a little something, but it's my blog and I can do that if I want to. My passport and I headed back to the ausländerbehörde and I waited my turn to get called into what will from here on be referred to as the dragon's lair. The dragon lady (I'm just doing my part to help her remain anonymous in this ever increasing world of the decrease of personal space) wasn't a dragon, technically speaking, but I definitely wanted to burn her acrylic pink sweater that was straight out of 1992. I'm getting sidetracked--the point of this story is getting lost. So the dragon lady asked for my passport, which I gave her, and after looking me up in her computer, she informed me that I was in big trouble. 


Turns out my visa paperwork was never filed; which meant I was living in Germany past my 90 day window, which meant I had been working as an au pair illegally, which meant that my host family could get in serious trouble for and I would too. The dragon no-so-polietly informed me that I would be receiving a letter from the government telling me the date by which I must vacate the country. At least the Germans were being cordial about deporting me, it could be worse, right?


So I head home and promptly enter freak out mode. Up until this point I was growing more and more homesick by the day. I had been so looking forward to my trip back to Texas that my mind didn't really have time to think about much else. But now? Now that I was leaving and not coming back? I was so sad. I wasn't ready for my time in Germany to be over yet. I had a lot I wanted to do and I knew if I left and didn't come back I might never have the chance to live in Europe again. Unfortunately it was a Friday and nothing could be done until Monday.


So I spent my weekend talking to B about the situation, then we spoke with my au pair agent, and I talked to my parents about it, and then we waited. I was so stressed by all of this, but I knew that all weekend, and even on Monday there was nothing I could really do. It was out of my hands and I had to accept that and be ready to accept whatever would happen. Lucky for me, on Monday morning I realized I brought the big guns with me when I brought B. Man, it was awesome. She totally had my back, she stuck up for me to dragon lady (something I totally could have done in English, but in German, not so much), and she was an all around badass. 


B got the problem solved relatively quickly, it took just over 2 hours which might seem like a long time, but I've waited in DPS lines for longer, so I call it a win. The dragon lady ended up sending us down the hall to her colleague, a dead ringer for Mr. Clean, and he was very polite, kind, and helpful. Polar opposites, to say the least. I got a tourist visa extension that is good until April and we re-filed my work visa. I had to get passport photos taken (you can't grin in German passport photos, showing your teeth is a big no-no, so my picture is less than flattering, to say the least) and then they scanned my finger prints. So there go my hopes and dreams of being an international criminal. Damn.


Morals of this somewhat comical, entirely true story: 
1. Follow proper procedure for obtaining visas.
2. If you find yourself in a less than desirable situation in which you are about to be deported, bring the big guns.
3. Keep calm, because you never know what kind of crazy, stressful events will end up being the best "That time(s) I almost got deported..."

Lenten Sacrifice - To give up or to take on?

You might have noticed the sudden increase of activity on the blog. I know I've been absent for a while. And while I would like to blame others, for example, my father who would harass me daily about my lack of posting, it is my own fault. Before going home for ten days at the beginning of February, I was a bit distracted. I didn't take advantage of my free weekends, choosing instead to spend my time Skyping with family and friends. But as I said here, no more. I'm breaking that pattern and enjoying this time I have left in Germany, considering it's almost half over.

When I was a kid, Lent was always easy. I would give up cokes, sweets, fast food. Things that I might enjoy, but nothing that is ever too much of a sacrifice. Then I grew up, and I'm not talking about my growth spurt during senior year, I mean my spiritual maturity. Without turning this simple post into a novel, I'll give you a short summary of my Catholic history.

When I was 7 and younger, mass was a blur. I remember lots of organ music, being bored, and wishing I was sleeping instead. At 8 I received my first communion, at the time I didn't realize how amazing it was, but I remember vividly wishing I could go back and ask for seconds; it was just so yummy! Then comes some more blurry years, until I was 13 or so. I knew mass was boring, and my friends churches were more fun. There were less rules, more upbeat music, and a drum set in their church band. A drum set, how cool is that! So when I was 14 or 15 I told my mom I wasn't going to get confirmed, and that I didn't want to be Catholic anymore. Momma Bear wasn't having it, and she (thankfully) didn't give me a choice. So I got confirmed at 16 and have continued to grow in my faith since then. In college I joined a Catholic sorority and became friends with so many beautiful women who helped me grow in my faith. 

Around that time, I realized what Lent really was all about. Instead of giving up something that barely challenged me for somewhat selfish reasons, I started to take something on each year for Lent. Things that would help me grow as a person and grow closer to God. One year I went to mass every Sunday as well as three additional days per week. That was probably one of my favorite Lenten sacrifices. 

Unfortunately there is not an accessible church I can get to easily enough in Germany for me to do this again this year. I've committed to increasing my prayer life on my personal time. While in Germany, I've been praying more and I've really enjoyed the increase of "Jesus time." This might not seem like much of a sacrifice, but it is, trust me. I must admit church in Germany is cool in that I know it's the exact same service my family goes to at home, which makes me feel connected to them and Catholics around the world. Church in Germany is not cool in that I don't know enough German to understand the Homily and am unable to make any personal connection to what is being preached. I'm even looking into finding some English speaking services. Thanks mostly to this website.  

To ensure I stuck to what I said about breaking my old patterns, I pledged to do something new each weekend during this year's Lent. Hopefully this new habit will carry over even after Lent is over. I want to take advantage of living in an area of such rich history and culture. Who knows when I will be back in Europe, so I want to make as many memories as I can while I can.

So between my increase of blogging, my commitment to attending (hopefully English) mass and trying new things, I think that will eat up a good portion of my free time. I'm excited to see how well I stick to my Lenten pledges this year!

What about you? Did you give up something for Lent? If you're feeling generous, I'd love it if you'd leave a comment!