Forgot to mention yesterday, but we’ve signed off on the flat, gotten the keys and all that jazz. We also found out we have the dubious distinction of being the first ever americans to live in the building. This was mentioned to us with a mixture of curiosity and contempt. lol

And now I’ll get to the purpose of this post. We’ve been in Dresden exactly one month today and I thought I’d take time to catalog a few thoughts & observations.

**THE GOOD:**

**1.** Believe it or not, being denied access to the internet and only having 2 english speaking channels (cnn and mtv europe, although mtv is only english speaking part of the time) can be a good thing for your family. Robbie (who recently turned 13 and thinks pretty much everyone’s a moron who’s older than 19) and I have spent more time talking and laughing and making fun of mtv than I would have ever thought possible. This is a girl with a computer AND laptop in her room, and when she’s away from her room she has a portable pda thingy strictly for instant messaging her friends. We used to find her standing in front of the refrigerator typing frantically before she could open the door and pull out a drink. That sort of behavior took priority over mere ‘talking’… especially when the ‘talking’ had to be with mom & dad. I asked her yesterday if she’d still hang out with us once we moved into the new place and had 24/7 internet access. Her response was “probably not, but I’m glad we got to do it here”. Ditto.

**2.** I have a love/hate relationship with trams, but mostly I find them fascinating. I would never have thought to use public transportation in america but here it’s not only common, but efficient, clean and reliable. It’s a great place to sit and study people.

**3.** Another cool thing about living here is all the exercise you get. Walking is often the quickest, easiest way to get from point a to point b. I actually thought I was in ok shape before we left america, but once here and lugging home canvas bags full of groceries, I quickly realized a jeans size does not equal ‘fit’. Our new flat also drives home this point. Even Robbie can’t walk up the stairs without panting by the time she gets to the top. The nice thing though… I swear my ass has lifted 2 inches since arriving in deutschland. It’s like I installed hydraulics or something.

**4.** I talk a lot about feeling like a complete and total moron, and trust me, there’s still a lot of that… but the flip side is actually pretty gratifying. For every situation we stumble through, for every time I freeze or panic or can’t find the words to express what I need to, there’s also a time that I come through. And even the failures usually end up being ok. Here’s something I wrote to Jeanni a few weeks back that I think sums up the experience of stumbling through an unfamiliar language/culture/experience:

***On a daily basis I find something to be amazed and confused about. It’s
like slowly waking up via a little electro-shock to the brain. It’s cool
and scary and hard to understand. I told Jim the other day that I totally
get what a baby goes through now. Having to learn everything when you know
practically nothing is a bitch. But you go to bed each night a little proud
of yourself and a little scared shitless.***

**5.** I’ll end with what matters most to me… waking up every morning and realizing we put our money where our mouths were and actually did it. For now Dresden is our ‘woods’, and we’re living deliberately… and I have more confidence than ever that when it comes our time to die we won’t discover that we’d never really lived.

**THE BAD:**

**1.** Grumpy old hausfraus

**2.** Snow, snow and more snow. It seems like every other day the skies open up and spew. Here’s a good example of how much snow we’re getting. This sunday we were returning our rental car and as we’re driving through the streets (and we’re talking main streets here) the ONLY people out & about had strapped on cross-country skis and were essentially skiing through downtown Dresden… it’s the only way to get around. I looked at Jim and said ‘did we take a wrong turn and end up in siberia?’ And with all my ski stuff still on its way (pout) I’ve for the first time viewed snow with contempt. If you can’t ski on it, what’s the damn point?

**3.** No lipton iced tea… no dr. pepper… no nerds candy… not even passably decent mexican food… very little in the way of pre-prepared (microwavable) food… no chili-cheese fritos… food is, without a doubt, the hardest adjustment to date.

**4.** No dryer. Crunchy towels, bras and jeans make me grumpy… fortunately this will change very soon.

**5.** I’m missing 24. sniff.

**THE UGLY**

**1.** Grumpy old hausfraus.

**2.** Tagging. Graffiti. Whatever the kids are calling it these days. It’s ugly and needs to be stopped around here. There’s barely a building untouched.

**3.** Four people, one bathroom, extreme dietary changes. Nuff said.

**4.** I’ve had to watch the same three Fergie & the Black-eyed Peas videos at least five times per day for the past month. Burn that bitch at the stake.

**5.** Self-doubt. If there’s one point that’s been driven home this past month, it’s that self-doubt is a crippling adversary. I feel a little like stuart smalley at times, but the flip side to reminding yourself you’re good enough and smart enough is to be cocooned in your flat and never want to leave.

On this day..

• Ugh. - 2007