Learner's Permit

I passed the written test for my driver's license almost 2 weeks ago. Now I have a learner's permit and I can finally practise driving. I hope I will be good at it soon, so that I can take the test. Driving sure is fun, but I am still nervous when on the road, hope I will get used to it better soon and become a little more relaxed. But so far, I guess I am doing OK, when we were in San Antonio, I even got on the expressway (voluntarily!).

study time

Good news: I found out that I can apply for my learners' permit for the drivers' license without an SSN. I need to fill out an affidavit and get it notarized. I am glad we have legal assistance here who can do that for me. So now, I am studying the drivers' handbook like crazy right now, hoping I will be ready to take the written test next week. I would like to have my learners' permit soon, so I can practise driving... watch out, here I come, ha ha :-)

Also, I am getting my certifications translated, so I can get my German education evaluated. I hope that helps me with finding employment. Otherwise, college/university is also an option...

Goodbye Germany. Hello Fort Campbell.

Today, I left my home country Germany for good.

I flew from Frankfurt via Dallas to Nashville. Strange feeling. I am so so happy to be finally back with my husband, who has been waiting for me for a long time, and we will also be able to pick up the kids from their grandma soon. Yay! However, I know that I will not be able to see my mom in a long time. That also goes for my sister and my little niece. My sister and I had our goodbye yesterday already and my mom came to the airport with me. She took it very hard, letting me go. After all, being her youngest daughter I am her baby. It broke my heart when we said goodbye and she started to cry. For some reason I did not cry, I guess, it does not feel real yet. Still feels like just going on a vacation, but it is not. So far, I feel pretty darn good and I do not miss home at all. I hope it stays that way. I do miss my family, but prior to leaving Germany I was already used to not being around them very much as I lived in a different city. Only time will tell. Right now I just enjoy having my husband back and I am all excited to start my new life here in the United States.

When I arrived in Nashville, it was already dark, but I noticed there are many trees around here. Our house on post is really nice and a lot bigger than it looked like on the pictures my husband sent me. I love having a yard now (front and back) and cannot wait to plant some lavender bushes in the flowerbeds by the front windows. It is very warm and humid here, it will probably take a few days for me to get adjusted to this climate. I am glad that I generally handle heat better than cold. :-)

Starting tomorrow, I will be unpacking my 37 boxes I mailed over here. LOL. I hope everything survived the long journey across the ocean. Some boxes look pretty bad, I will find out when I open them.

update

I received my visa today! :-)
Looks interesting... a big colorful sticker in my passport. Has a picture and my data on it, of course.
I will try to fly next weekend, this way I will make it there this month still. Yeah! Hope all works out.

progress report

I finally had my visa interview in Frankfurt today. Yay! I should have my visa within the next two weeks... :-)

Last Friday I already went to the doctor for the exam that I need for the visa. Everything went well, both the doctor's exam and the visa interview. The people at the consulate were very friendly and helpful. I was a bit nervous about the interview, because I did not know what to expect. However, the consular officer was a very nice lady, and I was stressing out for nothing. I brought way too many documents to my appointment, but I am rather safe than sorry. I did not want to risk having anything missing, so I was double-checking my folder a couple of times to make sure I would not forget anything.

Woohoo! I am so excited that I will be holding my visa in my hands soon. Once I have it, I will book my flight and off I go... Baby, here I come!

home is where your ♥ is at

Today, I officially turned my apartment over to my landlord. Goodbye Frankfurt. I will miss you. Frankfurt is a very diverse city, rich in culture and history, yet modern and international. However, I never really felt home there. Must be, because at times I was feeling extremely lonely. No husband, no children, just me and my job (and sometimes my good friend Saskia, who made sure I was not going crazy despite my situation).

Until my departure to the United States, I will be staying at my mom's in my hometown Oppenheim. I still need to take care of some paperwork and sell a few more things on eBay, which I will do from there. As much as I hate that I still need to wait fo my visa, it is nice to be back in the town I grew up in. This way, I am close to my mom until I leave. This also makes it easier to see my sister and little niece more often, as well as meeting some of my childhood friends again. When we were driving along the B9 towards Oppenheim today, I realized how much I missed my hometown. The scenery is just so beautiful - I love that area between Nackenheim and Nierstein - those vinyards always make me feel home.

They say, "home is where your heart is at," so I guess I will always have two homes in this world. On the one hand home is that beautiful little town of Oppenheim and the region around it, because this is where I grew up and also where my mom lives. On the other hand, home is wherever I can be with my family - my dear husband and lovely children - and that will be wherever the Army sends us...

sorting, wrapping, packing

I am so glad that this is the first and LAST overseas move I am doing on my own... You know, a regular move is already a handful. Since I will be mailing all my things through the post office, I have to pack extra carefully, so that everything will survive the long journey across the ocean. Then, I must not exceed a certain size and weight limit if I do not want to pay an arm and a leg for shipping. Plus all the customs forms - yuck! Oh well, enough complaining for now. I chose this method myself, as I will end up paying a lot less than I would have had to if I had chosen to hire a moving company.

I am very thankful that a family friend volunteered to help me moving all the furniture, that my mom and my sister are getting from me, on Wednesday. Thank you so much, Rolf!

Thursday, all the extra sturdy boxes and the packing materials arrived. A huge roll of bubble wrap, lots of wrapping paper, and many rolls of tape. Since then I have been a busy little bee, zooming through my apartment: Sorting things, wrapping them when necessary, and putting them in the right size boxes. I was even able to fit my beloved nightstand (which I cannot disassemble) in an extra large box I had ordered - yay! My PC is still giving me a little headache though. I saved the original box that it came with, and it it would be perfect to just put in and mail it. However, I do not want the content to be that obvious. You know, things do get "lost" in the mail sometimes. Right now I think I will wrap the original box in brown paper, but I am not sure if that is the best solution. Still thinking... Oh, and I am also making an inventory of each box. I need that both for customs, and for the insurance.
As of tomorrow, I will no longer have a kitchen. Goodbye to cooking and to fresh food. I will live off cereal, PB & jelly sandwiches, and take-out/delivery for the next few days. Any ideas for maintaining a healthy diet without a kitchen are very welcome! ;-)