Red Tape and Culture Shock

Have I mentioned that things are different here? Today was my appointment to go to the immigration office to get our passports updated with a temporary visa that allows us to live here. I'm sure that people who come to the US from different countries have to do some version of this too. But having never done it before, it's quite daunting. You would think they would try to make it a welcoming place by representing various native languages in their publications, signage and personnel, but not so. If Dan's company hadn't hired a relocation company to help us with this process we would be completely lost. At least the people in this office were much nicer than the ones in the government registration office we had to visit on Tuesday. But regardless we spent about 2 1/2 hours waiting outside 2 different offices, and this was with an appointment that we already had, made weeks in advance.

The waiting room was just inside and to the left of a door that opens out onto a long breezeway where throngs of people stood outside to smoke. I truly think that my lungs are black tonight after sitting in that room inhaling the constant smoke for hours. SO MANY PEOPLE smoke here. You just can't escape it. The Germans are so progressive about so many things, but somehow they didn't get the memo that smoking and oh yes, secondhand smoke, cause cancer. It is by far the thing I hate the most about Berlin. We knew this going in, and we are just going to have to deal with it.

Another very different thing about Germany is that the language is so harsh. When you combine that with the stereotypical German "sternness" it makes for some harsh sounding conversations. Karla, my relocation specialist, was in a dialogue with various government officials several times when I couldn't tell if they were getting angry with each other or if they were just having a regular conversation! It added to the stress of the situation as I was unsure of what to think or do as these two people beside me carried on what sounded to me pretty close to an argument. It turns out that I think they were just discussing something. :)

After the immigration was finally done, Karla and I spent several more hours together. She took me to a grocery store and showed me how to return bottles to recover your pfand (like a bottle deposit). She showed me this weird liquid butter stuff that she says she cooks with because they don't have cooking spray here.

I don't know what this stuff is. It seems a bit suspect, but I will look into it.

She took me to the trash/recycling center to show me the 15 or so different categories you are supposed to divide trash into. We drove by 2 houses that are for rent and discussed the pros and cons of each one. If you have ever watched House Hunters International (or purchased your own house) you know that you can't get everything you're looking for and there is no perfect house. There are very few choices on the market right now so we are probably going to have to make some big sacrifices.

Karla dropped me off at the kids' school in time to pick them up after school. But our bus that is supposed to leave at 3:20 didn't come, and neither did the 3:40 bus. Finally a bus showed up at about 3:50. And our 20 minute bus ride home took 40. The drivers of the S-Bahn trains have decided to strike right now in Berlin. They chose this time so as to cause maximum disruption to people's lives, because the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall is being celebrated this weekend and people will be coming to Berlin from all over Europe. The strike began last night and it is forcing hundreds of thousands of people to drive their own cars or take buses or the U-Bahn. So the traffic was terrible and the buses were completely out of whack due to all the traffic.

I was exhausted and starving by the time we finally got home from school at 4:30 (my tour with Karla hadn't included lunch), and I had a headache from the smoke and hunger. Diablo was desperate for a potty walk, so I went back out into the traffic and noise to walk him. Sigh. At least I got to listen to the Serial podcast to unwind a little while we walked. Have you heard it? It's really interesting.

Diablo out for his walk

A cool store I found on my walk. It's hard to see in the picture but they sell all manner of Nerf guns!

By the way, it starts getting dark here around 4!! It's nearly dark by 4:30. Talk about a short day...

Tomorrow I have no appointments. I will be cleaning the kitchen and bathroom, hopefully getting some exercise and hopefully exploring the department store in search of some house shoes for Carter to wear at school and some long sleeved shirts for me (I somehow forgot to bring shirts with me. I shipped a whole bunch of clothes a month ago, but I didn't pack shirts to wear until our shipped things arrive! I have been wearing the same two or three over and over, along with some of Dan's t-shirts.)