Been Living In Germany For A Month Now: What Is It Really Like?

I can't believe that it has been a month since we moved to Germany. I know I have so much to share with you all and I cannot wait to share more of this journey with you but first I want to say how grateful I am to live this life I live with the people I live it with. I am so grateful that God has chosen us to have this opportunity to live and grow in this new country, learn a new language, meet new people and embrace this new culture and ways of living.

Here are a few of the things we accomplished or did within a month of living in here.

1. We said yes to our new home!

2. We obtained our European Drivers license which was easy to get since we took the test prior to leaving the States.

3. We purchased a pre-owned Audi vehicle while we await for our main family vehicle to arrive from the States.

4. We found a beach and a large indoor and outdoor pool park at Aqua Mundo Park

5. We celebrated Leila's 2nd Birthday!

6. We visited the Nanstein Castle

7. I landed 4 government job interviews/ offers.

I am excited to see what each coming months have in store for us. Definitely be on the lookout for when we start making our way to the neighboring countries.

The location that we chose for our house is further away from the area that is heavily populated by our fellow American families but easy commute to the bases and school zone that we need to travel to. We chose to live in a rural village surrounded by free-standing homes, large farmed lands, beautiful churches, and lots of windmills. Check out our first house tour video below.

Every time we step outside I am reminded that we have made it to another country. This is the first time since leaving my home country of Haiti that I have stepped foot in another country, aside from the United States. When our neighbors are out gardening or going out as well they say " Hallo" (Hello) to us. We have yet to figure out how we will introduce ourselves to our neighbors but I think they know we are foreigners since we have not engaged in a full conversation instead of just saying Hallo back. I think when the time is right I may write a little note in German to all our neighbors introducing ourselves and telling them that we don't mean to come off stand-off-ish but that we don't speak the language (yet). What do you think is good etiquette when moving into a new neighborhood when everyone is excited to meet you? One neighbor who speaks some English already said they're bringing a welcoming basket and wine over to us once we are settled in. I'm excited! They have a newborn child and a daughter about Maddie's age. I hope that soon we will be able to start smaller conversations with our neighbors.

For now, I have been using two very helpful apps named Duolingo and Google translate to say a few things when we are out and about but I found that when I go to the grocery store my favorite line to say when I am having trouble finding something is " Sprechen Sie Englisch" which translates to "Do you speak English" and some of the staffs would speak either very little or none at all so I manage with my apps.

So here are a few of the things I've noticed since moving to Germany and how they differ from life in the U.S.:

• The price you see on items in the stores/ grocery centers includes tax so there are no surprises at checkout.

• The windows in homes have a thing called Rolladen Rolling Shutters. It is energy efficient and is a form of security and protection for your home. It reminds me of the shutters from the movie The Purge.

They have a very strategic waste/ recycling system that I haven't seen back in the States. I am used to a waste bin for all trash and a Blue bin for all recycling but here, they have a bin for bottles, a bin for carboards and newspapers, a trash bin that contains food waste and any other wet paper items like wipes and wet tissues ( do not put regular dry paper in that bin), the list goes on. I am figuring it all out as we go and the things left in between that we absolutely don't know where they go goes in the brown (regular trash) bin.

• Driving is still on the right side of the street (Thank Goodness) and in the majority of the cars, we have seen the steering wheel still on the left side of the cars.

• If you come to an intersection it doesn't matter if you got there first you have to give the right of way to the cars on the right of you before you can go.

• I have not spotted any round doorknobs. My house has level door handles and those antique keys to lock/unlock (except for the main house doors that have normal keys).

• It's no secret that most homes in Germany have no AC but the newer built homes have them with heated flooring.

Finally, I always make sure to find a couple of things to be grateful for every day.  Thankful that you are reading this blog, my dear reader. Thankful for the support, friendship, and positive feedback I receive from my readers on this blog and on my Instagram page.

Thankful that my children and husband wake up and go to sleep with air in their lungs and are healthy. Thankful for my sister Helena and bro Ken who are babysitting our dog Pablo until we can get him over here. I am grateful that God has given me the strength to recognize who I am and what I am capable of accomplishing. I am also thankful for this China Town restaurant that we found in Ramstein where we're about to get our dinner for today. It reminds me of Chinese food from Philly. Have a great day/ weekend!