birthday fun

This past Friday I celebrated my 25th birthday, and my first birthday here in Germany. Although I missed Bomber's MEGA-rita and celebrating with familiar friends and family, I had a great time here. My birthday started around 7 a.m. when Tobi surprised me singing "Happy Birthday" with a cake and candles and everything. I was quite shocked that he had planned all of this, but I was very flattered that he made such an effort so early in the morning :-) We had some coffee and I got to open my gifts over breakfast. I was very surprised that Tobi's parents had sent gifts- they gave me one of my favorite perfumes, Dolce & Gabanna Light Blue, as well as Moleskine weekly planner to help me keep track of my schedule and where I need to travel to for work. I absolutely love the planner and can't wait for the New Year to come so I can start using it! Tobi surprised me yet again with my birthday gift as well. He gave me a very stylish and practical George Gina & Lucy messenger bag. It is such a versatile bag that can be worn messenger style or on the shoulder. And it is big enough to fit my books and papers in for work, but also stylish enough to use on a night out. I have gotten nothing but compliments on it since I have had it! I was very happy and impressed that he picked such a perfect gift all on his own :-) That afternoon I met Sherrie and Liana downtown for some coffee and cake at Starbucks. Sherrie gave me a tic-tac-toe game where the X's and O's are mini shot glasses- I can't wait to play! After coffee Liana left for work and Sherrie and I went for some sushi! :-) I then had to go to a teacher's meeting at work where I treated everyone to some homemade chocolate chip cookies. Tobi met me after work and we went out to dinner at an amazing Asian restaurant. Afterwards we met some friends out and celebrated late into the evening. One of Tobi's co-workers gave me a mini bottle of Jager, which I thought was very thoughtful. Liana also brought a birthday gift out- mini bottles of different flavored Absolute vodka as well as some really yummy tasting lip gloss (she knows my weakness!). I posted some pictures up on facebook as well as myspace for all who would like to check them out! All in all, I can say despite not being home I had an amazing birthday and am happy I got to celebrate it here in Stuttgart with some pretty great people :-)

coming together at last

After starting to come to terms with the fact that I would be in limbo here in Germany unable to work until at least November, I received and e-mail and was able to finally get my new visa! I GOT MY VISA! I GOT MY VISA! I GOT MY VISA! I have been officially working since Thursday, and I am already schedule to start teaching on Monday evening. It is such an unbelievable feeling to finally be able to work, and more importantly, make some money! I seems like I have been waiting forever for everything to be situated, but now that it is I couldn't be happier.Finally, everything is coming together at last :)

visa hell, but still feels like home

It is now the 15th day I should be working, yet am unable to. When I accepted a new English teaching job I had to apply to change my visa since I will now be working under a contact. Little did I know I would be sucked back into the German system for weeks again. I already have a visa that allows me to work as a freelancer, which is quite difficult to obtain since essentially you are seen as being self-employed. So, when I was offered a contract position I thought it would be a quick form to fill out and then everything would be settled. Again, I was too naive and hopeful. Despite the fact that the German government would prefer for foreigners to work under a contract (which is why it is so difficult to get a freelance visa), they seem to be taking their sweet ass time and making it more difficult then ever for me! It is going on week 4 of waiting, and I have yet to hear that it has progressed at all. What makes it even more upsetting is that since I already have a visa I am guaranteed the new one, it is just a matter of them switching it to a different type. But, with contract positions it is a whole new procedure and the government needs to make sure that an unemployed German cannot fill the position I am being offered. But, since my position requires that the person filling it is a native English speaker, I would think it wouldn't be too hard to figure out that no matter how many unemployed Germans they look at none are going to be native English speakers. I must assume that this is a difficult task though, since this is all they have to check before providing me with my new visa. Now, if this really is so difficult (which I highly doubt) I still have a hard time convincing myself that this takes 4 weeks to complete! But, no matter how many times i go downtown to check the status of my visa in hopes that it is there and someone just forgot to contact me, I always wind up coming home crushed. It has been driving me absolutely crazy not being able to work and even more so not having a steady income. I really hope that this changes soon- I don't know how much longer I can take having all the time in the world, but having no money to go out and do things and enjoy it. It really is rather depressing. But, despite all of that I still wake up every morning thinking that today will be the day I get a call or e-mail stating that my visa is ready and I can start working tomorrow. If I didn't have at least this little shred of hope left I would really lose all control.

On a brighter note though, Stuttgart is starting to slowly feel more like home. This past week I watched a co-worker's pets for a couple of days while she was out of town. It was so great to have some sort of responsibility back in my life, and it proved to me that the Swabians are not totally ice. In this region of Germany the people keep very much to themselves, I think, and if you are not from around here that makes things very difficult. Being a foreigner I was starting to think the people here were completely hopeless, but while walking the dog I saw a side that instilled a little hope in me. People would constantly ask the name of the dog, or stop to pet her- very unusual for a Swabian to even look at you while walking on the streets. It was quite a comfort to see that they do have a soul after all! Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I recognized someone at Starbucks on Sunday. Tobi and I went downtown and did a little window shopping, then decided to pop in a relax with some java drinks. While we were there a friend of mine, Sherrie, came in- totally out of coincidence. It was such a great feeling to be downtown and running into someone I know. I am sure this probably sounds rather silly, but it has been so long since I have been anywhere and ran into someone I actually know. It really made me feel like I am finally making Stuttgart a home and not just an extended vacation. It's funny how the simplest of things make my day, but it is also such a great experience to truly cherish things that I always took for granted back home.

Volksfest

This past weekend I had the opportunity to experience my first Volksfest, and what an experience it was. Every fall and spring the city of Stuttgart has a festival, which I believe comes from the age old tradition of being granted the right to have an open market twice a year. Now, it is more like a small version of Oktoberfest in München (still the 2nd biggest "Oktoberfest" in the world, about 4 Million visitors). Tobi and I arrived a little early so I could check everything out. From the S-Bahn you could see the huge Ferris wheel, which is apparently the biggest portable one in the world. There were rides and games everywhere and it reminded me of a fair or carnival that everyone goes to at least once in America. Then came the beer tents. There were 3 main tents on the grounds, with a few smaller ones as well. Each tent is sponsored by a different brewery and each brewery brews a special beer for the occasion. Altogether we were a group of 20, and had reservations in one of the main tents. In order to reserve a table in any of the tents you are required to prepay for drinks and food in advance. In our tent each person was required to purchase vouchers for 3 liters or beer and half of a chicken. By the end of the 2nd liter everyone was standing on the benches and singing along with the band and attempting to dance without falling and breaking their neck- all while not spilling the beer! After a valiant effort at my 4th liter of beer and one crazy ride later, we were on our way home around 10:30 that evening. The following morning I woke up feeling like I had drank 4 liters of beer, and to my surprise a very swollen left hand from holding the glasses all evening! My recovery time for this event was a good 3 to 4 days, and it seemed like every day I would find a new bruise :-P A Picture is worth a thousand words, so how better to describe this event then through candid photos. It was one of the best times I have had here in Stuttgart and I am already looking forward to the festival in the spring!