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.