living & learning

Sorry for the delay in update! A lot has been going on since the middle of last week. Before I give an update on Germany, I would like to talk first about what's going on at home back in Texas.
Since Sunday, my grandpa has been in the hospital and is now on hospice. A lot has been going on in the past couple of months with grandpa, but within the past couple of days he has been going downhill. However, he is comfortable and is surronded by people that love him dearly. It sucks not being able to be there, but I am happy that I was able to skype with him a couple of days ago when he was still alert. He isn't expected to live much longer and it saddens me to think that I won't get to see and hear his voice again. I am very close to my grandparents and lived with them for 3 years! So, as you can imagine I have many memories with the both of them. I know grandpa is ready to go, and I know he has been ready for a while now, but somehow preparing oneself for the death of someone you love and are close to does not prepare you for when their death is very near. It is still hard and it is still so sad. I am so so so lucky to have had and to have a wonderful family. I am so thankful for that, because it's reality that many people do not have or will never have a loving and caring family. Family is incredibly important and if I learned anything in this crazy year of 2010, it's that life can take you through ups and downs in a matter of days and months. So, please...please...do not take the people you have in yur life for granted. You have NO IDEA when their last day is. Tell them how much you care everyday; life is too short not to. This year has been filled with so much joy and so much sadness, but through it all I am becoming stronger and a better because of it! OK KO Nanny and Grandpa!

On a very different note...a lot has been happening in Germany since my last blog.

1. I found a beer I LOVE! (And, for those of you that know me, you know that I do not like beer at all).
2. We found a HOUSE! (More detail below)
3. Brandon and I both found cars.
4. Pennies are too expensive to ship over here, so all of our purchases on post are either rounded up or down.
5. VAT forms will be our lifesavor for the next 3 years!
6. We have been to Heildelberg and Kaiserslaughtern for day trips.
7. We are going to get a DOG soon!!! ( More to come about this; Germany has strict rules about owning and caring for a dog-they really care about their dogs, which is great).

Ok, soooo Germany has a beer called Radler and it is beer mixed with Sprite (I know what you're thinking Stephanie Petroff). Anyway...it is really good!

So, the house we found is a town home. It is two stories and has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a basement with a bar area. From the outside, you would not think the house was very big, but it is huuuuge when you get inside. All four bedrooms are upstairs. One of the bedrooms will be Brandon's office, two of them will be guest rooms and one will be ours. There is one bathroom upstairs that has two sinks, a bathtub and a shower. On the first floor, there is a bathroom, mud room, foyer, dining room, living room with fire place, kitchen, and then two more rooms beside the kitchen that will be used to additional kitchen space and a "gear room." Because the refrigerator is pretty small in German houses, the FMO (Furniture Management Office) on post is lending us a big one. The FMO is AWESOME because we are able to borrow furniture for free until we leave here. So we will also be borrowing two wardrobes because German houses do not have closets. :) Yay for the FMO!
The house also has rolladens, which are on almost every house in Germany. They are sort of like blinds, but they are on the outside of houses and they are pulled down many times during the summer because it stays daylight for so long. The rolladens make it extra dark, so they are amazing!
The house also has a "big" backyard (yards are small here, and sometimes uncommon), so this will be perfect for our future dog! I will write more about dogs and the regulations Germany has about pets in a later blog!
On of the selling points of this house is the fact that we can walk to the Landstuhl Army post in just a few minutes. It is literally right across the street!! So, this is AWESOME for Brandon because he works there. Here's to hoping I can find a job on Landstuhl!

We will also be needing to learn how to recycle. I know what you may be thinking..."But, Amy recycling is easy, what do you mean LEARN?" Well, what I mean is Germans recycle EVERYTHING. So, umm needless to say we have MANY recycling containers at our house and we don't know what the heck to put in them. Ha. We will learn and this will only make us SUPER AWESOME recyclers when we return to the States! HA!

VAT forms. VAT forms will save our pocketbooks when we are over here. There is a 19% sales tax on almost everything. With that being said, the VAT form takes 20% off of our purchase, even on cars bought on the German economy. They do not work on food or books, however. We recently learned, though, that toilet paper, dairy products, and beer/wine is cheaper to buy on the German economy than it is to buy at the commissary! Guess where we will be going to stock up the bar in the basement (aka "Brandon's room")? On a side note, it would also be nice if the dollar got a little stronger; the euro is dominating us over here! Come on dollar!!!

So, Heidelberg was amazing and beautiful. I will post pictures of it on facebook. We went to the castle while we were there, as well as the Roman bridge. Brandon took a picture in the same spot at the castle he did 10 years ago when he went to visit his junior year of HS. So, that was neat.

Ok, well that's all for tonight-it's bedtime for me. Stay cool all of you in Texas; I know it's been crazy hot. Love y'all. Please eat chips with salsa for me. Thanks.