Things I Did/n't Bring

Things I Brought That Have Been Completely Pointless Here

* Any kind of pants that aren't skinny-jeans
* Any kind of shoe that isn't a boot
* Cotton t-shirts (What was I thinking?  That this was Idaho or Kansas or something?  This is EUROPE!)
* More than one hoodie (see reason immediately above)

Things That I Wish I Had Brought Instead

* More boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
* Bulk jars of Taco Bell neon-yellow nacho cheese
* More cheddar cheese (I see a theme).
* (And tortilla chips)
* More boots
* More than one pair of skinny jeans
* More...money?
* A slotted spoon.
* A dog.  Because everyone has a dog.  And I could speak German to it and feel very fluent because I'd be better than the dog.

2011: A Retrospective

This was quite the red-letter year for us.  

Paul presented at SICB and I got laid off, then un-laid-off, then laid off, then un-laid-off again (yay!  take that budget cuts!) at SSNERR.

I got bangs and Paul more or less moved into a permanent, sexy-lumberjack, man-scruff look (Except for those three months when he grew "The PhD Beard").

We reached our goal for having a six-month emergency savings fund and our little coastal town got slightly hit by the tsunami from Japan.

In May, we both flew out to Germany so Paul could interview for the Max Planck Institute and I could play the employment field for a possible job.

Paul was offered the job.  I was offered part-time work.  And we agreed to take that six-month emergency savings fund and use it to move to Europe and travel.

Paul became Dr. Paul and we celebrated our 3rd Anniversary! (In style: On a Northwest Tour Extravaganza)


My sister got married in October and had the best reception (and bouquet) I've ever seen in my life.


Paul turned 30 (!!) and we celebrated in the Czech Republic and spent Thanksgiving in Turkey.  I found out that I was accepted into Penn State's MGIS program (woo! but...expensive!).

We moved into Aquahaus, in the old-city neighborhood of Rostock, which served as our base for an awesome first German Christmas.

I'm so incredibly grateful for everything we've been able to do and see this year, and especially that we have each other.  Paul is everything wonderful in the world and he tells me that I'm pretty cool too--I think I'm just cool by association then.  All in all, I have a feeling that 2012 is going to be The Year of the Hunn.   

Happy Silvester (as it's called here) to you and we hope you have a good slide (as they say here) into the New Year!

What should we call it?!

Camelioned!

Did I tell you about THE WALL yet?  Because...this wall is serious business.  It's not even made out of...wall...stuff.  It's big.  It's orange.  It's shiny.  It's...like...ceramic?

Don't hate me because I have an orange wall.  Or because I'm beautiful (because who wouldn't be standing next to The Wall?)

Having a giant orange ceramic wall really sets all your creativity free, you know.  Wait till you see what we did with this thing.

But, you're going to have to wait a bit longer because our internets are weird again.  So, for now, you only get unedited, single-photo (albeit with hawt poses and sexy walls) posts right now.

Es tut mir leid (I'm sorry).

The Doors of Borwinstrasse

Well hello everyone.  Turns out that I made it and the Hunn Invasion is now at full force.

I made it all the way across America's loneliest road and all the way through an incredibly fun week for my sister's wedding and all the way into the eastern hemisphere.  I made it all the way to Germany!

I know there's a lot to say.

But for now, since I have to go traipse about town with Paul in about ten minutes looking at another apartment, I'm bringing you a few of the doors of Borwinstrasse (Bor-Vin-Strah-Suh), or Borwin Street.

Can you see me reflected in one ?

We're living here on Borwinstrasse right now, down the street from the Church of the Holy Spirit.

The Church of the Holy Spirit on Borwinstrasse...
and my knitted traveling gnome (thanks South Slough co-workers!)

My first morning in Germany I woke up hearing church bells.  It was a rather nice way to wake up, next to Paul, up in our little garret, hearing church bells, half of my body stuck in between our mattresses**, and me thinking/mumbling WHERE AM I WHERE AM I WHERE AM I!!!!!?????


Those first two seconds were a little stressful and panicked.  But since then, Germany has been treating me pretty well.  I've already taught two English classes to varying success (more on this later).  Yesterday I enrolled in the university's German as a Second Language course (more on this later).  I've been to the foreigner's office to get my "Don't Deport Me, I'm Perfectly Legal" card.  I've even opened a bank account (more on these things later)!

All in all, it's been a pretty great week here on Borwinstrasse.   Wish you were here!


**So, it's pretty much impossible to find a queen or even a full-sized mattress here.  Instead, what happens is you buy a queen-sized bed frame and then put two twin-sized mattresses on and wedged into it, next to each other.  This can lead to a sort of "Black crack of Calcutta" problem when you somehow manage to wedge half your body down between the mattresses during the night.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

This is how I conceptualize the next week of my life:

Step 1

1200 miles, 21 hours, 1 driver

Step 2

6197 miles, 18 hours, Jet lag, Really short connections

Step 3

Make-out with Paul in an airport.  Duration: unknown

Step 4

119 miles, 2.5 hours, Drooling on Paul's shoulder on a train

Let me put this into a better perspective for you.  This is a REALLY long trip.  It's pretty much like doing exactly this:

My trip's grand totals:  7516 miles, 130 degrees of longitude, 40 traveling hours, 3 modes of transportation, 2 hemispheres, 1 super-mushy reunion, and a paaaaartriiiidge in a peaaaaar treeeeeeeeee!

See you on the flip-side: Eastern hemisphere 4evah!

Thank You, Oregon

I moved here in September 2008, a week and a half after we were married. 

I'm moving away in September 2011 (well, six hours after September ends). 

These three years have been the happiest and most beautiful years of my life.

Thanks, Oregon.

Bad News and Good News

Bad News:

The owner of Peptohaus decided to let the apartment to a friend.  mumble mumble nepotism mumble...

Good News:

We won't have to live in a pink, boxy building?

Second Good News:  

We will be able to stay in a temporary (albeit expensive) furnished dorm apartment till another option opens up...somewhere... sometime.



I'm starting to think that Rostock is a city without any housing anywhere, ever, at all.  I'm going to shuffle over to my window now, stare longingly over the landscape and start singing some West Side Story tuneage~~

 ::trembing voice::

"There's....a....plaaaaaaaace for uuuusssss.  Somewhere...a...plaaaaaaace for usssssss."

The Allure of PeptoHaus

Das PeptoHaus

Today I met up with Paul on video chat at the usual hour, knowing that I would be getting my daily Apartment Hunt Briefing.  Right off the bat, Paul sent me an e-mail with this picture of the apartment he visited today with the caption, "Isn't it pretty?"

I just laughed right out loud and said, "Not on your life or my life or our nonexistent dog's life are we going to live in a Pepto-colored building for two years."  Because, you know, I thought he was being sarcastic with the photo caption.  Actually, he probably was being sarcastic because, you have to admit, this is probably the most frightening building facade you or I have ever seen on the planet.

Across the Pond: Apartment Hunting

Petrikirche.  Tallest. Tower. Ever.

Paul arrived in Rostock last Friday and, like a real estate warrior, has pitched himself into the battle of finding us an apartment.

There's one apartment he's checking out on Monday and he went on a walk to scout the area.  It's in the oldest part of the city--which, meh, I guess I could get used to.

Hah!  Just kidding.  It's totally awesome!

Old city (altstaadt) street and potential neighborhood

There are a few less expensive apartments closer to the Institute in the "new city" (aka things built between 1750 and 1900) and so we'll probably end up over there.  Don't get me wrong--the New City is preeeetty awesome in it's own right and I would not complain if we ended up there at all.

 But if this apartment is as awesome as it's sounding (top floor, lots of windows, about €550 per month) then who knows?  It's a 30 minute walk, but I don't think I'd mind a 30 minute walk through the altstaadt (old city) any day.   Even if we don't take this apartment (we could totally save a hundred or so Euro each month in the other area after all), I think this area will be one of our favorite places to go and just "experience."  Viva cobblestones!

Darn Paul and his Darn Glasses

I'm totally blaming this whole thing entirely on Paul and something he said about a month ago:

I remember it because it was completely and utterly and entirely and freakishly out of character for the man.

He said,

Garden: A List

Lettuce, Spinach, Peas, Beets, and Flowers!  Garden 2011

Yes, finally, Garden 2011 has finally started to take off.  It's been the longest winter/spring I've ever seen in my life, but finally--FINALLY--we've had two days in a row that have hit above...

Things I Will Miss: My Work

I'm really going to miss my job!

I can get over missing things like ... oh ... deodorant.  I can make do without English-speaking television.  I can push through and persevere in a place that doesn't give you a glass of water for free with your meal.  I can survive on 5% milk if I have to.  I can live without a car, or a kitchen-aid, or hulu (maybe), or anything remotely resembling Mexican food.

Preparations: Don't Die Before You Get There

Although I realize that this blog is supposed to represent the lives of both myself and Paul, I have to confess to you right now that Paul will probably go MIA until....oh....until September.

Poor guy.

He's practically living in his dissertation-writing office.  No, seriously, he's living there.  He has an air mattress and clothes and toothbrush and a mini-fridge.  A mini fridge!  He takes showers over there.  And does laundry.  Cooks his oatmeal with an electric kettle...  I mean, he's bacheloring it up over there.