The German way of life...

Well we have now been in Germany for about...four days? (haha i absolutely CANNOT keep track of the days yet. Every morning I have to ask Julian what day it is....) It is Friday the 13(oh dude i didn't even realize it was Fri/13 today! haha weird...) and I have to say, I am falling head over heals in love with Germany. The first couple days were rough. It was a major culture shock and I spent most of Wednesday crying...haha. I think it was finally hitting me that we were in Germany whether we liked it or not, I didn't (and obviously still don't completely) understand the culture differences and I HATE being confused and lost. But after I got over my mini pity party(Yes dad, the small little violin was playing quite loudly ;) I changed my mindset to just wanting to learn everything I could about this culture and the German people. And let me tell you-The things I have learned in the last 48 hours have completely blown me away. So here it goes...everything (that I can think of) that I have learned lately.

1) German people are so nice!!!! I didn't want to accept this at first because in my head they were foreign and mean. haha i know thats not very nice but i am telling you, my first 24 hours here, i was bound and determined not to like Germany (I blame it on my hormones because now I for the life of me cannot understand that mindset.) As long as you try to understand and be respectful of their culture and their way of doing things, they are more than willing to help you. They tend to kind of come off as being short with you, but they are just straight to the point people. They don't mean anything by it. Most of them have a pretty funny sense of humor.

2) German people make me laugh when you ask them "Sprechen sie englisch?" (means-do you speak english?) German's (along with a lot of European people) speak more than one or even two languages-and this includes english. Especially the younger generation, they are taught english in school. Well when you ask them, they look at you and say"little bit." The part that is funny is they are completely fluent in it for the most part but they just don't want to let on that they know english. But it is great too because its been a great learning tool for Julian and I. I have learned these words in German:
Hello- Hallo
good bye (see you later)- auf weidersehen
please- bitte
thank you-danke

yes- ya
no-nein
hospital- krankenhaus

So basically- I know survival German...haha but hey I am learning!! I am getting there!!! :)

3) Germans are very healthy people! For the most part, their food is all natural. They don't have the preservatives and stuff that we Americans have in our food. A big difference that I have noticed since getting here is, in the states, the last three months of my pregnancy have been plagued by HORRID heartburn. To the point that I know I am going to regret it if I leave my tums at home. They have a permanent place in my purse. But since we have gotten here and have been eating the food here, I have had 1 bout with heart burn and it was so minor I didn't even need a tum. Well yesterday we needed a quick and easy meal so we stopped at burger king here on post. BAD IDEA! I had heartburn for about four hours after that. The food here is so much healthier.

Breakfast is their big meal. They go all out for their breakfast. But its different than ours. Its a cold breakfast. It consists of lots of bakery goods(the Germans love their bread! There are bakeries on EVERY CORNER!) Things like breads and pasteries, lots of jams, chocolate spread and honey. They also do some sliced meats and cheeses if you want a deli type sandwich in the morning. Now as I discovered the first morning here-there are so many types of bread to choose from.(Germans have over 300 types of bread) and trust me-not all of them look very appetizing...haha I used to tease my mom about her "sticks and twigs bread" but the Germans may have her beat on that one. The darker the bread the better it is for you. My personal theory-the lighter the bread, the better it tastes...haha Oh and anywhere you go for breakfast, they ask if you would like tea or coffee. I go for the tea. Its amazing.

As far as lunch and dinner go- we haven't really had an authentic German lunch yet as we are so busy during the day. For dinner, I have discovered a little authentic Italian restaurant right outside post (and for any of you that know me real well-feed me pasta every night and I will be one happy camper!!) so we have eaten there almost every night now. :) So I have yet to have a German style dinner.

 4) One thing I love about the German community is everything is based off the honor system. People trust one another. This is so vastly different than the States.  In a lot of places you go they will have little refrigerators with drinks and such. If you want one, you can take one but are expected to go to the front desk at some point, tell them you took one and pay for it. They trust each other here. You can't do that in America. Its the same thing when you head downtown. People don't chain up their bikes here. They park them on the sidewalk or in a bike rack but they aren't chained up. People really don't steal here. The crime rate is extremely low. And unfortunately-the crime that does occur, occurs because of American's causing problems. Its sad really. In the same category I think, the German community is also very respectful of their land. They don't really litter here and if you do, its some hefty fines. There isn't trash all over the place. Bamberg is very clean and very well taken care of by its community.

5) Now speaking of bikes, that is one of the main forms of transportation here. Again, Germans are very healthy people and tend to walk places or ride bikes if they can. Although there are still a decent amount of drivers here, most Germans tend not to drive and are much healthier because of it. Bikers are also EXTREMELY protected by German laws here so if you hit a biker while driving...you are in MAJOR trouble!!

5) This is something that may offend some of you and if it does I am sorry but this is one thing I have really become aware of since moving here. Americans are an obnoxious group of people a lot of the time... and this is why. Although not always- most of the time any problems that are started here are because of a group of Americans. A lot of them are not respectful of other cultures and way of doing things and don't care to learn(and we wonder why people dislike us so much!) Julian and I try very very hard to be conscious of what we are doing and whether what we are doing is something that is acceptable. Even if its something we naturally do in the US, we are still in Germany and I feel we need to be respectful of their culture. But not all American's here have that mindset. Here is an example: Julian and I went out to dinner the first night we were here and there were two young American soldiers eating two tables in front of us. We were in a quiet Italian restaurant and they were speaking so obnoxiously loud and cursing every three words. This really bothered me. They did not care that they were disrupting everyone around them. They were extremely demanding and just all around rude. Now I understand that this can happen anywhere and it happens in America too but I just don't understand how you cannot be aware of your surroundings and trying to be respectful. Although I will explain this more later- people here are overall pretty quiet people, so they stuck out like sore thumbs!!  idk-that is my little rant I guess. I have just become much more aware of our actions and how they are affecting everyone around us. And while I am trying to do this, it makes me more aware of those people who do not care to fit in. They will do whatever they want, no matter how they are being perceived.

6) As I was saying above, Germans are for the most part a quiet group of people. Yes they have their fun loud party moments but they very much enjoy their quiet also. Germany actually has what is called "quiet times." The actual times vary from place to place, but they are times in the day that you are expected to be quiet and respectful. No loud music, you aren't supposed to do noisy tasks during this time(mowing your lawn etc.) It is actually pretty nice.:)


So overall, the one thing I love about Germany is they have an amazing mindset of what living is. they love to have fun, but they aren't necessarily about convenience like we are in the states. Yes certain things may be faster by hopping in a car, but you also miss out on the beauty of things. You can take in a lot more of your surroundings by walking or riding a bike than you do in a car. Same thing goes with eating here. When you go out to eat, nobody is in a rush. You sit down and are expected to talk and enjoy yourselves. They serve your drinks and will take your order when they can but nothing is rushed. The servers don't rush around to your every demand. You are expected to just chill and enjoy your company. They are all very respectful to each other and disrespect to one another is not tolerated. Profanity is not used and there are actually parts of Germany that have no profanity signs. Children are viewed as a blessing and the parenting style is different here. Most German parents(of course not everyone but a lot) are much more patient and allow children to just be kids. Unlike what we are used to, where some people view children as an inconvenience. An annoyance. It isn't that way here. I am not saying the children aren't disciplined, because they are actually really well behaved, but they are absolutely LOVED here!! It really is an amazing community and I honestly love it here. I am not saying that they have everything right because of course in every community there are faults. They are not perfect. But they very much have a great mindset on what it means to just enjoy life. To take your time and enjoy what is around you and what you have. I know I am going to learn so much here.

Well I know this was a really REALLY long post but I had a lot to share. :) Hopefully I didn't offend people to badly but if I did this is what I have to say: The bible states over and over again that the golden rule is to treat people how you would like to be treated. Love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 7:12 "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." I have seen this more in practice in the past four days than I think I have in 22 years in the states. People here are kind and loving. They are more than willing to reach a hand out and help you. They will put you, a stranger, before themselves.  I really think this is something that needs to not only be taught more, but acted upon more. To care for one another. 


Wow, I really didn't mean for this to get preachy but it was what the Lord put on my heart to share. I absolutely LOVE it here. It is a beautiful country with SO MUCH to teach and show. And I cannot believe that I was given the amazing blessing to get to live here, learn all that I can about another culture and to get to share it with you. Our pastor in El Paso used to tell us "You are blessed to be a blessing." So I really hope that as I was blessed to get this amazing opportunity that I am also sharing with you all that I am supposed to. I hope to show you as much of Germany as I can through this blog!! (eventually I will start uploading pictures. hehe) Have a great day everyone!!

Welcome to Germany...

Do you all remember the movie "The Princess Diaries" where Princess Mia is flying on her own private jet into Genovia for the first time? She looks out the window to see rolling green hills and a castle? Joseph comes to her shoulder and says "Princess Mia, welcome to Genovia...." all big and dramatic?

Well minus the castle and the private jet, that was the moment I had when we first flew into Germany.. I had just woken up from a quite uncomfortable, but still well desired 3 hours of sleep to see rolling hills of huge trees. It was absolutely beautiful!...

As Julian and I were waking up and trying to convince our minds that it was 10 am in Frankfurt- although in NC it was barely 4 am- we were being shuffled off a plane into the Frankfurt International Airport. I told Julian that the baby was having a hayday with my bladder and I really needed to use the restroom, only to get into the restroom and not know how to flush the toilet or turn on the sink....eventually I figured it out but it then hit me...."Toto, we aren't in Kansas anymore...." Haha jk jk (I don't know where all these movie references are coming from. Evidently this is what being sleep deprived does to me.) It really hit me that we were in a completely new country about to start the next three years of our lives here.

It has been a very crazy 24ish hours as we traveled from Norfolk VA, into Charlotte NC and then finally to Frankfurt, Germany. We are now trying to figure out how to get to Bamberg, Germany-hopefully our resting area(there is still a chance our orders will be changed to a different location. We will find out in about an hour.) We are sitting in the USO within the airport and were told that a bus will be taking a group of us to various posts around Germany. The bus will be arriving at 1330 and we have about a 2 hour bus ride to arrive in Bamberg.

Currently that has been our entire experience here. Nothing too crazy exciting has occurred yet but we have only been here about two hours. We have arrived safely though, all of our baggage made it just about in one piece(one suitcase is slightly torn but nothing too dramatic). We did get delayed stateside causing us to miss our first flight to Germany(we were supposed to arrive in Germany at 7:20 am) but we made it in one piece and that is all that matters. Overall everything went extremely smoothly and the Lord really helped work out all the messy details, and for that we are extremely grateful. Illianna has been kicking around all morning trying to figure out what is going on. She is doing really well though and growing nice and big. Hopefully within the next two weeks I can get a doctors appointment and get this little one checked out because it has been six weeks since my last appointment and I will be about 32 weeks before my next one if I had to guess. So please be praying for an easy transition into Germany as well as finding a great doctor here that can take over mine and Illianna's care. Thank you everyone for all your support and I will be talking to you all just as soon as possible!!

Alyssa Julian and Illianna

The truckers lounge...

Well now is as good as time as ever to update the blog. I am sitting in a "truckers room" as it's called while we set up the mini cooper for its adventure to Germany. And oh boy it's hot here. We are in Norfolk, VA and let me tell you, it feels as If you are melting. It is hot and sticky and just all around not fun 7 months pregnant. But the good side of all this is that dropping off The mini copper is our last step to be ready for Germany! The movers have come and gone, we have all of our final approvals and now we are just "dropping off" the car. I put that in quotations because it has not been a fast process as one would think.  It started this morning when we spent 2 hours cleaning the car inside and out(and it honestly still isn't clean enough for their standards...lol) then another hour driving downtown to turn the car in. We arrived shortly after 2 pm and spent 2 hours waiting in a room with no air conditioning for them to see us. then it was another 2 hours with them inspecting every single smudge and smear on the car. Luckily I got moved to the "truckers lounge" for this portion and it's much cooler down here :)  It is hard to believe that in three days I will be on my merry way to Germany. I have to say I am finally getting quite excited!! This is going to be an amazing adventure with so many new experiences! The Lord has blessed us so much Through this whole adventure and it's only just starting! The whole move process went so much smoother than we could have ever imagined and that was a great weight taken off our shoulders. Julian was able to outproccess of the post in just 2 days (it is normally a 10 day process).  I was able to handle all the movers (that was done in 3 days). We recieved amazing, honest and respectful movers who really seemed to care. We got out of Fayetteville yesterday and are now In Norfolk for The weekend!! We will spend an amazing weekend with some amazing dear friends on the beach and we couldn't be more excited! Then Germany here we come!!  We are almost at the end of the "getting ready" stages and I couldn't be more excited to see what the next few Weeks are going to bring! I will keep you updated as we get to Germany and will let you know what our first impression of Bamberg Germany is!! 

Getting ready for Germany!

Well I am pretty sure I have tried my hand at this whole blog thing and failed. I start it get excited about it...and then it falls into the abyss of blogs never to Be seen again. But I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how I was going to keep everyone updated with what's happening with our little family and our adventures into parenthood and Germany. We have a lot of really big changes happenin for our family and to be honest...it's taking that faith of a mustard seed to make this huge move. I know the Lord has great plans in store for us. "for I know the plans i have for you. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you. plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11) For those of you who need a recap of everything going on: we got five weeks notice we were moving to Bamberg, Germany. We are having our first precious little girl in September! We had to leave our pups behind for the time being. And we are facing a deployment in the near future. (no I don't have more details than yes he is deploying.) Although it has been a very stressful and emotion filled five weeks we are ready to begin this new adventure. We arrive in Frankfurt the morning of the 10th of July. We then have about a 2 1/2 hour drive to arrive at our post in Bamberg. As some of you know, we don't know how long we will be without phones or Internet. We will be able to go on post to use the computers but they obviously won't have things like Skype. So for the time being I will be updating this blog. I look forward to starting this adventure and bring you all with us vicariously through this blog! We look forward to seeing how the Lord uses the next three years to grow ourselves, our experiences and yo ultimately bring us closer to Him. This move is taking much faith a d trust in His plan so please be praying that we seek our purpose out in Germany and yearn to fulfill it all while exploring Gods beautiful creation called Germany!! Stay safe everyone and I will update as soon as I can!