Katastrophe

If you don't want to read, what I consider to be truly traumatic news, then go no further.

My Sonicare toothbrush, that I love more than most people, won't recharge!!!! :(

I fear that when I plugged it into the wall (without a converter, it doesn't produce heat, shouldn't need one) here that I burned the circuitry for the charger. This absolutely devastates me. Never have my teeth felt so clean as when that toothbrush is gracing the enamel of my pearly whites. I'm going to have to buy a German one or something, if such a thing exists. I don't really think many Germans are concerned about electric toothbrushes. Le sigh. :(

Another catastrophe is the fact that many Germans feel like it is appropriate to wear denim jackets often. No.

Its much warmer today than it has been the past few days so I'm not dressed like an Inuit. It's actually a rather nice day. I have a lesson in thirty minutes with this woman who is improving her English in hopes of finding a job (unemployment in Germany is around 10%). Later today I have to take a bus to some suburb to teach for an hour and a half then take it back. I haven't driven the company car's yet and I haven't practiced so it would be rather bad for me to get behind the wheel of a German car, drive for 30 minutes when I haven't practiced yet.

I'm much more stressed than I thought I was. I don't necessarily feel stressed the way you usually do.Last night it kind of hit me, the weight of everything. The flight from the states, moving over here for two years, starting a new job, speaking German constantly, not having any friends (although more on this in a bit) and then on top of that, my grandfather passing away and my sister giving birth, all within the past week. My fingers and eye lids began twitching yesterday, which is my body's sign of stress. Like a good WASP I've kept my feeling suppressed regarding the death of my grandfather. Really, it sucks because that was the last connection I had to my Father besides my brothers and Mom. I will, as is my style, push on without event. And today is definitely the funeral for my Grandfather.

Last night I got to talk for about 15 minutes with some of the other English teachers. A girl from Australia ( I cannot remember her name to save my life) who actually studies in the Netherlands but works here, were having a good conversation and she was giving me some general tips on being here and such. I've also joined an online expat group in hopes of meeting people in a similar situation. Many of the English teachers here aren't here just to work, but rather they're students as well or in some cases here because their boyfriend/husband got a job in Aachen. I haven't met another male English teacher yet, but I know tomorrow a guy name Mike, an American who's been living in Germany for some time will arrive here. I hope he's young enough to where we hit it off easily.

Tomorrow is move in day for my apartment and over the weekend I'll be getting a cell phone and hopefully get DSL/Internet service installed in my apartment so I won't have to schlep up to the Starbucks for everything. Any recommendations for explaining tenses? I couldn't tell you what they are in English, I'm going to have to study that. Oy veh.