Don't let the flu bugs bite

I have been home sick the last 2 days recovering from a "holy schnicke" case of the stomach flu. My poor husband has seen things no husband should ever see!
He is a trooper though.

Anyway! I am feeling much better and I wanted to share some good news. I had a job interview about a week ago for a job working at the Air Force Family Support Center which is located here in the military community we live in. I was offered the position today! This really is an answered prayer for myself and Don. The agency is very similar to the Army agency I work for now, and I will be assisting people with a variety of services. This also means that my daily commute will downsize from 100 miles a day to about 10 miles round trip, some days Don and I will be able to drive to work together. I am giving my 2 weeks notice tomorrow and hope to be in my new job by mid February.

I hope this finds you well and healthy!

robin

The dog days of...winter?

Today I braved 20 degree temperatures to go to a Fasching Parade in my village. Fasching or Fastnacht comes from the German words vaschanc or vastschang (Fastschank) meaning fasting night, or eve of Lent, the period of fasting. Unfortnately I went to the wrong part of the village and I missed the entire thing! Since I was already bundled up for the cold, I decided to walk around in freakishly cold temparatures to take a few pictures of my village. I am still thawing out!

This part of Germany was bombed heavily during the war. In fact, just last fall a construction crew that was working on another US military base not far from here uncovered a bomb from WWII that never detonated. They had to evacuate part of the base and send in the EOD (bomb people) to make sure that it was a dud. Pretty amazing to think that it had been sitting in the ground for over 60 years!

The pictures I posted are from the center of our village. Most villages are very similar to this one, with cobble streets and a Church as the focal point in the center of town. Come spring the streets you see will be filled with vendors and you can walk through the weekend market and buy German pastries, or bratwurst as well as fresh fruits and vegetables and other goods.

Our village also has a weekly antique market where you can find beautiful furniture, books, even old WWII uniforms (Allied and German), medals and coins. A friend of ours told us that one day he was walking through the market and an elderly man tapped him on the shoulder and pulled out an old Third Reich ID card he still carries in his wallet. Our friend didn't really know what to say, he just nodded and walked on!


robin

Consider it pure joy...

Some days I need to be reminded of what really matters in this life. This is my sister Deanna and brother-in-law Bryan's son Calder. Thanks to a nickname she started when we were kids, I am known as "Aunt Birdie." But since he's so cute, I don't really mind.

He definitely belongs to my family...



Story behind the photos.
My Mom sent me these recently.

Picture 1 & 3:
Calder loves to play with their dog Annie. One evening this summer he was playing with the water in the bird bath in my parents back yard. The first picture was taken when Annie was taking a drink of water. The third picture was taken immediately after. My Mom said that Calder burst out laughing at Annie like it was the funniest thing he had ever seen. I can't believe how much he looks like my Mom!

Picture 2:
This was taken after Calder played one of his favorite games..."squirt water on my face with my bottle." Who needs toys when you are this kid?

robin (aunt birdie)

Where the heck is Ausfahrt Germany?

Today I am celebrating the end of an extremely long week with a funny and random story from our first experiences living in Germany.

This is a story from the first 4 hours of living in Deustchland.

Don and I flew from the States to Germany on a military chartered flight. We landed in Frankfurt which is about a 120 min drive from where we live. We were told that there would be someone from Dons' unit (called a sponsor) that would be there to greet us and drive us to the base and our temporary lodging. However, when we arrived no one was in sight and we were basically left on our own. We must have looked pitiful and desperate because a couple of people who worked there told us that if we needed a ride we could buy a seat on one of the shuttles that would take you to your assigned base.

We purchased the last 2 seats on this little shuttle bus (it was like a rental car shuttle you see at the airport) that was packed out with tired, cranky, jet-lagged Americans. As we slowly made our way out of the city and into the German countryside I kept noticing these blue and white signs with the word "Ausfahrt" (pronounced (h)ouse- fahrt). Yes, it sounds like you think it sounds... I hear you snickering...let's face it "fahrt" sounds funny to Americans no matter what language it is. I thought this was the name of a town and so I asked Don, "Where is this Ausfahrt Germany? I've seen signs for miles." He said that he was wondering the same thing.

The entire ride from the airport to the base it was this big mystery. Where was Ausfahrt Germany? And how big of a town was it that there were so many signs for it? Do all roads in Germany lead to Ausfahrt?

What I learned later on is that "ausfahrt" means literally to "drive out", or exit (which only makes it funnier if you think about it) and you see this sign at all Autobahn exits. You can even buy a t-shirt at the Base Exchange (store) that says "Where the heck is Ausfahrt Germany?" which makes me feel better because it means that I wasn't the only person who thought it was a town!

Just in case you are wondering the word for entrance is einfahrt (hehehehe).

Have a great weekend everybody and don't miss your ausfahrt!

robin

The real Hotel Rwanda

The real Hotel Rwanda.

Some of you may know what it is we do Monday through Friday, but for those of you that don't I thought I would attempt to briefly explain what our jobs are. I will try to make this as interesting as humanly possible...please bear with me.

There are certain rules I have to abide by when it comes to information about Don's job, they call it force protection but it basically means that I can't plaster details about military missions all over the internet where anybody can read them, this also includes emails. I can tell you however, that Don works as a Maintenance Specialist for C- 130 airplanes. This means in human terms that in order to be called the "Air" Force, they need guys like him that keep the force in the air. Pilots are important too you know because the actually fly the planes (that's for Jim if he reads this thing)! It can be a high stress job at times, when there are real world events and they have to get 3 planes ready to fly with short notice, but his job has taken him to some interesting parts of the world. Recently he traveled to Kigali, Rwanda in support of a UN relief mission there. It was on CNN, so it's not a secret or anything! Some of you may have seen the movie Hotel Rwanda- a film about true events that occured at a hotel called the Mille Collines. Here is a picture of Don taken in front of the real hotel sign on a day he was allowed to do some sight seeing. It was a humbling experience for him to say the least. In between all of his trips around the world and unpredictable work schedule here at home, he is also working hard to complete his bachelor's degree. This is easier said than done, but he never gives up and I truly admire and love him for his committment.

Even though I am married to an Airman, I work for the Army. Hooah! My official job title is Victim Advocate Coordinator. I work with victims of sexual assault and/or domestic violence with an agency called Army Community Service. This is not easy work, in fact it has been very draining on me physically and emotionally this last year. Sometimes, at the end of the day there isn't much of me left, but I have a peace knowing that people have not had to face the trauma of an assault alone. I have met true survivors and am humbled by their strength. In addition to offering advocacy services, I also provide prevention and awareness trainings for the 3,500 Soldiers that are stationed in the community I work in. This is the part of the job that I have found to be very interesting. In the last year all of the branches of service have implemented new policies about reporting sexual assault. The biggest victory in all of this is that the victims actually get to choose for themselves how they want the report of the assault to be handled- this is a big step for the military. I speak to various groups of people explaining the new policy, as well as attempt to dispell many of the myths that are so destructive for victims. It feels great to be helping promote changes in ways people think about the issue of sexual violence. This hasn't been easy mind you, I have been verbally challenged by members of the audience when I have said something that touched a nerve for them, for one reason or another. This has also provided me with some practical experience while I am working on a masters degree in counseling psychology.
Although this has been an overall rewarding experience that I am greatful for, I am currently looking for other work. I commute 100 miles a day (50 each way) and me and my trusty Hyundai "Elaine" are running low on energy these days! I have commuted for work before, but driving on a freeway in the States and driving on the autobahn are very different...I have seen some crazy things!

If you are interested in reading more about my program here is the link to the Army Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program
http://www.sexualassault.army.mil/index.htm

'till next time, we hope this finds you well.

robin (and Don too, he's just quiet)

Just the 2 of us

Hi!

I was actually trying to add a picture of us to our profile, but this is how it turned out! Oh well! For those of you that haven't seen us for a few years, this is what we look like as of today. A little older and hopefully a little wiser.

robin

The smallest kitchen in the world

Pretty in Pink.

Today I thought I would share with you a few of the interesting things you find living in a German home. This picture was taken at the front of our town house. Yes, we live in a pink house. Believe me it was not easy convincing Don that he "wouldn't even notice the pink after a while." The selling point for him was that it had heated floors! Our landlords Jim and Pepi live next door to us on the right, which is very common here. We are blessed with awesome landlords who are very helpful, especially when you don't speak German!

My kitchen:
I have the smallest kitchen in the world. For some reason kitchens in German homes are tiny and bathrooms are HUGE...like the size of a bedroom. We can't figure out why this is the case. My kitchen reminds me of a camper my parents had growing up, all the appliances are smaller to fit in to the small space. After this I can cook a Thanksgiving dinner in a Winnebago!

Kitchens are built to be mobile. You know the saying "they took everything, including the kitchen sink." Here in Germany that is actually the case. If you sell a home you pack up everything, the cupboards, the counters, the sink...everything. Perhaps that is part of the reason kitchens are smaller.

Closets:
Closets don't exist here. We have a 3 bedroom 1 .5 bath 3 story town house with zero closet space. This is another mystery to us. What's wrong with closets? Maybe it's because you can't pack them up and take them with you! If you want to hang your clothes you use what are called Schrunks (I think I spelled that right), we usually call them wardrobes. I have realized I am less likely to hold on to things I don't use because I don't have any place to store them....hmmm...maybe there is a method to the madness!

All I can say is the next home we live in when we return to the states in 2008 will have closets and a kitchen bigger than a closet!

robin

A crash course in parenting

New Years 2006 will definitley go down in Don & Robin history as one of the most memorable. We partied with a 4 year old!

Meet Jenna. She is one of the cutest and coolest kids Don and I have ever known (besides our niece Katie and nephew Calder, you will meet them another time). Jenna is the daughter of our good friends Kathy and Richard. They have another daughter named Cora, who during the New Year weekend was very sick and required some extra TLC from her Mom and Dad. So Don and I took over parent patrol and watched Jenna at our house for a few days. This is a picture from New Years Eve. Check out her snow boots- we call them her "wookie boots."

It is a tradition here in Germany, as well as other parts of Europe I hear, to light fireworks at midnight. I am not talking about professional shows that you see in the States. Here in Germany anyone can buy a variety of rockets and firecrackers without needing a permit. We took Jenna to a store parking lot near our home to set of our own "kids pack" of fireworks. At midnight Don and I went to the 3rd floor of our house to look out the skylights. It was truly the best show I have ever seen! It lasted for 45 minutes non-stop. The sky over our entire village was full of fireworks shooting from all directions. It was really impressive.

It was a good thing for Don and I to see each other in a nuturing/caretaker role. We have talked about just how much your life changes with a child, everything you think about or do includes what is best for them. We look forward to parenthood....just not yet!
robin

A new year, a new outlet.

Hi. Welcome to the first ever Don & Robin blog. We hope you enjoy your visit!

First I want to thank my friends Heather and Kathy for opening the world of blogging to me. This is going to be fun.

I have realized that since Don and I were married and living in Germany we have lost touch with many of you. The purpose of this blog is to share tidbits (I just like saying that word) of our life here in Europe- and give you a glimpse as to how we have changed and grown (hopefully) as people and as husband and wife. Living oversees includes many adventures and misadventures- I need an outlet to share the oddities of life in Germany! I hope it makes you laugh!

If you know of others that may enjoy reading this blog, please feel free to pass it on! Stay tuned for future postings and pictures.

Many blessings to you in the new year.

robin