I have spent the last week attending what the army calls "German Headstart". Spouses are allowed to attend this course with their sponsor as well as any of the briefings, drivers orientation and testing. (In Army families, the soldier is also the "sponsor". They don't give out chips for going to the meetings though. *Wink* to John A.)
Headstart is an introduction to the German culture and language. Our teacher was "Herr Bert", a smart old guy with a good sense of humor and a whole lot of information to give. He went over about 70 or so different topics... no lie, I numbered them in my notes.
On Wednesday, the class took a private tour of 23 of the 520+ rooms in the Schloss (Castle) in Ansbach. When I say private, I mean they actually gave Herr Bert the old style skeleton keys to the joint. The next day, we took a German train to Steinach and ordered a nice meal. Every Headstart class does this, and would you believe the soldiers are actually allowed to drink up to 2 beers with their meal? We ordered our meals entirely in German, and afterwards I could and did buy the tall German beer glass with the brewery seal on it. Coolest glass ever... all mine. :)
I advise any spouse coming here to take this class. It was SO worth the time. Even the child care is free.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Sunday, September 03, 2006
What I'd do differently
I have some catching up to do on here but before I do that, I really wanted to post some things that might help somebody on their way here.
There is good advice in the title link - it's the Ft Rucker MWR "Germany briefing". Maybe I'd have been able to sleep on the plane if I had read this.
I wish I had not packed so many clothes in unaccompanied baggage. What I really needed was my kitchen stuff. A pot, a frying pan, big spoons, a spatula. Cleaning supplies like a mop, bucket, broom & pan.
Pillows... I wish I had packed my pillows, and our pillowtop for the mattress. I know it wouldn't fit the double bed perfectly, but I still miss it. My back misses it.
I miss my printer. Nobody here can print stuff for me because the Army's apparently so over budget for this fiscal year, that nobody gets new printer cartridges for their printers until October.
There are no used book stores (English, anyway) near here, so if you crave reading, or need to buy your English-German dictionaries cheap... do it stateside.
DON'T use Pack and Ship places to mail your stuff. Let them pack your computer, printer, and video game stuff... but then take it to the Post Office yourself and mail it.
DO make sure you use Certified Mail or place a small amount of insurance on EVERY BOX you send through USPS. Otherwise, no tracking, and boxes do get lost.
More later... time for bed!
There is good advice in the title link - it's the Ft Rucker MWR "Germany briefing". Maybe I'd have been able to sleep on the plane if I had read this.
I wish I had not packed so many clothes in unaccompanied baggage. What I really needed was my kitchen stuff. A pot, a frying pan, big spoons, a spatula. Cleaning supplies like a mop, bucket, broom & pan.
Pillows... I wish I had packed my pillows, and our pillowtop for the mattress. I know it wouldn't fit the double bed perfectly, but I still miss it. My back misses it.
I miss my printer. Nobody here can print stuff for me because the Army's apparently so over budget for this fiscal year, that nobody gets new printer cartridges for their printers until October.
There are no used book stores (English, anyway) near here, so if you crave reading, or need to buy your English-German dictionaries cheap... do it stateside.
DON'T use Pack and Ship places to mail your stuff. Let them pack your computer, printer, and video game stuff... but then take it to the Post Office yourself and mail it.
DO make sure you use Certified Mail or place a small amount of insurance on EVERY BOX you send through USPS. Otherwise, no tracking, and boxes do get lost.
More later... time for bed!
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