H
allo Freunden!
Hello Friends!
It’s been a busy couple of weeks, so I’ve been remiss in making my posts here. I can’t believe I’ve been in Hamburg now for two months. Sometimes it seems like a lot longer, and other times it feels like I just got here. Relocating to a foreign country can be simultaneously overwhelming and exhilarating.
I finished my second Intensive Deutsch Course last Thursday. Since then, I’ve been busy studying for my German A1 Language Certificate, which will prove useful for my visa process. I’ve also been attending a program that the Hamburg Library system hosts called “Dialog in Deutsch”. It’s a free program that allows German language learners the opportunity to speak with each other and practice their language skills. While I don’t yet understand a lot of what people are saying, even though I’ve been going to “Beginner’s” sessions, I’m still learning and getting more opportunities to practice my German.
My test is this Saturday morning, so keep me in your thoughts!
We’ve also been busy trying to make our apartment a little less chaotic. If you follow us on Facebook, you probably saw the photos of the Schränke (closets) we assembled. It’s normal for German homes to not have built-in closets like American homes, so people have free-standing closets that they use instead. Often, they will take them with them when they move out. We were fortunate to “inherit” multiple sets of these for our apartment. Clarke had assembled the ones for our bedroom before I arrived, but we wanted to do the others together. These line our entry hall and will be used to store coats, shoes (it is customary here to have separate shoes for in the house and outside of the house), and other items that we need as we go in and out of the apartment.
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| Clarke working on the Schränke |
Even though we no longer own a home, there are still times when something breaks and derails our planned activities. We were in the process of swapping out our old dishwasher with a newer model that we also “inherited” when we discovered that moisture had been collecting under our brand new wooden countertops, causing a section to warp. Fortunately, as renters we can put this back on our Landlords (sorry guys!). Unfortunately, until the countertop can be repaired or replaced, we are back to washing dishes by hand (first world problems, I know). We have not one, but two, dishwashers sitting in our apartment at the moment: one waiting to go to the dump, and one waiting to be installed. 😐
I was going to do a whole post on some of the architecture I’ve encountered, but I think that will wait until next week. I have more studying to do. Clarke has been a real champ helping me with my test preparations. 💖
Bis zum nächsten Mal!
Until next time!
David