Speed Bumps

(posted from internet cafe on post)

We have finally moved into the place we will call home for the next two years if all goes right.  I have nicknamed it “The Lodge”.  Along with the wooden ceiling and the slopes of part of the roof and into our ceiling, I very much feel like I’m in a lodge in the mountains.

Except that I am in Germany.

Currently without a car or internet access.  Actually, at this very moment, I am poaching internet from somewhere, quite by accident.  But it is so slow and unreliable that I’m typing everything in Word and then cutting and pasting when I do have internet access.  I have no idea when that will be.  TKS is promising horrendous speeds for internet as well as not giving us a date for installation because we are so far out in the sticks.  (which is NOT really the case…only 3 villages from Amberg.)  So, we hopefully will get a chance to talk to Telecom (who I thought was the same company as TKS until recently when they informed us otherwise) this weekend about a sooner date.  I would like to email people about things I see for sale in the paper, about meetings to learn about job possibilities, and to email Verizon and say, hey, WTF?  They’re charging me charges they ought not be charging.

And SPEAKING OF – stupid Lufthansa charged us stupid extra baggage fees (NEVERMIND WE WERE TRAVELLING ON ORDERS!) and an overweight bag fee as well.  (again, paying no mind that we were travelling on orders.)  Well.  Apparently finance has found a loophole to avoid reimbursing us said travel fees.  They are claiming we were not authorized to fly from Denver and we should have flown from the East Coast.  (Lie.  It was authorized and SATO issued both tickets.)  Why they aren’t reimbursing baggage fees is beyond me.  The Government can be very generous when it comes to perks of serving in the military.  This, however, I feel is the work of stinginess where they come off looking like assholes.  (Notice I did not actually call them assholes.)  John is too busy getting settled into his new job to have the time to fight it.  I have no way to get to post.

Anyway, back to being stranded in the sticks.  With no internet.  Monday, to kill the time, I went for a walk in Ammerthal and it was gorgeous.  I also covered the village in about 45 minutes.  I am guessing if I walked up and down every street, it might take me 90 minutes.  Monday also provided me the opportunity to practice some German I have learned.  A man pulled up in his car and asked directions to some “strasse” (= street) and I proudly replied “Mein Deutsch is nicht gut.”  This, of course, means “My German is not good.”  He laughed, said “ahhhh!” and drove away.  I apologized in English.  I haven’t got the word down for “I’m sorry” yet.  It’s kind of long.

As for the car, we DO have Inga.  She made it in one piece and passed the inspection, although I have to say, just barely.  I have to get her shifter fixed.  But not until we get John’s car in country, through customs, insured and registered.  Until then, he’s using Inga to drive to work.  While I sit and home and wait for deliveries. 

We hope to get the wardrobes in a few days.  Still no word on when we get a washer/dryer.  (These things are provided by housing.)  And hopefully we get the rest of our stuff buy 17 Aug!  Ah, our stuff.  How I miss it!  It feels like we can do so little until we have our stuff!