New Country.. new troubles

So, as we start settling in and moving into the new place I'm learning TONS about the cultural differences. The hardest for me to get past is the lack of common courtesy and drive to help other people. Let me start by saying, I'm from the south. Southern hospitality is something I'm accustomed to, and I believe that you should help other people when you can. Noah has introduced me to some very nice and helpful people. One girl has helped tremendously with everything from finding a good OB/GYN to finding somebody to do my waxing. She has really been a lifesaver. People like that are the minority though. Yesterday, I was at the new place all day building our Ikea furniture (side note- I will never again do the cheap furniture thing. What you save in money you put back in two-fold with time and effort.). The washer/dryer was to be delivered between 12 and 4. There was a buzz between 1 & 2. Awesome! It was right on time. I buzz the delivery guy in, he comes in and informs me (from what I gathered as my German is shaky at best) that he is only supposed to bring it to the first floor, so I politely ask him to please help me out by bringing it up seeing that I'm 7 months pregnant and can't move the damn thing a centimeter. He laughs and says no. So, a little frustrated, I offer him 20 euro. It was worth that to me, he still declines. I'm thinking this better be really heavy. So I follow him downstairs. He hops on his truck and rolls our washer/dryer off on a mechanical dolly that lifts the thing up and down. HE DOESN'T HAVE TO PUT FORTH ANY EFFORT. WTF?!?!!?! It was really just too much for him to wheel his electronic dolly on the elevator and to the 3rd floor. I've never wanted to punch somebody so bad in my entire life.

To top off all the horrible "customer service" here, our property manager had a complaint today about all the boxes being in the way when our kitchen was being delivered. Our move in date was supposed to be June 1. The reason it wasn't is because he didn't do the kitchen on time. If he would have had our kitchen delivered and installed on time, our boxes would not have been in his way. For him to have the nerve to complain about our stuff being in his way in our apartment when he is the one who is inconveniencing us is absurd!!! Even though the reason our boxes were in the way was because the moving people did not unpack them like they were supposed to. Getting people to do their job is hard, to go a little above and beyond- practically impossible.

Moral of the story to my American friends, be thankful for America. Be wary of this socialist model economy Obama is trying to put into effect. That is the type of "customer service" that will come out of it. People won't care about their jobs and will refuse to work hard because they can always fall back on the welfare system. Seriously, what I would give to hop on a crowded subway and have somebody say, "Ma'am, here take my seat," just out of common courtesy because I'm female and pregnant.

Wow.. what a bitch session. Things I'm thankful for: 1. My husband- it is so nice to be able to talk to him about anything going on, especially during this trying transition period. 2. My mom- she listens to my rants at all hours, and I know they can get bad. 3. My healthy little gobble monster growing at a rapid pace in my belly. 4. Jenn- she helps remind me, "I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy." 5. This experience- while frustrating at times, it is helping me grow as a person more than I ever would have at home. Germany really is a good place. It is just different, and I'm a spoiled brat. I'm guessing 6 more months here and a baby will undo the 25 1/2 years of being a spoiled little princess. BOB SAGET!!!

Finally Sunday...

What a freaking week this has been! I was just woken up by maybe one of the stinkiest farts ever, and since it didn't wake my husband up I thought I'd recap a little of what has been going on since Thursday.

Needless to say shopping has NOT been fun, and it is a huge

hassle in Germany. On Thursday I got up determined to find exactly what we needed. I started my day of shopping (by myself, mind you) at Mobel Kraft. It is like an upscale Ikea where they actually put the furniture together for you. The Germans call it FURNITURE FORCE. Kinda creepy.. I found some stuff for Sylvia's room, a really nice rocker, an entertainment center a little out of our price range, and Noah a cute little to-go cup for his coffee. I was actually feeling on top of the world at this point seeing that, "I did good." After paying for Noah's little coffee cup I go to leave the store and WHAM!!! I walked out the emergency exit setting off all the alarms in the place. Completely embarrassed by what had happened, I waddled my giant, pregnant self out as quickly as possible only to hear the piercing sounds of sirens. Good to know Germany's fire department has a pretty good response time... FML

Friday, I had my first appointment with the doctor. I was quite unnerved about going by myself, but I put on my big girl panties and did it anyway. It was actually painless. The receptionist/nurse spoke sufficing English, and she was very sweet. She and the doctor were also very accommodating to my American ways. The doctor isn't big on the idea of a c-section, and will be monitoring little Sylvia's growth every 2 weeks until she can have a better idea of how big she is really going to be. I got to see my little gobble monster though.. weighing in at a whopping 2 pounds and 6 ounces...

When Noah made it home that night, we decided to go to Ikea to figure out the rest of this shopping. We spend at least 4 hours designing closets (German rooms don't have built in closets) and an entertainment center that ended up not even being able to hold his massive tv. We were so annoyed by the lack of customer service near closing time that Noah finally just got on a phone and started dialing numbers hoping somebody would pick up. After making the decision to come back first thing Saturday morning (figuring it was 10, I was exhausted, and supppeeerrrrr cranky) we headed out.

Saturday, we got up, cranked out the Ikea crap early, and decided since it was 75 out that we should head to THE ZOO!!!!!!!!!! I had been waiting for this day since I found out we were moving to Berlin. We had a lovely day just walking around and looking at all the animals. One, in particular, stood out from the crowd. Please google a male tapir penis. IT IS AS LONG AS HIS LEGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, time to start our Sunday taking a boat cruise, hanging out in the park, and doing basically nothing :) I love Sundays!!

No better time than the present...

I've been wanting to start blogging about my adventures as a wife, giant pregnant lady, and I guess grown up for a while now. I guess there is no better time to start talking about my adult life than when I'm sick in bed, missing my mommy. I've been in Germany for about 11 days now, and I've been sick about 9 of them. So far it's been pretty hectic. We did the final walk through of our apartment, and the kitchen wasn't installed in time. Our move-in date was pushed back to June 12. We've been running around like mad looking for furniture in a city that is NOT centered on customer service. I feel like I'm at Dicks in Myrtle Beach every time we go out to eat somewhere other than an Asian place. My husband is really being wonderful though. He's been busting his butt all week making sure my insurance is set so I can get to the doctor and hopefully get better. I'm just afraid I'm allergic to this city. Right now, it's 54 and rainy out, and this is the warmest day yet this week. When I left Orlando, it was 95 and sunny. I'm pretty sure it's close to the same in LKN. Even if I can't get better, it will be nice to get settled with the doctor that will hopefully see me through the last 13 weeks of my pregnancy. Aside from being sick, Noah has shown me some pretty amazing things in this city. They have the most amazing markets on the weekends. You can buy anything from fresh fish to fresh fruit to mustards to honey to handmade jewelry to real fur coats (yes, I'll need one for winter) to gorgeous antiques. *Side note- I saw a fox coat that looked just like Prissy. I really wanted it. I miss that mean little mutt.* The lifestyle is so slow paced over here. On Sundays, really all you do is spend time with your loved ones. There are no malls or anything open. You're not even allowed to mow your grass or do laundry if you're in an apartment building. A big change I've noticed in myself- I used to look forward to Sundayfunday to go get trashed on the lake. Now, I look forward to walking through the park with Noah just enjoying each other. We don't have to worry about anything to do with the apartment or his job because there is absolutely nothing that can be done until Monday. Ok, time to get back in bed. Hubby's orders :)