It's Fasching's Time!!

Fasching is the bavarian name for the let-loose, over-indulgent, any-excuse-to-go-crazy, all-bets-are-off holiday celebrated by almost every traditionally Catholic country and region for centuries. Like the rituals and traditions surrounding the festival, the name itself varies from country to country. You probably know it better as Mardi Gras or Carnevale. Well, as I said before, here in Germany it is known as Fasching, but also Karneval to a lesser extent. And unlike in America, Fasching is not merely a one-day event, rather it is a celebration-period that spans the weeks leading up to "Fat Tuesday", that infamous day when all the truely devout Catholics commence the (now not so severe) fasting period of Lent. And as a ingenious way to prepare for and kick-off this, most challenging and austere of periods, the bavarians concocted a true culinary treasure. Known as "krapfen" here in Bavaria, but also as "berliner" and other names in various parts of Germany, these ancestors or perhaps cousins of the jelly-donut were originally designed to be the most fattening and over-indulgent guilty pleasure possible. And as such they are amazingly GOOD!! or lecker should I say??! But besides the ubiquity of krapfen around town, other signs that it is indeed Fasching, would be some very oddly dressed people about town -including my two little charges Martin and Irene, who were an elephnat and a chinese princess respectively. I mean sure if we were in Vegas no one would bat an eye, but here in germany, that degree of bizarre is reserved for one time of year only....FASCHING! Basically, what Halloween is to us, Fasching/Carneval/Carneval is to Germany, as well as Italy and Brazil and perhaps Spain, though honestly I am not sure. And basically it is a good time had by all.

During this time, Munich is overrun by Fasching balls (as in dances that is), concerts and other such events. And over this last weekend, a stage was constructed in Marienplatz right in front of the Rathaus (City Hall) and live music is played there from the afternoon until late at night. To accompany this stage, a gaggle of concession stands were set up as well selling the usual "necessities", including (of course) bottles of beer to be enjoyed along with the concert. You hear that America??!! A "civilized" country, not to mention one of the saftest and most livable cities in the world, yet they somehow are legally allowed to drink a beer in public, outside even. Craziness I know :-) (Sorry couldn't pass up the opportunity to rant) Anyways, in conclusion, this is quite an exciting time to be in Munich. Tomorrow is the big day, the last day before Lent, the last time to go all out before weeks and weeks and weeks of hardship and sacrifice. Except for the fact that now-a-days very few people are even anywhere near that observant. But just forget that fact and revel in the splendor of excess! So I bid you all a very very HAPPY FASCHING!! tscheussiii

It's All Relative

One of the things you find out when you travel extensively and, even more so, when you live in other countries is that everything in life is truely relative. From your sense of hot and cold, to your taste in food, to your definition of "beautiful", "on time" and "long distance". It all depends on your point of view, on what you are accustomed to, and what "normal" means to you. And what we don't often realize is that our perceptions, as much as they are based on personality and temperament, they are equally, if not more, dependent on our culture and the common thought of the society we are brought up in. And often times it takes us saying, "yes, this is weird, strange, like nothing I've done, seen, heard or tasted before, BUT it could be good once I get used to it" to break down these invisible, yet not insignificant, barriers. I firmly believe that one must acquire, or be lucky enough to be born with, this ability to see outside the lines, so to speak, and into the bigger picture in order to be a successful nomad. Not to say I'm the final word on "traveling well", but just to share my humble observations and personal experience.



This time, not unlike any of my other international experiences, has involved those same uncomfortable encounters that so often arise when you've unknowingly commited a social faux pas, that if at home would be perfectly acceptable. Well ,luckily, up until now, the number of ghastly faux pas commited on my part have been limited. However, I will share the few that I can recall with you, as well as other general cultural differences I have observed or been told about.



First of all, germans like asians firmly believe in the differentiation between outside and inside, or "house", shoes. You always always take your shoes off when entering your own or someone else's house, and are to promptly put on either slippers or those slipper socks with the grips on the bottom before proceeding any further. And whatever you do, DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT, walk around bare foot. That is the biggest faux pas of all. In fact, Katie, my predecessor, told me of one incident in particular, where she ran out of the house to quickyl get the mail (or post) from the postman without her shoes on, and he absolutely refused to give it to her until she went back inside and got some shoes on. That, my friends, is how much germans do not like the idea of barefootedness.



For the second difference, I will move to the table, which I have found is one of the primary sites for cultural differences to emerge. As in, the German way is very different from the Italian, is very different from the American way. For example, Germans always always eat with both a fork and a knife, never with just a fork. Because even if the dish doesn't require anything to be cut, the knife is used to gently and politely knudge a portion of the food onto the fork. Also, it is considered a major faux pas in germany to start eating before everyone has their food and wishes each other "Guten Apetit!" - something that has proven quite the challenge for me to remember to do consistently. Also it seems that napkins are not a commonly held tool of the table here. Which I find completely bizarre and somewhat disconcerting :-) Whereas in Italy, I was thought to be complete heathen whenever I dared eat a meal without a table cloth or, at least, a place mat underneath my plate.

Besides table manners, there have of course arisen a few issues relating to the content of my meals. One of which is the Germans affinity for breakfasts and/or dinners consisting mostly of bread and butter or cheese, pates, sausages, and other spreadables. And don't get me wrong I too am a lover of such things, but when it gets to the point that I'm having it 14 times a week, it can be a bit exhausting on the palate, per se. The same issue has arisen in relation to dairy products in general. I mean I thought americans were bad, oh no the germans have out-done us by a landslide in the dairy consumption world. In fact, I can feel a dairy overload coming on, and the strong urge for asian and mediterranean cuisines setting in ...ahhh save me non-saturated fats save me!! Speaking of which, I feel I must adequately warn you all about german milch (milk) in case you ever come here. It, like most european milk, is of the variety that comes in a carton and can be stored on the shelf for what, according to the american perspective, are unnaturally long and unsafe periods of time. However, unlike all the other euro milks I have had the german shelf milk has a very peculiar taste, an acquired taste if you will. A taste that for me is undrinkable straight up, or even on the rocks. Instead if I am to have a glass of milk here I am always obliges to heat it and add honey, so the characteristic cheesey taste is well disguised. Yummy huh??!

Moving on from food, there is the german knack for following rules. A knack that extends to such common american habits as jay-walking despite the illegality of it, or even just crossing at an intersection before the little green man lights up. Then there is the amazing capacity for maintaining quiet and avoiding all eye-contact in a crowded, rush-hour public transport facility, that I've only seen out-done by the British. And finally I am here to tell you that the stereotype of german "bluntness" is very true. They do not dance around the issues, they do not sugarcoat, and they, unlikc us over-sensitized americans, rarely ever ever have to think about self-censoring their opinions. They 9 times out of ten just call it like they see it. Believe me, though I would not ever consider myself to be an overly sensitive, there are still times where it can catch me off-guard.

So this is my initial observation of key cultural differences. Do expect follow-up entries of a similar theme. Laters!!

Warning: Not for the Faint-Hearted!!

Sorry for the delay in writing. It has been awhile, but I hope you haven't lost hope in my blog already. I promise you that this will not be another repeat of my Italy blog :-/ ...yep I admit I was truely lame that time around :-) But as I really enjoy writing for all of you, and sharing this experience with the people I care about most, who are unfortuantely and inevitably far away, I will not falter.

That said, I need to catch you guys up quick. I haven't let you in on any part of my social life here, which no matter where you are living, is essential to living well and enjoying yourself (at least in my humble opinion).

So let's start with most recent and work our way backwards...

Well, yesterday, which was a sunday, I spent the entire day out. Well, wait let's start with saturday, because that's when it really all began. Okay, so Saturday morning as usual I was taking care of the kids for a couple hours until lunch. So since Robert and Lilo, who by the way are SUPER organized and intensely into planning, were writing their to-do list for that morning and the weekend in general. They mentioned needing to go bread shopping for some good bread to go with the pate that Lilo was going to make for dinner that night. So I naturally volunteered as bread-shopping, along with wine, cheese and well food shopping in general, is one of my favorite pastimes. And since the grocery store is right next door, I said I'd get the potatoes as well while I was out. Then Lilo and Robert got the seemingly good idea for me to make it an excursion with the kids. So we went. And so Martin decided before we could even go, we must get his green snow shovel, because as it had been snowing for the last 5 days, there was quite a bit built up all along the streets and sidewalks. So needlesstosay it ended up taking us about 30 to 40 mins to walk to the bakery and store, mind you it normally takes about 5 to 10 mins :-). Yes, that's right, Martin decided it was very necessary to shovel almost every pile of snow he could get his hands on. Which if it were just me and him would have been fine and dandy. However, Irene was also there. You see there is a bit of a conflict of personality and temperament between the two. On one side, you have Irene, who is amazingly energetic, eager to see what's next, and destination/goal focused. On the other side, Martin, is slow, stop and smell the roses kind of guy. He likes to play in puddles and snow, he likes to be read to, and basically to do any activity that is laid-back and enjoyable. And while Irene enjoys those same things, she moves through them much faster, and prefers to do something that is mentally challenging and that she can fully immerse herself in for hours, or that requires a certain amount of skill. So you can imagine what this outing was like...Irene two miles ahead of me and Martin two miles behind me. One not hearing a word I say because he is so into what he's doing and the other yelling at us to hurry up. HAHA!! It was actually a pretty comical situation, when I looked past the stress of it :-) So I believe that may be my greatest challenge of the year, finding a means of balancing the two extremes.

So anyways we did in fact succeed in our task, returning home an hour and a half later with bread and potatoes in hand, not mention a little something sweet for the kids and some apricot juice for me!

whew! So I guess, I haven't really got to the social part of life yet. Apparently my saturday morning was quite eventful as well. Anyways, so then we had a good lunch together, with lots of veggies and rice. And then I was off to the Inner City (Innenstadt) to run some errands and to just get out really. So I got off the U-bahn at the Hauptbahnhof (the city's main train station) and made my way for Kaufingerstrasse, one of the main shopping streets in Munich, that leads into to Marienplatz (Munich's main square made famous by the architecturally intricate and truely gorgeous Rathaus, or townhall, complete with an animated clock tower in which wooden figures do a sort of performance three times on a day). It turns out that Saturdays in munich involve ALOT of people out for a stroll, shopping, grabbing coffee or kaffee und kuchen at a cafe or perhaps a beer, and basically enjoying the many advantages of a city where walking is not only do-able but is widely practice ;-) It was really nice to finally get out on my own into the city, with no specific timeline or plans, and just walk around a bit, especially now that I was feeling a little more comfortable and settled here. And the highlight of my day's excursion, was "finding" two of the best food stores in the city: Alois Dallmayr and Manufactum. They stand side by side, almost directly behind Marienplatz and the Neues Rathaus, and they are truely amazing...every foodies dream. Which of course means that they can easily break the bank, and which of course is why I limited myself to getting only a french baguette to use for dinner that night. Even though we already had bread for dinner, I knew it was an opportunity I could not pass up, especially since we were having pate. I mean there really was no option (in my mind at least ;-). Anywho, from there I started on my trek home, which of course happened to coincide almost exactly with yet another onslaught of snow. So walking from Dallmayr to the U-bahn station at Sendlinger Tor, I easily came to be covered in white, powdery good/coldness. But I eventually made it home and in one piece, quickly changing into my warm clothes and sitting down to join the Bruckmeiers for a fabulous dinner!! Home-made pate, manchego chees, french baguette and the german bread i'd bought earlier that day, and Rioja wine :-)) Needlesstosay I was a happy camper!!

(* oops I forgot to mention that, due to a suggestion of mine, Robert, Irene and Martin spent the day making a real live, and amazingly constrtucted igloo in their front yard...and it was so big that they could all fit inside it...pretty sick huh?!)

So now my social life begins...after dinner, after some very minor primping and clothes changing, I was out the door again...back to the center I went to meet up with some peeps I met the Thursday before at this organized social outing for english-speakers (both native and foreigners) that I heard about via Katie (my predecessor) and that is managed by a website called toytowngermany.com . And though I went into it with a bit of skepticism, I ended meeting quite a few cool people, two of which I hung out with again on Saturday night. Their names are Glen and Josephine (but she goes by Jo).

So here's the scoop on them. Glen is 24, of british-german decent, very very ridiculously tall, aka 6'6", and has been living in Munich since September of last year and is working now as a german/english translator. He lived and worked as an englsh teacher for 2 years in Japan, post-grad from Durham, and hopes to move to Kenya within the year to do his master's in Nairobi. And Jo is 27 years-old, from Portsmouth, England, having spent 6 years of her childhood living in Bavaria, has lived here in Munich since last September as well, is working in restoration and preservation at the Schloss Nyphemburg (the castle I went to with Lilo and the kids shortly after arriving), and she hopes to be here until next October doing similar work. Oh and by the way, she also is quite tall by female standards, aka 6'1". So as you can imagine when it's just us three hanging out I am the one that is not like the others, otherwise known as I look like a midget :-). And half the conversation consists of me asking, "what? wait what?", because not only is their plain of conversation way above my own, but they also speak a very strange, completely incorrect english ;-)

So on saturday night we all just hung out at Glen's place, which is near the Ostbahnhof (or East Train Station), and in an area that is somewhat up-and-coming. It seems to have a history rooted in industry, but is slowly transitioning into a more residential area. It is also home to alot of students, and as such the biggest clubbing venue I have ever heard of, Kult Fabrik. Jo informed me that it had its heyday in the 90's, when people would come from all over germany to just go to Kult Fabrik. Apparently there are some 85 clubs inside, each with a certain theme, playing many many different kinds of music, and on certain days of the week you pay a flat fee and can then go into any and all the clubs you'd like. (don't worry Marisa I promise you I will go at least once...I will not let you down yet again :-)

So yes at Glen's we just hung out, had a few drinks (including fabulous german bier!!), listened to music (of which they introduced some great new bands...always exciting!!), and talked. As the U-bahn and S-bahn stop running at 2 or 3am, Jo and I ended up having to stay over that night. Luckily, as it turns out, both of glen's roommates were out of town for the weekend, so there were plenty of beds to choose from. And the next day when we finally got up and out of the house, around 11:30, we headed to this traditional bavarian food place near the center, for a good 'ol fashioned Bavarian meal. There I had my first weisswurst (literally "white sausage", and a traditional bavarian food speciality), and some great pork and dumplings. Of course, as bavarian food is typically overwhelmingly heavy, I only made it through less than half of my plate. After which both Jo and I proceeded to give Glen our left-overs, and which he promptly devoured, as it is the phenomenon of very tall, very skinny guys to eat amazing amounts of food without problems. From our traditional meal we walked to get coffee and then, one of the highlights of my day, Glen guided us to site of the renowned river surfers in Englischer Garten. That's right, despite the still chilly temperatures, the sunny and clear skies of yesterday drew out the surfers. You heard me right, there is in fact surfing in Munich. On one of the off-shoots of the Isar river that runs through the Englischer Garten, there is a portion where there are some significant rapids/waves, and there is a group of guys that surf these rapids any chance they get. It's AMAZING!! Not to mention they must be somewhat crazy, due to the ridiculously cold temperatures and limited width of the river, it is a significantly dangerous pastime. But they seem to know what they're doing and it's good entertainment for us :-))

And after the surfers I left to meet up with Elisabeth, the predecessor to Katie, two au pairs before me that is. I met her at Lilo and Robert's house when she came for a dinner a week ago. I sensed that we clicked so we exchanged contact info and we met up for coffee yesterday. We had a great three hour conversation about her experiences here, both as an au pair and now as a student (she's studying german here at the moment). I find her to be a great resource about the city, and about being an au pair. So I expect we will meet up again sometime soon...

There is more on the social front that I must fill you in on...but that will have to wait...gotta go get the kids from kindergarten!
Tscheussli

A Friday's Ponderings

So ....

You know...I knew this would be a bit of an adjustment coming here to Munchen. As it always is when you move to a new place. I expected something akin to my big move from the west coast to the east for university (as just about every other english-speaking nation in the world besides us says). Or perhaps more similar to when I moved to Perugia, both the first... and second time. But transitions and big changes like this never are what you would expect. In fact I don't think you can ever anticipate what is to come. For in essence, isn't the future unforeseeable? Then again that is the exact thing that makes it exciting...right?! I mean if life was predictable, which ironically so many people spend their lives trying to make it in search for a false sense of security, wouldn't you miss out on so many of the beautiful surprises the world has in store for us?



Well, so my point is that my coming to Munchen ,well, has not been a let down, but has also not been the mind-blowing, ground-shaking, earth-shattering adventure I had inadvertently led myself to believe it would be. You know how your imagination can just run with things. And the funny thing is no matter how many times I tell myself not to have expectations and to try to avoid having anything even remotely close to one, I always, invariably have them, and usually without realizing it.



But then again that's not a bad thing in the end, and especially not in this case. Simply put, my life is just somehow changed. It is soooooo different from how it was a mere week or two ago. And for me it is funny to reflect on that. I mean one week ago I was still frantically packing my former life away...that is 22 years, 3 months, and 9 days into two suitcases and two big boxes. And without a trace of fear, nerves or hesitation I finished the job at the wee hours of the morning of the 31st of January, the day of my flight to Germany. But still somehow I knew that after 4 great months spent at home, reconnecting with family and old friends, this was the right step for me. Nope, staying put was never an option, and I knew I needed to once again take myself out of my comfort zone and see more of this fascinating world. And that my friends was and still is my main motivation in the decision to move here.



I came to Germany for the explicit reason of experiencing a new culture and learning a new language...which if you are not already aware are two of my greatest passions in life. And as those who know me best can attest, I have never been content with the status quo, with staying in my bubble (as my sis would say). Nope for me there is just waaaaay too much to see, experience and learn about this world. And I see my time in germany as a small part of that very complicated puzzle.



So far though, I must admit, it's quite ironic the turn that my life has taken here. I mean I am somewhat of a grandma these days. I get up early and rarely go to bed later than 12. And most importantly my days are scheduled. Me, who never wears a watch, who does whatever she can to avoid looking at the clock, who always always always is late, is now subject to the schedule of two young children. Everyday at 2pm I must pick up the kids, then play with/ entertain them for two hours until Lilo and/or Robert get home, then we ALWAYS sit down to a family dinner at around 6pm, and finally they are off to bed at 7 and 8 respectively. However, we adults reconvene at around 10 for our "late night snack" - usually consisting of wine and cheese or something of the sort- and finally off to bed. And that is the majority of my week days...the same thing over and over again. Then starting in March, I will have one more thing added to the schedule, german classes for three and a half hours every week day morning excluding wednesdays. Now don't get me wrong, I am not complaining and this definitely does not mean I am miserable and regretting my decision to come here. No, not in the least. On the contrary, I believe this will be a wonderful learning experience in more ways than one. And though this au pair position is not a utopian ideal, nor does it necessarily fit my expectations, but I more than curious to see what comes next. I have a feeling that this will be a challenge, that there will be times where I feel lost, confused, homesick and unsure but I know that in the end I will look back and see that I have been shaped by this experience, that my horizons have been further broadened, and that maybe just maybe I wouldn't trade it for the world.

A Much Unexpected Challenge

So my first days on the job were not exactly what was to be expected. In fact, they in no way, shape, or form fit the job description. Then again that's the thing with kids is they are completely and utterly unpredictable. One, they rarely do what they're told, two, they almost never do what is logical and three, they are suscpetible to the slightest of catastrophies. And that is exaclty what struck one of my little german charges. Poor Martin. Tuesday night he awoke, middle of the night, struck with a horrendous fever calling out for his "Mutti". So I on my first day, was unexpectedly awoken by Lilo at 7:30 am and asked to tend to the task of caring for this ailing child. And that is what I did, I rook care of him ALLL day: I changed him (including his night-time pull-ups), gave all the necessary medicines, played DVD's for him and his sister Irene - who was also somewhat sick and stayed home for mere convenience purposes -, read for both of them, cooked lunch for both, played games and did crafts, up until the earliest possible moment that Lilo could get off work and come back home. Which by the way was around 3:30. So about 3 cups of coffee later I was home free. Martin meanwhile was passed out on the couch and Irene was off to a puppet show with her best friend. So naturally I took the opportunity to finally get out of the house and explore the neighborhood. Which included a stop at the local wine store - which by the way I came to find out id owned by a very nice Brazilian man - and a stroll through nearby woods, which house the local biergarten. So I return home about an hour later and come to find out Martin's illness, despite its brief improvement during the day, has worsened. And due to his extensive history of severe illnesses, Lilo and Robert are concerned and feel it is necessary to take him to the hospital as soon as possible (which I've come to understand is a much more common practice in germany than in the US). So Lilo and Martin left for the hospital at around 630 and they didn't get back 'til 1030 or so. It turned out he has an ear and throat infection, but the doctor said it was the right move to bring him in as soon as they did so that it didn't turn into something worse, like pneumonia (which by the way he has had before, along with meningitis, plus an allergy to penicillin). Anyways, so needlesstosay my day today was much like yesterday, with the one exception that I did not have to fight him on taking a nap. Instead he fell asleep while I read to him and just laid down on his own!!! YAY!! Believe-me-you that is something to celebrate!!

Anyways, once relieved of duty this afternoon I decided, with Lilo's urging, that this was my chance to get out and explore a bit or alot. So that is what I did. I got on the 164/165 bus to Westfriedhof (an U-bahn station) and took the U1 into the main train station in Munich and from there roamed and roamed and roamed....mostly into the very heart of the city...aka the touristy part that doesn't typically interest me. However, I expected this and went anyways just to get a feel for the city and the way it's laid out. So I walked ALOT and by the end of my walk my feet ached. Naturally, I decided a nice glass of wine or beer was in order. And for the last 30 or 45 mins of my walk I kept an eye out for a nice (non-commercial) winebar or bier haus - quite the feat when in the city center - but I eventually found one in the Schanenhalle (i think that's the name). Basically it's a big, good-quality food hall next to the Viktualienmarkt (the city's main food /farmer's market). Then I headed back to the Schloss Nymphenburg area (where I live) and was pleasantly surprised to find that Lilo and Robert were still at the dinner table having some wine, bread, meat and cheese for dinner. So as you can see, despite a challenging first days, I am good hands!! :-)

* by the way I forgot to mention one of the most important parts...Lilo and Robert said I handle the whole very very well and as such have passed the test....

The First Days in a Very German Life

Greetings from Muenchen!!

So it's nearing the end of day three here at number 1 Ernst-von-Romberg-Strasse. I have yet to start my real work however, as I had yesterday off for settling in and unpacking. And today I had the lovely task of getting my german visa at the "german administration" as Lilo and Robert call it... thankfully though Lilo came along, without which I would have been beyond lost (By the way Lilo is the mom of the Bruckmeier family that I am living with and working for, and Robert is the dad, while the kids' names are Irene (5) and Martin (3). ) But in the end, all went surprisingly smoothly, and I am now legal to stay in Deutschland for a year. Woohoo!!

So first on my list of things to do...LEARN GERMAN!!! Let me just tell you, if you have never been in a similar situation, it is beyond frustrating to have such a limited knowledge of a language you are surrounded by...not being able to neither understand nor communicate, not to mention looking like a complete idiot the whole time cuz you have no idea what's going on, EVER!! However if all goes to plan, that will change very soon. After getting my visa today, Lilo and I also went to register for my first two months of german class. It is scheduled to start the 2nd of March and continue 'til the 30th of April. So I really can't wait!! I just hope to learn fast enough so I can stop looking like an uneducated ass who comes to a country with no knowledge of the language. I mean who does that??!! that's so not my style :-) To make matters worse, I have a 5 year -old that is conversational in english and who along with her 3 year-old brother understands almost everything I say...talk about making me look even worse!! ;-) So yeah, in short, I REEEAAALLLY need to get on it!!

But besides the language, I'll give you the low-down on my new job. That's right guys do not forget that, contrary to popular belief, I am actually going to be working here. In fact tomorrow marks my first official day as Irene's and Martin's au pair. And as such I have been slowly introduced to all my responsibilities, i.e. picking the kids up from school (which is within walking distance), entertaining / supervising/teaching them english until Lilo gets home, which is around 4 or 5 in the afternoon, helping to keep the place tidy, and then baby-sitting two or three nights a week on average. And in return for my expertise and guidance for the children, I receive not only a stipend but free room and board, a monthly public transport pass, and health insurance. Not too bad if you ask me. And the official german au pair contract protects against me working more than 30 hours a week and ensures I get at least 1.5 consecutive days off a week...but as you can tell above I have all mornings and most nights of the week free. Lilo and Robert thoroughly encourage me to get out and see the city, make friends and when possible travel. All things I plan on actively pursuing!

Speaking of which, im currently trying to plan a short weekend trip with my friend Andrea (who is from italy, but i met in DC, and is living in belgium for the year) in the spring probably to either Copenhagen or Amsterdam . Of course this is all dependent on finances. Otherwise I think I will be going to Berlin the last weekend of May to meet up with my friend Rose and her friends from London, AND it turns out I will be going back to Italy in June. Out of sheer luck, Lilo and Robert were invited down by some friends to meet up in Tuscany for a week, so I will drive down with them and catch a short train ride to Perugia!!! These are my rough travel plans for now. However for the most part I will try best to cut back and spend my time getting to know Munich and hopefully meeting some new people here, preferably some germans.

Besides travel, I am sure you are all wondering what I have been doing for fun and want to hear about my crazy adventures thus far. Well unfortunately there isn't much to tell. In fact, this is another one of the frustrating aspects of my time here so far. Granted I've only been here for less than three days, BUT that's no excuse! I am truely ashamed of myself and my lack of an adventuresome spirit :-) I really need to get out there and explore, which as anyone who knows me at all knows is one of my FAAAVORITE passtimes. So I plan to begin my exploration tomorrow morning before picking up the kids at 2 from school. Not sure where I'll begin, perhaps the very center of the city working my way further and further outwards. But we shall see!! The good thing is I will be here for a year this time, which probably means no need to rush.
And besides tomorrow, I have plans for friday night to meet up with a friend of mine, Isabella, who I met in my italian class the summer of 2007 in Perugia. She is a born and raised muenchner, so I am sure she will be able to show me some great places. Yep this should suffice for now, and my goal is to know the city so well by the end of the year that I could write a guide about it. (speaking of which, for all those to whom I've mentioned it, my DC guide is slow going but will hopefully be ready in the next few months...and believe me it's definitely worth the wait!!)

Oh I did forget to mention that I did have one significant excursion thus far. Yesterday, Lilo and the kids and I went to Schloss Nyphemburg / Nymphemburg Castle to walk on the canal...which by the way is frozen over and is currently being used officially for ice skating and ice curling, and unofficially for snowball fights (which is what Irene and I used it for) and random sliding around. *pictures to be posted