What I will not miss about living here

Driving and parking. You've heard me complain already, I know. But my overall conclusion about driving and parking (a minivan, especially) in Germany is that it's difficult and stressful. What's stressful, and I try not to let this affect me because I'm doing my best anyway, is when you don't know where you're going and people are acting pushy and impatient, which they seem to notoriously do here. The lack of street lighting at intersections doesn't help any at night-time, either. And who's the genius who thought it would be prudent to make a person going straight yield to somebody coming from the right, unless there's a sign, which is either placed before or after the road in question, excepting that rule? That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard of!

Oh and in case you're wondering, there is no turning on red in Germany. And you should know that you should avoid the free roadside WCs like the plague. I'm telling you, think of the most DISGUSTING gas station restroom you've ever been in in your entire life. Now multiply that by ten and you MIGHT be getting the picture. Gross. That being said, the autohofs usually have clean restrooms where you have to pay 50 cents to 1€. It is worth it, believe me!

Upon entering new city limits, there's a sign announcing which city you've entered. That sign also serves as a speed limit sign, so if you see a yellow city sign, it means automatically that the speed limit is 50 kph (unless otherwise noted). Not seeing a number to announce the speed limit was hard to get used to at first. There's also no flexibility on the speed limit here. I got a €43.50 ticket in Frankfurt for going 36 in a 30. I've heard that they will not fine you if you're going 3 km/h over. That's the leeway. That's kind of difficult with the minivan because my speedometer isn't set on kph, and the kph are tiny and really hard to see.

Construction is everywhere year-round! The rumors of being able to drive fast on the Autobahn are only true from about 10 at night until 5 in the morning. If you're driving any distance in Germany, learn the word "Stau" in a hurry. You'll soon become all too familiar with the traffic jams. Another good word to learn is "rettungsgasse", which means something to the effect of "emergency lane". I admit that the way they pull over to make a path for emergency vehicles makes better sense than in the U.S. In Germany, the right two lanes pull to the right shoulder, and the left lane pulls to the left shoulder. I will also say that Germans generally know how to merge into one lane using a zipper fairly well. They should, they get enough practice with all the construction! You'll occasionally have someone not willing to follow the unspoken rule of doing it like a zipper, but I would be almost willing to bet that 7 out of 10 of those people are Americans. 

I have to say that I'm surprised I've never hit a motorcycle or a bicyclist here. I probably shouldn't say that too early! But, in my opinion, they take some serious risks by coming up unexpectedly on either my right side or left side (one never knows!).

Just a warning, if you're behind a bus and think you might pass it, if the driver turns on the turn signal, don't think of passing it. Most bus drivers seem to think that they have the right of way, and that all other vehicles on the road are unimportant and therefore must drive defensively to avoid a collision if the buses are around. If you basically accept that, you'll be okay.

I think that's all I have about driving. Let's just put it this way: unless you're driving in NYC or LA, driving in the U.S. is much easier than driving in Germany. 

This house. This isn't all particular to Germany, but it has really affected my quality of life here. We are a family of six, and the washer and dryer each have a 2.5 hour cycle, which means that the washer and dryer are ALWAYS running. I'll be glad to get back to our more efficient machines at home. Also, our small refrigerator doesn't maintain a steady temperature, so we have to choose between not having cold items or having frozen items. I can't stand my milk warming up and curdling, so we often end up with frozen lettuce and carrots that burst from freezing. How aggravating. Not to mention, the fridge is small. At least there is a deep freezer in the basement. This kitchen also has a white kitchen floor. I used to think I wanted black and white kitchen tile with red accents. So I guess having white tile here was a blessing in disguise since now I won't make that mistake in my own house! 

Then there is the furnace that doesn't stay on. I can't tell you how many times this winter we've had no heat and I've had to take cold showers. The landlord is finally going to fix it while we're away for spring break next month (I hope). The last thing about this house is that the hot water coming out of the kitchen sink has no pressure because somebody hooked up the dishwasher incorrectly. Slightly annoying, yet liveable.

Rude people. I'm SLOWLY coming to the conclusion that the rudeness is mostly focused in Wiesbaden. Man, it is hard for me to get past. I'm looking forward to the friendly U.S. again, especially hometown U.S.A. Friendly faces will be nice.

7:04 bus stop. Ugh. And Alex's hour long ride to school. I know it might improve only by a half hour better in Waynesboro, but it will certainly be nice not to have to be ready so early. 

Medical claims. At work this past Friday, I spent the entire day submitting medical claims. Literally, the only other thing I did all day was eat lunch at my desk and look at a job announcement that my resume had been referred for. I submitted 20 claims in total, including claims for drugs. The last time I submitted claims was January 24th. It is time-consuming and frustrating, and this process ultimately ends up costing the government a LOT of money, considering they paid my salary for a day and got literally no productive work from me. Every civilian who works in a foreign area uses a similar process. They should really put an ORSA on that problem. I wonder which would be more costly, to put civilians on the same system the soldiers use, or this? I suspect it hasn't truly been calculated. But I am certainly looking forward to not having to deal with insurance this way. I have to watch them like a hawk. Oh, and I do, believe me. I do.

All that being said, the closer we get to going home, the more I think (sadly), "is this the last time I'll do this"? (Like today, riding the bus into town with Livvy to do some shopping.)

Overall, life is still so SO sweet.