Welcome back to Germany :)

I have made it back to the land that I love! It is a bittersweet feeling. Being home surrounded by family and friends was phenomenal! I loved being able to pick up my phone and dial without having to enter country codes or crazy numbers on the calling card. I could text whomever I wanted to without it costing a fortune. I didn't have to worry about time differences or a language barrier. I was home and comfortable. Now I am back here in the land of chaos. The army has no standard. They are constantly changing policies, or simply not obeying them. Grr! I am so glad to be back with Paul, Lenea, and Elizabeth. They are my oasis in this craziness. I just wish we could live off post. I think it would dramatically change our experience if we could wake up everyday and not feel bound by these prison walls. Once we escape from the barracks, the world is good. Germany has so much to offer. The people are great and the beauty that surrounds us in the countryside is breathtaking! I just have to step outside of my comfort zone and know that I will occassionally fumble and wave my ignorant American flag because life here is so different. Some of the social norms are very different than the states. For instance, when we go out to eat here it is much quieter. We often find ourselves telling us to whisper because we are so painfully loud. I wouldn't trade this experience for the world, I just wish there was a way to moosh my two worlds together somehow. With the help of skype I am getting to do that little by little. It helps being able to see familiar faces and hear encouraging voices. It was absolutely fantastic to see Paul, Lenea, and Elizabeth at the airport. I know I probably didn't show my enthusiasm as much as I would have liked, but I was excited. They picked me up at Frankfurt Main and we drove back to Mannheim. I was extremely lazy and totally played up my jetlag. We ate a big lunch at this awesome restaurant burried in this ginormous park in Kafertal. Apparently this park is the biker's portal to several surrounding towns. I can't wait to discover more of it! After lunch I made a terrible mistake and took a nap midway through the day. I was exhausted. I physically could not keep my eyes open any longer. I slept for 2 hours then watched mindless TV. I thought about updating my blog, but my brain said no. I eventually went back to bed at 9 pm and slept until 11:30 am today.

I felt glorious when I woke up. Absolutely glorious. I stopped by Human Resources to get some paperwork my doctor forgot to check off for my pre-employment physical, took it to her, and then walked back to the apartment. This afternoon we went into Weinheim to check out the new Galleria. Elizabeth has a super special conference next week with her school and she is required to wear a suit, so she needed some fancy shmancy dress shirts. Of course we shopped at H&M (It would be like if Old Navy and Target had a baby, H&M would be there child). Then we came home in time to catch some of American Idol. I then took the next hour and a half to unpack. Major bummer. I really don't like the whole packing deal. Not my cup of tea. Since then I have spent every moment blogging. Oh the joys of blogging :)