Transitions and Changes

It’s been a while since I wrote, partially because I haven’t had much to write about especially lately due to everything going on and partially because I’m not really sure how to begin my Germany journey post.

I arrived here on Wednesday January 16. It has been a whirlwind since then. We spent two nights in a hotel due to the temporary furniture not being able to be delivered until that Friday. Once our furniture was delivered to our place it was time to set up our home, as much as we could.

It’s been a tough couple of months for me. A lot of my belongings were left behind with my parents, but thankfully we went out and shopped for a lot of things to help this place feel like home. We are on the top floor of an apartment building and for some reason, there is no elevator so I get plenty of exercise. We have a balcony, which is really nice and relaxing.

It was a really hard first month here. Bailey was not able to be enrolled in school because we were still waiting on command sponsorship (a fancy phrase basically meaning that Bailey and I are official dependents of Matt) and I did not have a car or my license.

February came and I was able to get my license and we got a cheap Euro spec car that is enough for me to get around. It’s a 1999 green Honda Accord, so it’s old but runs beautifully. We don’t plan on taking it back with us obviously, so we didn’t really care about anything fancy or expensive at this point. I had begun to get out a little more and felt more independent. I’m still learning how to shop at German stores, but thankfully going to the commissary provides me with some American feel and some familiarity if I need. Bailey started school in February and adjusted very well and quickly. It was great to hear all about her friends that she had made. One thing I love is that she has a special class called “Host Nation” where she gets to learn about German culture. It was fun talking about our German experiences together and what she had learned and what I had learned.

March came and with it, the unfortunate Coronavirus. For us in Europe, it meant being ahead of the US by a few weeks. School ended and restrictions put into place. Being military means a few more restrictions. My husband was supposed to be going on tour with the band and to several shows but obviously they were all canceled. It has been a transition for him as he is now home way more than he was before and no longer has the stress of preparing for shows.

Digital learning for Bailey began 4 days after her last day of regular school, which impressed me. The lesson plans have been great and the teachers provide a lot of great materials including instructional videos by them to help the students understand. It has been a lot of transitions for everybody, but especially us as we are still working through this transition of being in another country as well as the transition to becoming a full family.

We are grateful for the opportunity to all be together and are thankful we made it here before the craziness. God’s timing truly is perfect, even if we don’t always understand.

I’ll be writing a little more to help everyone through these dark times. For now, “danke” for reading!