walking, walking, Jason is the best!

This week has been Jason's first full week, leaving me and Autumn at home to entertain ourselves in a house full of Army-issued furniture (our Household Goods Shipment wont get here until 19 Nov - two months after we left. Lame!), windows without blinds, and lots of echoes (I miss carpet. I never thought I'd say that!).


We've been keeping busy with walks and tons of reading. The e-library services from my Maryland library card and my new ArmyEurope library account are AWESOME! I have more books on my nightstand than ever.


I've been trying to be disciplined with studying German on my own. I'm not doing very well in our class, with most of the direction being in German my head seems to just spin. and spin. and spin some more. There is reward in spending time doing it on my own though. Take this morning for example: While making post-it notes to stick all around the house, I came across the word Stuhl - chair, stool, motion, bowel movement, upright chair. So who's to say that when I'm asking for a chair to sit on I might not be misunderstood for looking for a poop? Hahahaa, I can't wait for the awkward language barrier conversations with this one!

The Army library also had the best DVD selection of any library I've been to.
Yes, Hitch is qualified as part of that.

This last weekend we went Volksmarching in Magdlos. Volksmarching is kind of like a cross-country event, only it's walking through natural landscapes. They take place all over Europe and only cost  € 1.50 to participate in!

I'm hoping we get better at picture-taking soon. I feel like our pathetic attempts at photographing things is not at all doing justice to the majesty we've seen while here so far!

I have a thing about cows. I like them a lot, I'm not sure why. But I was super happy when I saw a happy little herd of them on our march!







Friend update: We got together with our (from Michigan) friends Lauren, Jake, and their precious baby Rose. We went bowling and watched football on Sunday. Very 'Emerican. It was a really good time and in one game I even came in 3rd instead of 4th- booyeah!
     When talking to Holly yesterday she said that she never knew Jason and I went bowling. We didn't. Never once. Not until we got here and it was the only evening activity on base while we were staying at a hotel there. Just in case any of you were wondering as well.



 MY BIRTHDAY! Was a couple months ago but in the whirlwind of international relocation we kind of forgot to do much for it. So when Jason saw this beauty he knew it couldn't possibly have a more perfect and grateful owner than myself. My current watch of 7 years has finally begun to come undone and is in dire need of a replacement. I haven't worn it since we got here really and I'm still constantly checking my naked wrist for the time. Thank you for the best belated birthday gift ever Boo!


I think now is as good a time as any to brag on what other wonderful, handy, husband-type things Jason has been doing around the DE.

(1) On day one of us getting internet service we discovered that the steel that made up the framework of our townhouse also prevented the internet to travel to the living room. So he figured out a new place to hook it up and did it all on his own, without calling the company at all.
(2) He has unclogged the most SERIOUSLY disgusting drains I have ever seen. This place was obviously not cleaned professionally before we moved in- gross. AND Calcium buildup from the water here makes the plumbing clean-up extra special. Thank you Jason for your strong stomach.
(3) Building Ikea furniture until the wee hours of the morning.
(4) Jason has taken the lead in our renewed effort at running outside, only now it's around a city, which I never would've had the guts to do by myself!

the sound of settling

It's Thursday October 18th, 2012 and we have just moved into the place where we will rest our heads for the next (at least) 3 years. 3 YEARS. That is longer than we've even been married yet. Neither of us has lived anywhere for three straight years in over 10 years, nomadically inclined I suppose. Of all our moves though, this one has taken the cake as far as culture shock and time needed to adjust. Proudly, we can say that after 5 weeks (and our own residence) we are beginning to feel more comfortable in this foreign land and look forward to the growing pains that are sure to come. We've never been better friends, more considerate spouses, or patient and kind with one another than we have since we left Dulles Airport.

We haven't been doing this on our own though, no way. God is so ever-present in our lives here is intoxicating. I wish I had slowed down enough, been less proud, to have seen His hands so unmistakably in our lives before. We've been praying for community since January when this opportunity became a reality for us, but had no specifics in mind- just fellow believers to share life with. Well wouldn't you know the small world that we were shown it truly is.
.  Our best friend here so far, that we met our first Sunday at a church plant, worked at Camp Wabanna in Maryland and played music at our best-friends-from-Maryland's wedding 7 years ago!
. The other American couple who we've had consistent friendship with since arriving here is not only from Michigan, where Jason and I met, but her mom works with our best friend from college/grad school.
. We've also been at the pastor's house two nights in a row now to borrow various tools we needed to build some IKEA furniture. We feel so incredibly fortunate, blessed beyond belief, to already know people well enough and feel comfortable enough to call them just to borrow tools. Two days in a row.

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Speaking of the various cities we've lived, here is a picture from the first morning we woke up at home, drinking out of Starbucks mugs we've acquired in these place.

And of course, we forgot to pick one up in Annapolis/ Baltimore/ Washington D.C. before we left. Sooo if any of our awesome, yuppie, Starbucks-going friends would like to send us one of these, we'd be grateful forever and probably send you something equally awesome in return :) I wonder what it says about me that, I am nearly fluent (with reading) any German words on the menu at a coffe shop but I still confuse saying 'excuse me' and 'good bye'.

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In other news about living in Germany. None of our electronics that use more power than a computer/ cell phone charger work. None of them. There are these transformers that can be purchased that are supposed to convert power from the 220v European setup to power our American-100v appliances. So far we haven't gotten a single thing to work, we've just blown a lot of fuses. This week we had to repurchase a hair dryer, an electric tea kettle (more on this nifty new appliance to come), an iron, and a microwave. Lucky for us, the mass amount of American military stationed here ran into this same problem as well, so there is a regular rotation of these commonly-used items on BooKoo (Craigslist) for us to snatch up a cheaper-than-Walmart prices. Good thing too because my need for a coffee pot is becoming too great to bear and as soon as November hits, a crock pot will definitely be a necessity.

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To end this post about the joys of beginning to settle in and get down out here, this morning Autumn and I came across this at the park:

Ever since Columbus Day...

Last weekend was the first we didn't bowl. Yes it seems silly that it made me sad, we aren't serious bowlers or anything, but it is the one routine/ tradition/ expected event Jason and I have had to look forward to since we landed on German soil. Between Jason still fighting this cold, Saturday's charity run event, then Sunday's long day of worship and hours at the laundry mat we decided to stay in tonight and order Chinese.
We had it delivered after ordering it online. No awkward language barriers to battle against, just some good old fashioned MSG and Sodium-laden Egg Drop Soup.

This week I realized a need for a dermatologist, we found three English-speaking dermatologist in our area, now we just need to get in contact with out insurance company to figure out how this is all going to work out. Let the European healthcare adventure begin.

Otherwise, this week has been much more uneventful that expected:
- I went to a seminar on base for spouses that gave basic information on all of the services offered here for Americans.
- Jason had a few uninterrupted days of work, free from random housing appointments at a zillion different offices.
- Our language class is going well, I even ordered a beverage in German last night and was understood for the first time ever! Later in the evening I was told that the way I've been pronouncing my key, "I'm sorry, I don't speak German" phrase is horribly wrong. It come across translated more as, "I want to do my dance". I'm not even that embarrassed, I'm just so glad to FINALLY have figured out why I get nothing but weird looks when I try to apologize for not speaking German!
- Our trivia team hasn't made the top 3 yet, but our team itself is great. Peter and Jason entertain us three girls with ridiculous defenses for why their answers are correct. Here is an example from last night's Pub Quiz, sorry for the blur:

...

Even though we haven't been overwhelmingly busy this week, God seems to have been working overtime in our lives! While we are still apprehensive to commit and call a single church "home" yet, we have been forming more and more bonds with people at one in particular and have been given some vision about where we can contribue to His Kingdom there.

 While Jason made a good friend within a few days of getting here, I've been without a lady friend since my last Holly-hug the morning we left the States. This isn't especially productive for me or any ministry opportunities seeing as I have a tendency to retreat and become anti-social whenever given the opportunity. In light of this, God has been introducing me to some ladies my own age and last night at Pub Quiz I got an invite to one of their flats to watch Downton!

 He has also been cultivating a thirst for His Word in us this week, which is pretty exciting. The last couple years we've been so service-oriented, striving to look like, love like and walk like Jesus, that we let the exploration and deepening knowledge of who He is slip to the back-burner. It seems like there are great opportunities to quench that thirst here among the community: to study Scripture among believers who are older and wiser than ourselves in faith, a quality we've been yearning for the last couple years.

A final note of His work here in the Delisio's lives in Wiesbaden: we get our keys today! We don't officially move in until Monday but because of circumstances and protocol I don't quite understand here, we do a walk through this afternoon with the landlord, then are handed the keys. To our home. Home. It has been too long.

Convicted, I wonder how did the disciples do it? Going from place to place for years, not knowing where their heads would rest, where their meals would come from. Literally, physically trusting the Lord for every single need. Jason and I have been in various comfortable hotels for the last 6 weeks and it feels hard to manage keeping our sanity.
We have so much further to go, so much more to learn. Until we see you again though, we'll make sure to keep you updated each step of the way.

It's official, we have a home!

Today we signed a lease for our townhouse/flat in downtown Wiesbaden! Our tentative move in date October 15th, so now all we need to do is arrange our First Shipment of things to be delivered, temporary furniture to hold us over until our Household Goods Shipment shows up, get some utilities going, and hook up an internet and/or cable service. We are so. close.

Tonight after we meet our immobilien (realtor) we're going to see Looper at the movie theatre on base and guess how much tickets are?! 5 DOLLARS, not Euros, but some big green!! It's funny how much I'm looking forward to go see a movie in English among other Americans, when back home we rarely even thought of going to the theatre. Now that we're uncomfortable and unsure if we'll be clearly understood about 90% of the time, the promise of an evening among the comforts of fellow English speaking goons is (embarrassingly) thrilling.

Back to our lease signing today though. Let us break down the European way of doing this. First off, the leases here are open-ended. Many families rent forever so when they sign a lease they are basically saying, "This is where we are going to live, where we will raise our family, almost forever." Once we get word of moving we just need to give 90 days notice and we're out. Pretty cool. The not cool part: Security deposits here are 2-3 months of rent, plus the first month's rent prior to move-in, add to that a two month rent commission charge for the realtor, as well as a 19% value-added-tax (with loads of paperwork and office appointments US Government employees are exempt from this tax, thankfully). So to sum it up: people need about 6 months worth of rent to get the keys. Sheesh! No wonder they live in the same place for so long!

Once all is said and done (and paid for) it will be well worth every ounce of trouble though. God really dropped an awesome blessing of property on our lap, at least that's what it seems like right now. Our flat is more like a townhouse with two stories, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a fully furnished kitchen (in Europe most kitchens have no cabinets, countertops, sinks, refrigerators, etc when you move in), and even an Autumn-sized yard in the back! We are less than 1 kilometer (we've been trying to convert our thinking to metrics and Euros, not miles and dollars) to the center of the city/bustling marketplace, an enourmous park for exercising, and a major Bahnhof (train station) to accomodate all of our travelling desires! We feel insanely blessed and if you are reading this you are more than welcome to come visit us here and share in our blessings as well :)

Random piece of news: Autumn is adjusting to the life of a city dog better than we ever hoped. She's become great on the leash within large groups of people, sits under our table/chairs (mostly) quietly while we eat outside of restaurants, and doesn't even get riled up when other dogs pass her by in the Stadtmitte (city center).

Now that the big news is out of the way, time for some small bits of 

Germ-Info:

There are lots of smokers here in Europe, more than I've seen in one place since I was in high school hanging out at the local, wanna-be-punk-rockers venues in Chicago.

It is also quieter here, in general. People in the streets aren't as loud/talkative as Americans; this was definitely a huge surprise based on Jason's German grandma, Aunt, and mom. There isn't as much small talk, please&thank you's, general acknowledgement of others. It's a rare thing to even hear a car horn around here.

Oh! We have yet to pay to use a public restroom! This was a big concern for Michelle, who drinks a borderline unhealthy amount of water, and anticipated spending her life savings on toilet use upon moving here.

Speaking of beverage consumption, beer is not served warm here. It's still cold, not frosty, but cold. Ice never shows up in drinks at restaurants, no matter what the beverage, but it's kind of nice to not worry about anything being watered-down halfway through.

We talked about how going out to eat here is a real event. Waiters are paid by the hour so they are in no hurry to turn over a table, dependent on tips to make any money. Did we mention though that to even get the bill you might have to hunt your server down, as well as tell them how much to run your card for/ how much you'll be paying in Euros (so they give you the correct change back). It's customary to simply round up to the closest Euro, not add any significant amount for tipping. Most Americans don't know that though, so we're always very warmly welcomed when waiters discover out native tongue.

From dinner to dessert. Oh my goodness, do people love their gelato in Europe! It's nuts how many gelato stores there are on a single street sometimes, how long the lines are no matter the temperature (given, we've only been here three weeks) or the time of day. People eat gelato at little bistro tables, walking their dogs, even while riding bikes!
-    We saw a woman pedaling frantically while licking a cone the other day and Jason commented that I have found my people: efficiently loving dessert while still pursuing an active-lifestyle.

Even though Europe is small and densely populated, there are still tons of natural forest and huge, gorgeous trees everywhere!

Random and awesome nod to the Midwest: France grows corn too. We saw it on our way to Strasbourg last weekend.



All right friends, that's all for now. Love you all! Let's talk soon.

Strasbourg, France

Strasbourg, France

This past weekend was really fun, a nice getaway. It's so awkward saying that when it seems like where we now live is quite a getaway. It's funny, we should feel like celebrities living in a hotel for almost a month but really we just feel homeless and kind of irritable.

Needless to say, going on a small adventure was the perfect remedy for our frustration at our current living situation. Having lunch outside at a cafe in France is bound to alleviate any dissatisfaction with life at the moment I suppose.

Wunderbar!

Alright.  Michelle has been pushing me to write a post for a while and I, as usual, have been slacking.  It's not that I don't want to write on here.  I really enjoy getting my thoughts out of my head and on to the computer.  The trouble is I currently feel overloaded with thoughts.  I have no idea how to convey what it is I'm thinking when everyday I'm faced with many new experiences and challenges.  I have never been so excited and so uncomfortable at the same time. I hate awkwardness, yet every situation with a person at a store, in a restaurant, or on the street has the potential to be the most awkward thing ever.  Frankly, it's been exhausting.  But I am going to try and slow my thoughts down for a few moments to tell some of my insights to our first (almost) 3 weeks here.

First, I am sick of living in a hotel.  Over 1 month of hotel living has left me ready to have a home.  Which, the good news is, I think we found.  We'll include pictures whenever it officially becomes ours, but we are very excited at what God has seemingly blessed us with.  It's a townhome-esque flat in the heart of Wiesbaden, a few blocks from the train station and a few blocks from the market/pedestrian zone. We are hopefully moving in on Oct 15!

Michelle and I started german classes last week and are looking forward to increasing our ability to communicate with the locals, or at least to show them we are trying.  It's amazing how many Americans have been here for years without attempting to learn the language, aside from street signs.  We refuse to let the fact that a lot of Germans know some english to be a crutch. Every time I tell one of them "Ich spreche kein deutsch" I am reminded of how annoyed I would get whenever a person at a fast food restaurant didn't speak english, or when I call a 1800 number and am told to press 1 for english.  However, incidents like the old lady apparently asking me to watch her dog while she was shopping as she handed me his leash are hilarious stories, I want to at least be able to know how long she is going to be (which she may or may not have mentioned...)

With that said, we are starting to get outside of Wiesbaden to explore a bit.  Last weekend we visited Heidelburg for a night and then went on to Strasbourg, France.  Both towns were awesome examples of why Europe is so special.  It's crazy walking down streets that are hundreds of years old, if not more, and thinking about what kind of stuff had happened there.  See the huge churches in the city centers (stadtmitte) and thinking about how they were built.  The church in Strasbourg was perhaps the most imposing structure I have seen.  It's not the biggest church by far, but the way it towers over the narrow streets around it was breathtaking. At the same time I find it sad that such old cities that were built around churches and cathedrals are so devoid of God.

This is getting kind of long, so I'll wrap it up.  I am still not used to "casually" driving 80-85 on the autobahn and getting passed like I'm walking.  I love listening to german radio b/c I hear songs I haven't heard in so long and am instantly swept away to my high school days or, in some cases, elementary school. It's also funny to hear how much american culture rules the airwaves and almost any other type of media.  I like German rap music and I WILL learn some of the songs  because, honestly, rapping back Jay-Z, Kanye, and Eminem is getting old.  Check out the link for my new favorite german rapper Kool Savas. I am sorry if you speak German and something he says is offensive.  Finally, I am jamming on a drum box with our new friend Peter this saturday at a charity run in Mainz.  Hopefully, Michelle will be able to take some video!

Anyways...to whoever is reading this, Michelle and I probably miss you dearly! Thank you for your love and support through prayers, phone calls or emails!  We appreciate it all!