This week # 49

No this isn't the 49th time I have made an entry called 'this week', the Germans are a fan of using the week number when talking about weeks. Confusing when you aren't used to it but proabably easier than saying 'the week starting Dec 4' and I might do a few week updates when I have had a busy week to update those concerned about my daily doings.

This week, as is the recent plan, I volunteered at World Vision on Monday and Tuesday. The plan was to then volunteerat CBM for the next few days. CBM has offered me a temporay 3 day per week contract until the end of Jan, so once this is sorted then my wed-fri will be paid. On Tuesday however I got a phone call from HR at CBM telling me that there is a German law that says once a contract has been offered I cannot work or volunteer there until the contract is signed and the work permit issued (here job offer must be made then work permit is secured) so I wasn't allowed to volunteer this week. I understand that the law is there to protect me from being bullied into working for free, but I want to do something.

Tuesday morning I had dropped Brett at the airport for his day trip to Vienna and then driven to work for the first time. This turned out to be an adventure as the Nav system list 4 or 5 Friedrischsdorfs and none of them with the additional name 'am Taunus' that my Friedrischsorf has, and the few that I guessed didn't have the street, so after much screaming at the system while being double parked in arrivals and Brett returning from check-in to try to rescue me I had to enter another nerby town, Bad Homberg, and go from there. Because we had stayed in Bad Homberg initially I knew there were signs from there to Friedrischsdorf so I took a stab. Lucklily it worked, there were signs to F, but once I got there no signs to where I needed to go. I had gotten a lift home with someone one day and so I luckliy recognized one weird looking building and went from there. I was a bit strssed because I had to be on time that day as I had the office key because I was meant to beat my co-worker in. So after not being able to locate F, and a few missed turnoffs because the Nav lady can be very unclear I got there.

When I picked Brett up that night I told him about my phone call that I couldn't volunteer so we decided that I would tag along with him the rest of the week.

Wednesday we went to Nuremberg/Nürnberg. Lovely city, massive castle that we will have to return to so Brett can look at it properly, and reputedly the best Christmas market in all of Germany (I did't think it was that much better than Darstadt, just bigger - am I getting defensive of my town already?). I was also planning on going to the Nazi Paty Grounds/Reichspartei Gelande but when I got there and looked at the map I decided to skip it as its all outside and it was FREEZING and raining. Instead I spent the day looking around some very expensive shops pretending that I was actually interested in buying, trying shoes, clothes and jewlery on. It was great fun!!! The result of the day was a christmas present for Brett.

Thursday Brett was going to his office near Stuttgart so I tagged along and caught the train into Stuttgart. Regular readers will remember that we have looked around there already so I decided that I would relive the previous day's fun and again pretend I was loaded. All the shop people again were very helpful (even when I tried to say ' i wear...' by saying ''Ich ware, Nein, Ich treffe...' Afterward I relised my correction was also wrong I had said 'I was, No, I meet... ' Should have been Ich trage - which means both 'wear' and 'carry'.

So the result of that day was a Kookai jumper/Pulli for me for €30 reduced from €140. I love a bargin!! And Susan will be very happy - its a magneta colour - almost pink, not quite, but I am embracing colour. New ski pants for Brett which are a birthday present that he can have early (they have the removable overall section). New gloves for both of us for daily use as our hands have been freezing. Not quite so sucessful the second day with not spending, but all items were reasonably priced or on sale.

Friday we had German leasons and I did housework. While doing the housework I got mad at the pile of washing I had sorted, beacause it was in the way, and so I tried to kick it out of the way but was standing on the items that the kick connected with so manged to hurt my ankle quite well.

Brett spent all Saturday after our first aid lesson in bed because he has a cold.

Tschüss
B