Day 2: Errands and a "Christmas miracle!"

Considering my jet lag, I slept fairly well my first night. I got up around 2AM and fell back asleep at 4AM and hit the snooze for an hour on my alarm, but other than that it was great!

Today, I met Manuela who took me to the City Office so I can register with the local government. I had to take a picture in which I could not smile (they would actually reject your picture) and Manuela complimented me on the fact that even though I didn't smile, it didn't look hideous.

Knowing government paperwork and such, we had both assumed I would be there for 1-2 hours.

22 minutes. That was it. We were both completely shocked and excited! The school had all my paperwork in order and I didn't have any weird complications (a foreign spouse, etc.) so I was easy.

We then went to the bank to open an account. It only took about 45 minutes between waiting for a banker and walking out. The nice thing I didn't know was that Germany has a type of insurance that covers you for accidents of all kinds. Manuela highly recommended it and it takes the place of US renter's insurance and accident insurance for less than my US renter's insurance. Woohoo!

Then we went off to the O2 shop where I needed to get my phone number. We had tried the day before but I did not yet have a bank account so I couldn't sign up. Europe uses a completely different cell phone wavelength, requiring me to get an entirely different kind of phone. The nice thing was, though, that European companies don't have monopolies on phones like in the US. You can buy (almost) any phone and go to any phone company for service. I was able to go on eBay before I left and buy an unlocked quad-band GSM phone for cheaper than anything I could have gotten in Germany.

Anyway, I was able to get the prepaid plan (I'm not giving you my phone number because it will cost you a bazillion dollars because it is a mobile phone and not a landline) and Manuela casually asked about internet. I knew that getting a wireless signal for my apartment would take upwards of a month so I was just planning on "roughing it". The salesman, recommended I use a "surfstick" instead. I can stick it into my USB port and get internet anywhere for the same monthly price as the wireless port which I could only use in my apartment.

Hooray! I was so excited but didn't want to freak Manuela out as the crazy, dancing American in the middle of the O2 shop. Sadly, I also knew she wouldn't get my "it's a Christmas miracle!" reference so I stood there with a big smile on my face while it took the salesman 45 minutes to process my order. Oh well. (yes, we did get a parking ticket, but we took it out of the coffee money Manuela was given for the day).

Since then, I've been testing out my phone (accidentally called the school 3x, at least Manuela knew it was me) and my new internet connection!

Tonight, I'm going to dinner at Sarah's house. Sarah is the other 4th grade teacher so I hope everything goes well. It's awkward enough to meet someone for the first time, but to meet them as they pick you up to bring you to their home, that is a little bit frightening.

Don't worry, pictures are coming soon too...