2021 was an intense year full of stressful, exciting, and sad experiences. I started a German Ausbildung (apprenticeship), we a had a death in the family, Indra also found more work teaching German and doing painting workshops, we tried to buy a house at an auction but ended up getting a new apartment instead, we went on several family trips, and we made new friends.
The Ausbildung was indeed stressful... working, studying, and teaching all at the same time. Just studying in German is a challenge, but this was a nursing program - lots of medical language. I had many things to adjust to: up at 430am (sometimes after working till 9pm the night before), bad smells, washing and generally dealing with strange patients, and things like skin problems from sweating in gloves - didn't think I would make it to the end just because of that alone. And then there's the tests, regulations and Bürokratie, visa problems and Anerkennung (recognition of educational background). Thankfully, I didn't even need to get my degree recognized, just my high school transcripts... but even this was unbelievably overcomplicated. It should have taken just two months in Düsseldorf, but after six months they rejected my application due to a lack of English language courses. Yes, you read that right - they require that a native speaker take classes to learn their own language. So, I then had to reapply in another city for recognition based on lesser criteria (Germany has three high school systems based on academic ability) in order to get proof that I graduated from high school. Oh, and the fact that I graduated from college doesn't help because, even though it normally would, they require that the transcripts say that I attended one school for four years. I transferred credits from one college to another, so my transcripts only show three years at the school named on my degree.
And my visa? Well, I'm married to a German, so that would have been rather simple had they not constantly changed their minds about the requirements. My first visa interview was nice and early, but the representative decided that technically my wife should be present. I was then given a new appointment for eight months later - several months after the prospective begin of my Ausbildung. Over the next couple months, I managed to get the appointment moved up... at which point they decided that, because of COVID restrictions (now over a year since it started), my wife shouldn't come. And that was just the beginning. A year later I would have to renew this very same visa with even more absurd requirements, such as the completion of an integration course (I'm married to a German, speak fluent German and work in a profession that is essential to the future of German society...) and a language certificate proving that I can speak basic German. That such things, and the associated costs, are at this point completely unnecessary can be underlined further by the fact that, at my following visa appointment, they didn't even want to see these things!
On the upside, a German Ausbildung is classified as a normal job. This means that by German law we are entitled to 5-6 weeks of holiday per year. That's a lot of family trips! In February we rode around Unterbacher See ("lake" in English). In March we visited friends in Bielefeld where we were just a short walk from a really cool castle. In April we rode bikes to Zons - a beautiful Dorf or "village" that I'd been meaning to visit for years. In May we hiked part of the Neandertal for the second time. In July we did a big bike trip along the Sauerland Radring and got interviewed by a team of German youtubers excited to meet an American on their "international" bicycle route.
In September we to the Heideblüte or "moor flowers" for a walk on our way to Dülmen in Münsterland. There we spent a whole week riding bikes, sitting in the sauna, and eating cake at cafes and restaurants. We even made a new friend, Rohrbert (a play on words combining the German word "Rohr", which means pipe, with the name "Robert"). He's the mascot of the waterworks.
But, as I mentioned, 2021 was a stressful year and a sad one as well. On June 23, my stepmother, Judy, passed away. We were able to book a trip to the US a couple months later to go comfort my dad and attend the funeral. While the experience was difficult, it was nice to see family and friends.
We spent the first week with dad and traveled down to Oregon for the funeral. We then went to see my brother's new place in Yakima before heading to Puyallup to visit mom. After a few days of painting and visiting with old friends, we caught a plane to London. There we met up with my friend Steve for lunch in Chinatown and then flew back to Düsseldorf.
2021 was also a year of house hunting. Competition has gotten so fierce, though. We even tried handing out fliers to see if we might be able to get someone to make a deal with us. Our original target was Bad Wildungen, a "Kurort" or basically a town known as a healthy getaway. Even the auctions or "Zwangsversteigerungen" here were way out of our price range. So, we continued looking further out until, a few months later, we found something affordable.
We drove out to a countryside courthouse and were the only ones there... at first. Then some random people showed up and started a bidding war with us. We gave up pretty quick as the house was actually not worth much and the other people had no idea because they hadn't gone to see it or even had a proper read through the item description! After that experience, we kind of gave up and, instead, started looking at new apartments.
Only a couple months later, after a few "Besichtigungen" (apartment showings), we found our dream apartment.
2021 was also a year of house hunting. Competition has gotten so fierce, though. We even tried handing out fliers to see if we might be able to get someone to make a deal with us. Our original target was Bad Wildungen, a "Kurort" or basically a town known as a healthy getaway. Even the auctions or "Zwangsversteigerungen" here were way out of our price range. So, we continued looking further out until, a few months later, we found something affordable.
We drove out to a countryside courthouse and were the only ones there... at first. Then some random people showed up and started a bidding war with us. We gave up pretty quick as the house was actually not worth much and the other people had no idea because they hadn't gone to see it or even had a proper read through the item description! After that experience, we kind of gave up and, instead, started looking at new apartments.
Only a couple months later, after a few "Besichtigungen" (apartment showings), we found our dream apartment.
