Chad's First Day of Work!

Chad's first day!

Today was Chad's first day of work! Kelly drove him to the office and it's only a 10 minute drive along the Rhein without traffic, but there is a lot of construction right now so it took us a bit longer. 

His day was a bit difficult as he got a computer with really small font and a German keyboard. The Y & Z are in opposite places and some of the keys are also different. However, he does have an office! He shares it with someone he hasn't met yet but at least it's an office. It was a long day because he had a lot to get caught up with after being without a computer and e-mail for awhile.  He also is trying to learn some of the systems in the office. Something to note, they can smoke in the PWC office and they have a coffee machine. Again, it's all about learning!

Kelly's day of...

Driving

Thank you mom and dad for teaching me how to drive a manual! Germans drive quickly and aggressively, at least I don't have to worry about the manual as well. My mother would fit in well driving here. I also enjoy small cars because they are easier to maneuver and park.  I drove for the first time since we arrived and let me say...they have some different driving rules. For example, no right on red and you can only turn left if it is marked to turn left. 

Grocery Shopping

I went to the grocery store by myself. Fruits & vegetables are easy I can pretty universal! Strawberries are also pretty inexpensive here so I feel very lucky!  Now picture me walking around the store look in my pocket dictionary about cooking instructions for things like frozen pizza and sauces. I also spent time trying to figure out the many different kinds of meat.  It will be awhile before I brave baking because I need to figure out the different kinds of flour and sugar.   But is was successful and I made it through the checkout and gave them the appropriate EURO for payment. It helps that we carry a lot of bills. 

Laundry

This was a task that took a long time! I took pictures of the washer and dryer and went upstairs and used Google Translate to 

learn the buttons. Germans like to have a lot of options and as my dad says "they over engineer."  Once I figured out what the options were I was able to do laundry. The washer and dryer are a bit smaller and also take a lot longer! It takes about 1 hr 45 min for whites and 1 hour for colors.  The dryer also collects the water as it spins and takes a lot longer too! We'll have to use the drying rack! I also have my washer/dryer cheat sheet in my cloths basket for future reference.  Again, we're learning and right now it seems to take twice as long to do anything.

Test Driving

Today after Chad got off work we test drove a VW Golf Plus. We thought we we're going to love the car, but we both didn't!  First, it was a diesel and very loud. Secondly, we didn't know how to shift into reverse. We drove the car to our flat and parked in front of the house in a small spot. Well, we had to put it in reverse to pull out and didn't know how because it was next to 1st rather than below 5th. Funny story, Chad got out and pushed the car backwards as Kelly shifted into Neutral and steered. :)  We looked like dorks and had a good laugh. We pulled up to a park and Chad got out the manual (written in German) and used the pictures to figure out how to shift into reverse!  He was kicking himself because of the Zimmerman's VWs he should have remembered.  Anyways we were sad that we didn't like the car and will visit the other dealership on Thursday to test drive another car! It looks like we'll have to get another rental.