Arrived

So. This would be the famous "I have arrived" post. Meaning that I've arrived safely not only in Germany, but in Rostock and Berlin in turn as well. The first three weeks have been beyond hectic. It was great seeing Stephan's grandparents (I hunted for mushrooms in the German mountains. It was a very Little Red Riding Hood moment.) and everyone in Rostock. We're finally relatively settled in Berlin (we moved all our possessions in a re-conditioned VW van which had formerly served in the German army) although boxes are still all over the place--we've got laminate and orange paint in the bedroom and a relatively well-ordered kitchen. It's a start. The housemates moved in on Monday, which is requiring some...getting used to. I'm very very cautiously optimistic, but more on that later if I really need to vent.

I taught my first courses with wee small children yesterday, and to the best of my knowledge, they went pretty well. No one died, there were no other injuries and I think they just might have learned something. Maybe. We morphed into aeroplanes and trucks. It was pretty cool. I get to use a hand pupped named Danny. However, the number of hours I was initially promised and the number of hours that materialized on my schedule are...discrepant (can you say that?), so I'm still involved in the reciprocating shitstorm that is looking for a job in Berlin. So far I have positive feedback from a firm that offers tutoring services, and I'm applying to another tutoring/teaching company (well, okay...I should be applying to another one) as I'm writing this. Okay. Application successfully sent. Now I'm only putting off calling the third tutoring firm. I just hate phoning people in German. It's not that I can't do it, it's just that I know I make a far better impression in English or in person. And especially when you're asking for a job, it's terribly important to make a good impression. Fortunately, I'm applying for jobs that require/emphasize my foreignness, so I guess perhaps my occasionally bastardized declinations add to my authenticity...? Let's hope.

The whole "co-habitiation" thing is both more and less of an adjustment than I thought. The fact of the matter is that my relationship with Stephan is at it's best when it's just us. For whatever reason, whenever you add other people, one of us starts acting weird or dumb. I've noticed it about him and about myself...I don't know why that is. So yeah, when it was just the two of us chilling in this sweet ass apartment, it was amazing. Now that there are constantly two other people around, it's not always so cool. And I don't want to prevaricate, here. The stress has really been killer for me. We were back up in the Ha-Ro this past weekend for Max's birthday (Stephan's little brother), and I was incapacitated the whole time with fucking hellish stomachaches. I think it was a combination of not eating/irregular eating, stress and nerves. But other than that, the weekend was wonderful. Max is a darling and really loved the poker set and the Dan Brown book I brought him. The last night we were there, he got a little tipsy and asked me where I saw myself in ten years. I think that was his sweet 16 year old way of saying he hopes I'll stick around for a while. During my whole stomach-wretchedness, I must say Stephan was practically Florence Nightengale personified, which I hadn't really expected. However, today it's back to the grind. I've been on the computer doing job shit pretty much all day and in an hour, the insurance consultant is coming by to (hopefully) make us a better offer on my health insurance. It'd be nice to not pay almost 500 Euros. Less would be great. Money is (as always) an issue. Stephan's fronted most of my set up costs, which is great of him, but as much as he'd like the world to believe it, he's not made of money and I'm not going to get paid by BKS (my main job) until mid October. Shitty, but real. Oh well. I suppose I ought to continue being productive...or go make myself a snack.