November 07, 2014

American Food in Germany

November 07, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

There are few things that I miss food wise living in Germany. The way we eat (lots of produce, fresh meat, not a lot of processed foods) is very conducive to living here. The weekly markets are a great place for produce. And the grocery stores carry a decent selection of meats, dairy and non-perishable items that we may need. In general, we haven't had trouble feeding ourselves over here and have actually enjoyed incorporating some more German specialties into our meals (spätzle anyone?). Although, I wouldn't object if someone wanted to open a Taco Bell over here, or a decent Mexican place. Anyone?

November 04, 2014

German Halloween

November 04, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

As many know, especially if you live in the US, Halloween was last Friday. In Germany, Halloween isn't as big of a holiday as it is in the US and trick or treating is not widely conducted. Some areas do, but most do not. However, there are always some Halloween parties happening (we're in Germany and it's another excuse to drink!). On Friday, an expat group we are loosely a part of, Internations, held a Halloween party in Mannheim. We thought it would be a fun, relaxed way to meet others and there were even a couple from our Culture Training a couple weeks ago who were interested in attending.

October 31, 2014

Fully Cultured - Part 2

October 31, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Before Aaron and I moved to Germany, BASF provided an 8 hour ''Cultural Integration'' training seminar for us to make sure we were equipped to interact with Germans. Although, in all honesty, 8 hours is woefully short and can't possibly cover everything that one would need to know on how to seamlessly integrate into German society. It would take an entire 8 hour course just to explain how they sort their garbage.

Which brings us to last week. Aaron and I, as part of the relocation package, were able to attend another 16 hours of cultural training. I know it can sound dry since ''cultural awareness'' is generally lumped

October 29, 2014

German Garbage Separation - A Futile Task

October 29, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Going ''green'' is not a new phenomenon, nor is it uniquely German. In the US, well, at least in Michigan, returning your pop cans and other forms of recycling are common. However, recycling is usually limited to aluminum cans from preserved foods, perhaps glass, and old newspapers and boxes. Composting is becoming more common, but it still rarely seen. In Germany, they recycle, quite literally, everything. And learning how to do it properly can take years to master. Here is the 9 page document for Mannheim on proper garbage sorting. Yes, 9 pages. On garbage. Did I mention that Germans also tend to love paperwork ;)

October 27, 2014

German Sports - Handball Edition

October 27, 2014/ Aaron Oaks

Since Meghan and I both have siblings that are involved in sports, we felt this recent experience is one that they all would have enjoyed. On Saturday we found ourselves without any concrete plans, but we had recently seen an advertisement for the Rhine Neckar Löwen (Rhein Neckar Lions) handball team. Neither of us had ever seen this exciting game so we decided to get some more details. The internet told us that there was a game at 16:15 at the SAP Arena. So, off we went.

October 23, 2014

A Wedding and 'Merica

October 23, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

It's been a while since we last posted, but there was a good reason for it. I promise. Aaron was in Washington until last Saturday and I was in Michigan this past weekend to two close friends tie the knot. I am so glad that I was able to be there to celebrate with them. Cari was a beautiful bride and Murray seemed so excited to be marrying the love of his life.

The other awesome part about this last weekend? Seeing my sisters and being in 'Merica! Some of them I had seen in the past couple of months, the others I hadn't seen in quite a while. I realized how much I miss them all and miss having friends close by

October 16, 2014

Diving in the Pacific Northwest

October 16, 2014/ Aaron Oaks

Some of you may have been following my travels on Facebook and noticed that I am not in Germany this week. I am continuing my professional education at the Washington Protective Relay Conference. Every year, the great minds in the power distribution and transmission industry get together to share their knowledge with the rest of the industry, sharing best practices, lessons learned, and as always, try to sell us more of their products. The trip here was supposed to be nice and simple involving only 3 layovers, and visiting only 4 airports: Frankfurt - Chicago - Denver - Spokane. To finally get to Spokane, I had to travel Frankfurt - Chicago - Denver - San Francisco - Seattle and then finally Spokane. After nearly 36 hours of travel, I finally made it.