Welcome to Germerica

30 Before 30 | 3 Years to Go!

2017-08-15T02:30:00.000-07:00

I turned 27 last month.

When I turned 25, I made a 30 before 30 list — a list of 30 goals I want to accomplish before I turn 30 years old. Last year, I updated this list, highlighting the 4 goals I was able to complete in the first year. Now is the time to check in and see what progress I made while I was 26!

1. ~~Finish my Master's degree~~
I officially finished my Master's degree on December 9, 2016, when I successfully defended my thesis. Here is the picture of me coming out of the room where I held my defense, just after my professors told me I had passed.

3. ~~Find a full-time job~~
I had a part-time job after finishing my degree, which allowed me to take my time with the job search. It took me about 3 months to find a full-time job in Germany, and during this time, I sent a total of 24 applications, had 8 interviews, and ended up receiving 2 job offers. I then began my first post-graduation full-time job in April.

5. Visit 3 new countries
1 down, 3 to go! In March, I spent a long weekend in London, which was my very first time in the UK!

Here is the stamp in my passport to prove it:

7. ~~Get a pedicure and/or manicure~~
In July, I got both a manicure and a pedicure for the first time! Just a few days before my cousin's wedding (where I was a bridesmaid), she hosted a mani/pedi evening at a local salon. So, I drank a little wine and let a stranger do my nails!

Blurry picture from my mom's phone

12. Get my student debt into the 4-figure range
I won't get into specifics, but since getting a full-time job, I am making progress on this. I feel very confident that I will accomplish this goal by 30 (in fact, I think I may do much better than that - fingers crossed).

19. ~~Vote~~
I am proud to say that I finally registered, and I voted in the 2016 presidential election!

Got my ballot for the #USpresidentialelection! Now I just have to figure out who I want to #vote for... #democratsabroad
A post shared by Courtney (@courtneydmartin) on Sep 27, 2016 at 8:14am PDT

23. Master the German language
This past year, I interviewed for several full-time jobs in German for German companies. I practiced a lot before the first one and always got quite nervous, but it got better with time, and the entire experience left me feeling a lot more confident in my language abilities. Heck, I even got a job offer for a German-language position!

Unfortunately, I didn't pick the German-language position. I picked an English-language position, and I now feel like my German is getting worse every single day... I need to work on that if I ever want to feel like I have "mastered" the damn language...

Last year, I crossed off 4 goals from this list. This year, I crossed off 4 more. So, I still have 22 goals to go... Let's hope I can pick up the pace in these next few years!

My 4 Year Expat Anniversary!

2017-07-24T12:50:00.002-07:00

Four years ago today, I flew to Germany on a one-way ticket and haven't left (for more than two weeks) ever since. And this past year of my expat life has been the biggest one yet!

When I first came to Germany in July 2013, my main motivation was to pursue my Master's degree. Well (spoiler alert!), I accomplished that at the end of 2016, which meant that I had to decide whether I would go back to my home country or stay in my adoptive one. If you know anything about me, then you know this decision wasn't very difficult. I chose to stay in Germany, and search for a full-time job.

To find out more about everything I've accomplished during my fourth year in Germany, read on!

JULY 2016

Six months before our desired wedding date, my husband (then fiancé) and I were finally able to submit our German marriage registration!

After submitting the registration, we were also able to officially set our wedding date and location: December 30, 2016 in the Lüneburg Water Tower.

Otherwise, I was deep in the process of writing my Master's thesis during this month, and I didn't have much time or brain capacity for much else.

AUGUST 2016

After devoting a few months to my Master's thesis, the end of my degree was in sight, and I began to panic. As usual, the Germans have a word for that: Torschlusspanik.

I also ran into some new permit problems and had to spend way too much time at the Ausländerbehörde...

Just hanging out at my favorite place: the Ausländerbehörde. One hour in the waiting room, just to have a Beamter tell me I don't have all the necessary documents, but he is going on vacation for 3 weeks so I won't be able to come back to extend my visa until one week before it expires. #bureaucracy #Germany
A post shared by Courtney (@courtneydmartin) on Aug 29, 2016 at 9:36am PDT

SEPTEMBER 2016

Marco and I celebrated our five-year anniversary! To find out how we met, make sure to check out his side of the story and my side of the story.

I voted! At 26 years old, this was actually my first time ever voting. Although shameful, I hope that I can inspire a few of my fellow expats to also register and vote from abroad.

Got my ballot for the #USpresidentialelection! Now I just have to figure out who I want to #vote for... #democratsabroad
A post shared by Courtney (@courtneydmartin) on Sep 27, 2016 at 8:14am PDT

OCTOBER 2016

Following a month in which I had 4 appointments at the Ausländerbehörde, I received a new student visa and finished registering my upcoming marriage.

I picked up my Master's thesis from the printer (do you like how they spelled my name?) and turned it in to the university!

Just picked up my master's thesis from the printer's! Love the way they spelled my name... #gradschool #gradschoolproblems
A post shared by Courtney (@courtneydmartin) on Oct 27, 2016 at 7:30am PDT

NOVEMBER 2016

I finally got to know my neighbor of 3 years, Mrs. Nobody.

I celebrated my FIFTH Thanksgiving in Germany with the lovely Jordan Wagner!

DECEMBER 2016

I GRADUATED WITH MY MASTER'S DEGREE!

AND I GOT MARRIED!

JANUARY 2017

I started searching for a full-time job in Germany.

My husband and I got the keys to our new apartment!

First dinner in our new apartment. #altbauwohnung #wedonthaveanyfurnitureyet
A post shared by Courtney (@courtneydmartin) on Jan 27, 2017 at 11:23am PST

FEBRUARY 2017

I renewed my US passport from Germany, which turned out to be less difficult than I expected!

MARCH 2017

As the winter semester came to an end, so did my time as a student. This also meant that I could no longer hold my student job, and finding a full-time job became more critical than ever...

In the meantime, I took a short trip to visit grandma in sunny Florida!

A post shared by Courtney (@courtneydmartin) on Apr 1, 2017 at 4:18am PDT

Last day in paradise. #florida #visitinggrandma
A post shared by Courtney (@courtneydmartin) on Apr 4, 2017 at 10:00am PDT

APRIL 2017

24 applications, 8 interviews, and 2 job offers later - I began working a big-girl full-time job! Read more about my job search in Germany.

MAY 2017

I was working a lot and not doing much else. Well, nothing besides eating a disgusting pizza...

JUNE 2017

After spending the week working in the big city of Hamburg, I spent my weekends rediscovering my beautiful little city of Lüneburg.

#lovelüneburg
A post shared by Courtney (@courtneydmartin) on Jun 5, 2017 at 9:42am PDT

JULY 2017

I spent 2 weeks in my favorite city, Chicago! It was also my first time spending the 4th of July in the US since 2013.

Happy 4th of July!
A post shared by Courtney (@courtneydmartin) on Jul 4, 2017 at 8:47am PDT

Now I am back in Germany, and even after four years of living in this country, I am still loving my life here! If you are wondering what I did during my first 3 years in Germany, check out the links below:

Here's to another great year!

Tex-Mex Pizza with Hot Dog-Stuffed Crust | "American" Food Taste Test

2017-05-25T10:39:00.003-07:00

Once every couple months, each of the German discount grocery stores (Lidl, Aldi, Penny, etc.) has an "American week" where they sell American-branded food products. These specialty weeks are a great opportunity for us American expats to pick up typical American goodies like salted popcorn and peanut butter. However, they also carry some food abominations that even the US hasn't even had the audacity to create.

Penny's most recent "American week" included this masterpiece, and I just had to try it out:

Tex-Mex Pizza with Hot Dog-Stuffed Crust

This mix of American/Mexican/Italian/German cuisine was so baffling, I posted a picture to the Welcome to Germerica Facebook page. So many of you were just as baffled as I was, so I went out and picked one up.

Photoshoot in Penny!

Unpackaging the pizza back at home, my German husband asked me the question I am sure is on all your minds:

"Is is just one really long sausage in the crust, or a lot of little sausages?"

Well, maybe you weren't thinking that, but I bet you are now! I was excited to find out, so into the oven it went.

After 18 minutes, it was done and looking... delicious? Naja, not really. But it was done.

By the way, all of the following images are unfiltered and unedited. Just a Tex-Mex pizza with sausage-stuffed crust in all its natural glory.

I was most curious about cutting into it and seeing the hot dog-stuffed crust. And when I did, I was actually quite pleased with how it looked. I mean, it looked like edible hot dogs, which was more than I can say about the ground beef (if you can call it that) on the top of the pizza.

But just one bite of the thing, and... well... I think my facial expressions speak for themselves.

The worst part is that instead of normal pizza sauce, this had some kind of spicy ketchup. It was gross. I was also really weary about eating any of the "ground beef" on the pizza. So, I didn't eat much more than that one bite.

The crust, on the other hand...

The crust was actually alright!

I love hot dogs. I especially love pigs in a blanket — and the crust of this pizza was basically just one big round pig in a blanket.

And guess what!

I found out that the crust is actually made up over lots of little hot dogs, not just one big one. I guess that was a little disappointing, but in the interest of not wasting food, I did eat all the crusts off the pizza ;)

Would you have eaten this pizza?
Should I try out more "American" food from German grocery stores?

An American's Experience with German Public Healthcare

2017-05-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

When I began my master's studies in Germany, I also enrolled in German public healthcare. At that time, I wrote a (somewhat naive) blog post about my first experience with German public healthcare. This is an update to that post.

Since I was a student at the time, I was only paying the student rate for public healthcare (about 80€ per month). Since I also have a chronic disease, I was taking much more out of the public healthcare system than I was putting in.

While most German-taxpayers were compassionate and understanding of my situation, I did piss a few readers off by cheerfully pointing out how the system worked in my favor. They complained that I was taking their money, draining the system, and that I wouldn't be so happy once I had a full-time job.

Well, I am back to tell you that (1) I have a full-time job, (2) 15.6% of my income is paid into the German public healthcare system, (3) I am (usually) paying more into the healthcare system each month than I am taking out of it, and (4) I am okay with it.

First, a few facts about the German public healthcare system:

Everyone that makes less than approx. 57,000 EUR (63,000 USD) must enroll in public healthcare

If you make more, you can choose to become privately insured (price depends on level of coverage and pre-existing conditions) or continue paying into public healthcare

The system insured 71.6 million people in 2016, which is about 88% of the country's population (source)
People earning over 850€ per month have to pay 15.5% of their income for public healthcare (8.2% is paid by employee, 7.3% by employer)

This system is widely accepted within Germany, and very few political leaders push for significant reforms. When I was a student in Germany, taking more from the system than I was putting in, I also never heard anything negative about my situation from the Germans that I would speak to about this topic. Germans would generally laugh as I spoke so highly of the public healthcare system, telling me that not paying extra for doctors appointments and prescription medication is how it's supposed to be.

The entire premise of Breaking Bad is basically a mystery for Germans, and people would often ask me how a person in an industrialized country like the U.S. could go into bankruptcy just because he was diagnosed cancer or got into a car accident.

Solidarity
The principle at play in any publicly-funded healthcare system (whether it be German public healthcare or US Medicare) is solidarity. The healthy will end up paying for (at least some) of the health care services for the sick. The wealthier will pay for services used by the poor.

In the US, the prevailing mindset seems to be, "I don't want to pay for somebody else." For better or worse, people only want to be responsible for themselves and their families. The problem is, of course, that a serious illness or accident that often lead to financial hardship (at best) for middle- to low-income families.

Everyday, I see my American friends and family sharing fundraising pages on Facebook to help someone with their medical bills. Just the fact that this webpage exists is, in my opinion, a sign that the US medical system isn't okay.

Such websites don't exist in Germany because people don't need them. Public healthcare in Germany covers everything*, so insured people would never be financially burdened by medical bills.

There is strength in numbers, and with over 70 million people belonging to (mainly) just a handful of public health insurance providers, healthcare and medication fees can be negotiated strongly. Thus, health spending per capita is significantly lower in Germany than the US.

If you have a solid income, never get seriously sick or injured in your entire life, and you never have any children, is this system benefiting you? No. But the problem is that you cannot predict when you are going to get sick or injured, and (in my experience) Germans are willing to pay for the safety of knowing that should something happen, they are covered.

If you are curious what your net salary would be if you lived in Germany, and how much of it would go towards public healthcare, check out this salary calculator:
http://www.brutto-netto-rechner.info/gehalt/gross_net_calculator_germany.php

*German public healthcare does not cover everything, there are required "co-pays" (e.g. 5€ for a prescriptions, 10€ per day at the hospital), but these are fairly insignificant and would not cause financial hardship.

Finding a Full-Time Job in Germany (a Foreigner's Experience)

2017-04-18T05:53:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, guess what....

I OFFICIALLY HAVE A BIG GIRL FULL-TIME POST-GRADUATION JOB!!! pic.twitter.com/F3eZAA0zJE
— Courtney (@courtneydmartin) March 24, 2017

That's right, after graduating with my Master's degree from a German university in December 2016, I finally found a full-time job in my field! In fact, today is my first day at my new job (wish me luck!).

Wanting to be as real with my readers as possible, this post will review my experience with applying to and interviewing for full-time jobs in Germany.

First, the hard facts:
Length of my job search: 3 months
Number of jobs I applied to: 24
Number of interviews: 8
Final job offers: 2

I applied to a few jobs while writing my Master's thesis (Nov-Dec 2016), but I didn't really start putting real effort into the job hunt until the new year. I was also very lucky to have a part-time job contract until March 31, 2016. This meant that I didn't have the pressure of needing to find a job ASAP.

Here is a timeline of all the jobs I applied to, and how far in the application process I made it with each position:

Overall, I was very lucky in my job search. I usually got a response (even if it was a rejection email), and I got quite a few interviews. To better visualize this, here is a pie chart of this data:

I got absolutely no response from 25% of the jobs I applied to. Shame on the businesses that do this! Even if it is just a form email, you should reply to all applicants! It's just common decency!

Speaking of form emails, I got those from 42% of the jobs I replied to. Receiving a rejection email is not a great feeling, but it's better than hanging on to hope for a position that already rejected you without you knowing.

For 33% of all the jobs I applied to, I got at least one interview (usually via phone or Skype). I really hate interviewing for jobs, and the first few interviews went quite horribly. However, I also think I got better at interviewing each time. Which ultimately led to...

...drum roll please...

via GIPHY

...two job offers!!!

My job search reached its peak when I scheduled two second-round interviews for the exact same day -- the first for 1:00 pm and the second for 5:45 pm.

I got to the first interview about an hour early, so I stopped into a cafe next door and had an espresso. This probably wasn't such a great idea, as I was nervous and hadn't yet eaten anything that day. By the time I got to my interview, I was visibly shaking.

Of course I took an elevator selfie on my way up to the 19th floor office.

I was then placed in a beautiful conference room with one of the best views of Hamburg's Altstadt that I had ever seen. They also made a nice first impression with a little spread on the table. Since I was already shaking from my espresso, though, I just stuck with water.

After this interview, which went until about 2 p.m., I then sat in a café for over three hours until it was time for my second interview. The second interview actually ended up being less of a job interview and more of an employment persuasion. I left with an unofficial job offer and the peace of mind of knowing that my job search was finally over!

via GIPHY

The following week, I got final job offers from both of the companies with which I had a second interview, and after a little bit of back and forth, I signed a job contract on March 25th to start on April 18th!

Let me know if you have any questions about finding a job in Germany in the comments below!

P.S. This post was chosen by followers of the Welcome to Germerica Facebook page. Make sure to like my page to stay up-to-date on all things Germerica!

Welcome to Germerica

Our Germerican Wedding Reception

2017-04-10T04:18:00.000-07:00

I married my German husband on December 30, 2016 in a beautiful wedding ceremony in the Lüneburg Water Tower. After the ceremony, we celebrated our marriage in a small reception in the historic Lüner Mühle - a restaurant and hotel located directly on the river in an old mill built in the 14th century.

The celebration actually began with a short reception on the top of the water tower, which is where we met our guests after the ceremony. Marco's father, an avid flag collector, also gave us our first wedding gift! :D

Couples that get married in the Lüneburg water tower also receive a plaque to place at the top of tower. So, we glued our plaque to the side of the viewing platform (make sure to look for it if you ever visit Lüneburg!).

After this little reception, we made our way back down, this time taking the stairs through the water tower's basin, which is where this cool picture was taken:

And finally, we made it outside! We then walked with our guests to our reception venue on the other side of the river.

I created the centerpieces and place cards for the reception together with friends, and I also made double-sided menu cards in English and German. Luckily, our reception venue let us set up these things the night before.

For the sake of our guests' privacy, I do not want to post many pictures from the reception. All you need to know if that the reception was over 12 hours long, there was lots of drinking and dancing, and my husband and I had a great time (which, in my opinion, is the most important)!

All photos were taken by Björn Schönfeld

Our Germerican Wedding Ceremony

2017-03-27T12:50:00.001-07:00

On December 30, 2016, I married my [German] husband in a small civil wedding ceremony in Lüneburg, Germany.

Since we had planned a winter wedding in Northern Germany, we were never expecting nice weather. In fact, the days prior to the wedding were the typical gray, cold, rainy weather we are used to. However, the skies cleared for one single day in late December, and that was the day of our wedding.

The ceremony was held in the city's historic water tower. My husband, Marco, arrived at the venue before me and greeted our guests as they arrived. This was pretty easy considering there were only about 25 of them!

I made the boutonnieres myself!

I actually walked to the water tower from an apartment my friend Meghan had rented nearby. Of course I forgot my bouquet (which Meghan ran back to the apartment to get), while I got to see my groom for the first time.

I then had a Cinderella moment as my Prince Charming helped me put my heels on, and strangers that were visiting the museum area of the water tower kept taking pictures of us.

Marco then went up to the ceremony room, as I waited downstairs with my father and the officiant. Luckily, my bouquet also arrived during this time (thanks again, Meghan!).

Then, when we were ready, we took the elevator up to the third floor, and my father walked me down the aisle to my husband-to-be.

I made my bouquet myself too!

I do have to admit that the ceremony itself was a little cheesy. Since Lüneburg is such a popular city for weddings, there are three public officiants that spend their days officiating civil wedding ceremonies. Our photographer, Björn Schönfeld, told us that ours is particularly well-known for her over-the-top flowery language. But the bright side was that her speech was so cheesy that I didn't cry (and will probably always remember it)!

And after each saying "ja," we were married! We exchanged rings and signed the marriage certificate immediately afterwards.

And we walked out of the water tower as husband and wife.

Come back next week to see the reception photos!

How I Found a New Apartment in Germany

2017-03-09T10:20:00.000-08:00

After graduating with my Master's degree, I felt like I was moving into a new stage of my life. I'm no longer a student. I will soon begin a full-time job. I'm married!

To mark this new stage of life, I also decided it was time to move. So, that's what I did!

Unfortunately, I live in a very popular city where there are a lot more people looking to rent apartments than there are apartments to rent. With a little patience and a lot of luck, however, I was able to find an amazing apartment.

Here is how I did it:

SEARCH ONLINE
The two most popular real estate websites in Germany are immobilienscout24 and immonet. Realtors and landlords often upload their listings to both websites, but sometimes they only use one or the other.

So, I checked both. Multiple times per day. And as soon as I saw an apartment I liked, I (in reality, my husband) either emailed the realtor/landlord or called them directly to set up a viewing.

MONEY TALKS

In a market where there are more renters than rentals, it can be hard to even get a viewing. After contacting a realtor or landlord, we were usually first required to fill out a form with information such as job, income, and nationality. The realtor would then obviously decide who gets to view the apartment based on these various factors.

VIEW & APPLY

In November, I was going to at least two viewings per week (while also finishing my Master's thesis and planning a wedding). For 4 of the apartments that we viewed, we submitted an application. Here is a small overview of each of those apartments:

Apartment 1: Neubau

Pros: brand new, 2 bedrooms, ground floor with private garden

Cons: no grocery store within walking distance, far away from the city center & the university

Apartment 2: Uni-Nah

Pros: brand new, close to the university (where Marco works), ground floor with private garden

Cons: 1 bedroom, required a 5-year contract

Apartment 3: Stint

Pros: centrally located, huge balcony with a view of the river, floor heating, parking garage

Cons: 1 bedroom, over-budget

Apartment 4: Altbau

Pros: newly-renovated Altbau, 2 bedrooms, 3 stories, shared-use garden

Cons: no parking, located on the 3rd-5th floors

We didn't get apartment #1. Before we got an answer from #2, we called the realtor to tell her that we weren't willing to sign a 5-year contract. We did get #3, and Marco was ready to sign the contract, but it didn't feel right to me, so we declined.

The last apartment we applied for was #4. Since there were so many great applications, however, the owner of the building wanted to interview the top 3 applicants. We had our interview on December 27 - just three days before our wedding. On December 28, we got the call that the apartment was ours.

On the day we signed the contract, our landlord actually told us that he chose us because of the romantic notion that we would be moving in just after our wedding :)

TIMING
The biggest issue when moving within Germany is getting the timing right. The standard rental contract in Germany requires a 3-month termination notice. However, most of the apartments that we came across wanted someone that could move in within 2 months.

Luckily, the rental market moves so fast in our city. So, we were able to get out of our old apartment and moved into our new apartment less than 2 months after signing our new lease and terminating our old one.

First dinner in our new apartment. #altbauwohnung #wedonthaveanyfurnitureyet
A post shared by Courtney (@courtneydmartin) on Jan 27, 2017 at 11:23am PST

And that's it! Now we are living in a beautiful Altbauwohnung built in 1462! Since the apartment is so special, I am actually thinking of making an apartment tour video to show it off ;)

Leave a comment below if you want to see a video tour of the apartment!

5 Reasons NOT to Study Abroad in Germany

2017-03-02T11:34:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to sugar coat things. While the experience of studying abroad in Germany can be amazing, it is not for everyone. So, especially if you are considering pursuing your entire Bachelor's or Master's degree in Germany, maybe you should first consider these reasons for NOT studying abroad in Germany.

I studied abroad in Germany for one semester during my Bachelor's and then came back to Germany to complete my entire Master's degree. And while I write a lot about all the great things about studying abroad in Germany, I think it's important that I tell you the not-so-great things as well.

1. BUREAUCRACY
The stereotypes of the rule-abiding Germans and the redundancy of German bureaucracy are true. From registering with the city to registering for exams, you will probably spend a good amount of your time in Germany running around from office to office until you finally catch the right person during their unpredictable and infrequent office hours.

MFW I have to go to the Bürger-, Einwohnermelde-, Ausländerbehörde-, StandesAMT.

Tip: Save all of your emails (office workers tend to "forget" or "lose" things), triple-check your deadlines, keep a calendar with all of your important deadlines

2. NO STUDENT FACILITIES
Especially if you are going to a public university in Germany, you should not expect to have a variety of student resources available (for free) on campus. This means no high-tech computer lab, no super-modern student center, no team of personal counselors. Also, the resources that are available will likely cost you. For example, a student membership to the on-campus gym at my university costs about 20€ per month.

Tip: Join a student organization and enjoy your university campus for what it is - a place of learning and research.

3. LEARNING GERMAN
I don't care if your study program is in English - you need to learn German. Even if you are living in a big student city, getting through your day-to-day will come with a lot of uncertainty and confusion if you think you can get by on English alone. So, if you have absolutely no interest in taking a German course, stay home.

Now don't get me wrong - you do not need to be fluent in German before coming to Germany. Germans are incredibly accommodating, and most young people do speak English. However, if you are planning on staying for a while, enroll in a German course (which will often be provided for free by your university).

Tip: Don't be lazy! Just take a German course.

4. EXAMS
Depending on the system you are used to, the German grading/exam system can be quite confusing/aggravating. First of all, most classes base the grade for the entire course on the final exam/term paper. It's stressful, and it means that the final exam period at the end of each semester is a very intense time for all the students on campus.

Another big difference that I noticed between the U.S. and German university systems was registering for exams. If you are registered for a course in the U.S., then you are automatically registered for the required exams. Not in Germany! You need to enroll in a course, then half-way though the semester, you need to enroll for the exam. Being the only foreigner in my degree program, I, of course, forgot to enroll for an exam during my first semester...

Tip: Read the exam regulations (Prüfungsordnung) at the beginning of the semester, and take every word to heart. Trust me, you do not want to have to deal with the dreaded Prüfungsamt later.

5. COURSE STRUCTURE

If most of this list could be wrapped up in one sentence it would be this: Do not study in Germany if you are not independent and disciplined. This especially goes for the courses themselves, which are usually structured much differently than university courses in the U.S.

Compared to the U.S., Germans spend much less time in class and much more time doing independent study. This means that you will have to be independent in structuring your time efficiently and disciplined about doing the outside reading, studying, and research.

Tip: Keep up on your reading and studying throughout the semester! Otherwise, you will end up cramming hardcore at the end of the semester as you study for exams that make up 100% of your grade and that you know nothing about.

Do you have any other warnings for students wanting to study in Germany?

Floating Candles | Mistranslation Monday

2017-02-13T01:00:00.000-08:00

One afternoon, not too long ago, I was browsing Pinterest with my girlfriend from Lithuania (as stereotypical ladies do). And as you can imagine (and as evidenced by my other Mistranslation Monday posts), mistranslations are quite common when us two non-German women spend the day speaking German with each other.

Anyways, as we were browsing Pinterest, my friend found a lovely centerpiece that we thought would be perfect for a winter wedding. It looked something like this:

After thinking about all the different flowers and greenery we could put in the water, we starting talking about where we could buy the floating candles - except we were speaking German, so we were saying schwebende Kerzen - the literal translation of "floating candles."

After typing schwebende Kerzen into Amazon, however, we couldn't find what we were looking for. Do floating candles not exist in Germany? Are they just unpopular? Are they illegal?!

About 15 minutes later, Marco (the German) came into the room, and I asked him, "Do you know where we can buy floating candles?" - except we were speaking German, so I asked, "Weißt du, wo man schwebende Kerzen kaufen kann?"

He looked at us both, obviously confused. then replied "Like in Harry Potter? Do you those really exist?"

These are the kind of floating candles Marco was picturing

Like with most mistranslations, his confusion only caused us to become even more confused. After showing him some pictures of what we were talking about, however, the confusion was solved.

Schweben does mean "to float," but unlike English floating, schweben can only happen in the air. Maybe a more accurate translation would be "levitating."

Things don't "float" on water in German. They swim. So, the candles we wanted weren't schwebende Kerzen, they were schwimmende Kerzen (or just Schwimmkerzen). Lesson learned!

These are the candles we ended up buying, and like many things sold in Germany, the German word for the item isn't even on the package. Instead, there is just English and French. The Germans are just left to figure it out, I guess (and foreigners are left to wonder).

Top 5 Tips for Writing a Master's Thesis in Germany

2017-02-08T11:58:00.000-08:00

81 pages. 23,937 words. 1 hour-long oral defense. Although I never thought I would be able to say this six months ago, now I can: I DID IT! I successfully completed my master's thesis (and my master's degree).

For other international students preparing for the final semester of their master's degree, here are my top tips for writing a master's thesis in Germany.

START EARLY
If you are doing a classic 4-semester Master's program, then I suggest you begin looking for a topic and supervisor at the start of your third semester. I chose my topic based on a term paper that I enjoyed writing and wanted to explore the material more deeply. You can also choose to write a master's thesis within a company - such positions can be found on job websites like Indeed and Stepstone.

I approached my professor in my third semester to ask him if he could supervise my master's thesis with my chosen topic. Since I had completed a term paper for one of his classes in the previous semester, he already knew me and my writing. So, he agreed to supervise me, but first requested a research proposal (Exposé). My proposal was about four pages long and included an introduction, research question(s), methods, and a short literature review.

After my first supervisor approved my proposal, he helped me choose and contact an external secondary supervisor. Then, after my secondary supervisor agreed and approved my proposal, my fourth semester was just about to begin, and I was ready to go!

STICK TO A SCHEDULE
The best part about writing a master's thesis? The freedom of doing your own research! The worst part about writing a master's thesis? The freedom of doing your own research.

Unless you are writing with a company, your schedule will be pretty flexible as you write your master's thesis. This means that it is up to you to create a daily schedule that includes plenty of time for research and writing. At the same time, however, you do not want to burn yourself out by sitting in front of a computer for 12 hours a day.

Before starting my thesis, I procrastinated by doing research into productivity. Two methods stuck out to me, both of which I used throughout the various phases of writing my thesis.

POMODORO METHOD
The Pomodoro Technique is a time-management technique that is based on 25-minute productive periods followed by five-minute breaks. If you want some group encouragement in using this method, follow the Shut Up and Write account on Twitter (or Shut Up & Write UK), which leads Pomodoro sessions for academic writers every Tuesday. And if you need to write on any other day of the week, just send them a message and request to join the private Shut Up & Write group that is active just about 24/7.

MARTINI METHOD
If you aren't in the mood for frequent breaks and would rather just power through your thesis, then the Martini Method is for you. Set a reasonable goal in the morning, work until you achieve this goal, then relax guilt-free for the rest of the day. Supposedly, this method was named after novelist Anthony Burgess's writing technique, which involved writing 1,000 words every day. As soon as this goal was reached (regardless of whether it took just 1 hour or 10) Burgess would stop working and relax with a dry martini.

CREATE DEADLINES
Your university will probably set a deadline for you to turn in your thesis (at my university, this is five months after registering your topic). However, unless you want to have a lot of sleepless nights at the end of the semester, you need to set incremental deadlines.

I created a spreadsheet with the final due date of my thesis and worked backwards from there. You can start by asking yourself the following questions:
How long will research/data collection take?
Do I need to conduct any time-sensitive empirical research?
How many days/weeks do I need to write each chapter?
How many weeks before the due date should I send a draft to my supervisor?

TALK TO YOUR SUPERVISOR
Your supervisor is there to help you. Sure, some supervisors may suck and not actually want to help you (or they "don't have the time"), but in general, you shouldn't be shy about going to supervisor for help or advice in the research and writing process. I know I could have saved myself a lot of headaches if I had just asked my professor for his professional opinion on certain research decisions early on instead of guessing and stressing about it for weeks on end.

KEEP THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE
Yes, your master's thesis is important, and you should do you very best when writing it. However, it is just a master's thesis. You should never let academic work stress you out so much that it effects your mental health.

While writing my master's thesis, I got into a horrible cycle of sitting in front of my computer for over 10 hours each day. I constantly felt like my work wasn't good enough and that I should be working even harder. After about a month of this, I forced myself to get outside each day by beginning the C25K running program. Spending just 30 minutes a day running around outside and enjoying the nature really helped alleviate my anxiety and keep things in perspective.

And that's it! I turned in my master's thesis at the end of November 2016, and I successfully defended my thesis on December 9, 2016. Here is a picture of me leaving my professor's office on that day (with a face of pure joy):

What is your best tip for staying productive?

Renewing a US Passport in Germany

2017-02-02T00:30:00.000-08:00

Rain is wet. Fire is hot. Passports expire.

I had to renew my American passport this year, and since I live in Germany, I had the option of traveling to one of the three locations in Germany: the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, the Consulate General in Frankfurt, the Consulate General in Munich, or the Consular Agency in Bremen.

[Note: US citizens over 16 years old with an undamaged passport that was issued within the last 15 years are able to renew their US passports via mail. However, you have to pay the fee via check in USD or the credit card payment authorization form. Since I didn't have a checkbook and didn't want to fill out this form, I chose to do this process in person.]

I live near Hamburg, the second largest city in Germany. However, there are no U.S. citizen services offered in Hamburg, so I set an entire day aside to take the trip to Bremen, which is 2 hours away by train.

Before I ramble on about my trip to the U.S. Consulate in Bremen, however, let's start with facts of how to renew an American passport in Germany.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Passport

• Renewal form (DS-81 or DS-11)

• Passport photo (5 cm x 5 cm)

• Application fee payment

• Return envelope for within Germany
• [If you need to change your name due to marriage] International marriage certificate

Note that if you are going to the the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, the Consulate General in Frankfurt, or the Consulate General in Munich, you will need an appointment. The Consular Agency in Bremen, only takes walk-ins (which is where I went).

For specific information, visit the U.S. Embassy website.

Now that the formalities are over with, here is my experience with renewing my passport at the U.S. consulate in Germany.

HOW I DID IT:

To give you a proper idea of what a trek it was for me to renew my U.S. passport in Germany, I let's move through my day by time (and please excuse my potato-quality pictures - I don't have a very nice phone).

8:06

To get to Bremen for free with my student ID (all regional transportation in Lower Saxony is free with my German student ID), I would have to take two trains. To make my first train at 8:32, I got on a bus from my apartment at 8:06.

8:20

I arrived at the train station around 8:20 and walked to the platform. Less than five minutes later, I hear an announcement over the speakers:

"The train you are waiting for is delayed 22 minutes, and since your layover was only 12 minutes, this means you are also going to miss your connecting train to Bremen. Your day is doomed."

Okay, maybe the announcement wasn't that dramatic, but it was not a good start to my day. The train to Bremen ran every hour, but it was January, and I wasn't very keen on waiting outside at a crappy train station for an 52 minutes. After a frantic search on my phone, I found a train that would decrease my layover to 30 minutes.

8:54
The train that was supposed to arrive at 8:32 arrives at 8:54, and I am annoyed.

9:45
I make it to my half-way destination and have to wait for a half hour for my train to Bremen. Still annoyed.

11:05
I get to Bremen 35 minutes later than originally planned, but it's okay. The consulate was open that day until 1:00 p.m. So, everything would be okay. Next step of the plan was to get on a tram that would take me to the Bremen airport (the U.S. consulate is across the street from the airport).

11:30
It takes another 20 minutes to actually get to the consulate from the train station. I was super nervous and also too scared to take a selfie before going in (especially since there was a camera on the doorbell).

Note that it is just a consular agency in Bremen, which means they just offer very limited services for U.S. citizens - basically just passport applications and renewals. When I walked into the office, which is on the fourth floor of the building, there were two armed German police officers waiting to greet me. They asked me why I was there, and I immediately felt like I was doing something illegal and totally stuttered, "I would like to renew my passport..." They then searched my bag (remarking that I had a lot of food with me, hahah), and told me to take a seat.

The U.S. Consular Agency in Bremen is literally just a waiting room with 20 chairs and a single woman sitting behind a bullet-proof glass window. The only other person there was sitting in front of the woman behind the window when I walked in, so I took my seat and waited for my turn.

11:45
When it's my turn, I tell the woman what I need and hand her all of my documents. I hadn't printed/filled out the renewal form ahead of time, so she printed one for me (which I found incredibly considerate after my horrible experiences with German bureaucracy lately). Since some other people were waiting, I filled out the form back in the waiting area while some other people took their turn at the window.

12:30
I finally leave the consulate around 12:30. My meeting was overall pretty successful, except that I made the dumb mistake of bringing what the Germans call a "biometric photo." This is smaller than the passport photos used in American passports, so she couldn't accept it. Luckily, she still took my other documents and agreed to hold on to them until I could mail in a new picture. Here's me looking pleased with the whole experience after leaving:

13:00
I make it back to Bremen's city center and walk around for a bit while I wait for the next train back to Hamburg. If you live somewhere between Bremen and one of the consulates (i.e. Frankfurt or Berlin), then I highly suggest choosing the Bremen consulate for renewing your license. You don't have to make an appointment, it is a (if you ignore the armed German police officers) relaxed environment, and the woman that works there is very sweet.

Bremen is also a beautiful city.

13:30
I'm back on the train with another two-hour trip in front of me. You can tell from the state of my hair that it had been a very long day.

Since my new passport will arrive by mail, the woman at the consulate also invalidated my old passport by punching a bunch of holes in it.

This was actually the first passport I ever had. It accompanied on my first trip outside of the U.S., my semester abroad, and my move to Germany. But with four two-page visas and dozens of stamps, it was getting quite full.

Now I just have to sit back, relax, and wait for my new passport to come in the mail. I was told it would take about three weeks.

Have you kept your expired passports?

Job Search Visa for Foreign Graduates in Germany

2017-01-26T11:56:00.000-08:00

Whether you are considering getting your degree in Germany, you are currently getting your degree in Germany, or you are just about to graduate, then you have probably wondered: What comes next?

Good news! Foreigners who receive a degree from a German university are allowed to stay in the country after graduation in order to to work. However, if you are not lucky enough to have a job lined up directly after graduation, and your student visa is running out at the end of the semester, then you are eligible for the job search visa (Aufenthaltserlaubnich zur Arbeitsplatzsuche).

To understand the rules regarding German residency permits, it is best to refer to the Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz). The job search visa is covered in §16(4):

Nach erfolgreichem Abschluss des Studiums kann die Aufenthaltserlaubnis bis zu 18 Monaten zur Suche eines diesem Abschluss angemessenen Arbeitsplatzes, sofern er nach den Bestimmungen der §§ 18, 19, 19a und 21 von Ausländern besetzt werden darf, verlängert werden. Die Aufenthaltserlaubnis berechtigt während dieses Zeitraums zur Ausübung einer Erwerbstätigkeit. § 9 findet keine Anwendung.

In case you can't understand German law vocabulary, this says that foreign graduates can receive a residence permit for up to 18 months after graduation to look for a job. Not bad, huh? If this sounds like something for you, then take a look at the facts listed below.

HOW TO GET A GERMAN JOB SEARCH VISA: THE FACTS

Who the job search visa is for:
Foreigners who have successfully completed their Bachelor's/ Master's/PhD at a German university and want to stay in Germany to look for a job.

To apply for this permit, you need:
• University degree
• Proof of finances
• Health insurance

Things to consider:
• You may not have your official diploma before your student visa expires
I didn't receive my official diploma until about three weeks after the oral defense of my thesis. So, if your student visa is expiring shortly after your final exam(s), then you may need to get a letter from the registrar's office confirming that you have completed all of the necessary requirements for your degree.

• You won't qualify for student health insurance anymore
You no longer qualify for the student rate for German public health insurance once you exmatriculate from your university after completion of your degree. So, make sure to consider your options before graduation.

• You can work while you search for a job
While you are looking for a job, you can work in a non-qualifying position (i.e. a position that wouldn't qualify you for a work visa such as a mini- or midi-job). Thanks to Lynnae for this info!

Once you do find a job that (1) aligns with your degree qualifications and (2) pays enough to support you (as calculated by your local foreigner's office), you will then have to get a new residency permit - either a German residency permit or an EU Blue Card. But more about that later! Good luck!

P.S. I am currently on the job search myself, so wish me luck as I look for a job that aligns with my new qualifications and pays enough to support me in the comments below! ;)

Balls | Mistranslation Monday

2017-01-09T08:49:00.004-08:00

After almost a month of internet silence, I am back with everyone's favorite type of post: Mistranslation Monday! Today's Mistranslation Monday is brought to you a single seemingly simple word, balls.

Over Christmas and New Year's, we rented a big house in Germany where both Marco and my families would spend the holidays together. This included both of our parents, both of our brothers, my sister-in-law, and Marco's practically-step-brother. It was a full house, and of the 8 residents...
1 was English/German bilingual
1 could speak German and very limited English
2 could only speak German
and
4 could only speak English.

With such a mix, conversations at the dinner table each evening were... interesting, to say the least. One of the best mistanslations that came out of this linguistic mess occurred on the second day of Christmas (that's right - Germans call December 26th "second Christmas").

On Second Christmas, Marco's practically-step-mother made a traditional Fränkisch meal, including venison with lingonberries, red cabbage, and pretzel dumplings. This story is about those dumplings, which look like this:

Since Marco's step-mother speaks very limited English, the way she translated the various components of this meal to my family was as follows.

Reh = Bambi (yes, she kept telling us throughout the meal that we were eating Bambi)
Blaukraut = Blue cabbage
Brezelknödel = Balls

"Balls" as a translation of Knödel was acceptable at first. She was obviously always referring to the food, and my family was all thankful that she was was putting the effort into speaking English at all. The issue was that Marco's father was picking up on the English that she used and would then repeat her peculiar word choices.

So during our Second Christmas meal, Marco's father was telling us all about how where he comes from (Bodensee-Region), noodles are the standard side dish for meals. Now that he lives in Nuremberg with his Fränkisch partner, however, (and I quote):

"Only balls!"

His delivery of this sentence made me burst out laughing, much to his confusion. And as I kept laughing, poor Marco was left with the task of explaining to his father that "balls" can also refer to a particular male body part.

Why I'm Not Moving Back to the USA

2016-12-01T06:04:00.002-08:00

My thesis defense will take place exactly one week from today. As soon as that day is over, there is no longer anything requiring me to stay in this country. Still, I am not moving back to the U.S. and I don't have plans to do in the future.

As anyone that knows me (or reads this blog) would guess, I have long-term plans to stay in Germany. Although I miss my family and friends every day, I truly believe that my quality of life is much higher in Germany than it is in the U.S.

Why? Well, let me list a few reasons!

Employment
Germany's unemployment rate recently hit a record low, and while such figures are difficult to compare internationally, most sources agree that the U.S. market is not doing quite as well. I believe that this is especially true for university graduates.

I have previously written about how too many Americans go to college and how the U.S. could benefit by adopting a more comprehensive apprenticeship system. This is still something I strongly believe in, especially when I see so many of my college-educated friends doing administrative work that shouldn't require a college degree.

In Germany, on the other hand, less people choose to study. This means that the job market is less saturated with college graduates searching for the same kinds of jobs. This also means that I actually stand a chance at finding a job where I will use my Master's-level education and be compensated fairly for my educational background - something I do not think would happen if I were to move back to the U.S.

Health Care
Ever since moving to Germany, I have praised the country's public healthcare system. As a student, I only had to pay about 80€ a month for health insurance with less out-of-pocket fees than any American health insurance I have ever heard of.

When I start a full-time job, my health insurance fee will increase considerably, as it is calculated as a percentage of income. Currently this percentage is around 15% - half of which is paid by the employer and the other half by the employee.

Paid Vacation & Sick Leave
Americans work longer hours, get less paid vacation time, and retire later than Germans. Even though I have only worked part-time jobs in Germany so far, I have received at least 24 days of paid vacation per year at each of my jobs (24 is the legal minimum) and paid sick time (I just had to show a doctor's note if I am sick for over 3 days in a row).

The other important aspect to consider here is that German employers also expect their employees to take all of their vacation time. Nobody gets a bad reputation with the boss for taking a couple weeks off at a time because everyone does it! Meanwhile, due to the work culture in the U.S., over half of Americans don't use all of their vacation time (which is typically only 10 days per year to begin with). Yikes.

Parental Leave
The U.S. has no law guarantees full-time workers paid parental leave. Although I'm not planning on taking advantage of this anytime soon, I am happy knowing that I will never have to make the hard decision between family and career in the future as long as I stay in Germany.

Germany currently provides 12 months of paid parental leave (during which the parent receives about two-thirds of their total income) and this is increased to 14 months if each parent takes at least 2 months. Pretty nice, right?

Politics, public transportation, university tuition, recycling... this list could go on and on. But basically, it all comes down to the fact that I believe my quality of life will be higher in Germany than in the U.S. Will this change in the future? Maybe. But for now, I am very happy with where I am and where my future in Germany is headed.

3 Americans That are Only Famous in Germany

2016-11-23T06:15:00.004-08:00

When it comes to fame, Germany has its own set of rules. The Germans have shot lots of foreign-born singers and bands into international stardom throughout the decades - the most famous example being The Beatles.

Even today, there are Americans that can't walk the streets of Germany without being recognized, yet hardly anyone in the U.S. has ever heard of them.

Here are three of such Americans that are more famous, if not only famous, in Germany:

Bruce Darnell

source

It's hard to turn on German TV nowadays without seeing this American man's face. Bruce Darnell is currently famous for serving as a judge on German reality TV competitions, but he actually started out his career as a paratrooper for the U.S. Army. After leaving the army in the 1980s, he came to Germany as a model. Apparently, Bruce rubbed elbows with the right people over the following decades, because he was soon BFF with Heidi Klum and became nationally famous when he served as a judge on Germany's Next Top Model.

If you live(d) in Germany, you may know him for his grammatically-incorrect catchphrase "Das ist der Wahrheit" (it should be die Wahrheit):

Although I usually hate watching talent competitions, I do really enjoy seeing Bruce and hearing his awesome American accent (which my German fiancé tells me I should practice doing because the Germans seem to love it).

Dana Schweiger

Even if you live in Germany, you may have not heard of Dana Schweiger, but you have definitely heard of her ex-husband, Til Schweiger, and at least one of their children (their daughters Emma, Lilli, and Luna have been in quite a few Til Schweiger films).

If you're American, then let me explain: Til Schweiger is a famous German actor, director, producer... blahblahblah. Basically, he has his own production company and loves making movies for himself and his daughters to star in. Also, his facial expression never changes from what you see in the above photo.

Dana and Til have been divorced since 2014, but Dana is still semi-famous in Germany and is currently on the TV show 6 Mütter, where she talks about raising her celebrity kids.

Since Dana has lived in Germany for decades, she can speak German pretty well. However, as you can hear in the video, she does still have a strong American accent.

David Hasselhoff

This list wouldn't be complete without the Hoff! The rest of the world loves to joke about the Germans' obsession with David Hasselhoff, and I am here to conform that these jokes are based on fact.

David Hasselhoff's fame in Germany all stems from the 1980's TV show Knight Rider, which I had actually never heard of until coming to Germany. However, my German fiancé (who was 3 years old when Knight Rider was cancelled), claims that he was obsessed with the show as a kid. So, that should show how popular it is. Also, I regularly see reruns getting aired on TV even today.

It was because of the show's popularity, and the Germans' yearning to see Kitt (his talking car from the show), that David Hasselhoff was invited to play at the Berlin Wall on New Year's Eve in 1989 - a concert that iconified him in German culture for decades to come.

Just look at the reception he got when he appeared on a German late night talk show a couple years ago!

Do you know any other Americans that are only famous outside of the USA?

Meeting Mrs. Nobody

2016-11-16T04:23:00.001-08:00

It all began yesterday, when Mrs. Nobody lost the key to her apartment.

Mrs. Nobody is my next-door-neighbor, and I am calling her Mrs. Nobody because her real last name is just one letter away from the German word for "nobody" (niemand). Mrs. Nobody is also a fitting name for my neighbor because of her age and gender.

Although I had heard about the "invisibility" of elderly women before, I had never thought much about it. This was probably because I myself was guity of making these women feel so invisible.

Anyways, here is everything I knew about Mrs. Nobody before the day she lost her key:
• > 70 years old
• Takes taxis everywhere
• Gives us candy and cookies when we take her garbage out for her

And that's about it! Considering we have lived next to Mrs. Nobody for over 3 years, I'd say this is pretty pathetic.

So, as I already said: this story began when Mrs. Nobody lost the key to her apartment.

It was 6:00 p.m. on a Tuesday, and Marco and I were both at home. Actually, we were sitting at the dining table, listening to jazz music, and talking about our plans for the week. No, this is not a normal thing for us, but it sure did make us look [at least somewhat] sophisticated for what happened next.

Our doorbell rang, and Marco got up to answer it. I could hear Mrs. Nobody's voice, nearly in tears, as she was describing how she lost the key to her apartment on the way home. Marco had to ask at least five times before she finally agreed to come in.

As she sat down at the dining table, she asked if we have a phone book.

"I need the number for Herman Koch," she explained. He lives about a block away, and he keeps a spare key to her apartment.

Since we are under 70, Marco and I don't have a phone book, but I was able to find his number online. Mrs. Nobody called, but there was no answer. She was obviously distressed.

"Okay, well, I will go then."

"Where are you going to go? You're not going to wait in the hallway! Just wait here. I can make tea." replied Marco.

"Oh no! No, I won't be a bother. It would be nice if I can wait here, but I don't need any tea."

So, we all settled in a bit, and Mrs. Nobody began recounting how she went to knitting class earlier that evening, and she must have dropped her key in the taxi on the way home. She was happy that we were home, because she knows that Marco comes from Southern Germany, and before she rang our doorbell, she was thinking that we might be down there.

Marco explained that we don't travel to Southern Germany as often as we would like to and then moved the conversation along by telling Mrs. Nobody that I am from even further away.

"You're from Chicago? That's nice! My son lives in Maryland."

"Oh really?" I said, quite intrigued at the first bit of personal information I was learning about my neighbor, "Did he move there for work?"

"No, he was born there."

Mrs. Nobody was just slowly laying out a trail of breadcrumbs at this point.

"So, you lived in the U.S.?"

She smiled a bit and nonchalantly replied, "For 35 years."

I'm going to be honest here: when I see an elderly person in Germany, I usually assume that they (1) can't speak English and (2) haven't traveled outside of Europe. But Mrs. Nobody was shattering these assumptions.

"And what did you do in the U.S.?" I asked, desperately wanting to know more.

"Well, when I first moved, I got my Master's Degree at Brown University."

My jaw dropped to floor, and Mrs. Nobody just started laughing. I looked at Marco across the room and said "That's an ivy league university!"

"Yeah, I've done more than most people think!" she said.

Mrs. Nobody went on to explain that she is used to people assuming that she isn't capable of very much or that she didn't accomplish very much in her life. Just last week, she said, her doctor wanted to learn a little bit more about her. She told her story of moving to the U.S. 50 years ago to get her Master's degree at Brown, and he had a similar reaction.

"I never would have thought that you studied at a university!" he had said to her.

"Well, it is something that people do." she replied.

Basically, Mrs. Nobody moved to the U.S. about 50 years ago (when she was in her 20's), got a Master's degree, married, had two children, and moved back to Germany in her 60's after a divorce. Still wanting to work, she got a job as a German and integration teacher (without any previous teaching experience). She ultimately retired due to "technical reasons" - i.e. she refused (and still refuses) to use computers.

Now she lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment and is known as "the woman who always takes taxis."

"It's not because I have a lot of money," she explained, "I just can't lift up my legs high enough to get in the bus."

So with her family so far away, most of her time is spent alone. And acquaintances that don't take the time to get to know will just assume that she led a boring and simple life - even though that couldn't be farther from the truth.

Oh, and remember when I said that one of the things I knew about Mrs. Nobody was that she gives us sweets when we take her garbage out for her? Well, look what was in front of our door this morning.

How Germany Views the U.S. Elections

2016-11-07T09:48:00.000-08:00

The time has finally come. The U.S. presidential elections are tomorrow, and we will soon know who the future President of the United States will be. And if you are an American, you better go vote (I already did)!

Over the past few months, it has been just about impossible to turn on the TV here in Germany without seeing coverage of the U.S. presidential election. I can only imagine what it's like to actually be in the U.S. right now... *shudders*

But if you know anything about Germany, then it should already be pretty obvious that Clinton is favored among Germans. In fact, infratest dimap held a poll last month, which found that 86% of Germans said they would vote for Clinton and only 4% would vote for Trump.

The surprising part of this poll comes from AfD supporters. AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) is a right-wing populist political party whose rhetoric on refugees and immigrants very much mirrors Trump's statements about Mexicans and Muslims. However, it looks like even Trump is too extreme for them, as AfD voters were made up 14% of the poll's respondents. This means that the majority of AfD supporters would support Clinton over Trump.

Over these past few months, however, Germany's political leaders have been relatively quiet on this topic. Trump did claim that Chancellor Merkel "ruined Germany," but Merkel refused to retaliate. However, Germany's foreign minister did call Trump a "hate preacher."¹

If you follow Welcome to Germerica on Facebook, then you know that Germany's comedians have been more vocal about their views on the U.S. elections. Jan Böhmermann, the comedian who became quite famous after criticizing Turkish president Erdogan, covered the U.S. election in the Neo Magazin Royale episode from November 3, 2016.

If you have the time, I highly suggest watching the entire episode. But if you don't have the time, you will get a gist of his message from the closing song that he created for the episode:

Ultimately, whether you agree with the majority of Germans' opinion on who would make the best presidential candidate or not, I think we can all agree with the portrayal of both candidates on the current cover of Der Spiegel.

The State of Germerica #2

2016-11-03T01:06:00.001-07:00

Back in June, there was so much going on that I decided to write a post about the State of Germerica - that is, the general state of what's going on in my life. Well, a lot has gone on since then, and I am not sure how to organize that all into a sensible blog post, so here we go again.

Today's post will proceed by topic. First up on the docket is...

Apartment Hunting
I want to move! As of November 1st, Marco and I have been living in our current apartment for exactly 3 years. That's a long time! Although we do plan on staying in Lüneburg for the foreseeable future, we are ready for a change.

Our current apartment has is on the 3rd floor with one bedroom, 59 m² (635 sq ft), and is located near the university. We are looking for a ground floor apartment with a small yard, at least 70 m² (750 sq ft), possibly a second bedroom, and a more central location near the city center and train station.

Here is a picture of an apartment we looked at yesterday, which had an amazing location and was very pretty, but the heating system looked too inefficient (and expensive) and it was on the 3rd floor:

Wish us luck as we continue with the hunt!

Master's Thesis

I turned in my Master's thesis on Thursday, October 28! Since then, I have been trying to relax a bit and not think about it anymore. Although, I should actually be contacting my supervisors to plan my presentation and defense. I will get to that soon.

Just picked up my master's thesis from the printer's! Love the way they spelled my name... #gradschool #gradschoolproblems
A photo posted by Courtney (@courtneydmartin) on Oct 27, 2016 at 7:30am PDT

In the meantime...

Job Hunting
I am slowly beginning the job search! I am feeling pretty optimistic about finding a fitting position at a digital media company in Hamburg.

Luckily, I'm not under any pressure to take the first thing that comes along because I already have a part-time job at the university. Which brings us to...

Working
After agreeing to be in a video for my university in September, the university's communications department spontaneously offered me a part-time job to begin the very next week. My contract lasts through the end of March, which means I can take my time finding the right job for after graduation. After all, this will be my first big-girl full-time job in Germany!

Wedding Planning
As if all of that wasn't enough, Marco and I are still planning our wedding! I have written two posts about this process so far (wedding planning pt. 1 - wedding planning pt. 2), but we still have a few things to do before December 30th...

And that's it! Lots of changes going on right now in Germerica, and I am excited to see how different the state of things will be in 2017.

P.S. this post is participating in Gretch and Kristen's“What’s new with you?" link-up for November.

Top 5 Translation Tools (German<>English)

2016-10-24T06:07:00.000-07:00

Being enrolled in a German master's program, I do my fair share of reading and writing [in both English and German]. I also do a lot of translation work for my student job at the university. So, I would consider myself quite knowledgeable when it comes to online translation tools and websites.

If you have taken a German class, then your teacher probably told you to never use a translation website. Instead, you should use a German dictionary.

Sure, that is a good tip for gaining a deeper understanding of the German language, but translation dictionaries are quick, easy, and the best (or only) option for certain situations. So, whether you are also a student in Germany, do translation work, or just enjoy watching German YouTube videos, here are my top 5 favorite online translation tools.

LEO
For translating single words between English and German, Leo is my go-to. The article (der, die, das) and plural form of German nouns are always provided on the main results page (which is normally what I am looking for when I search for a German word). Also, by clicking on the table next to (most) words, you can see how to properly declinate/conjugate that word. To check pronunciation, just click the play button in front of the word.

dict.cc
If LEO fails me, then I turn to dict.cc. This is another standard, quality translation service. However, instead of writing [der, die, das] in front of the German nouns, they write [m, n, f] after it. It achieves the same purpose, but I prefer LEO's presentation.

Linguee
Linguee is the translation tool that I spend the most time using by far. Unlike LEO and dict.cc, which are just English<>German dictionaries, Linguee is a search engine that provides translation examples from translated texts and websites throughout the Internet. This makes Linguee really helpful for translating idioms and other non-literal phrases.

Google Translate
You should always be cautious when translating more than just a single word or phrase. But in times of absolute need, Google Translate can be pretty helpful for quickly getting a general understanding of what a longer text is about.

But, like I said, be careful...

Duden
Okay, Duden isn't a translation dictionary, but I had to include it. If you ever forget how to conjugate a verb or aren't sure of the correct spelling of a noun (darn Germans and their dialects), then Duden is the #1 resource. Also, you will make your German teacher proud by turning to a proper German dictionary instead of just typing it all into Google Translate.

Let me know if you use any German/English translation websites that I didn't include!

Getting Married in Germany: Wedding Planning, Pt. 2

2016-10-16T06:37:00.000-07:00

At the end of August, I wrote about the plans for our wedding in Germany, which will be held this year on December 30! There, I wrote that we had set a date and location, I had my dress, and we sent out invitations.

Here is what we've gotten done since then:

Photographer
Our wedding is small and simple, but finding a great photographer whose style we really liked was important for us. We sent emails to about 15 photographers in our city. We were pleasantly surprised when our two favorites quoted us reasonable prices for a three-hour photography package (digital copies of all edited photos included).

Funny story: after making an appointment with one of the photographers, we happened to see him "at work," while we were walking through the city. We just watched without saying hi. When we met with him the next week, we really got along with him, so we booked him on the spot!

Groom's Suit
After going to several different stores and ordering (and sending back) at least 10 different colors and styles from online retailers, Marco finally found the perfect suit! He has also already purchased a vest and tie. I don't want to give too much away, but here is the picture that inspired Marco's outfit:

All he has left to buy now is a shirt and shoes.

Menu

The standard length of a wedding reception in Germany is 8 hours. Yes, my American friends, you read that right: 8 hours. So, our wedding reception is going to be 8 hours long.

With such a small guest list and a long time frame, we knew we needed good food and an open bar. Since Marco really loves to eat, we also opted for the buffet and a late night snack. We met with our event planner in early October to set the menu.

The following weekend, we went to the hotel's wine distributor to choose the wine that will be served at our wedding. That was a lot of fun, and I was definitely tipsy by the end of it.

Wedding Cake

My soon-to-be-[practically-step-]mother-in-law (i.e. my fiancé's father's long-term partner) has graciously offered to make our wedding cake. She already has plans to make a three-tier cake, which should be plenty for our 30 guests. However, just this weekend, she also told us she will make two additional cakes as well. All I can say is that I hope our guests leave room after the buffet!

We also plan on using my parent's Precious Moments cake topper, which they still have from their wedding. I think it's pretty darn cute.

Well, that's about it for now! Next up on our list of things to do: design/print menu cards, choose centerpieces, buy wedding favors, and get a sound system.

A Month of German Bureaucracy

2016-10-05T23:23:00.000-07:00

I had four appointments at the Bürgeramt in the month of September. Yes, you read that correctly: four appointments in four weeks.

Here's a review of each of those appointments, just to give you an idea of how amazingly thorough (and sometimes redundant) German bureaucracy is for us foreigners.

Appointment #1: Ausländerbehörde

My student visa was going to run out on September 30th. However, due to other bureaucratic circumstances, I had to enroll for another semester at my university. So, I needed to renew my student visa for at least 6 more months. When I made this appointment per email, I was told all I need is a new biometric photo, proof of enrollment, my passport, and 80€. However, when I got to the appointment, my case worker spontaneously decided that my Verpflichtungserklärung (which Marco signed 3 years ago saying he is financially responsible for me) is too old. So, I needed to get a new one.

Unfortunately, my case worker doesn't issue Verpflichtungserkläungen. Turns out, filling out these forms is a full time job for someone else on a different floor of the building. But I couldn't just go over to her office today. Come on, that would be too convenient! No, I needed to make an appointment, and the earliest available was in two weeks.

Beyonce understands how I felt (source).

Oh, to top things off, my case workers informed me at the end of the appointment that he was going on vacation for the next three weeks. So, my new appointment to renew my visa (that was going to expire on September 20th) was scheduled for September 21st. Perfect.

Appointment #2: Standesamt

This is the only appointment I had during this month that wasn't at the foreigner's office. Instead, it was across the hall at the registry office.

After paying the court fees for our marriage, we had to go back to the registry office one last time (this was time #3) to sign some official-looking papers. Unfortunately, our regular case worker called in sick that morning, so everyone was scrambling to find someone we could meet with.

Suddenly, we were asked to come upstairs. Until then, we had always gone to an office across the hall from the foreigner's office - an area of the Bürgeramt (citizen's office) that I have become quite familiar with. In fact, sitting in the waiting room with its dirty white walls and crying babies has started to feel like home. After ascending the staircase and opening the big metal door to the third floor, however, I gasped in awe of what we had been missing out on.

The walls were painted a happy yellow. There were large wooden chairs in the hallway that looked more fit for a throne room than a waiting room. We went into the office of our fill-in case worker, and she had a full wall covered in photos and letters of happy German couples that she had married over the years.

I basically felt like confused John Travolta in the TARDIS (source).

"This is the VIP floor for German couples!" I remarked to Marco. I had never realized that until then, my non-Germanness had gotten us shafted to the foreigner's floor.

The rest of the appointment really wasn't all that eventful. The woman said that all of our documents were in order, we signed some papers, and we set another appointment to plan to the ceremony in early December.

Appointment #3: Verflichtungserklärung

Back to the Ausländerbehörde for Marco to take financial responsibility for me. It sounds dramatic, but it's really not (unless I smash a bunch of car windows with a baseball bat just before jumping on a plane to the U.S.).

To fill out the Verpflichtungserklärung, Marco had to show his pay stubs from the last three months, his work contract, and our lease for the apartment. The woman then subtracted the rent from his monthly salary to figure out if he has enough money to "support" me.

After some arithmetic, we both signed a few forms, and I got to take a copy of my brand new Verpflichtungserklärung with me for my fourth and final appointment the following week.

Appointment #4: Ausländerbehörde (Again)

This was it: the last appointment. I went alone, and seeing as it was only one week before my residence permit expired, I was a little nervous. Luckily, everything went as it should. I handed my case worker all the necessary documents, and he made a lot of copies and fattened up the file they are keeping on me.

The interesting part came when he asked me how long I need a visa for. Technically, I am only enrolled for one more semester at my university, which is 6 months. After that, I will probably just switch to a spouse visa, since I am getting married in December. I told him this, and he told me the best news I had gotten all month:

If I take a visa for just six months, I only have to pay 30€ instead of the standard 80€. Not bad! I also just get a sticker in my passport instead of a plastic ID card, which is nice. Now I just have to make sure I have all my documents together by the beginning of March to get my fifth (and final?) type of residence permit...

Registering to Vote from Abroad & Requesting an Absentee Ballot

2016-09-29T06:07:00.001-07:00

If you are an American living outside of the U.S., you need to request your ballot for the federal election by October 8, 2016 (in most states), even if you are already registered to vote.

Do it. Now.

If you don't know how to register to vote or request a ballot from abroad, then read on.

Earlier this year, when the U.S. presidential campaign was just starting to heat up, I started to feel quite guilty about the fact that I have never voted. Having moved so often since the age of 18, it just always seemed so complicated and difficult. I was also kind of lazy.

But now I have taken the first step to changing that: I registered to vote.

I always assumed registering from abroad would be complicated, but my home country pleasantly surprised me! Here is how I registered to vote from Germany:

1. Visit FVAP.gov

FVAP is the Federal Voter Assistance Program for service members and other overseas citizens. This is the first stop for any overseas citizens that want to vote, whether you are already registered or not.

2. Choose Your State

Voting procedures vary by state, so you will need to choose your state from the drop-down menu on the website.

3. Follow the Directions

Yeah, it's that easy. Creating a numbered list probably wasn't necessary...

When I was registering to vote, I was worried that I would have to spend a lot of time and money mailing registration materials back and forth between the U.S. and Germany. However, Illinois actually has a website that allowed me to download the forms, fill them out electronically, and email them to my local county clerk.

The hardest part was having to answer this question:

Can any expat really answer this question with complete certainty? Anyways, your answer will only effect whether or not you can vote in local elections as well as federal elections.

After sending my voter registration and ballot request form by email, I then periodically checked the website to see if my application was approved. Once it was approved, I received my ballot shortly thereafter.

If you are already registered to vote, remember that you still need to request a ballot for this election.

If you are still feeling confused, here are some other resources to help overseas American citizens vote:

https://www.fvap.gov/

https://www.votefromabroad.org/

http://www.democratsabroad.org/

Let me know if you are voting in the comments below!

How We Met (His Side)

2016-09-22T00:47:00.000-07:00

My German fiancé and I met five years ago in September of 2011 during my study abroad trip to Germany. Last week, I told my side of the story. As promised, this week is Marco's turn.

Without further ado, here is Marco's side of the story, written by the man himself:

The night I met Courtney started when I went to watch soccer at a sports bar with a few of my coworkers. VfB Stuttgart was playing SC Freiburg. I just looked it up online, and it looks like Stuttgart won (although I don’t actually remember the game).

After the game, we went back to my friend Jakob’s apartment for some drinks. Unmistakably loud party noises were coming from the parking lot behind my friend’s apartment building. We looked out the window and saw a crowd of American exchange students hanging out in the parking lot, playing beer pong and enjoying the freedom to drink in public. It looked like fun, so we decided to join their party.

When we went down to the parking lot, I was standing next to the beer pong table and of course I immediately noticed the pretty girl with the incredible beer pong skills. After a while, she asked me to be her teammate for the next round.

I don’t remember everything about the party, but I do remember Courtney getting the hiccups. Someone told her that you can get rid of them by doing a handstand, so I held her feet while she did a handstand against a wall.

Later, we went to an Irish pub. We had to walk through the city to get there, and Courtney offered to give me a piggyback ride. I was impressed that she was able to do it. I also carried her for a little while.

After leaving the bar, I walked her to her apartment, which was in the same building that Jakob lived in. When we got to the building, I asked for her number. She gave it to me, and I texted her the next morning – but I didn’t get an answer for a week!

Our 5th Anniversary | How We Met (Her Side)

2016-09-15T01:03:00.000-07:00

I met my German fiancé five years ago, in September of 2011. In those five years, we survived a long distance relationship, moved in together, got engaged, and are now planning our wedding! The one thing that I have never talked about on this blog, though, is how we met.

Today, I will share my side of the story. Then, if you come back next week, you can read Marco's side.

I came to Germany for a semester-long study abroad program on August 30, 2011. Although I was at a German university, all of the Americans took classes together. So, I spent all my free time with my fellow American study abroad students too.

As you can imagine, much of those first weeks in Germany revolved around partying. A few other American students and I lived in a residence hall near the city center, and there was a big parking lot in the back. So, on one particular Friday night, one of the students took his closet door off its hinges, set it up outside on some cases of beer, and we started playing beer pong. Below is a picture from early on that night. Yeah....

That's me on the left (i.e. the only girl in the picture)

The Germans are fascinated with red solo cups, as they don't really exist in Europe outside of Hollywood college movies. So, this party was basically a magnet for any German college students passing by. And Marco was one of those Germans that happened to pass by.

A new game of beer pong was starting, and I was standing at my side of the table alone. I turned around, saw Marco, pointed at him, and yelled, "You're on my team!"

So, we started playing beer pong. I don't remember much of the game. The only part of our conversation I can remember is when I said to him, "Guess where I am from!" To which he replied, "Chicago!" And I totally flipped out at the fact that he guessed right.

A little while later, we all decided to go to the local Irish pub that us study abroad students frequented. Marco came with, but I don't remember paying much attention to him at the bar. However, I do remember walking with him on the way back to the residence hall at the end of the night.

Our conversation mostly revolved around the word Einhörnchen, until I asked him what his last name was. "It's the German word meaning 'rich,'" he replied. My German was so bad at the time, I honestly did not know what the German word for "rich" was. So, he told me I'd just have to look it up later.

Once we were back at my dorm, he asked to exchange phone numbers. We did. I think he even texted me that night to let me know he got home safely. I had a prepay phone, and I didn't know how/where to buy more credit, so I didn't reply until over a week later... Oops!

Make sure to check back in next week to hear Marco's side of the story!