Every Day Life

Well it is different, that is for sure. We have been here for eleven weeks and in that time Chris has been away at least for five, almost six weeks, mostly in the States.

Living in Potsdam, which is old East Germany, means different things on different days. If I am shopping it shows to me just how little German I have learnt in my two and a bit months here and highlights why I must start lessons this week! Potsdamers speak German and Russion and the Berliners who have come here for the quieter life speak some English, as does anyone under 30 years of age - needless to say I have a few favorite shops now and when in supermarkets make a beeline for the younger checkout girls and guys.

I have started my cultural immersion program - each week I go to a palace, art gallery, museum or exhibition. So far I have been on an english speaking tour of Schloss (Palace) Chalottenburg, seen the most depressing and probably enlightening exhibition of Kathe Kollwitz art work and on Wednesday am gathering a small group and heading to the Helmut Newton Foundations latest exhibition of his work. Of course every day I walk around our lake past several palaces and historical buildings of which I have little idea of the heritage, but that will come I am sure!

Shopping for the basics is interesting for me too. There are so many supermarket brands here, and it is very easy to fall into the european way of shopping several times a week, partly because of the lack of fresh produce and partly because one tends to walk and therefor have to carry home the purchases. We are within walking distance of an Aldi, a Lidl and a local Bio Company supermarket. I also shop regularly at Rewe, Reichelt and Kaiser - and that is just a few of the brands that I see in every town and suburb I pass through. It is amazing to me that a shop at Aldi or Lidl never costs more than 20euro whilst at Bio it is never less than 60euro! (I still have not found the Euro key on my keyboard!)

I guess one of my other day to day observations that I thought I would blog about is the change in what I see when I walk. Firstly I rarely get to see the faces of the people I pass - even if I say hi (morgan), they often do not. They are not rude at all, it is just how it is here. Tricky for me though!! A cultural integration expert I know explained to me that it relates t old East German culture and the distrust for groups...among other reasons.

The bird life is different of course, there are mole mounds everywhere, which Lizzie adores, and I have seen wild boar, deer, a white owl late one night and squirrels!

We are adapting, the girls have parties, friends to play with, some extra curricular for Lucy and plans for Ada - she wants to do Yoga and Guitar! Lucy does singing, basketball and swimming and has committed to two large performance events at the school she has also become a facebook devotee!

So that's me for today. We are planning our way into the next set of school holidays with an Easter visit to Krakow and hopefully a visit from one of my wonderful nephews...... It amazes me at the couple of lunches and morning teas I have been too, the conversation is often about which city/country people are off to for their next break, or is it to be the house in Majorca or the Baltic! Bit different to BBQ conversations in Australia I must say!

Till next time! Smiles.


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