Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Florida Keys


Last Friday I came down to the Keys with my amazing friend Katie for her bachelorette party. Eight of Katie's amazing friends (including me) came down here with her to celebrate with her. We had such a great time. Saturday morning I went for a run with Ashley. Afterwards all of us hung out at the pool, enjoying the sun. The house down here is beautiful, right by the canal with its own dock and a pool.

After relaxing at the pool, we got ready to go to Key West. Katie and some of the bridesmaids had made special skirts for all of us to wear. We had so much fun with the skirts and it fits perfectly for Katie's bachelorette party! 


Wednesday, May 23, 2012

My First Week as a Floridian - Meine Erste Woche in Florida

Today I finally feel like a Floridian. I got my license today. Yeah for me! :-) 
This means a lot to me because I won't have to carry my German passport with me anymore and it feels good to have something official with my address on it!

My social arrived yesterday already. All in all, everything got here pretty fast. I'm happy that all the running around last week paid of!

Besides going to all the different offices last week, I've done quite some shopping to stock up our fridge and pantries. While I was out looking for some ethnic food I remembered the Word Market. So I stopped there and found some things I was looking for (tahini or sesame paste for hummus).


Thursday, May 17, 2012

Home, Sweet Home! - Zu Hause

Finally I am finding some time to write. It is Thursday already, so I lived in my new home for about three days. It feels so good to finally be here, it is hard to describe the feeling!

I left Germany on Monday, May 14th in the early morning. My parents brought me to the airport.

But they weren't the only one.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Good Bye - Auf Wiedersehen

Just a quick one this time:
My visa arrived on Thursday!!! You can't imagine how happy I am! :-)
So, I booked my flight Thursday night for Monday! This Monday, as in less than two days Monday, Monday, May 14th!!! I can't believe it either! I had to wait for forever, or so it seemed, and now I'm going to be in Jacksonville in less than 72 hours. And no, I still haven't finished packing and my farewell-party starts in two hours. So, I have to get back to preparing and packing. But I wanted to share the good news with you! 
See you soon, Jacksonville...  :-D
Almost time to say good bye, Germany... :-(

Nur ganz schnell:

Mein Visum ist am Donnerstag angekommen. Du kannst dir gar nicht vorstellen, wie glücklich ich bin! :-) Also habe ich noch am Donnerstag meinen Flug für Montag gebucht. Ja, diesen kommenden Montag, ich fliege in zwei Tagen, am Montag, den 14. Mai! Ich kann es auch noch gar nicht richtig glauben! Erst musste ich ewig warten und jetzt werde ich in weniger als 72 Stunden schon in Jacksonville sein! Und nein, ich bin immer noch nicht fertig mit packen. Meine Abschiedsfeier fängt auch schon in ca. 2 Stunden an. Also, ich muss jetzt auch weitermachen, aber ich wollte euch die guten Neuigkeiten mitteilen. 

Bis bald, Jacksonville... :-D
Bald muss ich auf Wiedersehen sagen, Deutschland... :-(



Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Packing - Packen

I feel like I've been packing for a long, long time and I'm really over it! I hate packing now! Yes, HATE! Uugghhh! I just want it to be done. And my mom has even been helping me, so I don't have to do it all by myself... and I'm still complaining. THANK YOU, Mama!

I'm so excited to move to Florida next week - next week! wow! - but can I be done with packing already? 

Tomorrow, well actually later today, I'm going to Tübingen for one night, so I have to pack for that too... 

In the past seven years I've been traveling to Jacksonville at least twice or three times a year. In the beginning it was fun to pack for the trip, never when I had to go back home, but now, I'm really over it! 

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Visa approved - Visum genehmigt

Yesterday my visa got approved! FINALLY!!!

This are the best news. I am so happy! The whole processes started almost a year ago. Around May 25th last year we send the petition to the USCIS. I should get the visa by the 14th, maybe a bit earlier... I'm so excited! I can't hold back all the exclamation marks, sorry!!! :-)

So, let's start over in case you want to know how my interview went:
I took a train to Frankfurt on Saturday. There I met my friend Isamae and we had dinner together at this wonderful Asian restaurant, Coa in Frankfurt. If you get a chance, you should go. I had an amazing coconut-pumkin soup with shrimp and Thai curry with shrimp and fish. I was able to stick to my diet the whole time I was in Frankfurt, believe it or not!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Preparing for my Interview - Die Vorbereitungen für mein Interview

Tomorrow is the day of my interview - FINALLY. 

I'm getting really excited and pretty nervous! I reread all the information to make sure I have everything I need. 

Now I have to pack because the interview is in the embassy in Frankfurt at 8 am tomorrow morning. I'm glad I have friends in Frankfurt who let me stay with them tonight. But when I thought about packing, I realized I didn't think about what to wear for the interview. 

I've been to the embassy before, twice for a visa interview, first for my J-1 as an Au Pair, and a few years later, for a J-1 as a student. I never really gave a thought about what to wear then, but this interview is the one that counts! I am going to go through three different suitcases to find what I want to wear. Yes, all my clothes are in suitcases still.