Arrival in Gross-Bieberau

I am finally here! After a long delay in North Carolina (a hydraulic leak in the plane?) and a long flight, I arrived in Gross-Bieberau this morning at 6:45. My host mom, Birgit, and her daughter, Mareike, were waiting for me at the gate to drive me to my new home.

We chatted all the way on the drive, but I have to admit, I was probably absorbing only 70% of the conversation. Birgit doesn't speak English very well.  Mareike knows a little more than her mom; and my German took a little while to kick in.  Our talk was mostly German, a few English words or phrases and a lot of gestures.  It was pretty entertaining.  

The apartment I am living in is in Birgit's home.  It has its own entrance as well as a connecting door to the main house.  There are three rooms: a kitchen, bathroom and a bedroom.  Birgit has been so kind.  I have pretty much everything I need. She had linens and towels out for me. Yesterday, she stocked my fridge with water and juice and lunchmeat and gluten free bread; because today all the supermarkets were closed and I wouldn't have been able to get anything. She is really awesome.  Mareike doesn't live in the house anymore (I am living in her old apartment); but she doesn't live too far away.  Birgit has two other children, Andre and Fabian.  Andre lives in Koblenz, I believe.  And Fabian lives here with Birgit and her husband Werner.  I met Fabian and Werner briefly today. However, after an hour of unpacking, my body kind of gave out and I slept a good 6 or 7 hours.  Tonight, Werner and Birgit were out, so a teacher from the school I will be working at invited me to eat dinner with him and his girlfriend.  It was a really nice evening.  Joerg is a German and English teacher at the school.  He told me a little about the school and the other teachers I will probably work with, some of their methods and their expectations.  He and Sandra, his girlfriend, also talked with me about sightseeing and practical information.  They have two cats, who are pretty much their children.  I will try to get pictures of them later.  Luca (not sure about the spelling) is their lady cat.  She is definitely queen of the house.  The other cat was a boy. I can't remember his name, but he was so skittish and shy. He hid in the catbox for a little while.  

Tomorrow, I head to Koeln for the Fulbright orientation. And I guess by tomorrow, I mean today.  It is about 4:30 am. I slept a little tonight, but I think I slept so much when I arrived that my body doesn't need anymore.  Gotta love jetlag.