Life in comparison – our personal FAQ

After three weeks in Germany to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve with family and meeting friends, we are back in Minnesota now for a month. My nose has already adjusted to the slight smell of chloride the tap water over here has (luckily not as bad as in Houston, but of course worse than the natural water from my parents’ own fountain). And so did my scalp which awfully reacted to the combination of dry and cold weather at first, making my hair look awfully greasy. Hum, working on that.

Further, I am now a patient of the very huge Mayo Clinic: Got a general check-up and all kind of blood tests taken (mostly because of my thyroid malfunction). And I have started taking a Spanish class (provided by Rochester Community Education) and want to continue that since I love (learning) foreign languages. And though I mostly let Alex drive when the two of us are on the road especially with the snow and unsure road conditions, I really enjoy the more relaxed way of driving here. And meanwhile, we also got our Minnesota plates: Good Bye, Texas plates!

Standard plate: Minnesota (land of) 10,000 lakes

Upon our visit in Germany, we were asked a lot of questions about living in the USA. Some prejudices could already be eliminated by showing some of our photos: “Look, there are wind power plants!” (Somewhere in Iowa.) Though I must admit that most of my born and raised in the countryside friends were highly impressed by pictures of downtown Houston.

So here they are, our very personal FAQ from Germany, asked somewhere between caring and winking.

FAQ1: “What do you eat?”

A lot. Containing a lot of fat. And we do always eat. So far the cliché. In fact, nothing has changed that much about our diet. Since we have moved to Rochester and it is everything but too hot to use the stove, I enjoy cooking as much as I did back in Germany. Mostly soups or stews because they perfectly match the cold weather. Casseroles or a hearty “hot dish” would also be typical for Minnesota, but I haven’t tried one yet (and am just wondering why).

noodle soup with meat balls

I have even started baking my own bread because I do miss bread which cannot be squeezed (and then pops up again): a healthy 3-grain whole wheat flour bread with buttermilk – a recipe my mom gave me. And I want to try another German recipe with carrots and walnuts. But the local grocery stores like HyVee or Trader’s Joe (organic) also offer some good quality “like German” bread. We even have an ALDI food market here! Great for stocking up the pantry, but also offering some German products including Spätzle (Swabian noodles) or Pumpernickel (really dark rye bread). And the selection of reasonable priced cheeses is great.

But we adopted several things from over here: oatmeal (but made from scratch and milk, please!) or waffles for special occasion breakfasts (we usually have some toast). Alex has discovered peanut butter, while I prefer to stay with (Canadian) Nutella. In Germany, we mostly had warm lunch and a cold dinner – that has changed now, too.

German Bread can't be squeezed!

FAQ2: “In the supermarket, you can only buy everything in huuuge containers.”

Well, that is true – but I am getting used to it. Half a gallon of milk is what we mostly buy, the usual German size would be one liter – a little more than a quart. But milk – and orange juice as well – is also available in close-to-four-liter containers. I have not bought frozen pizza yet (and don’t think I will), but the standard size seems to be larger than the German one – and I am not talking about a family pizza. I don’t think I would be able to finish a standard pizza over here on my own. Eggs usually  go by the dozen (10 in Germany). Cheese and cold cuts are in size comparable to Germany, at least in the quality we usually buy. And that is mostly organic, especially when it comes to eggs, milk, potatos and salad. If the farmer’s market is going to be more frequent, I would shop there, too.

And comparing prices for eggs from cage system housing (which is, by the way, forbidden in the European Union) to those from organic growth – well, though I like to eat chicken:  I simply fell pity for the hens whose eggs are worth less than a dime…

Huge for German standard: flour and sugar are usually sold in 2 pound packages (1kg)

FAQ3: “You have a huge car, that’s for sure. Everyone does.”

Pictures often tell more than words, don’t they?

It still drives ...

But no, that is not our car! But that is what they could look like, especially for www.peopleofwalmart.com. Duct tape helds either the trunk or the whole backside of the car in place, the car is obviously rusty and – not to be seen in this picture – the tire on the back left was a lot smaller.

But well, compared to the Renault Twingo we had in Germany, everything is bigger. We now are proud owners of a sedan which would be a perfect car for senior citizens on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean in color and size: a golden Kia Optima, nine years old. It came with an automatic theft control – commonly known as manual transmission. We have no plans of purchasing a SUV since we invested a lot in that car. For example, we needed a new crank shaft sensor after our road trip.

Kia, back in Houston

FAQ4: “Have you already purchased a gun?”

No. And that won’t happen that fast. If I am informed correctly, we would at least need a green card for purchasing one in a store. And though hunting is a common hobby up here in the north, we have no plans of buying. (By the way: After the shooting in Connecticut – what a tragedy – in December, the sale rates for guns have risen, mostly because people are afraid of stricter laws.)

FAQ5: “How about folks?”

Well folks, folks is different. As different as in Germany! Not all Germans drink beer, eat sausage and love eating kraut all the time while listening to German folk music. And not all Americans shoot from while driving their Ford V8 pick-up. It is more likely they would be texting or talking on their cell phone. But however, on both sides of the Atlantic, there are such folks.

When it comes to the Upper Midwest, the people here are best described as being “Minnesota nice”. That implies being kind of friendly in general, based on the principle “Don’t believe you are better than others.” So far, we have not have the chance to get to know people better – except for the Auton family. On first sight, most contacts are made by either having children or church. Both things do not apply in our case. We still feel not comfortable with how important church and faith over here is, therefore we don’t involve in church. You would say “keep your fingers crossed” or “wish me luck” in Germany, over here it is called “I pray for you”. That still feels strange, even to my German Lutheran heart and soul.

I am sorry it took me so long to post …

Recipe: Cinnamon bun cookies

I have decided to no more limit this blog to more or less translating my German one ashouston.blogspot.com, but add a new category to this one only: recipes of my US-German kitchen. Or German-US kitchen - who knows.
Because of Christmas coming, I am starting with a Christmas cookies recipe for Cinnamon bun cookies. I found the original on the German site chefkoch.de and modified it a little for US needs. Making those will fill both your stomach and the air of your kitchen with cinnamon flavor and smell. Actually, I do inhale the smell of those fresh from the oven. That's how they looked then:

Want to give it a try? So here is what you need for about 30 cinnamon bun cookies: the ingredients for the dough:

• 2 oz softened butter
• 2 oz plain cream cheese
• 3 oz sugar and 1 pack vanilla flavored sugar or 3.5 oz sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 6.35 oz all purpose flour
• a (large) pinch of baking powder

For making the dough, I used the whiskers of my handheld mixer. First stir butter and cream cheese, then add sugar, salt and the egg yolk and mix well. Last add the (sifted) flour together with the baking powder.
Spread the dough between two layers of plastic wrap (by the way, I used a bottle of wine) to about letter size (8x12 in) and try to keep a rectangular shape. While recovering from that task, prepare the cinnamon spread

• 1 oz butter, melted
• 2 oz sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder

Remove the upper layer of plastic wrap and cover the dough well with the melted butter. Then spread the mix of the sugar and cinnamon powder over it. Keep about one tablespoon for the outer layer.
With the help of the wrap, now roll the dough from the shorter side to a solid formed round bar, cover it in the remained cinnamon sugar. Wrapped in the plastic wrap, put it in the fridge for three hours (or in the freezer for half an hour).
Preheat the oven to 350°F, prepare one or two cookie sheets and unwrap the cookie bar. With a sharp knife, cut slices (.25 inch thick) from the bar, put them on the cookie sheets and bake for about 10-12 minutes until slightly browned.

Enjoy! (And leave a comment, if you tried them.)

My very own paperwork

Already December! How fast time has passed …

Living in the US on J visa as we do requires a lot of paperwork. Additionally, it really takes its time to arrive in “the US system” – and so far we haven’t. Especially the thing with building up some credit history and earning a good credit score is something completely out of our minds. We both were taught to buy only what we can afford and not live on credit … However, if there comes a time we need a good credit score, we should have one. But we still have to work on that.

Our status in the US is based on a form called DS-2019. It permits us to stay here in the country. We need the visa only for re-entry. Having moved from Houston to Rochester recently, we both got a new DS-2019 from Mayo. Therefore, we are allowed to re-enter the US until mid-February, but can stay in the US until November. For some reason, both institutions decided to limit the DS-2019 to one year. *sigh*

Therefore, I also have to re-apply for my work permission every single year and pay 380 bucks for that. Even if I don’t have an employer at the moment (though working on that) … however, who wants to hire a teacher who is only allowed to work until mid-February? Well, the German Saturday School in Houston did. And I really enjoyed working there, teaching German as a foreign language without having had any experience in language instruction before. Unfortunately, all similar schools here in the north are located in St Paul and I am not up to a 90 minute commute one way every day or at least once a week – especially not since the winter has finally arrived here.

Last week, I had my first job interview as a tutor, mostly for math. Math is on shortage in secondary schools here, too, but I think tutoring would be a good start for getting to know the US “math in school” system before seriously applying for a job in the private or public school system.

Anyway, before teaching in school, I need a Minnesota Teaching License. My brother has already called me “more than qualified” for that. Unluckily, he isn’t to one to decide. But here are the facts:

In Germany, licensed teaching at secondary school level usually requires:

-         five years of studying two subjects and educational sciences (including student teaching) at university level, ending with passing 1. Staatsexamen or “Master of Education”

-         one to two years (the time has recently been downsized due to more obligatory student teaching at university) attending some kind of “teacher’s college” (Studienseminar in German) with both supervised and self-reliant teaching – summing up to a part time teaching job (0.5)

In Minnesota (or maybe the US in general?), that is required – as far as I know –:

-         Bachelor’s degree from college in one subject

-         Granted teaching license after passing a test in reading, writing and math knowledge – a teacher’s college is optional!

Of course both countries require a background check and no criminal record. Germany (for teacher clerks or “Beamte”) also required a positive health check including a BMI lower than 30. (I failed at that point.)

However, I am currently in the process of foreign credential evaluation – by an organization charging me another 80 bucks. All I hope is I’ll receive the equivalent for a Minnesota teaching license. My alma mater wasn’t that helpful regarding confirming my study plan. That’s the weird thing about the German Staatsexamen. Being a federal exam by the state I studied in, at no point the (good to very good) grades I got in university classes were taken into account! Therefore, except for the written thesis, all grades are based on a one day performance … And that is not among my greatest skills.

However, ten more days until I head home (to Germany) for Christmas! I hope all paperwork will be done by then, including my evaluation ...

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

I am sorry it took me so long since my last posting. But relocating across this big country (from Texas to Minnesota) had taken its toll and – of course – a lot of paperwork was involved as well. Alex is a little fed up with that.

Yesterday was a special day. Thursday. But no ordinary Thursday – Thanksgiving Day, an official holiday. A lot of employees drive home visiting their family for a long weekend or have vice versa their family staying at their place. Lots of traffic on the highways and airports (and a horrible accident yesterday morning on I-10 east of Houston), in front of many houses in our neighborhood park more cars than usually. Our apartment complex seems to be a little emptier; for Alex and me, Thanksgiving feels like Sunday. Maybe not exactly alike because most stores are closed for this “family holiday”.

Thanksgiving is an opportunity for family meetings like Christmas is in Germany. Though it seems similar, Thanksgiving in the US  should not be messed up with the German “Erntedankfest” because it is not really connected to Christian traditions (the Canadian one is, according to the internet). Instead of being thankful for the harvest (only), it is a more general idea of being thankful for everything good that had happened in the last year. Its origin is being somehow related to the pilgrims of the Mayflower who would not have survived their first winter without the help of the Native Americans. They celebrated a big feast together (and later the pilgrims showed how thankful they were by treating the Native Americans the way they did …) and the traditional meal today still relates to what they had nearly 400 years ago: turkey, corn, sweet potatoes, carrots … and apple or pumpkin pie as a dessert.

We ate everything but traditional: rice, mixed greens and fried chicken bits in cream cheese gravy. By the way, it was completely “made from scratch”. I have heard this phrase a lot in the past days and it took me some time and the help of an online translator to get the meaning of it. I assumed right that this phrase is similar to “of good quality”, but the literal translation to German just made no sense. I am proud to say that nearly all of the stuff I serve is made from scratch. Like this:

... fresh from stove to table ...

... made from scratch ...

... no leftovers ...

 

I also found out that Thanksgiving Day is traditionally linked to “Wipe out Wednesday”, “Black Friday” and “Small Business Saturday”. All days are synonym to “Hey folks, Christmas business has started! *ka-ching*” At first I tried to give Black Friday a historic meaning, but except for the beginning of the worldwide economic crash in the 1920s, I found no references. And that one simply made no sense. Steph helped me out and taught me that Black Friday is the day when all businesses having operated red numbers earlier, are back in the black now. And according to the jammed parking lot of the local Apache Mall this afternoon, people up here in Minnesota are really into the “Black Friday super savings” offered by every store. Maybe because it’s that cold outside (tempatures dropped in the past 30 hours from the 50s to the 20s), who knows … And the competition of decorating your lawn with the most LED supported Christmas decoration has also begun. Not to forget the Christmas carols chaperoning every walk through shops …

Therefore let me end with a chearful: “Ho ho ho!”