to migrate

Marks

2010-03-11T08:57:00.001-08:00

Have you ever put a banana on the radiator?

Streets in DC

2009-07-27T17:51:00.000-07:00

Solution for post from 21 April

2009-07-27T17:37:00.000-07:00

Do you know now what it is?

London 2009

2009-07-27T16:33:00.001-07:00

Work progresses on the Olympic site

Hitting the road

2009-06-01T20:35:00.001-07:00

A few days ago we went on a trip to Virginia and North Carolina. It was Memorial Day weekend, the oil price relatively low and the weather good. That's possibly why many people decided to hit the road. I'm always amazed about all the Chelsea Trucks (here: SUVs). Almost everyone seems to own one. We felt rather small in our tiny, more fuel efficient car (still not good for the environment). After having fought our way through two hours of traffic jams, the state trooper stops me in Virginia. Speeding ticket (I'm glad I don't have to go to court). 12 mph too fast in a 70 mph zone. I think I have German driving blood in my veins. Strip malls in every town. No Starbucks. I thought they were on every corner in every town (that's at least how it appears in DC) but apparently not, at least not in the South. I have to buy coffee from 7-eleven. Not the tastiest. Apart from that it also seems hardly impossible to find any other food than fast food. But hey, we are on the road. We see beautiful landscape scenes while passing by but we can't stop as we have quite a few places to visit during our trip.

Spring time

2009-05-12T18:37:00.001-07:00

In the end

2009-05-06T18:04:00.001-07:00

After 9 long weeks of waiting, waiting, waiting I finally get my boxes and prints delivered after the company changed the delivery date twice within a weeks time. It just happened by chance that I was walking down the road today when I saw the truck with "International Moves" written on it and men unloading what looked like my goods. Everything arrived in good condition except for 3 prints that have damaged corners. I am now working on being reimbursed for the damage.

Embassies

2009-05-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

The NW of Washington DC is full of embassies. When we pass by an embassy we sometimes play the 'ensign game' and guess which country an embassy represents. Most embassies look very polished, some don't. They may look for a new location.

Dog Days

2009-05-05T10:27:00.001-07:00

I haven't seen too many dogs in DC so far but the whole city seems pretty clean anyway. Could be an interesting job to walk the dogs.

Papa J

2009-04-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

Papa J's car was parked in a DC street on a bright sunny day.

What is this?

2009-04-21T13:49:00.000-07:00

The solution will follow.

Mobile

2009-04-21T13:39:00.000-07:00

The mobile phone is called cell phone in the U.S. Plans are very expensive, the cheapest one costs $ 39.99. That excludes text messages. Interestingly, one has to pay not only for making phone calls or sending text messages but also for receiving them. Unless one has purchased a huge amount of minutes, I guess one wouldn't want to receive too many phone calls. I bought a Pay As You Go Plan in the end with this beautiful phone. But at least I feel connected now.

Our freezer

2009-04-21T13:37:00.001-07:00

Loosing the Umlaut

2009-04-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

To open a bank account I need my Green Card and passport. But the Green Card only arrived three weeks after immigration. For obataining a social security number I need the Green Card. In oder to get a credit card, the bank needs my social security number for a credit check. But as I haven’t got a credit history in the U.S. I may not even get a credit card.
The worst of the whole story: I’ve lost my Umlaut to the U.S. administration. Instead of Würfel I am now Wurfel. They didn’t even bother to call me Wuerfel. How sad.

The heat is on

2009-04-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

The heating goes on at the weirdest times of the day, e.g. around 4am in the morning. And it is no possible to turn it off. In England, one had to close all the gaps in windows and doors because of the constant draft, here one has to have the windows open in order not to boil in the flat. Very environmentally friendly.

Forecast

2009-04-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

The weather in DC changes rather rapidly – it almost feels like being in England. Temperatures can jump from rather high to quite low temperatures, e.g. from 20 ºC to 5 ºC and back to 20 ºC. But the weather can also be quite stable with either grey or blue sky. It rains quite often and it will be very humid soon. That’s why in almost every window one can see big, white boxes: air-conditioners. By the way, the weather forecast is really precise. Is this because the U.S. has more satellites in the stratosphere or because the UK is an island?

Wheels

2009-03-31T18:20:00.000-07:00

Cycling in DC is quite an adventure, especially on the big, wide roads. The roads here are much wider than in Europe, usually with more lanes. Downtown DC seems like hell for cyclists. Hardly any cycle paths. And many cars. One can feel quite lonely next to all these cars and trucks that are at least one size bigger and noisier than in Europe...

Chest x-ray

2009-03-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

Since my arrival to the US I carry around my chest x-ray. Like all other immigrants who apply for the Green Card, I had to visit a doctor for my health check without which I wouldn't have been able to visit the US Embassy for my visa interview appointment and of course, not been able to immigrate to the US. The only doctors who I was allowed to visit are based in Bond Street and Knightsbridge, London. After my chest x-ray and HIV test had been taken and my vaccination record checked, I was told that I would have to collect my chest x-ray at the American Embassy upon my interview. This is what I did. At the embassy I was told that I'd have to hand over the big brown sealed envelope with the chest x-ray (and I suppose HIV test result and vaccination record) to the US immigration officers at the airport. But they were not interested in it. Instead, I was told to hand it over to the doctor (which doctor?) at a future visit. Do I have to visit a doctor to hand the envelope over even if I won't be ill? I don't know. The brown envelope is still with me, and the fantastic seal (Scotch tape and 2 stamps) is slowly peeling off on its own.

Three

2009-03-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

There are small differences in US everyday life compared to Europe. It is not possible to purchase 2-ring binders which are common in Europe, only 3-ring binders. Interestingly enough, 3-hole paper is available, so that one doesn't have to bother with buying a 3-hole puncher. By the way, the paper size is smaller than A4. This also means that ring binders are smaller than the European ones.
Apart from stationary issues, the lower voltage and different sockets require to buy tri-band adapters for electrical appliances. Fortunately no converters are necessary.

In the suburbs

2009-03-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

Migrating into the outskirts of Washington D.C. to buy some furniture. It is not easy to get to IKEA somewhere in the suburbs of DC in Maryland. The bus only goes once an hour. Walking along busy roads and corssing the highway, we arrive at our destination. It could be anywhere in the (Western) world.