Oh Happy Day!

Why so happy? Well, I've been on an expatriate contract to up here in semi-Northern Germany for nearly 2 years now. It's not been the best experience in my life, although it's been very useful and I'm exceedingly glad that I did this.

But, the topic of my return to the south of France has started coming up in discussions with my management a lot recently, and we finally started actually discussing concrete dates. Yeehah! OK, it's not until November, but that's not all that far off.

As an American, I've really had a good chance to see both the French and the German cultures up close. In France, at least down south, there is a very large expat population, although there are more Brits than Americans. But I lucked into a sweet little house out in the country a little bit where few people have any English at all, which really helped with my immersion into both the language and the culture. Didn't have any French at all when I got there, other than about 30 hours before I moved and 60 hours afterwards.

Here in Germany, I made a conscious decision *not* to live in the expat "ghetto" not far from where I actually live, but instead chose a building where everyone else is German. Good for the language, but it also gets me into the German culture and away from the sniping, whining, and totally different concerns of the trailing spouse (and face it, here in Germany they're nearly always wives who are trailing. Very rarely does the husband follow his wife to an expat spot in Germany.) that would do nothing but drag me down.

End conclusion? Boy, are the two cultures different! Yes, there are neat French and slobby Germans, but really the nationalities are different. Here in Germany it seems like appearance is everything, especially as far as a flash car and a spotless home. Clothes, though, don't catch as much attention, especially not from men. Tip for German men: Look, guys, you've got on a nice black, dark blue, or gray suit. Shirt coordinates with the suit, tie goes well with it, you're looking sharp. Think about this... why should your shoes be in a totally different color family??? If you're gonna wear something black/blue/gray, wear black shoes. Please? And the reverse is of course true; if you wear a brown suit, that's when you wear the brown shoes. I don't *care* how snazzy, sharp, or otherwise attractive your Italian leather shoes are, and I have to admit I've seen some darned nice shoes up here in Germany, if they're brown you *don't* wear them with your black suit. OK, getting off my soapbox now!

Where the heck did that come from? Dunno. Anyway... in France, while nice cars are appreciated, they're not as important, and the car is seen more as "it gets me from A to B" rather than a museum piece to be kept spotless and dentless at all times. Homes, apart from the monstrosities that the nouveau riche build along the coast, are a little bit less than perfect, and of course there's the, um, dog-litter problem. Clothes, of course, are a big deal in France.

The French, at least on the Riviera, seem to spend an awful lot of time dealing with food and drink. Well, who wouldn't? But getting to work at 9, going for a coffee break at 1030, spending 12 to 130 over lunch, and then leaving at about 5 are par for the course in France. Here in Germany, in to work by 8, no coffee break, 30 minutes for lunch, and leave by maybe 6 is how it goes in this area. But the French side of the company does pretty darned well. And it might be because in our French office, it's quite frequently a sunny day and there is a terrace with tables, chairs, and umbrellas, while in Germany it's usually raining.

But hey, my time in Germany *has* been useful. I know better now how the heck this company works, I know a whole lot more people now, and all the German I learned in school has come back to me. Now I can get confused in three languages!

I hate moving, though. If only I could go to sleep one night in Germany, have the moving elves come in overnight and pick it all up, and then wake up the next day in France, I'd be happy. You'd think I'd be used to it, this is the 11th time in my life I've moved, and the 5th time since 1998, but I hate it. I procrastinate, and it gets worse and worse with every move. Oh well, if I want to go back to France, I've got to get through it, eh? And November ain't that far away. Guess maybe I ought to start working on some stuff now...

Currently reading: Trace, Patricia Cornwell. Why do I keep reading her stuff? She used to be good, but this present-tense stuff she writes now kills me.
Currently hearing: Grace and Pride, Capercaillie. Some of their old stuff, I think, but not bad.
Cat activity: sleeping. What did you expect? They're cats.
NaNoNonsense status: still no more typed or scrawled. Gotta get back at that. My "2005 writing goals" are to have finished that and started editing it, start the 2005 NaNoNonsense in November, and to write 3 short stores and submit them *somewhere*. Right, where's my pen?