The Adventure Began Six Months Ago.

This blog is a way for me to catalog my time and travels as we live abroad for a few years. I wish I would have started it earlier. Like most things, the idea has been swirling around in my head for some time but have found excuses for not initiating my first post. For one, I have thought that many blogs are very egocentric. Why would anyone care what I had to say? For that reason alone, I may not share with friends and family that I am doing this. Primarily, I want to be able to look back and see what we have experienced. I also searched and read a few blogs when we were in the States and the info I learned was helpful to me in preparing for our move overseas. Maybe the experiences of my family can spark excitement in someone else as they prepare for their next adventure.

Although I didn't blog or journal for the first six months of our time in Germany, I sent detailed e-mails to family and friends talking about our adventures. This was the first one sent the morning after we arrived:

Hi family!

Just a quick note to tell you that we arrived safely in Stuttgart yesterday morning. It´s been an interesting day and night (it´s morning again as I type this) G was a trouper on the flight but we really didn't sleep. G has serious jet lag that included an hour screaming and crying spell followed by play time at 1am last night. Should I mention that we are on the executive floor of the Marriott (for the next 30 days)? We are hated by all. BTW, the exec floor includes a European breakfast...hard boiled eggs, meats, cheeses, yogurt...etc. and a hour and half cocktails in the evening...which we took full advantage last night and this morning. We are clearly Americans. :)

 

We were given a tour of the bases by one of CM´s bosses yesterday afternoon. It´s very..military. Where we are in Stuttgart is very industrial. However, after we picked up our rental car, (it's nice but big..a brand new X5...a couple of miles on the odometer!) we got lost. We were happy to find that the surrounding town is very quaint. It looks like we are going to be living ´òn the economy`` so we need to start learning the areas and meeting with Realtors.
This morning we are heading out again with the Col.  He is kind enough to show us around Stuttgart for a couple of hours on his day off.I could go on and on.. we are very excited and a little nervous. Lots to learn.
We miss you all and hope to see you at some point in our adventure. I´`ll be in touch!

As I re-read that now, I can recall all the 'new-ness' and sense of the unknown. I should mention that G is my two year old son (he was 21 months when the above e-mail was written) and CM is my husband, who is in the military. The pics were taken the day of our departure....the red-eye flight from Norfolk, VA to Stuttgart, Germany.
It is truly when the adventure began....