Finally, the temperature has dropped! It is nearly so cool that I want to put the kettle on and make myself a cup of tea. Nearly.
Americans like to shop. And the shops like to make you shop. Our mailbox is full of coupons. We get coupons when we shop, and we have all kinds of storecards, stamp cards, you name it. And when we do go shopping, we get more -discount vouchers, free shipping coupons and normal coupons. Some shops like Bed, Bath and Beyond send you 20% discount coupons on a monthly basis. At first I threw them out, but the sad thing is, you really need them since you can save a lot! This is definately an American thing.
I still haven't quite figured out where to buy what. We bought some towels at Bed, Bath & Beyond but they are already falling apart. Is this a good shop? Expensive shop? I have bought most of our old towels in Sweden at Hemtex. They were cheap, but they are still in one piece.
Food shopping is a real joy here. In Sweden we have great supermarkets, they have kind of popped up everywhere for the past 10 years. Germany has a lot of discount supermarkets which are great for saving cash, but the normal, average supermarket such as REWE sucks. Here we have such a great choice, we are close to Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Ralph's, Albertson's, Costco and Target and a weekly farmers market. Whole Foods is great; a lot of organic food, they sell Kölsch (4$ a bottle!!) and have many fresh products in general. Trader Joe's also sell organic food and this is where we get our sparkingling water Gerolsteiner from. I see no difference betweek Ralph's and Albertson's, they have most things, they are the size of a normal German supermarket but the fruit and veggie section is fantastic! Costco is bulk paradise, great vegetables and fruit, best steaks and scallops so far (steaks when it comes to the quality of the meat, scallops for the price). A little pricey and a lot of processed food. Target is just across the street from us so it is good in emergencies. Not much fresh food, mainly frozen or canned, but good when you need something quickly. We have no supersized marts around here, like Walmart.
In general, there are A LOT of processed and frozen food here in the shops, we try to skip this section since we never used to buy processed food in Germany. A little like Britain. There are ready made soups, sandwiches, pies, salads etc in large portions everywhere you look in the supermarket here. Hopefully our shipping with all our pots and pans will arrive shortly so we can do some proper cooking again!
We did buy a chicken the other day, but I have realised, I have nothing to stick it on in the oven :(.
We also have one of the biggest malls in SoCal just 15 minutes down the road, South Coast Plaza. I am not really a mall person, I prefer walking outside in smaller shops, not part of any large chains, but I have to admit, this is actually quite good for shopping.
http://www.southcoastplaza.com/
Shopping - with the exception of American brands of clothes - is quite expensive here, and I always feel ripped off. Have I missed a coupon? Is there a better deal online?
I ordered my iPhone 4Gs last week and learnt something new. You pay for incoming text messages. No wonder the mobile phone contracts are so expensive! I wa speechless for a few seconds untl I asked the poor bloke in the shop if he was serious. 30$ a month for unlimited texted. I think I paid 3 euro in Germany.
Folks, you are getting fooled here, you just don't know about it yet.
Some baby news: went to the ob/gyn yesterday (learnt that I should cover myself with the big paper sheet, and not sit on it LOL) and everything is great. Baby has turnt but is making no sign of wanting to come out so from now on I am on a daily walking schedule, even if a little painful.
Team Clarke in OC, California. A Brit-Swede Combination
01 November 2011
30 October 2011
Weekend
The weekend was very successful. We had some good news Friday night, just about when we were about to give up on the car, we managed to get a second lease. So now we are proud owners of a 2012 Ford Fusion.
This is a photo from an add, a real one will follow.
After a frustrating week of only having one car, I treated myself to a Kitchen Aid Artisan. SO cheap here, very easy decision.
After realising that there is no nice bread here and I'll have to start making my own, this could come in handy. What a beauty! Can't wait for it to arrive!! All I need now is to find some fresh yeast, which could turn out to be tricky. Found another gadget in Bed, Bath & Beyond today, Yorkshire puddings seem to be called popovers here, and I found a popover pan. Now, we may have to wait a little until it gets a tad cooler outside to have a roast dinner, today we had 28 degrees C, no clouds. Can't wait to see how they will turn out though, and now when we have gas instead of electricity, they will turn out crispier in the oven as well.
Something I have discovered while buying all these bits and bobs today and yesterday is that I may have to work on my patience a little LOL. People here are in no rush when parking, when the light goes green at the traffic lights or, when getting back to the car after doing the shopping. It starts at the lights. It is green, and sloooooowly they are moving forward. Had it been in Germany I would have beeped 3 times already, or someone else would have. You then pull in to the parking lot. Since you don't need any real parking skills here (HUGE spaces), people take their time, making sure that they don't hit anything or anyone (they are already at least 1 m away from the nearest object)..And what is this sitting around in the car when returning to it? They eat, drink, text, rest? Perhaps there is a tiny German gene growing inside me after all. Where else would this impatience come from?
This is a photo from an add, a real one will follow.
After a frustrating week of only having one car, I treated myself to a Kitchen Aid Artisan. SO cheap here, very easy decision.
After realising that there is no nice bread here and I'll have to start making my own, this could come in handy. What a beauty! Can't wait for it to arrive!! All I need now is to find some fresh yeast, which could turn out to be tricky. Found another gadget in Bed, Bath & Beyond today, Yorkshire puddings seem to be called popovers here, and I found a popover pan. Now, we may have to wait a little until it gets a tad cooler outside to have a roast dinner, today we had 28 degrees C, no clouds. Can't wait to see how they will turn out though, and now when we have gas instead of electricity, they will turn out crispier in the oven as well.
Something I have discovered while buying all these bits and bobs today and yesterday is that I may have to work on my patience a little LOL. People here are in no rush when parking, when the light goes green at the traffic lights or, when getting back to the car after doing the shopping. It starts at the lights. It is green, and sloooooowly they are moving forward. Had it been in Germany I would have beeped 3 times already, or someone else would have. You then pull in to the parking lot. Since you don't need any real parking skills here (HUGE spaces), people take their time, making sure that they don't hit anything or anyone (they are already at least 1 m away from the nearest object)..And what is this sitting around in the car when returning to it? They eat, drink, text, rest? Perhaps there is a tiny German gene growing inside me after all. Where else would this impatience come from?
27 October 2011
Settling in
We have been here for nearly one and a half week. After one culture schock after the other, we have now pretty much settled, you know, done some grocery shopping (bought some delicious Gerolsteiner sparkling water at Trader Joe's, $20 for 15 bottles, VERY expensive but SO worth it), managed to unpack at least half of the five suitcases and made a mess around the apartment.
First day here included a visit to the OB/GYN where I for sure got the full education about the complexity and paperwork when going to the doctor here. I am glad I didn't have to go through that for the whole pregnancy. I still can't believe she measured my belly with a tape measure! Germany seems very modern all of a sudden. Also, having to go to a different doctor for the ultra sound, how do people who work full time mangage it when they have to go to several doctors (and they don't seem to be open at night, either)?
We had also registered for the super Saturday birth preparation class at the hospital we have chosen. Now that was an experience!! Watching powerpoints and video clips for 6 hours and then getting pizza and soda for lunch. Whereas in Germany they really put the emphasis on eating healthy during the pregnany (and in general) this didn't seem to be of interest here. So glad we are having a girl, otherwise the baby might get circumcised by mistake. Remind me again why the Americans are so crazy about it again? However, this class was so different to the one I visited in Germany, they only had the name in common.
The weekend was mostly about finding a second car, which has turned out to be trickier than expected.
Second hand cars seem to be a rarity. And if you do come across one, they are fairly expensive. We are looking into the possibility of leasing a second car, but if that falls through, we might have to bite the bullet and put some more effort in and buy a car from an owner and not dealer. Only having one car here sucksbig time though and I have no intention in getting up at 6.30 am to drive hubby to work.
Second mission has been to find a cleaner. Not so easy either. And by looking at Craig's list, I realise it works completely different here. No hourly rate in most cases, a very pre-defined list of what they do and don't do in which room..and it is expensive! $65 for a 2 bedroom and 2 bath room apartment. This must be a very good business because so far, no one has returned my calls.
Hopefully we can enjoy the upcoming weekend a little bit more. My cold is nearly gone, jetlag is gone, perhaps the stress with finding a car will be gone too. A great Mexican meal is definitely over due so that will be on the top five priority list as well. Weather is still fantastic according to European standards - the locals seem to think it is getting a little chilly. Well, think Swedish summer night and you'll get the idea.
/J.
First day here included a visit to the OB/GYN where I for sure got the full education about the complexity and paperwork when going to the doctor here. I am glad I didn't have to go through that for the whole pregnancy. I still can't believe she measured my belly with a tape measure! Germany seems very modern all of a sudden. Also, having to go to a different doctor for the ultra sound, how do people who work full time mangage it when they have to go to several doctors (and they don't seem to be open at night, either)?
We had also registered for the super Saturday birth preparation class at the hospital we have chosen. Now that was an experience!! Watching powerpoints and video clips for 6 hours and then getting pizza and soda for lunch. Whereas in Germany they really put the emphasis on eating healthy during the pregnany (and in general) this didn't seem to be of interest here. So glad we are having a girl, otherwise the baby might get circumcised by mistake. Remind me again why the Americans are so crazy about it again? However, this class was so different to the one I visited in Germany, they only had the name in common.
The weekend was mostly about finding a second car, which has turned out to be trickier than expected.
Second hand cars seem to be a rarity. And if you do come across one, they are fairly expensive. We are looking into the possibility of leasing a second car, but if that falls through, we might have to bite the bullet and put some more effort in and buy a car from an owner and not dealer. Only having one car here sucksbig time though and I have no intention in getting up at 6.30 am to drive hubby to work.
Second mission has been to find a cleaner. Not so easy either. And by looking at Craig's list, I realise it works completely different here. No hourly rate in most cases, a very pre-defined list of what they do and don't do in which room..and it is expensive! $65 for a 2 bedroom and 2 bath room apartment. This must be a very good business because so far, no one has returned my calls.
Hopefully we can enjoy the upcoming weekend a little bit more. My cold is nearly gone, jetlag is gone, perhaps the stress with finding a car will be gone too. A great Mexican meal is definitely over due so that will be on the top five priority list as well. Weather is still fantastic according to European standards - the locals seem to think it is getting a little chilly. Well, think Swedish summer night and you'll get the idea.
/J.
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