September 15, 2015

Naming a German

September 15, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

Almost immediately after Aaron and I first found out that I was pregnant, we started discussing names. I mean, naming a human is kind of a big deal. That name sticks with them for life (well, in most cases it does), so you have to make sure it's the perfect choice. We wanted something classic, but not overused; uncommon enough to make it fairly unique, but nothing that people would have trouble pronouncing or snicker at after an important job interview. I mean, there are definitely some interesting names out there, but how hard is it to take someone serious when they have a name like Abcde (pronounced ab-se-dee), or Xena?

August 28, 2015

Going Home

August 28, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

Tomorrow morning, we load up our small car with 4 giant suitcases and carry on's to head to the airport, park the car, and get on a plane bound for Detroit, Michigan. To say we are excited is the understatement of the century. Just over a year ago, we were going though this same process, but in reverse - boarding a plane bound for Frankfurt. We are headed back for our ''long'' vacation this year: two weeks in the beautiful, glorious, water-surrounded, family and friends filled, state of Michigan. Eek! So excited!

August 11, 2015

One Year Later

August 11, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

Well folks, it's officially been a year since we boarded a plane in Detroit with a one way ticket to Germany. Aaron and I were both just thinking about last summer and how stressful it was - packing up our lives, selling the our first home together, going on the most amazing two week vacation right before we left, wrapping up loose ends at our jobs, and saying dreaded good byes to family and friends. In all honesty, I can't believe it's been a year. The time has managed to pass both astonishingly fast, and agonizingly slow. I'm not entirely sure how that is possible, but it is. So in celebration of our one year expat-aversary, let's look back on what this year has brought us!

July 17, 2015

Big News!

July 17, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

I feel like I've been slacking on the blog a bit the last couple of weeks. And with our traveling. We have spent most weekends in June and July at home. It feels like I just haven't had the energy to plan weekend trips. At first, we were recovering from our crazy busy April and May, but then July came, and all I wanted to do was sit at home, go to the Saturday markets in Mannheim, binge watch X-Files all day on Sundays, try to stay as cool as possible (we have had incredible heat waves here lately), and do some hobbies around the apartment.

February 18, 2015

American Expats Experience German Karneval

February 18, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

Well folks, this weekend was definitely one for the record books. Friday after work, we boarded a train and headed north to Südlohn, a small town almost in the Netherlands, to participate in a weekend of Karneval festivities with some new German friends. The first parade was on Saturday and they continued through Monday. One of Aaron's coworkers and his friends built probably the most elaborate floats I've ever seen.

February 13, 2015

Fasching, Karneval, Fastnacht

February 13, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

Fasching

Karneval

Fastnacht

Whatever you want to call it, they all mean the same thing, well almost the same thing - party time in Germany! As if the Germans required yet another excuse to party and drink beer, the beginning of the year is known as Karneval season.

January 27, 2015

Real Life

January 27, 2015/ Meghan Oaks

The life of an expat can be glamorous. Traveling, seeing new places, having new experiences. But then reality sets in. We can't travel all the time unfortunately. Things like work and cleaning and cooking and laundry can get in the way.

And that's what happened this weekend. We've been busy pretty much every weekend since the beginning of December. There was Munich and then Cologne, and then we ...