I just wanted to take a moment to thank ya'll for all the times you saved my sanity by posting your questions and comments about your day to day life on your homesteads. We're from the perfect homestead (at least I think so) in Mississippi. I loved our place and the life. I miss my sweet little goats, the fresh food from the garden, fresh chickens and eggs, our horse, working together as a family on our place to make it the best. We had to move to Germany because of my husband's job. We didn't have alot of choices at the time but in hindsight I wish we had made a different one than what we did. We thought that the move to Germany would be a great experience for the kids and it was only temporary (2-5 years). We're due to go back to the states in late September and I wanted to share with you, remind you, how greatly blessed we are to be Americans. In case of non Americans, please don't take offense. This is just an American homesteader being homesick. I've come to realize how many rights and privelages we take for granted living in the states. Here in Germany there are laws for every tiny little issue and extreme penalties for breaking any of them. Everything, like hunting and fishing, are so highly regulated and licenses so astronomically high that it might as well be outlawed all together. Few people could even afford to dream of owning a piece of the land to homestead. Its a beautiful country but the people here are so depressed and oppressed that they gave up fighting for what they think is right or fair. They just do whatever they're told to. No independent thinkers here. I live in the city, in an apartment on the 8th floor and am used to a 3000 sq ft farm house on several acres in the middle of nowhere. I rely on this forum to keep my head in the country. It gives me something to look forward to each day when I read it. I hope I didn't sound like a negative Germany bashing Yankee doodle. Just realizing my blessings, that's all. Thanks for being there.

-- Marci in Germany (marci_tomlinson@hotmail.com), July 15, 2001

Answers

Hi Marci, I hope you will be able to get back to a nice homestead when you come home, Property prices have level off somewhat. Golly living in a apartment after being in the wide open spaces has got be hard. I had a friend who was from Germany, And she was surprised how friendy americans were, she said in Germany they were not that open with strangers. How is the medical treatment there? Do you shop at little specialty stores or do they have super stores like us? And how do you like all that sausages and saurkraut? they have some great breads I hear. What kind of tv do you get? Well enough questions I quess, We live in the hot part of Texas, and I was just outside watering all my hanging baskets, Our gardening is pretty much over for the year, I canned lots of tomatoes and pickles. froze the corn and peas. Its hurricane season here now , and so far nothing on the horizon.I always dread that we may be hit by one, We are about 40 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, Well dear you will be home soon, and I hope you will be able to find another nice place to raise all your animals With Love Irene

-- Irene texas (tkorsborn@cs.com), July 15, 2001.

Hey there Marci, you don't sound negative at all, just really homesick. Shoot, I felt like that for awhile just moving from one state to another! September will be here before you know it and you'll be on your way to coming home. We once had a German Exchange student living with us and the one thing that amazed her was, how big everything was here. My brother-in-law lives in Chicago, so we took her on a trip from Tennesse to Illinois. When we went through Indiana, she couldn't believe the miles and miles of fields and farmland. And it was just one State. Made me realize just how big this country is compared to others and how lucky we Americans are to be able to choose different climates, terrain and even cultures, while staying in the same country. Hope when you get back, you and your family, get your perfect homestead and are able to have your critters once again.

-- Annie (mistletoe@kconline.com), July 16, 2001.

Hey Marci, I don't think you sounded negative, just homesick. Why don't you give us a heads up on what state you are coming back to and maybe some of us can point you to a good buy in real estate to get you back to that small piece of heaven once again. It would certainly be great for your kids as well. And welcome back to the good ol' USA.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), July 16, 2001.

Wow Marci..........not too long and you will be HOME. Yes, being out of the country really makes you grateful for what we have here. Lots of good stuff here on this forum...............let us know if we can be of help.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), July 16, 2001.

Ya'll are a bunch of sweethearts! I feel like I just got letters from family. I already answered Irene's questions personally but in case ya'll want to know......There are little shops walking distance from my apartment like a bakery, a florist, a butcher, a pharmacy. There's a fresh fruit and veggie stand on my corner. We have a WalMart not too far away. Its a bit different than the ones back home. The Germans have us beat hands down when it comes to their breads and sausages. There's nothing like it and my family would make a meal out of that every day if I let them. We don't get tv. Its very expensive to get the license and the cable. We only play videos. The tv here would only get CNN anyway. We read the Stars and Stripes newspaper pretty regular to find out what's going on around the world. There's an American army post not far away for when we crave English conversation. The medical care in Germany is probably the best anywhere if you have private insurance. They'll test you from stem to stern for a paper cut if you're a private paying American patient. If you're a German citizen in the socialized medicine system, you're not treated quite so well. The doctors practice natural, holistic and homeopathic medicine and I like that. As for where we'll be going next....that's not really clear yet. We're shooting for Missouri, Springfield area. The job isn't solid so that's what's not clear. At least we're not in debt and we have the know-how if we have to go back to the states without a job and live off our savings until we find one. We believe in a power greater than ourselves that always looks after us, so as long as we're doing our part to help ourselves, then He'll do His. If ya'll know of any jobs in the electronic communication field, expecially radio and technical management we'd be ever so grateful for your help. Again, I thank you so much for keeping in touch just by being yourselves. Will you adopt me? I don't eat much and I work hard :) xoxoMarci in Germany

-- Marci in Germany (marci_tomlinson@hotmail.com), July 16, 2001.

Try doing a little window and container gardening to save your sanity also. Maybe a small worm bin to produce your own hi grade fertilizer and top soil.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), July 17, 2001.

Hi Marci,

Thank you so much for posting. Like you and your family, my DH, two young children and I spent two years living in Northern Italy for my husband's job. I spent the first six weeks praying to leave and the last six weeks praying to stay.

What we did was to get involved in the Italian way of life. We put the children in the Italian schools, spoke what little Italian we knew even at home, and got to know our Italian neighbors.

Italians are warm and friendly people (except when they're driving, but that's another story). They go to work early then close up shop around noon and re-open again around 2. Italian homemakers would get dressed (to the teeth) and go out early for the day's shopping. Come home around mid-day, prepare their mid-day meal, rest, then get all dressed up again and go back out around 2 and shop some more. My Italian neighbor (Maria Rosa) and her mother (Nonna) and I would practice our Italian/English across the back fence with Nonna holding up an object and me trying to say it in Italian and Maria Rosa trying to come up with the English word. My children played with Italian children and learned the language so well that other Italians thought they were natives.

We took every opportunity to travel and see as much as we could. We've seen the Pope (okay, he was just a little speck in the distance, but we still "saw" him), watched the restoration of the painting of the "Last Supper", saw Michelangelo's "David", toured the Grand Canal in Venice, bought gold jewelry in Florence, walked through St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, ate the most wonderful food and drank delicious homemade wines. We visited Switzerland, parts of Germany and France and gambled in Monte Carlo.

All in all it was a tremendous experience for all of us and even 20 years later we still use some Italian phrases in our day to day conversations and talk about what a wonderful two years that was. I don't think we would have done nearly as well if we had tried to remain "American" while we were there. Of course, it also helped to know we weren't going to be there forever.

I hope you'll continue to post here letting all of us know what life in Germany is like.

Wishing you enough.

-- Trevilians (Trevilians@mediaone.net), July 17, 2001.

Thanks for taking the time to think about me. I thought of raising some tomatoes on the balcony but didn't because I never see the sun on that side of the building. My neighbors don't raise anything either so I took that as a hint. Now, the neighbors on the other side of the building have the most beautiful flowers hanging off the side of their balconies. They're picturesque. I sure do hand it to these people here. No matter what, they have the most beautifully manicured lawns and fresh flowers inside and out whenever possible. I sure hope ya'll don't think I'm hold up here in this apartment having a solo pitty party or anything. I am making the best of our trip here, I just miss what I had is all. You just can't do here what we had at home. Most people here live in apartments. They rent for their whole lives, most of them. Very few own an apartment and even fewer own a house. The houses are butted up against each other with only the width of a sidewalk between them and stacked 3 stories high. They have an over population problem and they're short on room for building. They have the most immaculate homes. I've never seen a dirty sidewalk here. My first advice from a friend on making friends with the Germans here was to let them see me sweep my front steps every day. I didn't get a place with front steps, so I sweep the area in my stairwell when I hear them coming home :) I can't get them to come visit though. They don't go visiting at each other's house or have one another over for dinner. Its only for a special occasion that you might get an invite to dinner. They keep their distance pretty much. I don't think they mean to be rude or unfriendly, we're just REAL friendly and they don't know what to do with that. My kids are 20, 17 and 14. They're not so much kids anymore. We've seen EVERYTHING here and its been great. My kids know the trains, bus and streetcar schedules by heart. They and their friends get out and go sightsee all over Germany. The church youth group took them camping in the Swiss Alps for a week. They were on a natural high for about 2 weeks. The pictures were so beautiful. We get out all the time and mingle with the culture. Our landlord is taken with us and is always wanting to exchange culture information. Its really great. He's obsessed with John Wayne movies and country/western music. You ain't laughed til you heard Randy Travis with a German accent.LOL My family has also lived in England, that was for 2 years and Italy for 2 years. We loved the experience and took full advantage of seeing all we could. I"m grateful for the opportunities we had to travel and see some of the world. My children sure didn't get harmed by it. I'm just getting old I guess (40) and I really want to go home and settle back down again. This time I'm staying there :) My husband said he'd quit working all together and we'd just make do somehow before we go tramplin' off overseas again. He needs to be on a farm real bad. Well, I've rambled enough I guess. Don't think I hated being here. Its been great, but I'm over it. Time to go home. Thanks for everything.

-- Marci in Germany (marci_tomlinson@hotmail.com), July 17, 2001.

When I was visiting in Croatia recently their favority American music seemed to be Country/Western. Except for possibly Branson, MO, Boxcar Willie was never much in the U.S., but was a hugh attraction in much of Europe.

-- Ken S.in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), July 17, 2001.