Update!

Six months later, since running (I mean stepping) out of Germany, I can look back and cry (I mean reminisce) about my hard times in that shithole (I mean Germany). I can't believe it's been 6 months and we are now living in Vienna, Austria which seems like night and day from Germany. I can't tell you how traumatized I still am and I have tried to block out the experiences I've had and reading the old posts, just remind me of how bad it was. Sometimes I wonder, if I was too sensitive and took it too hard and why other expats, actually like that god-forsaken place?! Every time someone says, "Oh I want to live in Germany," I literally cringe. Other people that I meet that say they are from Germany, I start to feel the hairs on my back (I'm Asian, I have no hair there) feel like they're standing straight up and I have to wonder, HOW MUCH trauma did I go through there? Why was this such a life-changing experience? Other people go through much more difficult times in life, but why did I take it soooo hard?

Then I wonder about the basic necessities of life. Hmm let's discuss:

AIR- it was freaking freezing at all times, near frost bite in extremities, so f@(@!%in cold that you dream of heaters and sunshine.
WATER- no free water anywhere. Even at a restaurant while you are eating there you must pay for bottled water and it's more expensive than beer. Only hard water in your house, that means bad clothes washing, dry skin, coffee deposits, chapped lips, constipation, buying bottle water etc..
BATHROOMS- pay as you go bathrooms, even at a restaurant. I'm serious, pay your meal then pay to use the facilities
FOOD-only German crappy, unhealthy, greasy, no variety food everywhere. Get used to schnitzel, bretzel or beer and nothing else. No fresh seafood, no ingredients, no cravings that can be fulfilled, no international, ordering Korean food online from 6 hrs away, paying 10 times the price and having this food mailed to your house in a big box by DHL, seriously. And be prepared to get a muffin-top (if you don't know what that is, look it up)
CLOTHING-can't afford it, that's why we have to travel to America or any surrounding country to buy anything. Imagine paying 250 euros for a pair of boots, non-designer, I'm serious.
TECHNOLOGY-your internet (which is your lifeline to anything modern and society) will be down and they will charge you to call customer service (2 euros a minute, A MINUTE!!!) and they will not fix it or have someone speak english to help you. Let alone problems with your cel phone. 6 months later, we are still paying our German cel phone bill, don't ask.
SUN-lack of it, for 8 months, living in cloud of grey. Think about it, no stars, moon, sunsets or sun, think about it...depression is very common in Germany
WEATHER-snow, rain, cloudy, hail, below freezing temperature for months (more than half a year), extreme temperatures and everything that goes along with it-traffic, coats, kleenex, gloves, umbrellas, dry skin, chapped lips, constipation, snowing out, snow tires/summer tires, driving in a snow storm so that you can't see out the window..
ENTERTAINMENT-none, no English movie theaters, tv, radio, friends, sometimes no internet. Think about it
FAMILY-none
FRIENDS-none and hard to make any at all
TIME-everything closing at 5:30 mon-fri and closed on Sundays, you figure out how to shop in 4 markets, do all your errands, dry cleaning/alterations and some stores even close by noon on SAT!, think about how you get everything done (taking the tram, carrying heavy bags) in ONE SATURDAY!
TRANSPORTATION-as we all know, I was not able to drive after my license rights were taken away. Funny, I got my drivers license in one day in Austria..
Public transportation is always such a pleasant experience (stinky, dirty, fart-smelling trams)
CLOTHING-I don't think I wore my California shorts or flip flops once in Augsburg, Germany, I am not kidding. I did however, wear many coats, sweaters, fur, gloves, hats, scarves covering every inch of my body to keep warm from the freezing cold!
HOUSING-hmm well if you've read the blog, you will know about our super kind German neighbors and how friendly they are. How our heating bill is exhorbitant, how for 3 years I had to turn on the heater at my in-laws house and only one single day, the heater was off and we actually sat outside in the entire 3 years. THREE YEARS! No garbage disposals, 7 recycling bins, no 100 watt bulbs only flourescent energy saving bulbs, BYOC (bring your own closet, washer, no dryers, refrigerator, and sometimes the kitchen and the kitchen sink) the list goes on and on...
MOVING- I think we spent over 30k US DOLLARS in the last 2 years moving from US to Baden-Baden, Germany to Augsburg to Vienna.
TAXES-50% income, 20% VAT --you figure it out
CURRENCY- lose half of what you bring over
LANGUAGE-only German, all the time, everything online, menus, internet, instructions, ingredients, directions, metric system, celsius, asking for help, customer service, labels, ALL in German, NO ENGLISH anywhere at any time.
TRAVEL-I think we spent most of our paycheck on travel, to get the heck out of Germany, every weekend as much as we could. I think I spent thousands of dollars and a lot of sweat at the airport, lugging around huge, oversized luggage across the countries, filled to the rim with clothes, shoes, vanilla, sheets, cake pans, stationary, electronics and things we couldn't buy in Germany.

I think that about covers it, interesting and still so not funny yet. I am not over it, let's see in a few years, if I can laugh about it.

Vienna is a dream compared to Germany, people are open, international, not as prejudiced, there are international restaurants, we made great friends (with personalities), Korean restaurants, a few international markets, we even found a great Mexican restaurant. The weather is still cool but there are days with actual sunshine and blue skies (unbelievable). There are beautiful buildings, culture, places to see, do and something to do on a Sat night (english movie theaters, parties, clubs, museums, etc). Many speak English, and there are tons of tourists so plenty of Asians, Blacks, Jews, you know non-Aryan races that actually make you feel at home and not like a FOB foreigner.

I am so grateful for America, for being AMERICAN, for the country and all that it has to offer and after being all over the world and living in Europe, I can honestly say I LOVE LA!!!!
Los Angeles with it's weather, sun, beaches, nightlife, entertainment, convertibles, restaurants, and flaky people is the best city in the whole world!!!!! Cost of living, sun, surf sand, eating anything even at midnight, flying to Vegas, cruising in a convertible, Target, Ross and Marshalls and malls, it's LIKE TOTALLY AWESOME! Can't wait to move back there in a year and I vow to appreciate everything I took for granted there! You don't miss it, till it's gone. It helps you admire the blue blue sky and the beautiful, orange sunsets, or the warm, summer nights and the twinkling stars and the city lights, the blue (kinda brown) oceans, and even the traffic is not so bad anymore! (I would rather drive in my own car through 2 hrs of traffic then in a crowded tram with people who have bad B.O. or farting) Listening to my music, in a convertible, take a coast ride up to San Francisco, eat Dim Sum when I crave it without paying a fortune, buying as much as I want in a market or a store and not having to weigh it to see if I can carry the bag home, not paying 8 dollars a gallon for gas! and loving loving my hometown, Hollyweird or Hollywood with it's Reality Stars, Rodeo Drive, dress to impress, posers and all, I LOVE IT!
OOOXXX