Test Drive

Today we all piled into the car and went for a drive--what else could we have done. First we did the route to the kids school, then picked up some groceries in Selent (for the first time we can carry them back in a car!), then headed north toward the coast. We ran into a military base and had to make a detour, but then found a place next to the ocean where we could park. There was an amazing amount of ladybugs where we stopped. They were all over the cars, plants, ground, and in a couple spots covered the ground in solid ladybug piles. I'd never seen anything like it. We took a short walk along the beach. It was very rocky and had all kinds of interesting rocks. I even tried some flintknapping. There were sandy cliffs overhanging the beach and at one point they were riddeled with, apparently, holes for swallow nests. Then headed back.


View Driving around Ploen in a larger map

We have a car!

Finally, I own a car that is registered, has new plates, inspection stickers and is fully road legal (to the best of my knowledge) in Germany!

I met K early this morning to sign the rest of the papers transferring ownership and a quick run by a dealer to get a light replaced, her last task to fix up the car for us. Then she was kind enough to go along with me to the registration office to finish all the paperwork and get the new registration and ownership papers, then to a license plate office to get new plates, then back to the registration office to finish the inspection stickers for the new plates. (Here when you buy a car if the exhaust and car inspection has not expired it transfers to the new owner for the remainder of the term, rather than doing it over again.) It all went really quickly, just a few hours, especially with a car to drive around between things rather than doing it all on foot and taking all day as I've had to do before. Then I took over and drove K to her job to drop her off and then drove the car back home. As soon as I got back I took V for a short ride around the block; the first time I've driven her in a car in the Old World. She is putting seat covers on and installing the child seat and booster seat now for the kids then I will take them for a short ride.

kiva

http://www.kiva.org/

I just wanted to mention this website. It allows people to make micro-loans to people who otherwise would not have access to credit for, for example, buying tools and resources to start a business in third world countries. I think this is a much better idea than simple charity, which (if it's not immediately needed for saving lives) ends up making people economically dependent rather than independent. I have traveled in Africa and have seen first hand how some people work hard year after year (Jinjimana's in Marsabit, Kenya) to try to build economic independence, and also the charity/hand-out mentality that other people can have. Morally, I would be more comfortable with kiva if it allowed loaners to get a (small) return on their investment (yes, I have read Atlas Shrugged), but I understand why they don't have it set up this way (US bureaucracy) and it is a step in the right direction. Just a small amount for a westerner can be a huge amount in many countries and allow people to move over the hump.

I told my kids about this today and we came up with this example together, if you could cut firewood and make $10 selling each log would you do it. Yes. OK, cut down that tree. I can't. You need an axe right? But an axe costs $50 and you don't have the money for it. If someone loaned you $50 and you bought an axe and cut down 5 trees to pay them back, then you have a way to make money after that. This is a simple example but it illustrates how small loans can make a huge difference in the right situation.

Obama and Professor Gates

I saw the news headlines (e.g. BBC) about a Harvard professor being arrested and President Obama making some comments about it, but I didn't read the actual articles until later when V mentioned the arrest of a black professor at his own home and the media attention it was getting. I put two and two together and wondered if it could have been professor Gates. Sure enough, it was!!! His picture was right on the news site photos being led out of his house by the cops. I have met Prof. Gates before (and at one point he knew me by name, but I doubt he remembers who I am now) and have nothing bad to say about him. I don't agree with him 100% politically, but I think he is an intelligent and thoughtful person that has done great things. I'm not saying that neither he nor the cop might have overreacted, but I can appreciate what it is like coming back from a long trip and having to break into my own house (yes, this has happened to me before) and, from what I can gather from the media, it seems wrong to me that he was arrested after showing that he was the owner of the house and because he was disturbing the peace ... in his own home?

Getting the plates, part 1

I spent all of Thursday morning walking around town trying to figure out how to get plates for the car. The guy at the insurance office told me that this was what I was supposed to do next and told me approximately where to go on the other side of town. When I get to the building where they have license plates advertised, and walk in, there is a film crew set up with a camera on a tripod pointed at the woman at the front counter. All the plate making equipment is in view behind the counter and a woman is in front of me in the line. They film her handing over the paperwork and asking for the plates and the woman behind the counter makes the plates right there. There are metal blocks and the metal blank that she put in a press to form the numbers, then she runs it through a machine that paints it, puts stickers on it and goes from a blank sheet of metal to a finished license plate in minutes. The woman ordering the plates had two children with her that were quiet in the back of the room out of camera view. At one point one of the kids runs up to her and tries to pull himself up on the counter to see whats going on. I have the feeling it messed up what the people filming wanted. After she is done the person next to the camera is saying something to me; I have no idea what; it was too fast and unfamiliar for me to follow. So anyway they are all looking at me expectantly so I step up to the counter and give my best shot, handing over the form and saying "Ich habe das fuer ein Auto Schild" (I have this/that for a car plate). She looks slightly confused and rattles off a long polite sounding sentence that I can't make sense of so I reluctanly say "Entschuldigung, sprechen Sie Englisch" (excuse me, do you speak english)? She rolls her eyes and has to ask the people with the camera how to say "registration office" in English, at which point they let out a sigh; I think I didn't work out for them either. Anyway, apparently first I have to get another piece of paper from the car registration office before I get the plates, and she tells me it is in the next building down the road.

I find the building, walk in, and right in front of the front door is a booth with a sign over it that says "information." I walk up and hand the man sitting there my papers for the car from the insurance guy. I cut straight to the point and tell him "Ich spreche Englisch." He doesn't speak any english, but there is a problem with the paperwork. He points to a checkbox that is blank and a checkbox that is checked on the form. "Das ist falsch ... problem ..." and so on. Apparently the check boxes need to be interchanged. I point to his pen and mime scribbling out one and checking the other. He understands and seems very unhappy with this prospect and tells me I have to get another form. Just to be clear I point to the name of the insurance company on the letterhead and ask "Ich gehe zu" (I go to). "Genau" (exactly) he says.

So I walk back to the insurance office on the other side of town. I think it was at this point when it started raining. Anyway, I get there, ring the bell, he lets me in, and I explain what happened. He looks confused, looks at my paperwork again, and says that there is nothing wrong with it and that the correct checkboxes are checked. ... more later.

We have car insurance now!

We are a step closer toward getting the car. We went back to the insurance office that we first visited in April and completed all the paperwork for the car (insurance rates depend on the type and age of the car) and set up the monthly payments. The insurance is now active. After a year the rate will go down a lot and I will be off of my first year probation period (according to Germany I am a first time driver). The insurance rep gave us a sheet with a code on it to take to the plate office to get the plates.

Last Week of School

Wakeup Band

Fourth, Biker fest.

Family back

V and the kids arrived in Hamburg late Wednesday. We made it home just before 11pm but the kids were up long after midnight (jet lag). M ran the last part from the train station to the apartment, pulling her suitcase behind her, saying "I'm just so excited to be back home."