Happy Holidays!

Howdy to all from the good ole US of A! It's been a long time since I've posted anything and I began to wonder if I should keep up with my blog. I don't know if I will but we do enjoy hearing from you all and it's a good way to keep in touch. I'll give a brief synopsis of the last 6 months. After Joe retired from the Air Force band in June, we moved back to Illinois on 1 July. By the way, if you watch the TV show called the Amazing Race you'll appreciate the surprise party I had for him. If you'd like to check out the link to the invitation click here: http://joesamazingrace.blogspot.com

HOME SWEET HOME
We arrived into O'Hare Airport on a Saturday afternoon. We picked up a rental car on Sunday and Joe saw his new house for the first time. We were greeted with a beautiful house complete with purple petunias at the front door and a huge red, white and blue sign that said, " Welcome Home to the Otts". His family had filled it with the bare necessities such as a kitchen table and chairs, 2 lazy boy chairs, TV, pots, pans, dishes, glassware, towel, etc. They knew we would not have any furniture for up to 2 months but also knew we would want to stay in our new home right away. After settling for just a few minutes we decided to go to a Super Walmart to pick up a few food items. We were fighting serious jetlag and tried to do everything we could to stay awake so that we'd supposedly adjust more easily. That was a mistake. We were overwhelmed by the size, choices, noise, activity. We literally were on sensory overload. We honestly cannot tell you what we purchased that day. We went home, made dinner, tried to stay awake a bit longer, and finally collapsed onto our luxurious blue velveteen blow up mattress. We weren't able to sleep and woke up at 3 am. By 7 am we decided to stimulate our nervous systems by getting our Illinois' Driver's Licenses. We passed and drove to another government building where I paid for my Illinois Teaching License, we set up our new bank accounts, had lunch at Portillos (Joe has been dreaming of hotdogs for the last 5 years!), joined the library, went home, and once again collapsed onto our luxurious bed.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

This was especially special to us because we had had to keep our" Americanism" under cover for the last 5 years. In addition, Joe has always been working on this holiday. This was the first time that we were able to sit together, side by side, since we were married 21 years ago. We celebrated at Joe's brother's house along with his parents who live an hour away, his other brother and wife from Tennessee, and several Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. The 4th is also Joe's dad's birthday so it was a celebration of independence, a birthday celebration, and a homecoming all rolled into one day! After watching a good old fashioned All American parade, we ate and watched a fantastic fireworks show from the comforts of the backyard. I'm looking forward to this new tradition next year!

NO GAME FACE NECESSARY

After being in country for 3 days we decided it was time to buy a car. We went to Car Max and it was actually a wonderful experience. No haggling with the price. We selected a car and went back the next day to pict it up. It was the simplest, easiest, most pleasant car buying experience we've ever had.

JOE AND SUZANNE STAR IN MOVIE

Ok, that may have gotten your attention but didn't really star in a movie but we sure felt like our life was a part of a movie. Just imagine a couple finds a vacant house and decide to live in it. Perhaps the "real" owners are on vacation. They find some cash and credit cards and just start purchasing things...things like wall units, closet organizers, cars, vacuum cleaners, 110 appliances, even some brushed nickel hardware for the kitchen cabinets. The "real" owners still aren't back from their vacation so the couple continue to live there. They are happy and love this beautiful new home. They wonder, " What would it be like to have furniture in this house? Turkish rugs? kitchenware? a bed? a table? patio furniture? a 2nd car in the driveway?

Will this couple get to stay in the house? Will they have a 2nd car in the garage? Will the house be filled with things from their travels?

Stay tuned. More to come next month.

Well,the wait was worth it and now that we are settled, it is beautiful. We love having the space and are especially enamored with our many fuses. We can turn the lights on, vacuum the house, dry my hair, watch TV, work on the computer, and so much more and absolutely nothing blows a fuse. Of course, we don't do all those things at the same time, but we could! Power was a problem in Germany. Our tiny little house was not designed for modern appliances. After nearly 2 months we finally have a house that feels like our own. We had so many things in storage that unpacking felt like Christmas to us. Our house does reflect our travels and has Joe and Suzanne written all over it. Of course, if you'd like to see that for yourself, come visit us. The OttCO Travel agency is still available upon request:)

JOB HUNT NOT SO EASY
I began the job hunt immediately to no avail. This was a bit of a shock because we kept reading about teacher shortages. Well, there is NO shortage here in Illinois. In fact, universities are encouraging Elementary Education majors to get a specialty such as special education or math and science. I have an endorsement in Gifted Education that Illinois doesn't acknowledge and several credits in reading and educational technology but not enough to count toward an endorsement. On the other hand, I do have a Master's degree but this is a negative because now I cost too much! It's amazing to me that the very field I am in, literally punishes me for having too much education! If you want to become a teacher, I encourage you to go into Special Education or have some endorsement in a specific field. Luckily, I did find a job as an Aide and am hoping to be a "real teacher" next year.

Joe is working on opening a teaching studio and doing some outside gigs. It takes time to get into the system and our patience is constantly being tested. He is excited about finally having the time to devote to practicing 4-5 hours per day. This is a luxury he did not have previously.

We both joined a community band. I'm playing the flute and he the clarinet. It's a challenge for me because I have not practiced regularly in years. It is not a challenge for him but gives him a chance to play, even at a very low level for him. He is also helping out with the Swing Band which has slightly better musicians. They seem almost in awe of him because they are not used to working with a professional musician. He is doing some writing for the group as well.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
We will spend Christmas in our own home for the first time in 21 years. We made the difficult situation to stay in Illinois and not travel to Florida to see my family. However, we did make the trip in September and it was fun to relax and enjoy each other without a holiday attached to it. Of course, we love to see everyone during the holidays, but it seems there is not enough time to just sit and visit. We were only there for 4 days and I think we talked the entire time about anything and everything. We will spend next Christmas in Florida. This year the Otts have allowed us to host at our house. I am so excited about this that I can hardly contain myself. We'll see how I feel after it's all over:)

CULTURE SHOCK
Joe and I are enjoying being back in America but must admit that we sometimes feel like foreigners in our own country. We didn't realize how much we had acclimated to the German way of life.Here's a list of some of the shocks we're experiencing:

• Choices- in everything
• Shopping on Sundays
• People looking at us and saying hello or greeting us with a smile
• Gas prices
• Stores open well into the evening
• Everyone understands us and we them
• No one stares at us
• We are not different and don't stand out in a crowd
• We can look American without offending anyone
• American flags are prominently displayed
• Air conditioning
• More than 2 fuses in our house
• Noise...too much noise
• No opportunity to decipher German when in stores...now it's Spanish!
• We can talk to friends and family anytime we want and only have an hour time difference in some cases
• Ice in our drinks
• No mineral water
• Everything is bigger and better than the next guy
• Billboards
• Decimal points not commas in numbers

I know I've written a lot but it's been nearly 5 months since we've been in country. We would love to hear from you all and please know that although I'm not living in a fabulous European country and can't take you to France or Italy or Switzerland or Austria or....well you get the picture, I do live in a wonderful state in the USA and you are ALWAYS welcome.