Some other things that happened this week:
- My shipment was delivered on Monday morning. All of my furniture, clothing, and belongings arrived, and it's so nice to have everything again. It's great to not have to be living out of my 3 suitcases anymore. The best part is that I can sleep in my very own bed again! It had been 7 weeks since I had slept in my own bed, and I had missed it a lot. I still have a few boxes that I need to unpack (mostly kitchen things)but I still haven't decided where I'm going to put everything. That is going to be Sunday's project.
- I joined a gym about 3 blocks from my flat. It's just like a gym in America, with treadmills and weights, etc. I have been twice so far, and it seems like it will work just fine to keep me in shape. I think I have decided to run another half marathon in the spring. This will give me motivation to keep running and stay in shape (see below for why I need to stay in shape, haha). The Bonn half marathon is April 25, and the Dusseldorf marathon is on May 2. I still need to decide which I will run (and confirm whether there will be a Dusseldorf half marathon this year, or just the full marathon).
- I met a fellow PwC "secondee" aka someone else who is here on an international assignment. His name is Mauro, and he arrived from Milan, Italy in October. So, I guess now I have a friend. We met up with some other PwC colleagues for a few beers on Tuesday night.
- I experienced my first "Waffle Wednesday" at my client. There is a cafe (and also cafeteria) on the first floor at my client's office, and there are always cakes and coffee. But on Wednesdays, they make waffles, and you can have ice cream, whipped cream, powdered sugar, or other toppings. So, my team went on Wednesday for an afternoon snack. I was so full that I didn't even eat dinner that night. Which brings me to why I have to keep working out, so I don't get fat. The lunches here are so big and filling, but luckily, I have discovered the salad bar at my client, and am now trying to avoid all the meat and potatoes every day. Not that it is a bad thing... just not so good for my waist :)
- I found a cycling group online that rides every Saturday. I met up with them today, and it was a nice group. They start at a nice bike shop, and the route changes every week. There are about 3 old guys that lead the group and know all the roads around Dusseldorf. There were about 10 of us today (mostly old German guys, a guy from the Netherlands who works in Ddorf, and another expat guy who had just moved here - I think from Norway), and of course, I was the only girl. The ride started out intending to be about 65 km, or about 2.5 hours of riding. This seemed fine to me, especially since the terrain is very flat. Well, we ended up riding for 4.5 hours and 95 kms!!! And, we climbed up the biggest hill in Nordrhein-Westphalia (the state that Ddorf is in). It was about 2.5 kms long and a 6% grade. After climbing the hill, we stopped at a little shop for a coffee and snack and then headed back into town. I was so exhausted, especially since I have definitely not ridden that far in years and am a little bit out of cycling shape. Oh well, the weather was nice, so I wanted to take advantage of that, and I got to see a lot of the countryside. We saw some wind turbines, a power plant, a surface coal mine, lots of cute little villages. But, now I am so tired and sore that I am about to fall asleep on the couch, and it is only 7pm.
- I had my first German lesson on Friday. PwC HR suggested a private tutor, named Luca, and she met me at the office on Friday morning to have the first lesson. She is also a cross-cultural instructor, so she is able to explain all of the cultural dfferences that I am facing. She uses a similar style to Berlitz (where I took my lessons in Chicago), which is mainly asking questions and having dialogue. I like this style, since there is very little memorization or translation, and much more useful, day-to-day conversational skills.
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