You Go Nate!

GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS

...But first, lets pick up where we left off... I was in Krefeld staying with Solveig and her family.

On Sunday we slept in and Jack took me on a bike ride around Krefeld. Most German cities are very bike-friendly and Krefeld was no exception. Bike rides are fun.

The next day Jack took me to the train station and I boarded a commuter train to Köln (Cologne). When I got to Köln I had about 35 minutes before my train for Munich would come. To my delight, Miss Yummy Yummy was there at the train station....

...wait, try again.

To my delight, I saw that literally right next to the Köln train station is the ginormous gothic Köln Cathedral. It's HUGE!!! It's one of the largest cathedrals in the world and quite impossible to photograph properly.

So with my two backpacks on I ran over to the Cathedral and started snapping whatever photos I could hoping some would turn out well....

From 1880-1884 this was the tallest building in the world...

I even ran inside for a few shots of the interior...

I had plenty of time to make my train... and I was off to Munich.

The train went through Bonn, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Ulm.

In Ulm I was able to catch a glimpse of the Ulm Cathedral which has the highest spire in the world... or at least in Germany, it overtook the Köln cathedral in 1884 as the tallest structure in the world. Then in 1889 the Eiffel Tower was built and that was that...

Finally I returned to a sunny and warm Munich.


And none too soon... I found a giant piece of poo attacking children near the Marienplatz!

So, back to the Good News/Bad News....

GOOD NEWS:

I met with another language institute yesterday and it went very well. They are prepared to hire me as a teacher! However, it gets a little more complicated....

The way it works here for English Trainers is that most of them are "free-lance" which means that they have contracts with several institutes. The trainer tells the institute what times they are available for teaching and if the institute has a client for that time, then they offer it to the trainer. Most of the language instruction is for business clients and it usually occurs at the place of business in an office or conference room.

So, there is a lot of travel involved, and I will need to apply to several more schools so that I can have enough work. In talking to other trainers, they say that it starts out a little slow at first and then picks up quickly. After meeting a few American trainers and speaking with them, I don't think it will be too hard for me to get contracts with other schools.

BAD NEWS:

I cannot work until I have a work visa. I cannot get a work visa until I have a residence permit. I cannot get a residence permit until I have a permanent residence. So I must find an apartment and fast. The problem: Munich is a notoriously difficult and expensive place for finding an apartment. When I tell people that I'm looking for an apartment they give me a look of such pity it is as if I just told them I have cancer.

To make matters worse, many landlords demand proof of employment. Chicken and the Egg.

Also, each day that goes by I'm spending more money living in a hotel (albeit cheap... but not THAT cheap).

That's the lowdown. It is a little bit discouraging and overwhelming, especially where I don't speak the language too well. BUT! I can either wring my hands and fret about all of this, or put my wits to use and find reward in the effort. I choose to enjoy the challenge!

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