From the Top

When I left for Germany, I really had no idea what to expect when I arrived here. At my interview and during subsequent e-mails, I was given little bits of information about life here working at Edelweiss, but there were a lot of gaps still. Even after arriving here, you still really don't know anything, because everyone tells a different story.

I have figured out a few things though - throughout orientation it was stressed that we are now civilian employees of the US Army and as such we must never lose our military ID cards, and we must not draw attention to ourselves when we are out and about in Europe. Dear people, they mean so well, but I'm an American who has never been to Europe before, so I can promise you, no matter how hard I try, I will call attention to myself. Whether it was getting lost the first day in Garmisch and trying to piece together broken English from the kind man attempting to give me and my friend Kayla directions. Or even just the mere fact that - hello! I speak English, American English to be exact! Even if I can manage to blend in looks wise, the minute I open my mouth, everyone knows where I'm from. I can now order water in Germany, excuse myself, say please and thank you, and that is pretty much it. But I'm fairly certain my accent is atrocious.

We spent four days in orientation here, and I spent about 5 days after arriving here in a total fog from jet lag. So they're cramming information at us, and it's a wonder I remember any of it because I was so sleep-deprived. The culture shock for me was intense the first two days. Getting lost in town that first day just trying to buy dinner - they left us on our own to find our way and find some food, because we are adults and that's what adults do, I suppose. Getting used to the dorm probably took the most out of me though.

We are provided with free housing here, approximately a 30-minute walk from work across town. The rooms aren't bad, but this is actually a remodeled Nazi hospital from WWII. Bathrooms and kitchens are communal, except for some of the management who have more amenities to their room. I got lucky enough to get a room with a sink at least. Most of us have a roommate. Massage therapists, cooks, and management get lucky enough to have single rooms in most cases. Housing provides basic furniture - a twin cot, a wardrobe cabinet, a fridge, a table and chairs, and a nightstand. I think there are a couple other things available upon request possibly.

The walk to work is about 30 minutes, depending on how quickly you walk. Learning my way around town was a bit daunting, since streets in Europe are vastly different from streets in the States. Anyone who's been to Europe knows that streets aren't lined up in tidy blocks at right angles. Streets here are narrow, winding and they come in at every angle imaginable and you're never really sure where they're going to pop out. Plus, here, most of the street names are 20-letter German words, and they change names often. There aren't too many 'main drags' through town. Here in Garmisch, there is Zugspitzstrasse, and that is the longest street I've discovered so far.

I usually leave an hour before my shift starts, just so I have time to walk in, change into my uniform and straighten up my hair, and clock in. I'm working in conferences - my bosses told me they specifically requested me because of my resume and software experience - so I have a wide array and variety of jobs. We set up for meetings, seminars, banquets, etc. We buss plated dinners and other banqueting events. We clean up after the banquets, including cleaning dishes and tearing down everything we just set up a few hours before. We're troubleshooters for audio/visual equipment such as projectors, speakers, etc. We make coffee, set up coffee breaks and keep them stocked. We basically have a finger in almost every pie in the lodge, and we are on our feet constantly. After an 8 hour shift, the only thing I want to do is get off of my feet, which tells me I probably need to go shoe shopping, since foot transplants aren't really a viable option at this point for me. :-D

But I like what I do - it's hard work, but it feels good to be giving back to American military families. They were driving the point home to us in orientation about how crucial it is to make sure the guests have a good stay at Edelweiss because there is every chance this could be a family's last vacation when they are all together. As if an Army girlfriend needs a reminder of that possibility... I think dating a soldier makes me feel a lot more empathy with the guests than I would have otherwise. In a way, I sometimes identify more with them than with my co-workers. I'm older than a lot of the employees here, and for some strange reason, I was never really 'young' in the way that a lot of people here are young. I was born an 'old soul' and I've always been the obnoxious voice of reason in a lot of situations. Maybe it makes me boring, but it's who I am, and I don't think it's likely to change.

Garmisch is the cutest little town of about 30,000 people. The cows walk themselves to pasture every morning at 5a.m., and home every night at 5p.m. I have yet to observe that - somehow I'm always away from that part of town at 5p.m. One of these days I'm going to have to make it a point to watch.

This is a tourist town, so for the most part, people speak at least some English. The locals are a wide mix - it's 5 minutes to the Austrian border and 45 to Italy so there are many different nationalities represented here.
The streets are narrow, like many European cities, and cars park along the sides, so driving through them proves a challenge. Many times one driver will have to pull over and wait to let another driver through going the opposite direction. But life here is slower, people are less impatient. Germans are very methodical and meticulous. The city streets are clean, they recycle everywhere, dogs are unleashed and yet well-behaved, and the children actually have manners. It is so much calmer here - it's like another world entirely. Walking through Garmisch, you could literally believe you were walking onto "The Sound of Music" which you practically could since it was filmed not far from here in Salzburg, Austria. People here are quiet and self-contained... well, the locals are anyway. The Americans seem bent on announcing their presence. I never really understood why Americans are so annoying to other cultures before I came here. Now it makes perfect sense!

The skies are so blue here, and it is so very green - greener than any place I have seen in the States and I've been to 36 of them now. I'm told Ireland is even greener, which I can't quite picture. I could really just learn German and stay here for a long time. I like the calm, steady pace of life here, and the scenery is idyllic. Now, if I could just speak the language and read the food cartons, I'd be all set. :-)