vhs and a fractured story

After just over three weeks here, we have started to think about enrolling in a German language course. Learning off the TV isn't happening quick enough for me. Also, we have since discovered that we can stream  UK TV channels through our computer so this has taken the bulk of our TV time away from German sprekenzie programs. More on that later.

Since we moved in here there has been a note on our front door. We knew it had something to do with the water and heat meters but didn't bother translating the thing word for word.

When we got up today we realised it was 'note day', and thought the time was for between 11:30 an 12:30. We weren't ready when someone knocked at the door. We opened up, let him in and he started working on 'stuff' behind the toilet.

I wanted to know what was going on so went to talk to the guy. 'Guten Morgen, Sprechen Sie Englisch?' to which the reply was 'Nein'. End of conversation. I didn't know how to say in German 'What are you doing to my toilet?' and the possibilities for miscommunication could be disastrously humorous. We let him do his thing. Some other dude came in and our original guy told us it would all be done when his colleague was finished. Sounds pretty logical.

The colleague finished and gave us a receipt / note / meter number thing. Naturally we put this in a safe place.

I later rechecked the original note and it said they were replacing the water meter and taking readings, and that residents are expected to be there for the duration. Seems a bit harsh if you have to work. No idea how that works or if the caretaker just comes in otherwise.

Back to the language school story. So, there are lots of schools ranging from the very cheapest Volkshochschule (known as VHS) to the pricey Goethe Institute. No matter how many reviews you read, there's always a negative for any positive one regardless of school. Everyone comes to the same conclusion, it depends on which teacher you get.

With my penchant for bargains we decided we would check out the Volkshochschule. Funnily enough the nearest one to us is located right next to our friendly district office, so off to the office we went.

Before leaving, I set up a voice recorder to see how much Barney barks once we leave the house. I also played him a specifically formulated 'relax your dog' audio track from the internet to see if that helps.

At the Volkshochshule we went up to the information area only to find that this is only open on Tuesdays. While we were reading the sign, a guy came out and pointed to the sign and speaking in German said 'It's only open Tuesdays'. We then briefly had a quick chat in German to him enquiring about the classes and he said the latest intake already started and its already very very full.

We took some information brochures and will look at coming back again (ON A TUESDAY) or starting the next course in February. We are not in a rush to get into a class immediately.

Seeing as though we were next to the district office I thought I would try my luck at enquiring about exchanging my drivers license. I have done a lot of reading up on this and luckily for us, as Australians, the rules recently changes and we can do a straight swap for a fee and of course a bit of paperwork. What I have read indicate that you need to take an eye test at an optician first so I wanted to confirm that before going ahead.

Prior to these rule changes many nationalities were required to take a full driving test, including mandatory number of driving lessons, theory test and the practical test. This apparently all up cost 1,000 Euros plus! 

Well, the district office was supposed to be closed today, yet it was open. Hmm. It's not even Tuesday! We spoke to a lady there who obviously thought my German was awful (given the face she made) so made me follow her to a colleague that could speak a bit of English. We confirmed with him that the straight swap is possible, that we need an eye test and the fee we need to pay. Good news, and we made an appointment for next week - giving us time to get the eye test done.

After an interlude for a coffee on the way home we got back to the apartment. Barney was quiet. Had he been a good boy while we had been gone? Let's review the tape. Answer? No. We were gone for over two hours and he was barking intermittently for the whole time. This was quite a shock for us. We always have though he barks for a few minutes once we leave and then goes to sleep. Also - so much for the 'relax your dog' thing.

I spent the afternoon looking at applications for ultrasonic bark deterrents. There's plenty out there, but Barney doesn't seem to care when I tested them. We really need to do something about the barking so we are going to resort to crate training.

When Barney was flown to Germany we had to buy a crate for him which we got to keep. He seems to like it in there so hopefully this will be a workable option without distress to him. This story will continue!