10 Tips on German Culture

If you are planning on spending some time in Germany, HERE are 10 things to avoid so as not to offend people. I think I may have broken all 10 out of ignorance.

Tackling my study

This week, my wife and I began the daunting task of organizing my study. My task? To decide which books I absolutely have to take with me to Germany, which to store, and which to throw out or pass along. I narrowed my essential books down to these two piles (see picture). The taller stack on the left is the books that will come in suitcases, in the shorter stack are the books I hope to read or re-read before our departure.

Then, once the study was organized, I was able to take some pictures of my desk. Unfortunately, it will not fit into a suitcase and is too big to be a carry on, so I’m going to list it on Craigslist.

Preparations

Greetings to you from the world’s most inconsistent blogger! I thought I’d tell you a little about what life is like for us as we prepare to move in a month-and-a-half. We are selling tons of stuff because we will move to Germany with 4 suitcases. Each additional suitcase would have cost an extra $230. So, as you can imagine, yard sales and Craigslist are our best friends right now.

 Here, Hannah Joy is celebrating the completion of another succesful yard sale yesterday (Saturday) afternoon. Thanks to all of you who came and bought stuff! And while we’re on the topic of Hannah Joy, let me brag on her a little bit. People often ask how she’s handling the prospect of moving to Germany, to a country where she does not even know the language. She is thrilled. Hannah Joy has always dreamed of living overseas, so for her this is a dream-come-true. And the thought of selling everything we own is a bit daunting, but we have been anticipating this for several years. All of our clothes come from thrift stores and yard sales, as well as just about everything else we own. Hannah Joy and I were talking last night about how this process gives us a reminder that stuff is just that . . . stuff. Replaceable. Anyways, my wife is incredibly supportive, and thrilled to be moving overseas. She is pretty amazing!

Several items that sold on Craigslist were hard to let go of, including:

This aloe plant that has kept me company at work. I have been growing it for about 4 years now.

I also parted with my Vintage Peugeot bike. But by far, one of the most difficult things to leave behind will be my dog, Sophie. She is a part of the family. My wife and I got her when she was just a few weeks old, when we had just gotten married. We’ve had her for close to 5 years now. She isgreat with the baby. Although Germany is very pet friendly, we are not able to bring Sophie because the housing we have arranged does not allow dogs. I am sure I will weep when I say goodbye to Sophie. I am almost in tears now as I write this.

But, on a brighter note, things are coming together for us as our moving date approaches. We even bought our plane tickets. We fly out of Atlanta on August 3rd and arrive in Munich on August 4th. I can only imagine what the flight is going to be like with a 1-year-old! We will spend the month of July with family, which we are extremely excited about. And we are having some special times here in Louisburg in the meantime. Last week Melody got to pick strawberries for her first time. She loved the whole experience, as the pictures below will demonstrate. We anticipate a trip to my Nana’s in a couple of weeks. Then my younger sister will spend a week with us in June, yeah!!! And as I mentioned, we will be with family during July. Hopefully by the end of July, our family’s will be so tired of us that they will be begging us to leave the country!

I continue to work like crazy on practicing German. I received a big compliment last week. My conversation partner, who usually offers a steady stream of corrections, paused and said, “Andy, your German is really improving.” German has even started making its way into my dreams, but usually as soon as it does I wake up in a cold sweat. I continue to practice the language daily, and plan on only communicating in German once the plane lands in Munich on August 4.

Well, that’s about all that’s new on our end. Please pray that we will be able to sell both of our cars before our move (we have a 1990 corolla-$2,400, and a 1996 Buick-$2,900). I’m going to try to be more regular in my blogging. In the meantime, enjoy our pictures from the strawberry patch. 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

The Bowdens are Moving

Dear friends and family,

We want to keep you informed about some exciting developments in our family. We will be moving to Germany this summer! We hope to arrive in Germany in early August, but we may arrive earlier depending on details. We then plan on living in Germany for at least three years. We will make our home in the city of Munich, which is in the German State of Bavaria and in the foothills of the Alps. Munich, the third largest city in Germany with a population of 1.42 million, is famous for being the home of the BMW automobile, the home of Oktoberfest, and for making some of the best sausage in the world. Housing is extremely hard to come by in Munich, but we have been fortunate to find an apartment with a Christian housing community called the Collegium.

We plan on staying in Munich for at least three years. During this time Andy will work on his Doctorate of Theology at the University of Munich (LMU). This school is one of the leading research universities in Europe, with a more than 500-year-long tradition. It is consistently ranked as one of the top 100 universities in the world and has more than 45,000 students in attendance. In his dissertation, which will be supervised by Professor David du Toit, Andy will examine the Apostle Paul’s concept of desire. Hannah-Joy will be busy taking care of Melody (and Andy), learning the German language, and possibly working part-time as a nanny.

Why Germany? There are several reasons we are eager to move to Germany. We love to travel and experience new cultures. We have always dreamed of living overseas. Moreover, there are several benefits for Andy getting his doctorate in Europe: there is no cost of tuition in Germany—school is free; the doctoral programs last for three years, as opposed to five or six years in the states; a doctoral degree from Germany or from Europe is considered more prestigious, opening more doors for Andy to teach once he graduates.

What are we doing right now to prepare? Between now and the end of July we are preparing for our big move. We are beginning to sell things on Craigslist and at yard sales. Basically everything we own must go: cars, furniture, clothes, etc. Whatever we take to Germany will have to fit in a couple of suit cases. Our plan is to be finished with our yard sales, packed, and moved out of our house by the end of June. This will allow us to spend the month of July with family. Hannah-Joy will not teach this summer, and Andy’s last day at the bank will be at the end of June. We are also trying diligently to learn the German language. Andy will have to pass a German competency exam before he begins studies in September; much of Hannah-Joy and Melody’s knowledge of the language will come when we arrive.

We wanted to keep you informed of our exciting news. We also ask that you would keep us in your prayers throughout this process. Here are some of the ways you can pray:

• Pray that everything leading up to our move this summer will go smoothly (saying our goodbyes, selling off our stuff, leaving our jobs, etc).
• Pray that we will successfully learn the German language.
• Pray that all of our financial needs will be met—that a grant or research position will open for Andy and that a part-time nanny position will open for Hannah-Joy.
• Most importantly, pray that we will have wisdom on how to live as missionaries in Germany. We don’t just want to treat this as an academic endeavor or as one big adventure, but are asking God to use us as a light in this very dark land. Germany is by all means a mission field. For example, only 25% of the population believes in God. Among this 25% are those from various religions. Those who consider themselves Christian often do so simply because they were brought up in church, or are mildly religious. We recently saw a statistic saying that 95% of Germans believe in evolution. Germans on the whole are wealthy, successful, and career oriented. So this gives you a picture of the type of culture we will be seeking to influence for the gospel. Pray that Andy will have many opportunities among the students with whom he will interact, that Hannah-Joy will be able to meet other mothers, and that together we will have many opportunities at the Collegium where we’ll be living.

If everything goes according to plan, we will arrive in Germany in August. We want you to know that you have a standing invitation to come see us. We’ll eagerly welcome visitors any time. We understand that for most of you a trip to Germany is unrealistic. But please keep in touch with us. We can only imagine how much we are going to miss you and how homesick we’ll be. Regular emails/Skype chats or any other form of communication will be heartily welcomed. And we’ll plan on sending out regular updates about our adventure. Please let us know if you would like to receive these updates. Also, we will be providing regular updates on our bowdenblog. So, as the Germans say:

 

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,

Andy, Hannah-Joy, and Melody.

Setbacks

I’ve been regularly posting things about Germany and my family’s plans to move to Munich to begin doctoral studies. And as I’ve already mentioned, the University is planning on me matriculating in September and beginning my research in October. The only thing I was waiting on was a decision from the DAAD, a scholarship that I hoped would cover my family’s living expenses. Sadly, I received word from the DAAD this week that I did not receive the scholarship. And today I found out that my professor’s plans of offering me a paid research position have fallen through. So, for some reason several doors are closing related to Germany. This does not mean that we will not be going, only that we are looking into other funding possibilities and that our plans will likely be delayed. Everything is in God’s hands; if He wants our family to move there, then it will happen; if He is closing the doors permanently, then so be it. I ask for your prayers and that God will make his will clear for my family.

Things I’ll miss most

I don’t think I’ve officially announced on my blog that I have been accepted for doctoral studies at the University of Munich, Germany. A few weeks ago I received an official acceptance letter stating that I should matriculate in March and begin studies in April (their semesters are a little different than here). I quickly responded and said that March was a little too early; thankfully the school was fine bumping back my matriculation date to September. This gives us a little time to sell everything we own, except what we can fit into suitcases, for me to possibly take an intensive summer language course, and for us to get settled overseas. We also are awaiting word from a scholarship-stipendium, which, if not received, will delay our plans by a few months.

With this in mind, I couldn’t help but feel a bit nostalgic as I was watching the Superbowl Sunday night with a bunch of church-friends, munching on food, and cheering for the Giants. I couldn’t help but think, “I really enjoy this every year!” And then I thought, “This’ll be one thing I really miss when I move to Germany.” I’ve been going to Superbowl parties since I was a kid. The first one I can remember was when the ‘Skins won in 1991 — I was 7. To me the games are always memorable, but even more so is the camaraderie of watching a game with friends. I did boycott the Superbowl a couple of years when Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction occurred. They say that the Superbowl will be available next year online, so maybe there will be some Germans interested in finding out what a Superbowl party is like.

Other things I’ll miss when I’m overseas:

• living in driving distance to family.
• my church family at Union View. Sure, we’ll get involved in a church in Munich, but we’ll miss everyone here.
• having a car; we’ll only use public transit in Munich
• mild winters. This week it is 3 degrees Fahrenheit at night and 15 degrees during the day in Munich.