Today was a pleasantly eventful day, and we didn't even intend it to be. First, I received an e-mail from my exchange coordinator here saying that she had some paperwork that I needed. Getting paperwork it normally hardly something to get excited about, let alone enough to inspire a blog post. But this paperwork will allow us to register with the city so that we're good and legal, and also get us health insurance from the state. The reason this is good news is because Germany is so wonderfully socialist in just the right places. Now, Germany is not a socialist country, but it has a social government, like you Republicans out there love to see (yeah right). There's something to be said about socialized health care. As the current situation in the US has proven, Capitalism and health care are not the most fitting of bedfellows. This isn't to say that a completely socialized health care system doesn't have its (also major) flaws, but at least virtually all people are insured here, which is a lot more than the land south of Canada can say. The reason I'm lauding the virtues of the social state we're living in is because this means that for about €350 a semester (or €700 for the duration of our stay), we can have prenatal visits, deliver a baby, stay in the hospital for 5 or 6 nights afterward, get all the check-ups we need, get medication, and sleep soundly, knowing that we will be taken care of in case of any accident. Last I checked, private health insurance in America can't do that for even $478/month (that's €350. I'll exchange Euros to Dollars at the current rate to give any idiot supporters of the current insurance farce in the States the benefit of the doubt). By the way, for that per semester cost, our whole family is covered, even the coming baby. That's right, the cost doesn't go up. I'm rambling, but I just wanted to convey my excitement on finding out today that we will be coming home with at least $6000 less debt than we would have were it not for my eligibility for public insurance here.
After this good news, we ran into our landlord-to-be, who informed us that the previous tenant would be dropping off the key today, so we get to move in tomorrow! We are ecstatic! We can't wait to take all 6 suitcases of our life into our new apartment and finally settle in to our HOME!! We're sick of temporary arrangements. Granted, this is also temporary, but 11 months is a lot better than 3 weeks here and 4 weeks there and looking forward to the accompanying luggage hauling.
Oh yeah, I apparently get one month more of my Baden-Württemberg scholarship, and my exchange coordinator is trying to convince the state and school to give us 6 more months of the stipend. Even if we don't get the extra 6 months, the extra 1 month is nice. We can pay rent with cash!
The attentive reader will notice that I haven't necessarily addressed the "accomplishments" so proudly written in the title of this post. This is Micah's accomplishment. Yes, he craps in the toilet. Now, it's not a regular feat, but it has occured on two occasions, and his progress is promising. He tells us now when he needs to produce a bowel movement, after which he assumes the position, with varying success. So, for his future embarrasment, out of our pride as parents, and because we haven't posted a picture of anything for a while now, here he is, in all his toddler glory.
2 comments:
Ha ha...I love that picture of Mikah! You can pull that picture out in his teen years to show to his dates. That's awesome with the insurance too. Even with good insurance (Brooke works for select health), we still have to pay about $1500 in medical bills for doctor's visits and the hospital stay, not to mention the monthly payments for the insurance. I'm all for socialized healthcare.
Good job Mikah! And might I add, that toilet is lovely. I'm sure it inspires all sorts of bowel movements.
Make sure you send me pictures of the pornstar bed.
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