Lis and Tyler in Germany

We have some major accomplishments to report:

1. We are the proud bearers of SOFA stamps, which will allow us to extend our stay in Germany.  Because I wasn’t able to get a Visa through my job (I’m too old), we had to get creative.  After many, many ideas and road blocks and MUCH ado, Tyler secured a job at the army base.  This provides us with permission to stay in Germany as long as he’s working there, and then when he quits it’s as if we’ve just arrived and we have another 90 days as tourists.

 2.  Tyler has a new job!  And a sweet uniform to go with.  Today is his first day of work.  I wanted to take a picture of him on his way in, but he wouldn’t allow it.  For some reason he’s not particularly proud to be the newest food service worker at the Ramstein Bowling Alley

3. We own a BMW!  We have to pass a driving test on Wednesday before we can drive, so we’ll close the deal then, but we picked it out and shook on it, so things should go through.

the fine print: it’s a 1991, and a bit of a beater.  But it has get-up-and-go and we’re hoping it will be reliable in getting us from here to there.

 This may not seem like much, but accomplishing any one of these things here is quite a feat.  The military seems to be full of hoops to jump through, rules, and an amazing number of catch-22′s.  For example, to work on the base you must have an ID card (for which you must provide them with a complete record of your history, including a list every single place you’ve lived in the last seven years and two people, with middle names, addresses and phone numbers, for EACH location, who can varify that you lived there) and SOFA stamp.  To get an ID card and SOFA stamp, you must have a job.  As soon as you get a SOFA stamp, you cannot drive any car anywhere in Germany until you’ve passed the base’s driving test, which you can’t take until you have an ID card.  So, here’s the rediculous situation you inevitably find yourself in: To get a job, you need an ID card, to get an ID card, you need a job.  Then, if you pass that first test, you finally have a new job to which you cannot get yourself.  Neither Tyler or I can drive, so Miriam or Thomas has to drive Tyler to and from work until he can get his license on Wednesday.  BUT, they are Germans and must be accompanied by their “sponsor” (an American with an ID card) the entire time they’re on the base.  So sure, they could bring Tyler to work, but then wouldn’t be able to leave the base legally without him escorting them out.  What is a guy to do? I could go on and on with examples, but it makes my head spin just to try to explain it.  It seems impossible, but it’s actually the way it works (or doesn’t…).