Pick-A-Day

June 2010
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Feeling Fragile

It’s hard to explain but I am really feeling fragile right now.

I think that I’m back to square one on my apartment search, plus I need to acquire a ton of paperwork, including my Schufa—the German equivalent of a credit report. To get that I need to get my Meldebescheinigung from some office somewhere because I have no idea where my original is.

The good news is that I found my Sozialversicherungsausweis – my social insurance card—something I got awhile back, put in a drawer, and promptly forgot that I owned.

However I have a list of 12 things that I need to provide before my employment starts. Some are easy, just time consuming, like getting a photograph. I also need to get a Health Certificate – so off to the doctor’s office I go tomorrow. Of the 12 items, 1 is irrelevant, two are separate documents in Germany but are one document in the United States.

This is the moment where I wish I had a husband/boyfriend who could talk me through this whole process—decent moral support, preferably somebody who could navigate the whole apartment hunting crap: I was awful at it in the USA, and I’m even worse at it here. A husband/boyfriend who could talk me off the proverbial cliff when I am feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.

Really I like being single most of the time, just not right now.

7 comments to Feeling Fragile

  • v4us

    All will be OK. I know this feeling. You have friends, and you can relay on their support. Just let life to go forward.

  • jen

    very true. I totally understand where you are at and it is nice to have someone to help you through things like this. but then, when you’re back on top and off the ledge and the apartment is found and you’re moved in, you have to compromise on where to put the silverware and how often you must vacuum and where do the shoes go.

    I have often thought that it might be nice to co-opt spouses, like a time share. you need a partner to help you through a limited period of time, NO PROBLEM.

    Perhaps a rent-to-marriage option too.

  • Ah, the joys of being an expat in Europe and trying to get anything accomplished in a reasonable time and manner. Maybe the Cosmos is hinting at a entrepreneurial opportunity?

  • I am breaking into a sweat just reading about all that German bureaucracy. On the other hand, congrats about the job and the move to Berlin. That all sounds great!

  • B.

    I can sympathize with most of this. Finding our flat was a nightmare, with lots of false starts and letdowns. We’ve also just now finished wading though all the red tape… it really is a long, tedious process. And doing it alone must increase the stress tenfold.

    That said, here we are a few months on, happily ensconced in a great apartment and completely legal with all our paperwork in order.

    You’ll get there… just cut yourself plenty of slack during the process.

  • I’ve been away and am just catching up on everything that’s been going on for you! Congratulations on your new job. Berlin is going to be awesome after all these sucky bits are over. And they WILL be over. Take care and good luck.

  • Anything I can do to help, just say the word!