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Shares experiences of life in GermanyTo the Editor:For the past three years, I’ve wanted towrite an article about what it is like livingin West Germany. Today, I’m writing that article and telling the friends and people I grew up with what it is like livingin a foreign country,In August 1978, my husband, an Air Force Staff Sergeant, left for West Germany on an assignment for 4 years. I left my family and friends seven weeks later to join him in a country 1 wasn’t sure Iwanted to live in.In Oct. 1978. I arrived in Germany and right away I could tell the huge differences in the two countries. This country is old, quiet and leads a much more slow, relaxedpace of life.I arrived at the apartment my husband had rented for us to live in. It was in the small village (about 3,000 people) called Winnweiler. The apartment was on the third floor and was real old and in need ofrepair. We lived in that apartment for 20 months, before moving into base housing last year.During the months we lived on the German economy, we learned a lot of things about the people, the money, the language and many small but important things about Germany, that would become a part of our lives These are the things I’d like to share with you.THE PEOPLE—The German peopleare usually friendly, cheerful and helpful. They are hard workers, but often slow about repairing broken objects. They live by the philosophy “There’s always tomorrow.” A lot of Germans live to be quite old, because they lead a slow paced, relaxed lifestyle, unlike the hectic rat race the Americans lead.THE MONEY—Money can be a big problem until you figure it out. 1 wemG LADY- 5TUD1E5 SHOWRAISE A CHILDFOR FOOD!tG! *fe,000 FOR.ETC.!!!TO SAY•IWI Carter Not tm+mGUESS SOMETIMESOUST HAVE TO PUTTHESE THINGS INTOPERSPECTIVEejoydiesshopping in Winnweiler one day and that’s how I figured it out. It’s much like the American dollars and cents. The West German money is the German Mark and pfenigs. The marks come in paper money of 5,10,20, 50,100, 500 notes, etc. The mark also come in coins—1,2, and 5. The pfenigs come only in coins and they are 1,2,5,10and 50Almost all Americans buy German Marks to pay rent, utilities or just to go shopping on the economy. We have an exchange rate everyday during the week, that can and often does change daily. This exchange rate tells us how much the dollar is worth in Germany. This exchange rate tells us how much the dollar is worth in Germany. Today’s rate is 2 Marks 19 pfenigs per one American dollar. So, something costing 10 Marks today, would cost us $4.57.THE LANGl'AGE-Language can be ahard thing to cope with when you first gethere. 1 still don't speak the language well, but 1 can read some of it and understand a lot of what 1 hear. No matter how muchGerman you take in school, it’s not the same. There are some forms of German that can’t be understood in other parts of Germany. Most Germans, can speak a little English, since it is taught in their schools.Some of the things that are taken for granted in the United States aren’t taken for granted here. Our gas is rationed for our car. We are alloted 400 liters of gas per month. That’s about 100 gallons. The gas prices range from $1.30 to $1.40 a gallon We are also rationed coffee, cigarettes and hard liquor. It sounds terrible to be rationed all this stuff, but we aren’t in the U.S., so we must live by the laws of this country. It’s not that bad,really.Now let’s look at what we get to do and see and buy. We live within driving distance of about a dozen countries. We can buy china, crystal, rugs, stereo equipment, camera equipment and many other items for a fraction of the cost that itis in the States. We have the opportunity to become friends with Germans and learntheir customs. It’s definitely been a good experience living here and I wouldn't trade it for anything.The major products of West Germany are cars, beers and roads. The cars that are built in Germany are the Volkswagen. Opel and Mercedes. These you see a lot of, besides many other foreign made cars Almost every major village makes its own beer; some are quite popular There are numerous beers, each unique in taste And there are countless narrow, winding roads, especially in the mountainous areas.known for its11’salins.lealofstan?dSaturday on the Lovejoy farm east of Princeton. The farm house was famous as a station on the ‘‘Underground Railroad” in pre-Civil War days.100 YEARS AGO In Arlington last Friday afternoon, as awestbound freight train arrived at theswitch west of the station, a brake beammanaged to get under the wheels of a car,throwing them off the track and resultingin a pile-up of ten cars or more, blockingboth main tracks. The wreck caused adelay of several hours as trains were heldup in Mendota until the tracks could becleared.Also, Germany is Autobahns These highways are similar to the Interstate system in the States, with one big exception. There is no speed limit!The climate of Germany is cool and rainy most of the time. Winters are not very cold and summers never hot To me, the prettiest season of the year is autumn, with all the millions of trees in full color If anyone is interested in our locaton in West Germany, we are located at Sem-bach Air Base about 6 miles north of Kaiserslautern or 75 miles southwest of Frankfurt. We will be here for another 9 months, then we return to the United States for our next assignment.I’m sure we’ll both miss our experience living in a foreign country, but we’ll be glad to be back in the United States.Sincerely,Mrs. Pam (Gibbs) HortonSembach Air Base, West Germany(Editor’s Note — Mrs. Horton is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs, Stanton Gibbs, Rt. 2. Princeton. She graduated from Princeton High School in 1970.)Inspiration for LivingPlan now for theChristmas seasonlend teamthebrushed them aside.”Only once in the second half did SouthBy MADGE E. KELLEY Now is the time to prepare for theChristmas season, so one may experiencethe real spirit of the holiday.Plan your days to allow enough time for the extra holiday demands of shopping, decorating the house, wrapping parcels and addressing cards. Some of your usual daily tasks may have to be set aside.If you find yourself working up a frenzy,
Newspaper Details
Princeton Bureau County Republican
Princeton, Illinois, US
Thu, Dec 03, 1981
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 14 Jul 2020
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