Darein, daraus.

Monday/February 8 was a bit disappointing. I had to work my hour in the morning. I was still exhausted and fighting off a cold, so I went back to sleep. I had intended on sleeping another two hours, but ended up sleeping another four. I guess my body was still recovering from the weekend. I then went to the Ordnungsamt. Last Thursday I got the translation of my drivers license in the mail. I had to take the translation to the Ordnungsamt to turn it in so I could get a German drivers license. I didn't make it to the office until around 2:30pm and they closed at 3:30pm. Luckily the wait wasn't long and I only had to wait about 20ish minutes until my number was called. I had no idea what I would need, so I brought a bunch of stuff with me: my proof of registration with the city, my insurance, my au pair contract, my passport/visa, etc. At first, the guy said I needed the proof of registration from the first place I registered in Germany, which would have been in Mainz back in April 2014. Naturally I didn't have it with me and it would be a long time until I could get a hold of it. The guy went and talked to someone and then said, no, that was fine, I didn't need it. Instead, the only things I actually needed were my passport/visa, the translation, 36€, and a passport photo. Of course, I didn't have a spare passport photo with me. I said I'd have to come back later. I then went to the bank to exchange some korunas (currency from the Czech Republic) that my dad had sent me in the mail. It was left over from our trip to Prague and he had no use for it. Lastly, I went to Gravis, the store who was fixing my computer. When I dropped my computer off to get fixed, they told me it would take two weeks. I got an email from them the day I dropped it off with a link to check the status of the repair. Up until the previous Thursday, the link said nothing. On Thursday, it had finally changed and said the computer repair was successful. I should have also gotten an email telling me that I could go and pick up the computer, but no email came. I decided that I would go and ask on Monday. When I got to the store, I explained what happened. The clerk told me that I should have gotten an email about it. He checked in the system for me and saw that my computer was indeed finished. The entire display half had to be replaced. It ended up costing 50€ less than they quoted me, though it was still nearly two months of my salary. I was thrilled to have it back. The last two weeks without it had been frustrating. Yes, I can do mostly everything I need on my phone. However, there are many things I prefer on my computer. I find things like transferring money and watching Netflix much better on the large screen. After running my three errands, I went home. I had dinner with the host family. I was originally supposed to go to a huge Fasching party that night with Johnny and Fiona, but they both cancelled. I spent the night catching up on tv shows and talking on the phone with friends.

Tuesday morning was busy. I worked an hour in the early morning, showered, ate, and then left the house. I went back to the Ordnungsamt, this time with everything I needed, so I could get my drivers license taken care of. The wait was shorter and the whole thing took about 30 minutes. I paid my 36€, handed over the paperwork and my American drivers license, and signed on the dotted line. I have to go back in three to four weeks to pick up my new German drivers license, as well as my American drivers license. I am permitted to drive in Germany for the next two years. After that, I'll have to take a driving test. Not a bad deal, I don't think. I spent the next couple of hours walking around town. I eventually went home when it started to rain. I spent the rest of the afternoon cooking lunch and relaxing. I'd been glued to my computer since getting it back and I had many tv shows to catch up on.  I ate dinner with my host family before heading out to meet up with Simon for a drink. We went to one of the new bars I went to last week and chatted for the next two hours. I came home around 10:30pm.

Wednesday was as lazy as lazy gets. I worked an hour in the morning and then immediately went back to bed. I'd been fighting a cold since Saturday. It was significantly worse on Monday and Tuesday, and only appeared to be getting worse when I woke up on Wednesday. I suppose my body was needing as much rest as possible because I slept another 3.5 hours once everyone left the house. I woke up again at noon. The rest of the day was a blur of Netflix, laying in bed, and eating. I did manage to shower, do my laundry, and skype with my brother, the only three productive things to come out of the day. HM got home with the kids about the normal time and HD followed soon after. Since HP are both home this week and HM's mom is also here, there isn't much need for me in the evenings. Four adults and two children isn't exactly balanced. Wednesday did happen to be HM's mom's birthday. We celebrated with cake for breakfast and had döner for dinner. I wanted to go out and see some friends in the evening, but no one was free. It wasn't such a bad thing, as I was still exhausted and HP instructed me that morning to get healthy.

Thursday wasn't much better than Wednesday. I worked an hour in the morning, went back to sleep, and then got up again around 11. I actually had some chores to do, which I took care of pretty quickly. I then cooked lunch, showered, and made my way into town. I didn't have anything specific to do and I also didn't want to spend money, so I just wandered around downtown. I sat inside one of the cathedrals for awhile. I considered walking up to the castle, but I was too lazy. I eventually went home. I spent the evening being a lazy bum and watching Netflix. I was still fighting a bit of a cold, and I figured being lazy would help me get healthy quicker.

I'm beginning to get quite frustrated about my home and my work being the same. Most days it's tolerable, but some days I just want to pull my hair out. Most people come home from work and are able to take off their "work face" and get comfortable. I do not have such an option. When my host family is at school/work during the day, I'm able to relax without interruption. However, during nights and weekends, even when I'm not technically working, I always have to have my "work face" on. I have to be on my very best behavior. It gets exhausting, physically and mentally, to constantly say and do the right thing at the right time.  It's especially frustrating when one of my host parents is in a bad mood and they have been rude to me. It takes everything in me to just shut up and let it go. It's even worse when I'm in a bad mood and I have to smile and be pleasant. I guess that's why I like spending so much time out of the house. You could say that's when I feel most like myself here, when I'm out with friends or even just walking around alone. I sometimes feel bad for spending so much of my free time away from them, but that's just how I'm going to be able to survive the week without losing it.