The Ferguson Four depart for Germany on August 1. For those of you dying to give us a ride to the airport, we're taking volunteers (wink,wink). I'm totally kidding. Sort of.
A few of you have asked for some additional details, so...here they are. Skip these 2 paragraphs if you're already bored of this lengthy post.
Germany by the numbers:
- · 0 – the number of times the Fergusons have been out of the country (well, to be completely accurate, John’s been to Canada and we went on a Caribbean cruise for our honeymoon 17 years ago, but our passports are brand new!)
- · 2nd – (August) – the day we arrive in Munich
- · 11 – hours of “flight time” from DFW to Munich.
- · 24 – hours the local clock will advance while we travel
- · 2 – the number of years we’ll spend there
- · 2015 – Summer, year when we return to the US
- · 1 – months we hope it takes us to find a place to live!
- · 1, 3.5, 7, 10 – hours’ drive to the Alps, Frankfurt, Paris and Rome (respectively)
- · 2 – grades the kids will complete in Germany (5th and 6th for David, Kinder and 1st for Katherine)
- · 17 – the century in which the kids’ school building was built (it’s a castle!)
- · 20th – (August) the day the kids start school
- · 1 – the number of languages we hope to learn – just German!
- · 6 – millions of people that descend on Munich during the traditional Oktoberfest!
We are moving with TI (my job). I will be transitioning our Central European Accounting function from France to Germany. We will live either just outside or on the outskirts of Munich. The kids will attend a private, international school. It is an English-speaking school, although it's British English. The kids are both really excited about the adventure. The whole family is currently using Rosetta Stone to start learning some German; although we know that immersion will help more than anything. John will be the "Home CEO" while we're there as it's very difficult to obtain a work Visa in Europe. He's planning to shuttle the kids around, blog, social network, plan our weekend vacations, cook, etc. Well, okay, maybe not that last one, we'll see. I’m sure he’ll fit some golf in as well. All in all, he's making huge sacrifices for our family to be able to take this opportunity and we're all so grateful for his generosity!
For those of you that are on Facebook, I believe we're friends, but for those of you that aren't, I wanted to let you know how we can keep in touch while we're gone. John has assured me that our home phone number will work in Germany. Something about IP and the internet...I don't really understand all that. My Gmail email address will work as will my TI email address. John's Gmail will still work, but his work address won't. Our cell phones will *not* work there. We will get new cell phones there, but obviously, that will be an international call. I'm not sure how texting works, but we'll cross that bridge. At least for now, Facebook Messenger, Gmail, or Google Hangout is the best way to get in touch. I also have a Skype account. I'm not super-proficient at that, but I do have it. John has one too, but I don't know the name.
As I mentioned about John, he is planning to keep social media updated with our adventures. I imagine Facebook will be the primary means, but he will keep a blog as well for you non-Facebookers. Currently, he thinks he'll use this blog, but he might change it to a different platform. At a minimum, he'll note here where his new one is, so you can follow if you're interested. My only rule - you have to comment *some*, otherwise you're a stalker and that's weird :-).
Feel free to ask questions or give us your thoughts/rumors/ideas about Munich, Bavaria, Germany, expat-ing, etc. We're all ears! I feel like we're as prepared as we can be, but we know there will be bumps along the way.
We will miss you all terribly, so please keep in touch! Two years will fly by and we'll be back before you know it!
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