My name is Kelly and I am an American housewife turned German Hausfrau. In August of 2012, my husband Matt and I sold our home in the mountains of Utah and moved over 8,000 miles to the rolling hills of Germany with our four children and our dog. We lived in Heidelberg for a year, Wiesbaden for another 18 months, and we now call a small village near the town of Ansbach in the Franconian area of Bavaria home.
Here is a list of the cast of characters -
Matt - American born German. Love of my life.
Alexander - 16 year old perfectionist. Says fiddlesticks a lot.Ashlenne - 14 year old going on 24. Sneaks my stash of chocolate.
Aidan - 13 year old stand up comic. Sneaks his sister's math homework.
Andre - 9 year old love bug. Has a freckle named Billy Bob.
The title of this blog, Maybe Too Blonde, comes from the fact that while I consider myself an intelligent person, somehow I always manage to get myself lost, say the wrong thing, or not see the absolute obvious that is right in front of me. I suggested to someone once that maybe I wasn't as smart as I thought. They said "No, you are smart. But you are also a blonde." I choose to take that as a compliment.
I recently got an email that said I should try to be more respectful of European culture. What? Do I come off as disrespectful in my posts? Well, if I do, that is not how I am out in town. I do try to write about our travels with humor. At this point we have seen 20 countries and I feel that my family and I have done our best to be respectful and kind and to blend in. So much so that we are often approached and asked questions by other natives of the cities we are visiting. They are always surprised when we answer them in English and tell them we are American. I guess I just want it to be known that being respectful and experiencing the true culture of a country or city is always first and foremost our goal, regardless of how I write about it afterward.
We are loving our time in Germany and making the absolute most out of it by trying to see as much as we possibly can in Germany, and around Europe. In fact, Matt and I made it a goal to see every country in Europe while we are here. Find links to these posts on the right sidebar under Where We've Been In Europe. For German travels look for Exclusively Deutschland .
While my husband and I are both American by birth, my husband was born to German immigrant parents who arrived in America shortly before he was born. He speaks German and has spent a lot of time over in Germany visiting family and traveling. He is a German in an American's body. I, on the other hand, am as American as white bread. I speak no German other than the phrases I have memorized*. Read about that here. Makes for a good but awkward time.
* I am currently in the process of learning German. Like, REALLY learning it. I am using Rosetta Stone, a separate workbook, and planning some classes for this summer. I can now get along pretty good at restaurants and most stores. I am working on past and future tense right now.
This blog originally started in 2010, while my husband was in the Middle East, as a way to keep him updated on our lives back home and to just write about funny things. When we moved to Germany, the blog morphed into an expat/travel journal.
I love to make new connections with people and hear their point of view about their experiences. I welcome and encourage and beg for feedback, emails, and comments. Let's talk!
As much as I love it here, it has also been hard, see the right hand side bar for posts on Living A German Life. I left an amazing group of family and friends back in the States who I miss absolutely. Come and visit!
And last, but certainly not least, the last thing you should know about me is that I believe in happiness. I believe in love. I believe in finding humor in everyday life. I believe in seeing as much of the world as your feet and wallet can take you. Happy travels my friends!
