Waiting for the sunshine, standing in the rain

It seriously rained at least once a day for the first week of my adventure.
Monday I applied for my work visa. That was fun...
Tuesday I got a tour around Braunschweig. This kind lady from church was my tour guide, and we had a great time. Sadly the Allies bombed down 90% of Braunschweig back in WW2, so there aren't many old buildings left. There are many old churches though. I got to go in this one church that's about 900 years old. That's something you don't get to see in America! Braunschweig is really a cool city, and I'm glad I'll be spending the next year of my life here.
That evening, I got to go to Institute, which is a church meeting for people ages 18-30. During the summer, it's an hour away in Hannover. The church is on the outskirts of the city, so I didn't get to see much. I met another Au Pair who is staying in Hannover. It's good to have someone to talk to!
What I really miss about living on my own is my independence. I used to be able to go anywhere, at anytime, and had plenty of friends around. But since I've moved in with a family that has small children, I don't have quite the freedom. No car, not even a bike yet...
Friday, the children got their report cards. The school year finally ended! To celebrate, we went to Pizza Hut. It's a lot nicer here in Europe. I don't think Europeans would put up with the cheap, dingy look of the ones I've been to in America. But really, I was quite shocked at the upgrade. They had really nice appetizers and all sorts of stuff you could get on your pizza. In Germany, you eat everything with fork and knife, even pizza. I wanted nothing more than to pick up a slice of greasy pizza, but alas, I had to fork-and-knife it. On the bright side, it was the first day without so much as a drizzle.
Saturday was my day off. I got to go to the mall. I really needed to buy a watch, since I don't have a cell phone over here. Luckily my iPod has an alarm clock on it... I ran around the shopping areas without even seeing a watch. Then I went into a store called New Yorker (aint that funny?) and found my watch and a cool shirt.
Next post: Daytipping to Berlin :)