First impressions.

Isn't Facebook wonderful?  You can find out who'll be somewhere ahead of time and try and get to know people.  Sometimes you even want to.  The trouble is that you only have a few words in a certain context to form an impression from.  So when the first contact you have with someone is them telling you that the place you're very thankful to be living is "crap" with a comforting "ha ha" it doesn't do much to make you think you want to spend more time getting to know them.
So lesson learnt:  Be unambiguously nice, as taking the risk could put people off you without meaning to.

The pre Deutschalnd to do list:

So with a little over 2 weeks left of preparation time I've finally written myself a list of thing I need to do.  It doesn't seem long but I'm sure that come the 16th of August I won't sleep a wink and will be having a big ol' stress about what I still need to do.
So here it is, as it stands:

• Reclaim my tax from HMRC
• make an appointment to collect my key in Konstanz
• find a German bank account and work out how to get money into it without paying a fortune
• Sew the rest of my badges onto my hoodie for Witan
• print off everything just in case.  
• Book flights
• Probably a stack of other things
• And one small word:  PACK...

Just like living in Paradies

So the last piece of the puzzle has fallen into place in the last week - I have somewhere to live in Konstanz, which will come in handy.  Its called Paradies, which does noting but get my hopes up.  The photos look good, although I hope that I get on with the one person I live with - could bee a bit awkward otherwise.
The challenge is now to work out what I need to take and see which bits I'm using for Witan in Switzerland the two weeks before.  Nice and complicated but I'm sure it'll pan out.  

Konstanz Calling

So I got my confirmation today - by email!  How efficient and hight tech.  It means that I now know that I was safe turning down the job at Amphenol and that hopefully I've given an opportunity to someone else.  It also means that I can start planning and organising.  I've got some more things to get straight before I can move.  Firstly some work experience, which will not only look good but fill my time, then, if I wasn't going to get enough travel and spoken German already, two weeks in Switzerland straight before I move is what I'm spending a lot of my time on at the moment.  Everything's in place now all I'm waiting on is the accommodation...

Das Timing...

So all's well and I'm sitting here waiting for my confirmation letter from Konstanz, except...  I've been offered a job - at Amphenol in Heidelbronn, north of Stuttgart.  No interview, just an email saying they had a place and would I like it?  If they'd one that two weeks earlier it'd be fine.  Now I'm pretty sure I'm tied in so I'll have to turn it down, which is frustrating but I suppose that's life.  I just want that confirmation letter.