Girlfriends

DAY 7 of “Chancellor Watch” – Clearly, Sundays are slow news days for these kinds of topics. Things are supposed to pick up next week and some type of progress is supposed to be made. TBD. Germans do seem a tad pessimistic on this one, as well as the German business markets and EU business analysts…

Lots of business trips and late nights at the office (Deloitte and EDS home office) of late. Other than work and the occasional weekend trips (which we do love and avail ourselves of at every opportunity), I am afraid we have been quite the boring people. This has created a bit of challenge on the “girlfriend front”.

In all seriousness, a rather big challenge for me right now is meeting some girlfriends. Although we have been here for about 6 months, we have had few opportunities to make any deep friendships, in part due to the hectic work week (which sometimes spills over into the weekends) and our business and pleasure travel schedule. We have located one English church, but summer traveling schedules for everyone has not allowed for any connections there. I know, summers are always a time when people are traveling with family, go home to the states, etc. We hope that will change and that we'll be able to meet some more folks this way.

I have also joined the American Women's Club in Düsseldorf in the hopes of connecting with some women as well, as I am finding that I do miss the girl-chat and GNOs (girls’ nights out). Many of the activities are designed for non-working women as you can imagine, and are scheduled during the day. Yes, I know this will not come as a shock, but most women are still the “trailing spouses” so they have lots of time on their hands and bit more flexibility, unlike me with a day job. For example, this coming week, the monthly coffee, the pumpkin patch shopping, and a few other events are planned as day activities. Sadly, I must opt out (not that the pumpkin patch shopping would really be high on my list, but the "meeting people” aspect would have drawn me in). There are also some evening events that I will check out, so I have not despaired yet.

Third new city…third new expat assignment…so this should not be anything new. Still, it can be hard to make those connections. And yes, as a working woman (with no kids), I can be the “proverbial square peg in a round hole”.

So, for all those girlfriends of mine out there reading this blog, know that you are thought of fondly on this day, and very much appreciated.