Today I want to write about something I wouldn't have thought of some weeks ago. It is not the easiest thing to get health insurance... in Germany!!! That might sound strange for some people but let me tell you the story. Since the problem is solved I can kind of feel amused about it (but just kind of)
When my girlfriend came to Germany to do a masters program here in Berlin she was required to get at least the state health insurance for student which is 70 euro a month. Since she was covered under her mothers amazing health plan in the US she opted out of the German states health insurance and did not have to pay anything. She had to sign a paper which said that as long as she is still a student she will never be able again to get under the German state health plan. Her mother's plan covered everything even here in Germany. She never went to a doctor here, she just did that at home during the summers and the christmas breaks when she was in the USA. Thanks to President Obama this family coverage was extended for one year untill her 26th birthday. Well, she turned 26 at the end of june and since she is still a student untill october, we started in may to look for private coverage here in Germany. One could say that this was a bit late but we asked like 10 different companies and they all send us some offers. How convenient the cheapest offer was from a guy just one block away from our apartment. So we went there. It was still 145 Euro for the female student plan but my girlfriend was willing to pay for it since she saved a lot of money during the last 3 years.
The first setback accured when the insurance guy asked her for her residence permit. The insurance policies require a 2 years validity. Hers is just valid for 1,5 years. Well, this very helpful guy (exception) came up with a crazy idea which is totally legal but a bit strange. I applied as the policyholder but my girlfriend would be the insured person. 3 days later the guy called us and told us the result: He was very sorry but his insurance denied coverage since another requirement of private insurers is a existing health insurance that meets the german standards. Her mothers plan wouldn't meet these standards and she should have never gotten her residence permit. His insurance would cover her but she would have to pay the normal rate for her age 250 Euro per month (not the student rate) and she would have to pay for the last years (250 every month for 3 years= 9.000 Euro). This would be like it with all the other private insurance companies. Well, of course we did not take this plan (we can't afford it !!!) I thanked the guy for his work since he was really sorry about his insurance decision. I couldn't believe that every private insurance would say the same. Well, I was wrong on this. Every single one came up with the same thing. So I called the state health insurance company AOK and told them about the problem. Since she might get a job here in October anyway and everyone has to have health care there should be a way to get in. They said they are very sorry but she opted out and that is the law. No coverage!!!! At one point my girlfriend almost started to freak out. We felt like a hamster in a wheel. This mess could have caused serious problems for her university degree. The state insurances don't take her the private ones don't take her for other reasons. We both were really stressed. We didn't know what to do. To call the Ausländeramt and get to her again like in january that of course it was all my girlfriend fault to get her residence permit renewed because she must have tricked the Beamtin with her invalid health plan. We dreamed (a nightmare of course) about the Beamtin telling her: For this you have to suffer and pay a fine to the state and if you don't take the private plan offered i will through you out of Germany!!!!. No we did not call the Ausländeramt to ask what we could do??? The sad thing was wherever I called they told me: Sorry this is a very special problem, i cant help you. You have to take the offered private plan. My gf was really depressed and stressed: Why does Germany make it so hard for me to be here and why doesn't anyone help me??? Well sadly I could not give her an answer. For a week we didn't know what to do and just kind of ousted the problem.
Since her birthday was coming up we had to find a solution. After a 3 hours research on the internet she found a number where she asked me to call the next morning. I did and told them the problematic situation. I expected the normal german reaction: Well, you foolish deficient human beeing if she was so stupid to not get the states student plan when she came here she has to suffer now. (This is the summary of what we got to hear the weeks before.) But surprisingly she said: Yes, sure. She can be covered. She has to fill out the online formular and than it is 70 euro per month and she is covered. I was totally surprised and asked like 3 times if this is true. I could not believe it after all these failures. Could it be that easy??? and also cheap??? Long story short: YES IT IS!!!!. My girlfriend has a valid insurance and just in case someone else has the same problem i send you a link to the plan. It is a special plan for foreign students here in Germany. It could have been a lot easier than it was if you would find help at the university or at other places. It was kind of luck that we found this place.
Freitag, 8. Juli 2011
Samstag, 18. Juni 2011
Vienna, Budapest & Bursitis
The last month was really quite eventful. My girlfriend's mother and her life partner came to visit. Since my girlfriend came over to Germany it became a tradition for them to stay in Berlin for 2 weeks in may. This time we did a little trip through europe with a rental car and since I was the only one able to drive stick I had to do all the driving. We went to Vienna and Budapest and back to Berlin through Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Vienna was nice but I have to tell you that I am not such a great fan of the city. The spanish riding school was definitely the highlight. Otherwise the city feels kind of altmodisch (dated).
Budapest was wonderful. I really loved the city and the friendly people there. Everything was just wonderful (weather, food, etc.) For me Budapest has this metropolitan touch I sometimes miss in Berlin and which I also missed in Vienna. One reason might be the US-like sirens of the police cars and ambulances which still give me the thrill because for me this is the sound of American movies and therefore the sound of a fantasy world. When I was in New York for the first time it always felt like being part of a movie when a police car passed by. The German "tatütata" is kind of boring.
In Budapest the life partner of my gf's mother got food problems and so I offered to walk to the nearby pharmacy to get something for him. I was just there the same morning to get some cooling. When I arrived the pharmacy was already closed (saturday at 8 pm) and so I asked people on the street if they would know an open one. They sent me to a big square just 15 minutes away and since I already knew the direction I did go there. When I arrived it was closed, too. So I had to ask again. Let me tell you that happened 3 times and all the people said the next one would definitely be open. I walked for almost an hour and got totally lost. I came to a huge shopping mall where I finally found an open pharmacy just to hear that you would need a prescrition for that in Hungary. The woman did not give me the medication and so I had to return. I did not want to walk so I decided to use the Metro (underground). The ticket machine was out of service and the metro guy standing there to controll the tickets sent me somewhere around the corner and up the stairs to find other ticket machines. To make a long story short, I did find these machines but I couldn't read anything since it was just in Hungarian. The problem with Hungarian is that it is a totally different language. There is no similarity to any other european language. I just watched the busy people acting totally normal knowing what to do and I failed some basic thing to do, buying a ticket at a machine. Let me tell you expats now I really know that it feels scary sometimes and you feel kind of like an idiot when you don't understand anything of another language.
I drove almost 1500 miles within a week and I loved it. Driving a car makes me feel free and independent. You don't get that with the S-Bahn and the U-Bahn here in Berlin;-). I must have done to much driving since I developed a really terible bursitis in my right elbow which is still not totally gone.
Whatever!!! a "relativly" small price to pay for wonderful memories.
Vienna was nice but I have to tell you that I am not such a great fan of the city. The spanish riding school was definitely the highlight. Otherwise the city feels kind of altmodisch (dated).
Budapest was wonderful. I really loved the city and the friendly people there. Everything was just wonderful (weather, food, etc.) For me Budapest has this metropolitan touch I sometimes miss in Berlin and which I also missed in Vienna. One reason might be the US-like sirens of the police cars and ambulances which still give me the thrill because for me this is the sound of American movies and therefore the sound of a fantasy world. When I was in New York for the first time it always felt like being part of a movie when a police car passed by. The German "tatütata" is kind of boring.
In Budapest the life partner of my gf's mother got food problems and so I offered to walk to the nearby pharmacy to get something for him. I was just there the same morning to get some cooling. When I arrived the pharmacy was already closed (saturday at 8 pm) and so I asked people on the street if they would know an open one. They sent me to a big square just 15 minutes away and since I already knew the direction I did go there. When I arrived it was closed, too. So I had to ask again. Let me tell you that happened 3 times and all the people said the next one would definitely be open. I walked for almost an hour and got totally lost. I came to a huge shopping mall where I finally found an open pharmacy just to hear that you would need a prescrition for that in Hungary. The woman did not give me the medication and so I had to return. I did not want to walk so I decided to use the Metro (underground). The ticket machine was out of service and the metro guy standing there to controll the tickets sent me somewhere around the corner and up the stairs to find other ticket machines. To make a long story short, I did find these machines but I couldn't read anything since it was just in Hungarian. The problem with Hungarian is that it is a totally different language. There is no similarity to any other european language. I just watched the busy people acting totally normal knowing what to do and I failed some basic thing to do, buying a ticket at a machine. Let me tell you expats now I really know that it feels scary sometimes and you feel kind of like an idiot when you don't understand anything of another language.
I drove almost 1500 miles within a week and I loved it. Driving a car makes me feel free and independent. You don't get that with the S-Bahn and the U-Bahn here in Berlin;-). I must have done to much driving since I developed a really terible bursitis in my right elbow which is still not totally gone.
Whatever!!! a "relativly" small price to pay for wonderful memories.
Samstag, 7. Mai 2011
S-Bahn Nightmare & Bright Istanbul
Tonight I picked my girlfriend up from the airport. She visited a friend from high school for a week who married a guy from turkey. Since I knew that the Ring-Bahn wouldn't run (part of the Berlin S-Bahn) because of construction, I planed my trip to the "isolated" airport of Berlin-Schönefeld without the normal S-Bahn S41. In theory no problem. The reality: A NIGHTMARE!!!! Because of a broken train another U-Bahn didn't run. All the people just sat in the U-Bahn and waited for like 20 minutes before they would tell us the reason of the delay. So I had to go back to the station then where I came from and had to switch like 4 times, always with a waiting time of like 10 minutes. To make it worse, my girlfiend's cell didn't work so I couldn't get a hold of her. I arrived 25 minutes late and of course she wasn't happy.
I could also feel that she isn't happy to be back in Berlin. Part of the reasons why I have problems with my own country is seeing her struggle in Berlin.
She told me about Istanbul. She really liked the city. "People are friendly and nice. They are not as cold as Germans are, at all. They smile at you in stores and give you a great service. The layout of the stores is so much nicer and US-like. Even the official workers at the airport smile. It is not like here where you go in a store and the workers don't stop talking or give you the feeling of not being welcome or hating their job".
Well, I could go on. It is very hard for me to deal with it. As you know from my earlier posts I struggle with Germany myself and I complain a lot. But somehow when she does it I feel the need to defend Germany. I feel always really offended. I know, it is very irrational but how can you change an emotion like that?
I think for my gf it would be the best thing to leave Germany. But for job reasons this isn't possible for me at least for the next 1-1,5 years. We thought we would be over a long distance relationship, maybe not??? Not the most magnificent situation we are in right now!!!
I could also feel that she isn't happy to be back in Berlin. Part of the reasons why I have problems with my own country is seeing her struggle in Berlin.
She told me about Istanbul. She really liked the city. "People are friendly and nice. They are not as cold as Germans are, at all. They smile at you in stores and give you a great service. The layout of the stores is so much nicer and US-like. Even the official workers at the airport smile. It is not like here where you go in a store and the workers don't stop talking or give you the feeling of not being welcome or hating their job".
Well, I could go on. It is very hard for me to deal with it. As you know from my earlier posts I struggle with Germany myself and I complain a lot. But somehow when she does it I feel the need to defend Germany. I feel always really offended. I know, it is very irrational but how can you change an emotion like that?
I think for my gf it would be the best thing to leave Germany. But for job reasons this isn't possible for me at least for the next 1-1,5 years. We thought we would be over a long distance relationship, maybe not??? Not the most magnificent situation we are in right now!!!
Dienstag, 3. Mai 2011
Good bye Germany!!!
Well, to say it wright at the beginning I will not leave Germany. It isn't a physical good bye to the country of my origin. It is just an emotional one (for now). As I mentioned in earlier posts, I had my problems with Germany for a long time. I never felt really comfortable here and i just figured out it will never be better. A few days ago I read a very interesting post of an American (Resident on Earth) living in Germany. I hope she doesn't mind when I quote the most important sentences for me of her post:
"I don’t belong here. I don’t really fit in Germany, yet, either. I feel like a person without borders. I’m in between two worlds".
My sentences would be: I don't know where I belong. I don't really fit in Germany, anymore, etc...
When I was in the UK as a child in 1990 for the first time I loved this country. I liked everything there, even the houses were much prettier than here for me. I don't know, why every house needs to get this ugly grout always with a new and fresh coat of paint in Germany. Everything has to be "in Ordnung" here. Well, the weather isn't better in the UK but even grey felt less grey for me there when I returned later in life than it does here. I loved the brick houses and buildings that actually show that they are old. Even as a child I found people friendlier there and with better manners.
In 2006 I met my American girlfriend and from 2006 - 2008 I visited the US every year for my whole semester breaks. So I spent like almost 3 months in Pennsylvania and Nebraska every year. I didn't do the touristy stuff, I was part of a family and got to know the normal life there. I have to tell you, I loved it.
Of course, there were things I didn't like so much, but this is planet earth and not paradise. There is no place where everything is great and without problems. I do prefer the German social system with health care for everyone workers protections rights and more holidays and I do prefer the European layout of cities with a walkable centre. I like to shop in the US and the variety of options there but it is not essential for me to have all these options and nice stores. (Maybe that's also because I am a man). I am confused by people in stores who ask me how I am doing and I can feel that it is sometimes insincere and just part of the job. I am also confused by people who talk to you on the streets just to be nice. I am more formal and will always be than my girlfriend and sometimes the informality in the US is strange for me with my German upbringing.
I could go on, but let me be clear, the list about what I like, I can say love there will be a lot longer than the negative one and the list what I don't like about the country of my origin, Germany, is a lot longer, too. O.K. the lunch snack of your working colleague looks always more appealing than your own one and so I might be to critical about my country in some ways. But something that happened to me at work today is a very good summary of my negative emotions about Germany. Let me tell you about the dialog:
Working colleague 1: Well, what do you think about the capture of Bin Laden?
Working Colleague 2: It was definitely a illegal act and once again the US showed that it doesn't care about the sovereignty of other countries. They just do what they want to.
Me: O.K., You can have different opinions about how they did it, but don't you think about the victims of 9/11 and that this guy was a brutal mass murder?
W1: Of course he was and I don't have a single tear for him but the US vaunts to be a democratic country and to just go there and kill him is beneath the dignity of a so called democratic country.
Me: What do you mean with "a so called democratic country"???
W1: Well the normal guy there doesn't make the decisions. The wall street does and the big money. For example in 2000 George Bush bought his election victory. America is just about money.
W2: And you have to say Americans are so superficial...
W3: ... and prude!!!!
Welcome to my world of the last 5 years. It happened so often when I told that I was together with someone from the US that I heard these old stereotypes. It was just stunning how fast they switched from Bin Laden to this.
Me: Isn't it a very superficial thing to say THE Americans are superficial and prude ????
W1: I have a lot of friends who did a high school year in the midwest and they all told me that it is like that.
Me: So you didn't even go there yourself?
W1: No but as I said a lot of my friends told me that and what you can see in American TV shows proofs my point.
Me: I can just say I never met friendlier and nicer people than in the US.
W2: It is a superficial friendliness they don't really care about you.
W1: It isn't honest and I really hate it!
Me: Well, I love it. I can't stand people here who tell you what to do and how to do in a very blend and rude way. So many people here ruin your day just because they are in a bad and grumpy mood and the can't see anything positive in life.
She just looked very confused and I knew I didn't have to go on. She would never know what I am talking about. I just gave up, but I have to say I am still really upset about it. It is such a true example of what I think about "my" country: A lot of Germans are experts on everything even if they have no real point to proof there opinion, they are blend in a sometimes very rude way and they have no manners otherwise they would reflect, what they are doing and saying and that it might hurt the feeling of others. So many people here make the day of others just miserable with their bad mood.
Also so many people here care a way to much about what others think of them. And also everything is negative and will get worse. Aaaaaaarrrgggg!!! someone help me to stay calm!!!!
I don't know if I am capable of a life in the USA. (Maybe I would prefer the UK) I can't say if life in America would be so much better for me. I didn't have to depend on my own there it was always holidays. Maybe I would never feel at home there. But what I know now is that I am not at home in Germany anymore and this is a bit painful to realize. Will there ever be a place again, where I can say: I am at home???
"I don’t belong here. I don’t really fit in Germany, yet, either. I feel like a person without borders. I’m in between two worlds".
My sentences would be: I don't know where I belong. I don't really fit in Germany, anymore, etc...
When I was in the UK as a child in 1990 for the first time I loved this country. I liked everything there, even the houses were much prettier than here for me. I don't know, why every house needs to get this ugly grout always with a new and fresh coat of paint in Germany. Everything has to be "in Ordnung" here. Well, the weather isn't better in the UK but even grey felt less grey for me there when I returned later in life than it does here. I loved the brick houses and buildings that actually show that they are old. Even as a child I found people friendlier there and with better manners.
In 2006 I met my American girlfriend and from 2006 - 2008 I visited the US every year for my whole semester breaks. So I spent like almost 3 months in Pennsylvania and Nebraska every year. I didn't do the touristy stuff, I was part of a family and got to know the normal life there. I have to tell you, I loved it.
Of course, there were things I didn't like so much, but this is planet earth and not paradise. There is no place where everything is great and without problems. I do prefer the German social system with health care for everyone workers protections rights and more holidays and I do prefer the European layout of cities with a walkable centre. I like to shop in the US and the variety of options there but it is not essential for me to have all these options and nice stores. (Maybe that's also because I am a man). I am confused by people in stores who ask me how I am doing and I can feel that it is sometimes insincere and just part of the job. I am also confused by people who talk to you on the streets just to be nice. I am more formal and will always be than my girlfriend and sometimes the informality in the US is strange for me with my German upbringing.
I could go on, but let me be clear, the list about what I like, I can say love there will be a lot longer than the negative one and the list what I don't like about the country of my origin, Germany, is a lot longer, too. O.K. the lunch snack of your working colleague looks always more appealing than your own one and so I might be to critical about my country in some ways. But something that happened to me at work today is a very good summary of my negative emotions about Germany. Let me tell you about the dialog:
Working colleague 1: Well, what do you think about the capture of Bin Laden?
Working Colleague 2: It was definitely a illegal act and once again the US showed that it doesn't care about the sovereignty of other countries. They just do what they want to.
Me: O.K., You can have different opinions about how they did it, but don't you think about the victims of 9/11 and that this guy was a brutal mass murder?
W1: Of course he was and I don't have a single tear for him but the US vaunts to be a democratic country and to just go there and kill him is beneath the dignity of a so called democratic country.
Me: What do you mean with "a so called democratic country"???
W1: Well the normal guy there doesn't make the decisions. The wall street does and the big money. For example in 2000 George Bush bought his election victory. America is just about money.
W2: And you have to say Americans are so superficial...
W3: ... and prude!!!!
Welcome to my world of the last 5 years. It happened so often when I told that I was together with someone from the US that I heard these old stereotypes. It was just stunning how fast they switched from Bin Laden to this.
Me: Isn't it a very superficial thing to say THE Americans are superficial and prude ????
W1: I have a lot of friends who did a high school year in the midwest and they all told me that it is like that.
Me: So you didn't even go there yourself?
W1: No but as I said a lot of my friends told me that and what you can see in American TV shows proofs my point.
Me: I can just say I never met friendlier and nicer people than in the US.
W2: It is a superficial friendliness they don't really care about you.
W1: It isn't honest and I really hate it!
Me: Well, I love it. I can't stand people here who tell you what to do and how to do in a very blend and rude way. So many people here ruin your day just because they are in a bad and grumpy mood and the can't see anything positive in life.
She just looked very confused and I knew I didn't have to go on. She would never know what I am talking about. I just gave up, but I have to say I am still really upset about it. It is such a true example of what I think about "my" country: A lot of Germans are experts on everything even if they have no real point to proof there opinion, they are blend in a sometimes very rude way and they have no manners otherwise they would reflect, what they are doing and saying and that it might hurt the feeling of others. So many people here make the day of others just miserable with their bad mood.
Also so many people here care a way to much about what others think of them. And also everything is negative and will get worse. Aaaaaaarrrgggg!!! someone help me to stay calm!!!!
I don't know if I am capable of a life in the USA. (Maybe I would prefer the UK) I can't say if life in America would be so much better for me. I didn't have to depend on my own there it was always holidays. Maybe I would never feel at home there. But what I know now is that I am not at home in Germany anymore and this is a bit painful to realize. Will there ever be a place again, where I can say: I am at home???
Samstag, 2. April 2011
Are Germans to direct????
Not just since I am together with my American girlfriend there is something in my country I can't stand. Germans are experts on everything. Asked or not asked they let you know what they think and how they see the world. As always, I have to say I don't like stereotypes and generalisations. There are many, many wonderful and friendly people here in my country but there are also a lot of the first mentioned.
I can't stand people who tell you: "Why don't you do that like this" or "oh my god you look awful today, didn't you sleep enough???" and the grumpy retired who yell at you when you do somehting wrong ae just a pain in the a...The problem is that everyone doesn't like it. It happens so often that people tell me what awful things someone said to them and complain why they can't stick to their own business. I just think then how they do the same all the time. Is it so difficult to understand that you shouldn't say something to another person you don't want to hear?
I don't know why but good manners are not always seen as something important. On the contrary something like friendly small talk at the beginning of a business meeting or in general, with a person you don't know is seen as something inefficient. As a student I worked in a callcenter where I had to put business people through. It happened very often, especially with people in a higher position in a company that they would be really disrespectful. It is very efficient but just rude behavior if you only say: Miller, Mr. Schneider!!! The information i should get was that the name of the person who called was Miller and he wanted to talk to Mr. Schneider. Since these people were in a higher position in a company bad behavior can't have anything to do with a possible lack of education. It always really offended me when it happened.
It is not just the cashier in a grocery store that answers you in a very sassy way when you ask for a new line to open." For you???"
It is also not just the Hartz IV guy who is cutting the line in front of you.
What is it that people behave like that? And was it always like that? Older people tell you that there was a time when manners were more important. If you read old letters or watch old movies the language they used was definitely more polite and less efficient. What do you think???
I can't stand people who tell you: "Why don't you do that like this" or "oh my god you look awful today, didn't you sleep enough???" and the grumpy retired who yell at you when you do somehting wrong ae just a pain in the a...The problem is that everyone doesn't like it. It happens so often that people tell me what awful things someone said to them and complain why they can't stick to their own business. I just think then how they do the same all the time. Is it so difficult to understand that you shouldn't say something to another person you don't want to hear?
I don't know why but good manners are not always seen as something important. On the contrary something like friendly small talk at the beginning of a business meeting or in general, with a person you don't know is seen as something inefficient. As a student I worked in a callcenter where I had to put business people through. It happened very often, especially with people in a higher position in a company that they would be really disrespectful. It is very efficient but just rude behavior if you only say: Miller, Mr. Schneider!!! The information i should get was that the name of the person who called was Miller and he wanted to talk to Mr. Schneider. Since these people were in a higher position in a company bad behavior can't have anything to do with a possible lack of education. It always really offended me when it happened.
It is not just the cashier in a grocery store that answers you in a very sassy way when you ask for a new line to open." For you???"
It is also not just the Hartz IV guy who is cutting the line in front of you.
What is it that people behave like that? And was it always like that? Older people tell you that there was a time when manners were more important. If you read old letters or watch old movies the language they used was definitely more polite and less efficient. What do you think???
Mittwoch, 30. März 2011
Montag, 28. März 2011
German Humor???
I won't say anything just think about it:
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20110328-34021.html
Sorry you have to copy it, don't know why it doesn't work.
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20110328-34021.html
Sorry you have to copy it, don't know why it doesn't work.
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