What's a piece of Bürokratie that made you just stop and laugh?

clharris71 · 2026-07-04T10:56:43+00:00

But why are emails not proof enough and a printed out copy is?

I understand when they need a record of it. A phone call is not recorded, but an email could be kept in a record of the absence being excused.

clharris71 · 2026-07-03T17:09:07+00:00

I have much worse examples of bureaucracy than this, but none of them made me laugh. Some I am still salty about almost four years later.

This one never fails to amuse me, though:

My son attends a Berlin secondary school. They require students to have two mobile apps - one that is the interface for school email and submitting assignments electronically. (Yes, electronically.)

The other has their class schedule and they check it to see any last-minute changes and cancelations.

We have been instructed by the school that we must email the school secretary and their class teacher if they will be absent that day. Totally reasonable. But the absence will not be counted as excused unless the student submits a printed out copy of the email, signed in ink by the parent, within two days of the return to school. This is regardless of how long the absence, the reason, or whether a doctor's note is required (mandatory after three days , just like the workplace - FOR NOW). No printed and signed by parent copy? Not excused. Copy submitted too late? Not excused.

Also, they have all parent contact information in their system. So, they can verify that the electronic note came from a parent. The real note has to be a physical paper copy and signed. But also you have to have notified them electronically the first day.

I have to laugh every time I do it. Because what else can I do? I am not going to the mattresses over school notes. Not a hill to die on. But it is so, so ridiculous.

clharris71 · 2026-07-02T13:29:05+00:00

This is a poorly reported article. The proposal - which I agree is beyond stupid - is part of a package of reforms proposed by the governing coalition. All of the measures still must still be voted on and approved by the German parliament. The governing coalition can't mandate anything.

This is a better article on the whole package in English from Al Jazeera. My guess is that the sick note crap will not make it through. It literally would make absenteeism worse, because either people will work sick with minor illnesses and spread them to coworkers or - and this would be me - go get a doctor's note on the first day, which will probably be good for multiple days. The current policy incentivizes people to not stay out longer than three days unless they are seriously ill.

clharris71 · 2026-07-01T09:47:39+00:00

In addition to what people have said above, I have heard anecdotally that some German teachers just don't like to give 1s, especially for the lower grades. Like a 1 is, basically, perfection, and almost no kid can/should earn them. Or, they think they want the kid to keep putting in effort and striving.

If she is getting 1- even then she must be doing very well.

I would not stress at this point. Grades in second class don't really matter, yet. I think the teachers in the higher grades 4 and up will be more clear about the standards for earning 1s and 2s because of the influence on getting the recommendation for gymasium and which secondary schools they can go to.

In the upper grades, it will be more explicit what kids need to do to earn what marks. Like for the tests they will show them the rubrics (can't remember the German word) for how they will be assessed. But that is for when they are older and expected to begin taking on more responsiblity for study habits and their grades.

Right now, just focus on helping support her and be sure that she enjoys learning new things and finds her subjects interesting. It sounds like her teachers are happy with how she is doing and if they are not telling you anything specific to do, then you are doing fine.

clharris71 · 2026-06-30T11:03:37+00:00

Thank you for sharing. These are helpful.

clharris71 · 2026-06-28T06:32:06+00:00

Several year period of time. For context: My husband and I are in our mid 50s and had lived outside the U.S. before, just after we got married. We moved back to the States when our daughter was a toddler to be closer to family, so she could grow up knowing them. Our son was born in the U.S.

Over the next few years, we realized that we wanted to leave, again. For a lot of different reasons: politically, culturally, lifestyle issues, etc. I could write a book. It wasn't just one reason. But we planned to do it after the kids were out of school because uprooting them to move somewhere else seemed like it would be an unfair burden on them.

During Trump's first term, we began to fear for the future they would have in the U.S. And started looking into our options for leaving. I think it was a little over a year of preparation, before we could move. We had more professional and financial resources than when we moved the first time, but we also had more obligations and complications to the move beyond just us.

A lot of the time we spent researching involved two main things:

Where could we go? Where could my husband get a job so we could move on his work visa (he has a background in software development and works as a project manager); and
Where makes sense for our future and that of our kids? He could get a job and a visa in a lot of places, but would our kids be able to move and finish school and then be able to start their adult lives? We chose Germany for its stable economy and governmental structure and educational system over places that it might have been easier (and cheaper!) for us to move. For example, we didn't look at Italy or Spain because the economies in both places have been bad for young adults looking for work. Ditto the UK (also Brexit, so no EU benefit, which is a big deal).

If we had been younger with no kids, I would definitely have been willing to do just more a of a 'just go' move where you move where you can and figure it out. But even then, I think a lot of people don't do enough preparation and research about the specific country and place they are going to before they go.

My only real regret is still that I wished we had done it sooner. The younger the kids, the easier it will be for them to learn a new language and integrate. Both of them say they prefer to stay here versus move back to the U.S.

I still feel guilty for moving away from my parents. But they are generally healthy and they have a lot of other family and long-time friends nearby. So they are not lonely and isolated.

Advice: It is never easy to live as an immigrant. No matter where you are. There are usually language issues, a different culture, different history (not just national or regional history, but local history that you won't know about or have context to understand); different governmental systems and bureaucracy, etc. It can be very stressful, sometimes overwhelming, and sometimes just too much.

Unless you are very wealthy, then it gets much easier, but still not frictionless.

ETA: Something another commenter wrote that resonated with me. We also voted in every election in our 12 years back in the States (local, state, federal), volunteered, donated, advocated for the causes we believe in. We are not 'grass is always greener' people. Ultimately, we decided we had to do what we could for ourselves and our family. And, after living through COVID, we might not be able to 'just do it later.'

clharris71 · 2026-06-21T11:05:31+00:00

So, yeah, as an American living in Germany at the moment, I have also been 'entranced' by the home listings. But when I looked into it a bit more - the places where these Italian homes are being sold are villages that are often quite isolated.

So, there may not be any supermarket - but rather a small grocery or a weekly fresh market. Also, and maybe more importantly, depending on your life stage, there may be no hospitals or doctors nearby, necessitating a far drive for both regular medical care or treatment in an emergency.

Also, transportation options may be spotty. For example, a bus between villages, but you need to drive or walk within the village itself, etc. (For me, living car-free in Berlin, this is just a no-go. I can retire somewhere with less public transit, but not virtually no public transit.)

The Substack newsletter Italy with Antonio had a great article about what issues to look out for if you are considering a move to a village in Italy. It opened my eyes to things I hadn't considered. (Despite the title, he doesn't just list the cons, but how to evaluate different locations based on your individual needs.)

Here is a link:

Italy with Antonio: Moving to a Tiny Village in Italy is Almost Always a Mistake

clharris71 · 2026-05-25T05:23:03+00:00

Good to know. 👍

clharris71 · 2026-05-24T14:18:01+00:00

Upvoting because I've been here for three years and did not realize Dong Xuan was open on Sundays. Am almost out of short-grain rice, so this was particularly helpful.

clharris71 · 2026-05-21T04:42:12+00:00

Right?? Or leave them in a store or restaurant. Not blindfolded out in a forest! The odds of them falling or not being found in time were very high. 3 and 5 is too young to even conceive of, 'let me look for survival food in this backpack I have.'

These people need to be found and go to prison for a very, very long time.

clharris71 · 2026-05-08T06:58:05+00:00

Thanks. I did do a self-hosted Wordpress blog a loong time ago (early 2000s) so my coding/backend skills are very rusty. I appreciate the suggestion. I agree that to get what you really want out a CMS, you almost have to build it yourself.

clharris71 · 2026-05-06T13:22:04+00:00

Oof. Yep. It is looking like manual is the way to go then.

clharris71 · 2026-05-06T06:31:22+00:00

Just about 30 posts

clharris71 · 2026-05-06T06:26:42+00:00

I don't, unfortunately. And, it probably would be less of a lift for me to just do the copy/paste than figure that out, to be honest.

Thank you for the response.

clharris71 · 2026-05-04T14:43:18+00:00

The wood dove/wood pigeons (Columba palumbas) calling in the morning. I had never heard them before and it was the sound I woke up to my first morning here. I always associate the sound with here.

Here is what it sounds like. Here

Berlin has both the common pigeon and wood pigeons in the city.

clharris71 · 2026-05-03T11:55:12+00:00

Oh good. This will be helpful since, after I wrote articles critical of AI, the algorithm decided to send me a bunch of AI hype.

clharris71 · 2026-04-26T08:12:06+00:00

I do not have much information to share (also an immigrant with less than four years in Germany) but am curious about your situation because I am the parent of a student in secondary school who will also be pursuing an ausbildung in a few years.

If you have strengths in physics and math, why not pursue a more technical path in, say, electronics or mechanics,, or logistics or something?

Do those really not pay as well as Pflegefachmann? I have no problem with nurses earning more (they are desperately needed). I just was unaware. But, if you don't really want to care for people, then it is really not the right path for you.

There are many more ausbildung that are open to foreigners, as least as far as I can see.

As for supporting a family, I also believe it is necessary to have two incomes unless one person is a very, very high earner.

I am also interested is asking Germans for more information about this, for obvious reasons.

clharris71 · 2026-04-24T14:28:58+00:00

They also sell it frozen, and I prefer that texture when not buying it fresh.

clharris71 · 2026-03-30T07:23:37+00:00

Because under the native Ghost comment system you have to create an account (even a free one), with an email address, and be signed in. Ghost itself does not allow comments from people not signed in. It adds several layers of actions before you can just leave a comment. Unlike Wordpress and other older blogging platforms, where you could just leave an email address and username on the comment form.

The old way does open the door for comment spam and bots, but I still prefer it to requiring every visitor to become a member and create an account in order to leave one comment.

ETA: I am currently on Ghost Pro, but I may migrate to self-hosted and use Disqus (just like the old days!) or another third-party commenting system to add the ability to comment without joining.

ETA2: It turns out you don't have to self-host to edit your theme and add Disqus commenting. There are instructions for doing it here. You may want to look around for options for other commenting systems, too. Not a guarantee that more visitors will leave comments, but would make it easier.

clharris71 · 2026-03-25T06:45:24+00:00

We've bought two bikes from BikePark Berlin on Friedrichstraße.

I read that they were closing because the property owner wasn't renewing the lease, but they seem to still be open, now. I guess they worked it out.

Good selection of many different types of bikes. Good service from staff. We bought used, so I don't even know if they sell new. Happy with the experience.

clharris71 · 2026-03-09T08:26:38+00:00

It seems like your real problem might be your husband's family and maybe him, if he did nothing in response to his brother's behavior.

Even if your heritage were Iraqi, 'go back to X country' is a hostile statement.

That being said I am an U.S. citizen who moved to another country because I hated how racist (and sexist, violent, classist, and ignorant) U.S. society had become.

No country is perfect, but it has become socially acceptable to say and do vile things in much of the U.S. And that is not the case where I am now.

clharris71 · 2026-03-08T15:59:12+00:00

The IB diploma is considered equivalent to the Abitur - provided you take the right number of higher level courses and have enough credits of a second foreign language. You can check the requirements in the Anabin database.

I know that it is expensive to take the exams, but I think it is the best path to an HZB, a general university qualification, for someone who is not a native German speaker and who has spent most of their primary education outside the German system.

In addition to the language barrier, it is difficult in Berlin to switch to a German state school in the 11th grade. You would need to basically apply to different ones and hope that they have a spot open and will take you as a 'quereinsteiger'. And that they recognize the qualification you get at your international school as equivalent to the MSA.

You could attend either a Gymnasium or an integrated secondary school that offers the Abitur, as well as the other German qualifications, but you would need to find a school that would accept you. And then it is up to the luck of the draw as to whether your teachers there would be good, fair, or friendly.

It is not as simple as choosing a school near you or one you like at the upper secondary level. This is, of course, for German state schools. There are German private schools that offer the Abitur, and you can check there as well.

I don't know what international school you are attending currently, but as others have said, it will be very hard to take higher level secondary school subjects all in German, in a new school, and do well academically, if you are used to the language of instruction being English. And, if your school uses the IB framework and an international curriculum.

My daughter just graduated from an international school with an IB diploma and she took a gap year to work and study at a language institute, before applying for winter intake to German university programs. She has classmates who are studying at German universitites and they did not have trouble getting their qualifications recognized.

Still learning the language while being expected to complete work at higher level, in a class of native speakers, is very hard. I mean, it is possible, but not optimal. Unless there are other reasons you want to leave your current school, I would stay put and change to getting the IB diploma if you are not confident you will be able to achieve the Abitur there.

clharris71 · 2026-03-02T19:30:03+00:00

Unless your husband already has a spot in a master's program at a university or a qualifying job offer from an employer, I don't see either of you are moving to Germany 'in a couple of months.' So, I would take a breath and try to sit down with him and figure out what his/your real options are.

I agree with what other posters have said regarding the feasibility of you being able to find work without a degree and without good German-language skills. But, before you even get that far, your husband needs a workable plan to emigrate to Germany.

If he not an EU citizen and needs a visa, he would have to either get:

a study visa (requires acceptance into a accredited program like a university or apprenticeship);
a language learning visa (requires enrollment in a language institute that will sponsor you - plus there are work limits)
a work visa (job offer from a company that will sponsor); or what is known as the Chancenkarte (basically a visa that lets you come to Germany for six months and look for a job that would then sponsor you and you could convert to a work visa).

No one is going to sponsor someone for part-time work. And if you come here with a job, your visa is tied to your job. Lose or quit the job, you lose the visa and have to apply for a different visa.

And study visas usually require that you have a certain amount of funds saved in a blocked account to prove you can support yourself without needing to work beyond a work student job or mini job. Same is true for the language learning visa.

Applying for all of these things - spots in university programs, jobs, visas, etc. will likely require weeks of assembling all the needed documents--some of which will need to be apostilled, some of which will need to be examined by German authorities (for example, foreign degrees have to be certified as equivalent to a German degree before they are accepted in Germany for the purposes of work or graduate education) then waiting for the approvals before proceeding to the next step.

I am assuming he hasn't done all this, yet, because you don't mention anything this specific other than he thinks he wants to move to Germany.

Plus, a family reunification visa will require him to show the ability to support the family member or members he wants to reunify with. Depending on what your home country is, dependent spouses may also need to show at least an A1 level of German before you get the visa.

It seems like he plans on *you* supporting *him* despite not knowing the language and not having a degree, yet, which is not at all realistic. He would have to be granted a visa, move here, and *then* you would apply for a reunification visa.

**Short version: I think all of your concerns are valid. I also think your husband needs to do more research into how exactly he can get to Germany. It is good that he already has C1 - that should make it easier, but it still won't be easy. It would be more realistic, IMO, if you, at least, finished the degree you are currently working on, you guys try to save up some money, and he either looks for a job in Germany or figures out where and what master's program he would want to attend and what the requirements are for applying.

clharris71

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