Christmas Greetings and a Happy New Year 2010

Hello happy people

Just a short message to get you away from the joys of christmas presents and the crazy eating binges of the next few days. I decided on writing here in the Blog because:
a) you can choose to click and read it or not, and
b) you know that I have a blog

SOOOOOO

I wish you all the best for christmas with your family and friends and a new years party that ends up like the guys in the movie "Hangover".

As you are all spread out all over the place and maybe sitting there thinking: "mitch,,,I haven't heard from him in ages" here is my 2009 in a nutshell:

- The big one: I got married to my longstanding Girlfriend Anne. Twice. Firstly a wonderful wedding on the beach in my hometown of Terrigal in Australia in January. Then again in August in Berlin in what was for the party of the century. So many wonderful people there and so little time. The planning was all worth it. If you want to read some more I sometimes blog on:
http://theworldisatissue.blogspot.com/

- I am still living in Berlin teaching Business English the Germans in different companies. If you're wondering, Business English is mainly teaching the English phrases and skills they need for their jobs e.g. meetings, telephoning, correspondence, negotiations, presentations etc.
I get to go to meet some interesting people and see interesting things. This week I did a training course at a nuclear research facility, last week I had lessons with a biological researcher from Bayer and a price manager of a major oil company.

- I became an uncle again, this time my brother in Colarado with the newest member to the McKenzie clan: Violette McKenzie. And no, me and Anne don't have any kids planned for the time being.

- 2009: the year of the weddings: nadine and sander in holland; sebastian and alex in Berlin; jan and johanna in Ludwigslust; My brother in law matthias and nicole in Senftenberg, Mhairi and Stefan on Majorca ...and there are a few others we expect sometime in the near future!! you know who you are

- 2009 trips: Australia; Holland (go team holland), Sweden (thanks to mats!), Germany (Stuttgart for Oktoberfest, Munich, Frankfurt) , Spain and Mallorca, Czech republic. I wanted more but time and money always restrict things

- My Australian Rules Football team, the Berlin Crocodiles, won the German second division cup in Frankfurt. I won the award for highest goalkicker in the second division league.

- Visitors to Berlin: many but not enough!!! a special thank you would be to my parents you came all the way to Berlin from Oz for wedding part 2.

NOW: our plans are for at least another 6 months in Berlin as Anne is doing an internship at a publisher. On top of working as a teacher, I am applying for training positions with Renewable Energy companies which has been a personal interest of mine for the last few months. I also plan to do some part time ski instructing in Austria this winter in the holidays when I get the chance.

Berlin has been great to us but we are now looking at different options. If you have any suggestions let us know!!!

Take care people and I look forward to hearing from you sometime in the near future. Drink a schnapps for me!!!

cheers

Mitch

How to get married in Australia in a month

A wedding is rumored to be one of the most stressful experiences known to man. Apparently it's the only time when the difference between thick stripes and thin stripes on serviettes, and the difference between this font and this font can be the be all and end all of the universe.

Not for us. The secret is easy. Just don't give yourself the time to worry about these things, ie a month, and get married in Australia, the country that read the book "living for dummies" and decided to instill it as an institution.

Some dates:
11 December 2008 - Arrival in Sydney from Thailand with the surprising news that we are engaged

13 December 2008 - A quick search on the internet to look into the paperwork required by Germany and Australia for a marriage.

14 December 2008- Finish reading the list of German requirements. Time taken: approximately 23 hours.

14 December 2008- Finish reading requirements in Australia. Time taken: approximately 4 minutes. Float the idea with my fiancé that we could at least check out this possibility with the relevant authority.

15 December 2008- Monday-
- 10am After breakfast I called the celebrant Tony Thorrington just to ask if it would be possible to get married before the 20th January 09.
- 6pm we are sitting in his office signing the "intention of marriage" documents for a wedding on the 18th of January. Documents required: Bride-passport, groom- birth certificate and cash.
We decide on a ceremony at my hometown beach and he gives us some things to help us write a ceremony and organise the wedding.
- 7:30pm we break the news that we will be getting married.
- 7:32pm we open a bottle of champagne.

-----from then the dates are a bit unclear-------
Things that are clear are:
1) the paperwork is simplified in Australia. It is apparently more difficult (and expensive) when it comes to getting a spouse visa later. In Germany it's the opposite. The marriage is difficult (and expensive) and the visa is easy.
2) Australia has 20393049400 people who know about weddings and the Somersby Wedding Estate has freaking everything.
3) Venues in Australia are easy to find and almost all have some type of wedding catering/venue service.
4) Friends and family want to help you and can make things soooooo easy. Cake, Make up, Photos, Music, Security, Setting up, invitations, Decorating and design, lending out a house, driving,,,you name it our nearest and dearest where there to help. This made the whole day so much more closer and personal.
5) Time constraints make the decision making process so much easier. Invitations look good: send them now, Flower girl likes pink: she gets pink, Too hot for suits: don't wear one, Someone likes fish: serve fish, party must be finished by 11: start party earlier, and so on.


18 Janaury 2009-
Perfect summer day for a ceremony at Terrigal Haven with friends and (Australian) family and reception. The sky is blue, the music is ready, the flags are waving in the background, my friends and family are there, some people couldn't make it there on such short notice, onlookers gather from surrounding picnics to watch the wedding. One friend managed to make the journey from Germany.

The limousine arrives. Moby's "porcelain" starts. The waves lap. People start whispering "the brides here" and find a place to stand or sit. I stand with my back to the ocean and my brother and 2 oldest friends by my side. My nephews walk down the aisle looking a bit overwhelmed, little Sienna forgetting that the "Flowergirl" is supposed to throw flowers. It's ok. Annette, my sister in law cum bridesmaid walks down alone and takes her place on the left. All is fine. Then bang,,,I see Anne walking towards me accompanied by my dad. She is smiling. Well more like grinning as if somebody dropped some wicked drugs in her coffee. I realise I have the same dumb grin. The celebrant starts: "Ladies and Gentleman.....".... Time stands still. Time blacks out. Yes. Yes.

Now we are kissing. People are clapping and we sign the register. People are taking photos and wishing us congratulations. We drink a bottle of champagne between us on the way to the reception. We eat. All the speeches are incredibly poignant and touching. I get lost in the moment in my speech and speak too long.Uhh, it's my wedding, I can. I play the Anne song on guitar. We dance. We drink. We smile. We exhale. We find a bottle of champagne on ice at our wedding night villa (ie the Bed and Breakfast from across the street) . We take out the champagne and fill our glasses with...the ice and water. We breathe out. We breathe back in. We still have the dumb grins on our faces.

The day was huge but so short at the same time.

A wedding is like anything: it's what you make and expect of it. I looked at it as a day to have those near and dear to you all together, where you can announce "we think we are cool together", and celebrate that.

Luckily for us, we got to experience this twice. Both a different experience in itself but both just as distinct. The one regret was that the distance of our home countries didn't allow Anne's family, my Brother in America, and many friends around the world to be there. So the idea of a second wedding in Germany was never even a question but a formality. But the story of the Wedding part 2: Berlin Kesselhaus is for another time.

The marriage after a wedding is simply another name for relationship. Our relationship itself has barely changed. We are still happy about the same things as before, we still fight about the same things as before. People don't change. Perceptions and expectations may change but that happens with or without marriage. So you just make the best of it and enjoy the good as it comes.

And we are.

Blogging becoming obsolete? nöööööööö

Blog blog blog. Forgive me everyone for I have sinned. It has been 10 months since my last blog. But to be honest, with facebooking and tweeting and emailing and podcasting and xinging and skyping and chatting and whatever else, I've been a bit confused as to where to focus the attention of the random comments to share.

So as a letter to the editor; we could send a please explain as to how many ways people need to publish that they are "tired" or "cant wait til work finishes" or what other banal things we can come up with (me included).

Maybe talking is the one that is becoming obsolete. Old school face to face communication is bound to make a retro style comeback soon. But with time and money being the 2 resources we have to manage most effectively, unfortunately we aren't allowed this luxury as often as we may want.

But my statement comes here: the blog is back and will be updated as I can rack my memory to recall the details of this year 2009 that need to be respected with their own articles:

- Our wedding in Terrigal and all to do with how to get married within 35 days.
- Back to Germany
- Holland trip to old friends and married friends.
- If god lived on Earth, he'd spend some time in Stockholm in Summer.
- Our Berlin Kesselhaus wedding part 2 in Summer...Zweimal hält besser, this is your life. Some parties should never end.
- The Australian Griswalds, ie the McKenzie parents, go for part 2 of their European vacation. Aka hanging out with the oldies in Berlin and Prague in summer.
- How to understand taxes in Germany for married couples
- Berlin has AFL...road trips and victory
- Spain Spain spain. Mallorca wedding for scots and making the most of October on a shoestring
- and many other adventures and musings.


So stay tuned. Watch this space and keep on your toes cause the blog is back.

How to propose to your girlfriend in Bangkok

Out last day in Bangkok was an eventful one.

December 9 was a day of shopping,,,and getting engaged.

After battling our way for xx hours through the famous MBK shopping centre collecting more things than I have ever purchased in one day, our night was supposed to be just to relax in the 5 star hotel we had booked into for the last night for some luxury.

After dinner at a small thai street eatery we decided to investigate the local "German Beer House" in the Sukhumvit area of Bangkok. It was that German but we had a nice spot and there was a burning question that i'd only really started thing seriously in the course of the trip. But honestly: how do you pick the right time to ask someone to marry you?

I had had some moments on beaches in the south but things had always been tainted by drunk bystanders, street vendors, fatigue, intoxication, rain, those damn singing birds, the colour of the napkins,,,something.

We were both sitting reflecting on the trip over a beer when I decided to ask:" so Annie, what plans do you have for next year? cause if you're not too busy I was thinking that maybe you'd like to marry me?"

Anne: shocked look, no answer, beaming smile: "um what?"

Mitch: Straitening himself up and placing his beer back on the table, takes Annes hand "I guess I´m saying, Anne Lidzba, my angel, my best friend, the love of my life, will you marry me?"

Anne: big smile, a tear, a happy face ,a big kiss, excitement but no answer
Mitch: blurts out more things about how he would be honoured and how great Anne is...
Anne: speechless, kisses me, "oh my god oh my god oh my.."
Mitch: "well um does that mean yes?"
Anne:" yes yes yes yes yes that means yes"
...the rest is history.

So, due my lack of proper planning our ring for the occasion ended up being a natural shell ring from Ko Lanta beach that fits her finger perfectly. I had kept it for Anne in as a momento, now it takes on a whole new significance.

The irony of everything was that we had avoided the 39208 million dress and suit makers that abound throughout Thailand with a sense of "yes they are reasonable but we would never need that". Now on our last night we both thought,,,geez If I'd proposed earlier those clothes could have come in handy.

So that was our engagement on the 9th of December. I'm now writing this Blog back in Berlin on 27 January as a married man. huh? you ask. How this happened will be the subject of coming blogs.

How to almost miss a train in Chang mai

I know this is not the biggest news from the last few months but It has to be told before going onto the other big events.
So,
As I was writing that last post in Chang mai, killing time before the train trip to Bangkok something had eluded my memory. The fact that all our important documents lay in a locker at out hotel was only noticed as we were at the train station, 20 minutes before departure time.

Normally no problem to get back and pick it up if our hotel hadn't been 20 minutes away. It struck me and Anne as our happy faces, busily chomping on ice creams, turned sour and that look of 'oh shit' hit us both.

Without a word I raced out to find a way back. The funny thing about tuk tuks is that they are a constant presence when you have no need for them. This was different.
Instead I managed to find a pick up truck driver who was willing to emulate those car scenes from James bond and race down side streets at 80km/h beeping his horn to rescue our precious documents.

In the end, mission complete. I made it back to the station with 1 minute to spare with all our passports, cards and whatever other things deemed locker worthy. Close call

Porn porn porn

Those coming to thailand will be shocked about the amount of porn here. We have come across "porn restaurants", "porn bars", "porn hair salon", "porn tailors" and the list goes on. I even saw porn snooker.

Gotta love the misunderstandings in other languages. "porn" in Thai means "blessed",,,a whooooolllee different packet of chips than what you might expect. "Moo" is pork,"guy" is chicken,,"shit" is a good friend.

So some people go to the porn restaurant with their shit for some moo curry and a guy soup. Love it.

Chiangmai, Gibbons, Massages and Food

Chiang mai is fantastic. We had had a lot of reports that it's a nice place but I was honestly not expecting much. Very wrong.

Well, our first accommodation was a bit strange. With 5 rooms in a bed and breakfast including shared bathrooms, our older English male neighbours with their young thai girlfriends seemed to be more interested in the bed than the breakfast part. Uncomfortable. So we found a new place with a pool, spectacular rooms and service for 550 baht,,,a very good deal.

So what has been so great you ask. For all of you who have been to Bangkok and were impressed by what they had to offer, but were distracted by the size, the smell and the stress of it, you would love it here. The days have flown by in whirls of food, thai massages, pool, markets (night bazaar is big but over priced and full of a lot of rubbish but there are others), beer, walking and tourist activities.

Our first thing was the "flight of the gibbons". For the uninitiated the flight of the gibbons is a series of cables high in trees through the rain forest along which you fly from tree to tree. The 6:30 start was not to our liking but definitely worth it. Between the 7 people in our group I'm quite sure we took enough photos to fill the internet so I'm sure Anne will have some up soon. Unfortunately, my camera decided to have a rest day leaving me with zippo.

The kings birthday came and went. Another night full of fireworks and lanterns shooting off into the nights sky. The royal family is revered here like nothing i've ever seen. I've been told that you can land in jail by uttering any slur on the royals so none of that for me. Yay, I said and celebrated with my little thai friends.

Further reason to celebrate has been the exit of the prime minister and his party after the stand off that lead to the occupation of Bangkok's airports. Qantas starting flying from there again yesterday so we think it should be fine. Most Thais we met seemed not to be too fazed by the situation. Apparently every prime minister in the last 40 years has been ousted before the end of his term so not a big surprise. I just hope that things get back in order. This place really relies on its tourism industry.

Today we did cooking course. To any fan of Thai food (ie Mitch) this is an absolute must. I was surprised at how quick and simple the actual cooking is. The only difficult part is getting together the 20349503 rare thai ingredients that you need, in the right proportions, cut the right way and hey presto. Even bottomless pete couldn't finish all the food we came up with. Sooooooo good.

So tomorrow we leave for Bangkok on an overnight sleeper train to check into our 5 star hotel there. Last minute shopping Tuesday then Wednesday night is time to fly. The time has absolutely flown by and I'm very jealous of all the people we are meeting whose trips don't finish until next year.

Mango shakes, pancakes, panang curries, phad thai, thai massage, energy drinks, fruit in general. It is all soooo good.