Chapter Twenty-Four: Back to Boise we go!

On May 3rd, just six and a half months after entering Germany, my husband was given the choice to voluntarily resign his job or continue to be fired. Thus, his job duties ended voluntarily that day and the company resigned a new contract with him and they moved us back to Boise. I was glad the stress ended for my dear husband but I cried for at least a week. How I miss Germany and the people there!!!

So, our return to the states was sudden and unexpected AND almost completely out of our control. Cory didn’t ever quite understand his supervisor, Glen, over there and they were two completely opposite people. Thus, there was conflict. And as much as Cory tried to understand what his supervisor was saying, meaning, and at times demanding, with clarifying questions and such; Glen took even the clarifying questions as disobedience and disrespect. And then when Cory went to Glen’s supervisor for help, Glen proceeded to write up Cory for insubordination and then proceeded to try and fire him.

In hindsight, we had arrived in Germany right during some huge upheavals with the military community. There was a push to transfer many of the contract positions into GS (Government Service) positions. There were also changes afoot with the EUCOM (European Command) spinning off a separate division into AfriCOM to oversee that continent and the intervention and operations there.

But ultimately, Cory and his supervisor, Glen, were just from very diverse backgrounds. We had come from the west coast and Cory was more used to the Microsoft, hands-off management style while Glen was from the East coast and used to the very structured, top-down, Military-style management. Glen wanted a yes-man, not a problem solver with solutions. Cory kept getting into trouble for fixing things and proposing solutions to IT problems because that was very threatening to someone like Glen who liked to be in control of everyone at every moment.

This job trauma all played out from about mid February to early May. Cory was able to contact the HR department and submit to them that everything was really a blown up misunderstanding, a twisting of the facts (because he had most communications documented) and that his supervisor was guilty of trying to fire him for retaliation (for reporting communication problems to his boss). The HR department intervened, had a short investigation and then offered Cory a way out of the contract—but that meant they would pay to ship us home—right then.

Since Cory’s supervisor, Glen, had been threatening him that if Cory was fired, we would not only have to get ourselves and our stuff home, but also we would be required to repay the contract all of our expenses for getting there (airplane tickets for six, hotel expenses for three rooms for 6 weeks, rental car for six weeks, etc. etc.) this would have left us jobless in Germany with about $50,000 of debts to repay and possibly a lawsuit on our hands to try and fight it, so we took the free ride home; but sadly. Cory looked and asked around about trying to get on another contract job there but just didn’t have enough time to find something. So, we got packed up and headed home within 30 days of the notice (part of the deal).

The whole situation was such an intense spiritual attack. It was difficult to walk through but it was amazing how God carried us and what we learned through it all. I can honestly say that I never worried about the money element (not because of my saintedness but because God just surrounded us and reassured us that if He takes such good care of the birds, would HE not care for us?). I had some great teachable moments with my kids about God’s Will because they wanted to think, well we shouldn’t have come; it must not have been God’s will to come if everything turned badly. So, I was thankful for the conversations and opportunities to teach them that our circumstances won’t always look good and that they are NOT a predictor of God’s Will—otherwise you could say the disciples or even Jesus Himself must not have been in God’ Will.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Reflections on Poland

Poland was interesting. I visited twice during our time living in Germany. Both were short trips with other friends to shop for Polish pottery in the town of Boleslawiec, Poland. The Polish countryside looks very similar to Germany but the towns and farms there look more like East Germany which still appears more economically depressed than over in the western half of the country. Thus, the farther north and east we drove in Germany from Stuttgart and the closer to the Polish border, the more drab the buildings and farms became. Everything faded into an industrial, dirty gray and pretty much stayed that way on into the country of Poland. The exceptions in Boleslawiec were the pottery shops themselves most of which were clean and brightly painted. Other than that, most of the apartment buildings, businesses, and houses were dull, dirty and run-down. People would hang out of windows staring lifelessly from between walls of peeling paint. It is always exciting to visit and explore new places and Poland was no exception to that. It was a fun, different, and sad place all rolled into one. The people were friendly and helpful and spoke some English and/or understood some German. We stayed in a bed and breakfast where a multigenerational family rented out rooms upstairs in their home as well as a separate cottage behind the house near the huge garden plot. They had a high, secure, and heavy iron gate that they locked across the driveway at night as car theft was rampant in the area. Everywhere we went, we either parked in a guarded or gated lot or in a parking lot directly in front of the large shop windows in order to keep an eye on the autos. One evening as we sat at a table inside a restaurant and had just finished ordering when my friend, Vivian, sprang to her feet and was out the door yelling in a flash! She had seen a young man near her car in the parking lot. It turns out, he simply wanted to wash the windows in exchange for some spare change but my friend shooed him away because she wasn’t taking any chances. Another lady, who accompanied us to Poland and back the first time, had been visiting that particular town in Poland periodically for the last 20 years. She and her husband had been stationed overseas much of that time and she would make sporadic trips into Poland via train or eventually by car. So, it was encouraging that even though it still seemed like many improvements were needed, she reassured us that much progress had already been made such as new roads and highways. On my second trip to Poland, I drove, so I found myself watching my own car in the parking lot more closely than on the first trip. And these window-washing boys seemed to appear out of thin air everywhere we went; restaurants, pottery shops, and even at busy intersections. The first trip had been in February and the second trip in May so that may explain the increase in solicitors the second time around. A couple of times during that second excursion, I noticed people congregating in the parking lot near my van. And both times when I stepped out of the shop door, the people drifted and/or drove away. If it had only occurred once I would have chalked it up to coincidence but since it happened more than once and both times in unsecured parking lots, I think it was more than just a coincidence; and especially since every time I simply stepped out the door, the people left the area. During one trip we drove to the town square and visited a toy shop, a crystal shop, and a material shop. While standing outside the bank, we were approached by a couple of young boys who asked us in halting English if we had any Zloty (Polish money). We honestly shook our heads, “No,” because all of the stores accepted Euros as well as Dollars. Then the boys asked for Euros and being at the end of our shopping excursion, we again said No. Then they switched to asking for dollars. When the answer was again, “No,” they quickly asked for chocolate! Once again, we laughingly shook our heads, “No,” with our empty hands in the air as the universal sign for empty-handed. After refusing them four times in a row, my friend pulled out an unopened pack of chewing gum and handed that to them as a consolation gift. Interestingly, the boys gladly grabbed it but appeared to not know what it was. As we were driving away in our car, we saw the boys huddled in a group, ripping open the package. And then, to our astonishment, they shoved several sticks of gum into their mouths, wrapper and all!! Well, of course, they spit it back out and we felt bad that our gift was spoiled and not enjoyed. It just never occurred to us that those boys wouldn’t even be familiar with chewing gum. This was one aspect of the sad side of the country of Poland.

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Polish Pottery Mix-up

Once we moved to Germany, we were quickly introduced to Polish Pottery. It is hand-made, hand painted, high quality stoneware from the city of Boleslawiec , Poland. This small city lies just a couple hundred kilometers across the border to the Southeast of Berlin. This pottery was everywhere on the American military bases in Germany. There was some in the PX and some in the Commissary and even a few smaller less expensive pieces for sale in the gas station convenience store! And, in the local American shopping mall complex, there was one entire store that sold nothing but Polish pottery imports.

The best comparison for Polish Pottery I am familiar with is either Pampered Chef stoneware or Home and Garden Party stoneware. The difference is that Polish Pottery is completely painted and glazed inside and out. Thus, it is really beautiful stoneware that is just as durable; it can go from the dishwasher to the microwave, into the oven and then onto the table as a serving piece. This pottery is quite expensive once imported to the U.S. but if you travel across the border into Poland and purchase it there, not only is there a tremendous selection but the price is much less as well. This price difference is mostly due to the exchange rate between the Polish Zloty and the Euro or the U.S. dollar. I did some price comparisons on websites while living in Germany and a typical cereal-size bowl that would cost about $30 to $40 in the United States, I could buy on the American base for about $20 or drive to Poland and purchase it there for about $8 to $10. Thus, something which is financially out of reach for most people became affordable for many just through proximity.

When Cory and I had decided that it would be fun to purchase some Polish Pottery for our new set of dishware and as a memento and reminder of our time living in Germany, we were keeping our eyes open for a sale. When the new PX opened at a nearby American base, we were in luck. The local Polish Pottery wholesaler decided to have a half-price sale. They took some seasonal pieces and mixed sets and laid them out on a table marked half off. Our family had gone to the new mall and PX store to buy some things and have a familiar fast food dinner.

We noticed the sale when we walked into the mall that Sunday afternoon but did our shopping and then fed the family first. As we were finishing our fried chicken dinner, Cory sent me there to look things over and check out the sale. The Polish Pottery store had quite a few pieces that I liked on their ½ off table. I examined several pieces and counted the plates in stacks and did some quick mental math to see how much they were charging for the sale items. The ½ off price brought the cost down closer to the prices over in Poland which was a much more attractive and doable endeavor for us. Cory briefly brought the kids over to see the pattern and price of the stoneware but then quickly disappeared again to entertain the two and five year olds elsewhere while I stood in line to purchase the pottery. We did not want to be forced to buy some broken items just to replace their inventory!!!

It was drawing towards closing time, and there was a gal in front of me also buying stacks of the stuff on sale. I heard her ask about some other matching pieces and the store staff responded that they may get some more of it on the next truckload in a few days. The lady responded that she lived several hours away by car and wouldn’t be coming back anytime that soon. When they finished bagging and wrapping her items, she left and it was my turn to pay.

Since the store was near to closing, the other clerk began to add up my order on a calculator before the other customer had finished her transaction. Then another store worker began wrapping and bagging my dishes. So, by the time the other lady finished I just had to hand over my money, get my receipt, gather up my packages, and leave. My husband and teenage son reappeared to help carry the box and bags of dishes out to the car with our other household purchases. When we returned home, we got the younger kids into bed before we unpacked and inspected the newly purchased dishes. It was no surprise to my husband that I had spent about $100 but as he unpacked things and laid them out he was surprised that there were so few plates. We unwrapped every item and laid them on the table and then double-checked the back of the van. It was empty.

We were missing almost half of what I had purchased. It just wasn’t there. I looked at my husband ashen-faced and shook my head. “The lady in front of me must have ended up with a bag of my items,” I told my husband. We were missing all of the large plates, a creamer container and the small desert plates as well. “I’m so sorry,” I said.

“Well, you’ll have to go back tomorrow and tell them that you paid for those items and didn’t receive them,” Cory said.

“Okay,” I responded, “At least I have a receipt.”

“Yeah, but it’s very non-descript. And I want the dishes or I want my money back,” He explained.

Then I broke the bad news, “Well, we might not get the dishes back because I overheard the lady in front of me say she lived several hours drive away and wasn’t planning on coming back any time soon. Plus, she just ended up with some free dishes."

“Well, then I want my money back,” retorted my husband.

“I understand. I’ll go back tomorrow and see what I can do."

I was just so disappointed because we had purchased this particular pattern because we liked it but also because there was almost an entire set of matching dishes on sale. And now I only had ½ of them. It truly ended up being a half price sale; half the money but half the dishes as well. I was hoping to make it back to Poland to purchase a few more matching pieces before we left Europe, but there was no guarantee that this would be possible.

I went back to the store and after some discussion the owner did, grudgingly, refund my money. And then about a week later, the pottery store called with the news that the dishes had been returned. So, I drove over to the next town again the following day to repurchase my returned dishes!!!