Aussiedog

  ...or rather, some people on it.   I know, no-ones's forcing me to read all this, but FFS, I find it appalling, and depressing, how quickly some threads become pissing contests.  

  Exactly what I was thinking - like the English in the Algarve for example.

  Talk about powers of persuasion! I'm envious and curious - what's yout secret? I don't really need a Bosch one, although I'd be willing to try one from Bayern.   (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

  Author of Unreliable Memoirs and Falling Towards England, two of the funniest books I've ever read.   A truly brilliant, and funny, bastard.

  Well, I can relate - sort of - I think.   I have a similar reaction when I see or meet (often young) Germans who have been to Australia and who have presumably travelled around a bit and learnt something about the Aborigines and their culture. It bothers me when, for example,  I see and hear these kinds of people going on and on about the beauty and sacredness of Aboriginal culture... ...and I can't quite put my finger on why it irks me... ...and typiically, they have acquired a didgeredoo and are learning to play it... and I know I'm not being very coherent (and I'm not even half-pissed)...but this kind of thing does bother me... ...and I do somehow get what you're on about.

  That's all well and good, but what do you do when you're....?   Went to a party I danced all night I drank 16 beers And I started up a fight   But now I am jaded You're out of luck I'm rolling down the stairs Too drunk to fuck   (The Dead Kennedys)

Not sure about "wisdom", but so many song lyrics have meant something to me over the years.   This week it's:   'This life well it's slipping right through my hands These days turned out nothing like I had planned'   by Aussie legends, Powderfinger. (Never heard of them, right?)

  And tragically (and mercifully?), it won't really matter much to her where she is if she does get to that point - it might matter to you though.

Even after all these years here...I cannot bring myself to be, or can ever imagine myself being, an apologist for The German Way of Life. Sorry ;-)

I suppose you could try a Probeaufenhalt as you call it, although I have no idea if such a thing is possible. I do wonder though if sending your mother back to Germany (after more than 50 years living somewhere else!) really is the right thing for her. I visit an elderly lady who suffers from dementia every day and, in my opinion, uprooting her and placing her in the middle of an immediate environment that is almost completely alien to her would severly traumatise her. The lady I visit is dependent on, and holds onto, the world that she knows, to help her maintain her sense of  who she is, for her sense of reality. Yes, her memories of her earlier life have become increasingly important to her, but so is the security afforded to her by her daily routines, the faces and places she sees every day, the daily, predictable, pleasures, challenges, frustrations etc. of a life that she knows. A radical change such as the one you are proposing for your mum, would be detrimental to the wellbeing of this gentle lady. In my opinion.

  Yes.

In the same way as there is not one form of dementia, there is not one form of Parkinson's.   Wait for the daignosis, the prognosis, and then take it from there, is my advice. My father had some form of non-degenerative Parkinson's. His left hand used to shake, his ability to walk was affected, and there was definitely some disturbance of cognitive functions, but (with medication) his condition remained relatively stable for many years.   No, I'm not a doctor, but one of my brothers is, and you learn a lot along the way with something like this. 

    I'd have thought that how one responds to questions like these depends almost entirely on the context, and the intention of the enquirer.   If I'm on holiday and I meet someone - another tourist or someone employed in the tourism industry perhaps - and they ask me where I'm from, then most likely I'll accept their presumably friendly interest in me in good faith, and answer honestly. Whos knows, something like that could be the beginning of a beautiful thing.   This is a million miles from the situation @razorsandroses describes with the daughter of her Japanese roommate. The person who asked, "You're just babysitting, right?", had a clear (to me, anyway - especially in light of their follow-up)  misanthropic and rascist agenda. @razorsandroses Your response was pretty much perfect, in my book.   It does though, sometimes take a good nose, to sniff out the arseholes in this world - so to speak.    

  I agree.   I'm Australian and follow the exchange rate, and in actual fact you're lucky on at least one front, possibly two. One, as the euro is pretty strong historically speaking at the moment, and has been for the last few years, you're transfering at a propitious time in history really - be happy that you didn't have to do this when it was really in the dunny.(I presume you're not moving to Sydney because the euro is strong against the Aussie peso.) Two, it's getting stronger again right now. By the time you actually get around to making the transfer you might end up getting a better rate than you would have gotten two weeks ago.   Just a thought.

  But for you girfriend's sake, you probably should.