Karin's Adventures

As the year winds down towards winter there are more opportunities to take advantage of the natural ambience and be creative, yet traditional.
Even Halloween, with its over-commercialized candy madness, offers a more spiritual side for us old-fashioned people.

The tradition of carving a lantern started in the British Isles around the 1800s. However, it was traditionally sliced out of a turnip.

They were created
on All Hallows' Eve and left on the door step to ward off evil spirits.

An offering or, as we now know it, a "treat", would also be commonly left to placate roaming spirits - otherwise they might 'fiddle' with property or livestock (play a "trick").

Once the tradition moved to the US, it was adapted to the carving of a pumpkin as these vegetables were more readily available, bigger and easier to carve.

Today is the 'official' date to celebrate German-American Day, a little known Holiday that commemorates the foundation of Germantown, PA, on 10/6/1683. I welcome the opportunity to rethink my own German-American identity, especially now - right after returning to the USA from a much needed vacation in Germany.

When you move from one continent to another you expect 'culture shock'. Everything is new, different, better or worse. You're struggling to adjust and learn while trying to keep your personality and memories. After a while you may begin to think that integration was successful. Surprises occur less frequently. Until you travel to the old world and realize the treasures you lost in exchange for the riches you gained.

I define victory as the moment you succeed in combining the best of both worlds for yourself, and becoming a true German-American, or whatever your personal two worlds are called.

For the most part taxes in the USA are lower than in Germany. With the exception of property taxes, which are so high that some people have to move out of their homes because they can't pay the taxes anymore.

In Indiana people voted a tax cap into the Constitution last year. Property tax on people's homes can now be up to 1% of the assessed value. Which means the counties have to raise the property values if they want to collect more taxes.

That explains why, in the middle of an ongoing deep recession and a dead housing market, our property's value miraculously went up a whopping 18% from what it was last year!? I wasn't just going to accept that, so I spent three hours searching for similar properties in our immediate neighborhood that sold within the last 12 months for a price significantly lower than our new assessment.

I went on the Allen County Tax Assessor's own website, entered names of streets in our addition on the search page, and then clicked on every single link that came up. Hundreds of them. I found five properties that sold recently. We submitted an appeal based on my findings - and they really lowered their assessment!

It's now 'only' 9% above last year's - still way higher than what we could sell for, but at least within reason.

One reason to have a German bank account is the convenience and security provided with their online banking. Doing your own ACH wire transfers to any account in the world is a feature that most bank customers in the USA don't even ask for - because the eye can't see what the mind doesn't know.

Currently online banking transactions in Germany are secured using the iTAN method: you receive a list of TANs from your bank in the mail. Whenever you initiate a transaction online you will be asked to provide one TAN from the list. Each TAN can only be used once. If somebody happened to know your bank, your account number, the routing number, your online banking password, and get a hold of your TAN list, they could empty out your bank account. 

Several banks have now implemented the new, more secure, chipTAN technology - I am impressed!

I had the opportunity to see the new technology in action on a real live wire transfer. Here's how it works: You purchase a small box, the code sender. Once you register that device online, activate your bank account for use with chipTAN and insert the chip card (EC card) that is assigned to your bank account into the device, you're ready to generate your own TANs on the fly.

After you enter the details for a banking transaction you will be instructed to hold your code sender up to a flickering graphic on your computer screen. The transaction details will be shown on the sender and after you confirm accuracy a TAN will be displayed. Type that into the application on your computer, hit submit - done. Now crooks would need to get a hold of your chip card and the TAN generator in addition to all the other details to gain access to your account. That's highly unlikely.

Just a few days ago I was made aware of an amazing company in Northeast Indiana. Albanese Candy makes gummis from 100% USA grown ingredients. The factory is right here in Indiana too! No outsourcing anything to China. I support that, and I love gummi bears.

Albanese gummis are quite different from the Haribos I grew up with. They are softer, bigger, come in more colors, and have a more intense taste. You'll recognize an Albanese gummi bear by the 'A' on its belly.