Found a new place
I just got back from my "information trip" which is a day of meeting with the new coworkers, 3 days of apartment hunting and a trip to Ikea. By Friday I was alone, frustratrated, and desperate to talk to another native English speaker. I rode the train ino Stuttgart and walked through the annual Christmas market. I was so fed up with strangeness I couldn't even bring myself to fight through the crowd and order lunch. I think I went back to the hotel and ordered a beer, collected my thoughts, and was ready to go again. I can only imagine what 4 months into this will be like.
I found a place to live in Feuerbach and opened a German bank account. It's starting to come together.