My ipod, my friend

Last spring, I found myself a bit lost. In the evenings, David would be on one computer watching TV shows he had downloaded off the internet, shows I was not interested in, such as Dexter or Ultimate Fighting; the kids would be on the other computer chatting with friends, writing e-mails or looking at silly videos on youtube; the younger two would be playing Playmobil and I would be twiddling my thumbs. There would be nothing I wanted to watch on German TV, I had no new books to read or had already spent three hours reading that day, and I had heard all the songs being played on the radio 3 times already that day. I was surprised to find myself feeling blue and lonely. I needed something, but I wasn't sure what it was.

One day, I was chatting with my friend Kathy, trying to explain my not-so-important dilemma, and bemoaning the fact that I couldn't even listen to Dr. Laura anymore in the evening. Dr. Laura's show is on our Armed Forces Network AM station in the evening with no commercial interruption, right when I am washing dishes. I had tired, however of what I considered to be her "anti-woman" viewpoint. Kathy suggested, "Have you ever tried podcasts? I'll load a few podcasts on my ipod and listen to them while I'm doing things around the house." No, I hadn't, but I was so desperate to feed my brain, I would try anything.

I checked out itunes and was flabbergasted by the sheer volume of podcasts, the great variety of topics and was relieved to see that most were free. NPR had dozens of podcasts that sounded appealing, there were loads of podcasts for moms, language courses, anything you could think of. And so, I began downloading podcasts and putting them on my ipod.

It wouldn't be such an exaggeration to say that podcasts have changed my life and that I have fallen in love with my ipod. During the day, going about my business, I no longer feel lonely. And when I open up my e-mail to find no new messages, I'm not too disappointed because I know I have my buddies on my ipod waiting to tell me a story, teach me a thing or two, or make me laugh.

Here is a partial list of what I listen to: I have the ManicMommies who amuse me with their stories of being working moms and navigating through the day with their young children; NPR's This American Life with its first-person stories relating to one theme (frenemies, a day in the life of a highway rest stop, the kindness of strangers), NPR's Wait, Wait....Don't Tell Me, the hilarious weekly current events game show that catches me up on the water cooler talk I often miss being out of the country; Stuff You Missed in History Class that gives me 15-minute talks on everything from Lady Godiva to Bonnie and Clyde to the Berlin Wall; NPR's Talk of the Nation is a call-in show and topics recently have been about how to properly apologize for bad behavior (in light of the Kanye West, Joe Wilson and Serena Williams outbursts), and the cultural influence of The Cosby Show; and What Really Matters features two moms talking about different ways to simplify the hectic life of today's typical American family .

There are expat podcasts, but the ones I have checked out seem to be geared toward people working in a foreign country, not toward stay-at-home moms living in a foreign country. But Rick Steves, the travel writer, has a podcast that gives some international flavor to my laundry folding chore. And one of the first things we'll do once we move home and get settled is join the local NPR radio station seeing that many NPR podcasts get their features from NPR radio broadcasts and I am now greatly in their debt.