Hello! Happy Friyay! I hope you all are having an awesome day! We made it to the weekend, friends. This week has gone by extremely fast for me and that is probably because I began my Intensive German language courses on Monday. You guys this is a difficult language and your girl sounds very beginner. It’s wild being back in a classroom setting for four hours a day. I haven’t been in a single classroom for that long since high school. Although it’s challenging to learn a new language, it’s certainly refreshing to meet new people who are in similar situations as myself. There are about 20-25 other students in my class and it’s so fun to get to know other people’s background and to learn the language together.
As I was sitting in class today I had a realization, Wednesday officially marked three months since we moved abroad! Can you believe that? It literally feels like time has flown by. I started brainstorming what I wanted to say about these past three months and I came up with the idea of a “Three Month Check In”. This will be where I share what I have learned and what I have struggled with during my time abroad. I decided I want to do this every three months. I know I’ve mentioned many times before that I want to be able to share every second of this experience with you all, so what better way than making a three month check in tradition to share with you all? This is going to be a little longer than my usual posts so be sure to grab your cup of coffee or your glass of wine. Here’s to the first of the check in’s.
Difficulties:
- Missing loved ones: I have really missed having friends and family nearby. Since I haven’t been working or going to school up until this past week, it has been difficult to meet people. I have recently joined an organization called, “InterNations” that arranges expat meet ups so that’s been a fun way to meet others and with my language classes starting up, hopefully I will be making some friends in no time. It can also be difficult to keep in touch with everyone back home because of the difference in time zones. I appreciate my people always making the extra effort to chat with me during their work days though! Whether it’s on Skype, Google chats, WhatsApp calls, Snapchat messages – I AM THANKFUL FOR YOU. I know you all have busy schedules, and since I am asleep by the time you get off work, thank you for staying in touch during your busy hours.
- Getting used to walking everywhere / Public Transportation: Europeans are so outdoorsy and not lazy at all. They are out and about walking, running, and riding their bike, despite any weather conditions. I have spoken with others who have told me their walk to a destination only took 45 minutes but that it wasn’t bad at all. It’s extremely motivating to see people get around on foot and with no complaints. I’ll be the first to admit that while living back home, I had many opportunities to walk to my destination and I chose to drive, ugh! I also never took public transportation and now I take use it multiple times a day, and actually really enjoy it. It was difficult to navigate at first, especially with the language barrier. When we first arrived, one [short 5 minute trip] cost us 120 euros because we rode the tram without a ticket and got fined. You live + you learn though!
Differences:
- Reusable bags I had trouble remembering to bring my reusable bag with me everywhere at first because I never worried about it back home. Every single person brings their own bags to the grocery store and if you don’t, you buy a reusable bag.
- This one is for the ladies – there are no plastic applicators for the tampons. It is literally just the cotton portion. When I purchased tampons for the first time I was shook.
- Always having to carry cash on me. While back home 9/10 I didn’t have cash on me and now I don’t leave the house without cash. Many places don’t accept card so that is something we had to adapt to very quickly.
Things I Have Loved:
- Conquering Fears: It has been awesome knowing that I am able to do this- something that I was terrified of three months ago. I learn so many new things every day and I feel as if I am constantly challenging myself to try new things. I am a now a firm believer that you never know what you’re capable of until the second you step out of your comfort zone. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my life back home but I never knew I was missing this exact adventure.
- Traveling: I knew I loved going on vacation to somewhere warm and sunny- getting a nice tan while drinking piña coladas, but I never knew how much I enjoyed this type of traveling. The type of traveling that allows you to immerse yourself into different cultures, to pick something on a menu that you can’t read, to get lost so many times that you begin to lose count, the kind of travel where you have to challenge yourself, a lot- but at the end of it all, you end up leaving a better person than when you came. I know I have mentioned this before, but prior to moving abroad I hadn’t been out of the country besides our trip to find a flat so moving across the world has opened my eyes to many new things. I truly have a newfound love for exploring new places.
Until next time,
Tor
I loved reading your 3 month update! It made me so happy that I caught myself smiling when finished reading. What a great experience you’re living learning to grow culturally and to find out that you had it in you to face your fears by challenging yourself to take that step. I never doubted you could do it and it makes me so happy that you ate enjoying yourself and , who knew!!!, learning a new language!! And a difficult one on top of it!! You can do it and enjoy while you keenp challenging yourself. Live more Fuller!!!!❤️
ReplyDelete"the Germans are weird!" This is what my the American mother of the kids that I am babysitting told me and I would have said yes if I only continued living like how I lived in Malaysia which was mainly to earn a living. I am very happy reading your article and that you are learning German. I wrote articles about it and my love for Germany and the beautiful travel words that I wished that existed in English. I can so relate in bringing your tote. I have learned so many valuable things and traits from the Germans and I get offended for them if someone comes here and stay for just few days and complain about the right things Germans do. I wish you luck with learning the awful language according to Mark Twain. =)
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed reading through this & found it extremely relatable. I too have lived abroad, my recent being last winter living in Sweden. It was definitely an adjustment, I didn't have a car so I had to get used to all of the walking as well & it was freezing there, so that wasn't too fun! I really liked your quote about the comfort zone, that is so true. I once was told that a foreign country isn't made to make you feel comfortable, but to make its people feel comfortable. I thought that was spot on & kept that in the back of my mind! Best of luck to you! :)
ReplyDelete-Madi xo | http://www.everydaywithmadirae.com