Wir sind Weltmeister! For those of you who are fans of soccer like my husband and I are – or just of the World Cup, which is totally acceptable as a bone fide American – this has really been a memorable summer for ‘Schland. It’s kind of hilarious that so many people have been congratulating me as though Germany winning the World Cup has been my personal victory. Alrighty then. If anything, I am gracious, so thank you.
This Friday marks the first year anniversary of us leaving Germany for California. It’s amazing how quickly time flies – especially when you’re having fun. Or doing too much. Or both. That’s pretty much how it’s been all year.
Of course, it’s impossible not to reflect and think about how things were a year ago. We were jumping in headfirst into an uncertain situation with a blindfold on, leaving a very comfortable life for an opportunity to live in another amazing city on another continent, sight relatively unseen (excepting a road trip in 2010). In order to do that, we had to knowingly give away a vast majority of our material goods, say farewell to beloved friends and family, and be prepared to live a life less… European.
So far, life in the San Francisco Bay Area has been great for us. Taking time away from blogging has given me much needed time to acclimate to my new surroundings and complete my fourth book; instead of analyzing my new life, I allowed myself to just live it for a while. Still, over the past few months in the US, I’ve come to the realization that in many ways, over the years, I’ve become irreparably Germanized. So much so, many people automatically assume that I was born and raised in Germany (no siree – I’m a G.R.I.T.S. through and through). This is a condition that I’m okay with, but it has led me into some pickles in the past year.
1. I really, really want people to be on time when I make an appointment.
When someone tells me to be somewhere at 5 o’clock, I’m there on the dot. Combine this with the fact that I’m also impatient; it’s been a heck of a reverse culture shock to be somewhere and have to wait for at least 10 minutes before someone casually saunters up to me and wonders why I’m slightly irritated. No, I will not chillax – I will mentally cast you in my list of the Late Ones and habitually meet you ten minutes later than agreed upon in order to maintain a sense of calm.
2. Having a literal understanding of things is second nature to me.
It’s taking me a while to get back into the rhythm of using certain figures of speech. Once, I overheard someone say that they needed “hair of the dog”. The first thing that came to mind was a stereotypical witch creating some sort of concoction to cast a spell; the next was something similar, but in the name of Traditional Chinese Medicine (where everything, including the hair of dog, is used in remedies and treatments. For Real.) Only after some really hard eavesdropping did I conclude that the man wanted to drink more alcohol in the hopes of getting rid of his hangover. Right…
3. I code-switch like crazy.
In the middle of a conversation, I will throw in random German words and/or sentences, not realizing that this is happening until someone looks at me with a slightly bewildered expression and there’s a sudden lull in the conversation. Most of the time, I just smile, try to find the word or words that still come so easily to me auf Deutsch statt in meiner eigene Muttersprache, and move on.
So far, that’s the best lesson I’ve learned while living here in California – if something’s not quite right or feels too awkward, then simply move on. The quirkiness of the state is endearing, especially since my myriad quirks can, in many ways, be considered tame; and the atmosphere certainly encourages me to look forward and be creative. It’s such a beautiful and diverse state as well; no one has a legitimate excuse for being bored here. Living in the City is yet another adventure in the life of CountryEuroCityMouse!
Have a great week. xoxo CountryEuroCityMouse
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