In case you missed it, I’m somehow out of America again. In Germany, and happily taking in everything I can from this amazing country and this fantastic culture. It might be the chocolate, and it might be the copious amount of tea and beer I’ve drank. It’s probably both.
The city I’ve made my second home is Dresden. It’s located in the South East of Germany, and was a main city in the old part of the DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik), under Soviet Control for a good part of the second half of the 20th century.
I’ve been here for a a mind boggling two weeks, but it feels like I’ve been here forever. The city is one of the few places I’ve lived for longer than the average vacation time, and it was less than two hours before I felt home. Speaking German everyday is like a dream, and meeting new people just makes me smile. There’s hiking, cooking, traveling and the ability to make everyday an adventure, whether we go to Königstein or stay in Dresden.
I probably could do that in America… but there’s something so exciting about being in Eastern Europe. At last. Being the place where my heart has longed to go since I read The Balkan Ghosts or The Historian. I feel like I’m in some sort of novel where I’m the main character.
Sorry Boston. I love you dearly, but Germany beats you by a mile.
It’s better than England (no offense to my favourite friends). And about minus missing family, it’s 10 times better than Virginia. They never warned us about this at orientation. It was all, be careful about being homesick, and don’t get worried when culture shock hits.
Missing the point, much?
I’ve never felt more at home traveling and actually having the ability to act like an adult. Our small group of Americans, who of course I have mixed feelings about, is cozy and I already feel like I’ve known some of them for years (notwithstanding my dear roomie Stephanie and German buddy Naomi).
What else? Internet not being a deal, the reading, the walking, being able to speak German whenever I want! I don’t have to find a partner to speak with. I just have to walk a block down, or email my Link Partner.
Maybe the shine will wear off, and maybe I’ll end up hating it. But somehow I doubt it. How could anyone hate this country is beyond me?
I’ve decided that perhaps a weekly post is more realistic for me, so I’ll try and update you on anything life changing and keep a record of my travels interspersed with my extremely biased International Relations analysis’s.
That’s all folks, Tschüss!
Positively Gabriella 