Week "ein" is in the books and I can't believe it has been a whole 10 days! Look at that, the small town girl is surviving abroad (yes I'm talking to you, all of you encouraging friends that responded with "hahaha LaGrange does Germany" when I explained my plans). I knowww, "10" is barely hitting the double digits. Whatever. In terms of moving halfway around the world to a city where you don't know a soul, 10 days seems pretty lengthy in hindsight. Baby steps.
So many times in my life I have heard people complain about how they wish they could move to a place where they wouldn't know anyone [blah, blah, blah]- to which I, usually, mentally roll my eyes. I mean come on, insert rationality. Personally I have never entertained the thought, but I am finding myself oh-so-thankful to be living out the dream of those many "irrational" people. Although it's difficult to start a life in a new place, it's so refreshing, and I think it finally dawned on me the other day as I was biking solo into the city. Somewhere in the middle of stopping every 5 minutes to take pictures of totally ordinary things like a true tourist, one of my favorite songs came on shuffle and I had this moment of sublime happiness. It was sort of like an "I have no idea what I'm doing here but this is exactly where I'm supposed to be" feeling. Call them what you will, but I call these moments signs. And maybe it was an Eagles song, maybe it wasn't an Eagles song (talking to you now, Crouch fam). So 16 miles later when I arrived back home, I was still in La-La Land with my epiphany and the fact that I hadn't engaged in a single conversation with anyone the entire day (because, hello, I literally cannot) was just a minor detail of the trip. Each day is a challenge to adjust but it's exciting and reviving and I'm enjoying each one as it comes. "Color my life with the chaos of trouble," I wouldn't have it any other way.
And speaking of the speaking thing, I have finally gotten up enough courage to say "sprechen sie Englisch?" when communicating (or lack thereof) with the friendly people of this city. That's pathetic, I'm aware, but German is intimidating- am I right or am I right? Cue more baby steps. This may be the one time in my life that my habit of wearing my feelings transparently on my face is actually beneficial. Usually the locals can tell immediately that I get super awkward with their charming language and jump right into English-speaking mode. People can be so helpful! Don't forget it.
Alright, end pointless post here. And happy Mother's Day, Mom! I'm doing my best to "remember who raised me", just as you advised me to before I got on the plane. Only in the south. xx.
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