Peaceful Easy Feeling

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.

Another Kind of Green

Though I have only been in Germany for roughly 30 hours, I think this place is incredibly special already. Even at first glance from the plane window, Germany is beautiful. I was practically in the lap of my window-seat neighbor while the plane was landing in effort to take in the lush scenery. Germany is covered in vibrant shades of green, especially right now, and it really is an amazing sight to see from above. Think green patchwork.

It wasn't until I was 33,000 feet in the air that I realized I was going to be living in Germany for the foreseeable future- weird, right? Welcome to my life. The situation should have already been a reality with as much preparation as it required, but I guess it took being seated on flight 24 surrounded by passengers reading varying forms of German literature to make it feel "real." Nonetheless, I had a great (though long) flight and found myself waiting with my right-at-the-weight-limit bags at Starbucks after only being questioned about my passport once by the airport authorities. The amateur traveler rejoices. Oh and, while I'm rejoicing, PSA: my fear of flying has finally subsided. Conquering major things here on day one! Big thanks to Delta for their help that comes in the form of boxed white wine. You stay classy, major airline.

The family I'm staying with is wonderful. They are a beautiful blonde bunch and have made me feel very at home from the moment they picked me up from the airport. The children are very intelligent and so well-rounded. It made me smile waking up to the sound of the eldest girl taking piano lessons this morning. It's the simple things. Sidebar: their last name, Engel, literally translates to "angel" in English, coincidence? It never is (reference the E. Lesser quote from the last post here).

The town is very quaint and the people are friendly. It's pretty picturesque. Thankfully, most everyone here speaks English- emphasis on the "thankfully." I feel like such a black sheep being able to speak only one language. That said, I love hearing the exchange of German conversation. Even as I write this, I am enjoying listening to the German couple sitting beside me talk casually over lunch. It's a humbling thing not being able to speak the main language of a country in which you are living and I am appreciating every second of it.

I had some free time today so I decided to bike around and get my bearings. I biked down to the river (the Rhine River), walked around the local castle ruins (eat your heart out LaGrange), and now I'm sitting outside of the café down the street reading "The Sun Also Rises". Shout out to the thoughtful friend who gave me this always-amazing-product-of-Hemingway as a parting gift. Love it. All in all, it's been an effortlessly enjoyable day.

So I'll leave you with my deep thought for the day: it's a funny feeling moving to a place where you do not know or expect anything other than the fact when you leave, you won't be the same person you were when you arrived. Yeah? Here we go, Düsseldorf.

As the Germans say upon departure: "Tschüss." xx.

With Full Abandon

Disclaimer: I am not a blogger. Now, no offense to all of you skillfully trendy bloggers, I enjoy overanalyzing your sepia-toned quotes and digging through your DIY How-To-Antique-Everything-You-Own tutorials just as much as the next Pinterest addict, but the idea of keeping an Internet journal just really isn't my "thing." Of course, with that said, here I sit trying my hand at being trendy by creating the ever-cliché travel blog (i.e. the purpose of this blog is to keep my family, and prematurely-failing memory, up to date with my experience abroad).

After graduating from UGA this past December and being forcefully removed from Athens, I decided that moving to Europe was the next logical task on my to-do list. After all, what else do you do with a Marketing degree?... Jokes, Mom. Long story short, I found a German family in need of an American au pair and I'm currently trying to cram an obscene amount of "necessities" into two suitcases that will meet me in Düsseldorf, Germany at the end of the week.

For the past several months I have been envisioning myself galavanting around Europe like a professional tourist, but just as quickly as my flight is approaching, my nerves are setting in. I mean, aside from the fact that I'm terrified of flying, I also speak little to no German. Just kidding, I don't speak any German at all. And did I mention I hate flying? However, just about the time my nerves are causing me to second guess my temporary relocation to Deustchland, a sweet friend of mine sends me the link to an article titled "3 Reasons to Travel While You're Young" and my worries are laid to rest.

Reason number two, "traveling helps you encounter compassion," is enough to have me waiting by the door alone because, for me, that is what this is all about- this living thing. There is a quote by Elizabeth Lesser (author of an incredible book titled "Broken Open") that states "people and events are rarely what we think they are. They are more meaningful, more worth our attention- part of some finely choreographed, eternal dance that we would be wise to bow down before in gratitude and humility." In short, meeting new people is a gift and I am nothing but lucky to be able to do so while learning about new cultures at the same time. No second guessing that.

So here's to new opportunity- and to me hopefully arriving in Germany without reenacting Kristen Wiig's plane scene from Bridesmaids. Auf wiedersehen, y'all. xx.