So here we are. I have been in Freiburg for 5 days and I won't lie, it has been a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me. It was easy to romanticize the move, but actually living it is little more difficult. When I was coming here for the weekend to visit I had no cares. I didn't mind that no one could understand me and the issue of having friends here was nonexistent because my little wedge of America was always on the horizon. Although I feel really dumb saying that, it is true, Garmisch and the Abrams were a slice of comfort. I'm not exactly sure when my attitude shifted from the thought that this was another holiday to this is my life now. Marcel says it was about 10 minutes outside of Freiburg, I think it was when he was talking to the girl who had rented his flat while he was doing his internship. As the conversation carried on my thoughts were something along the lines of "Wow, I don't understand any of this. I don't know German. I don't know any German. What the f*ck am I doing here?".
I would gauge my emotions this week on the same level as a hormone ridden pregnant woman, minus the whole pregnancy bit. I'm crying one minute, laughing the next, and it's all out of my control. Don't misinterpret any of this though. I'm so happy to be here, it just took me getting here to actually realize what a hard move it was going to be. I'm not letting myself form any opinions for a couple weeks. It's too soon to decide how I really feel and to be fair, nothing bad has happened. I'm just overwhelmed at the thought of everything that is now on my plate. I start the job tomorrow morning and move into the flat in the afternoon. Opinion forming will begin approximately at 8:30am.
Now on to the 5 days of holiday. Despite the previous paragraphs, I have been having a good time. The first night Marcel could sense the oncoming depression and decided to take me to a special dinner at a little place called Kullman's Diner. It is Germany's take on "American" food. The menu featured burgers, wings, caesar salad, curly fries, milk shakes, Snapple, and many other dishes you could find at any bar or diner. Not that I needed a burger and fries to feel at home, but it was a great change from the norm. Don't you worry, we did order German beer. The evening ended with both of us sinking into well deserved food comas. The following night Marcel's roommates returned home from holidays and several of his friends came over to celebrate everyone being together again. Honestly, I was dreading the evening in with the Germans. I was worried that speaking English wouldn't be their top priority and I would be the awkward girl sitting in the corner laughing just because everyone else was. Again, this was never something that bothered me before, but this is my life now, so I have a different outlook, I suppose. Although I was nervous, the night was a lot of fun and I had some great conversations with his friends. It was one of those times where you envision the worst scenario and then the exact opposite occurs. Tonight we are meeting the same friends to play a game they ordered online called The War on Terror. They said they were excited for me to explain some of the cards, should be an interesting evening in the war zone.
I'm now a member of the Freiburg English Club. I attended my first meeting last night at a cozy little Italian restaurant about a 30 minute walk from Marcel's flat. I was nervous, so I made sure to arrive about 15 minutes early to drink a beer and get settled in. Of course I had nothing to be nervous about. I met with the group on the alternative week, they usually meet every other week on Tuesday, so it was a smaller group, but conversation was plenty. I was the only American in attendance followed by a New Zealander, four Australians, one UK, two Germans, and the lone South American man who arrived minutes before we were leaving the restaurant. The old man from New Zealand introduced himself to me and I followed with the usual pleasantries. He seemed more than excited when he exclaimed "So, we have an American!! I can tell that much!". Maybe it was my midwestern accent? It was refreshing to speak English freely without wondering if I was being understood properly. They may not be the usual group of people I would pick to spend time with, but I think I will make it a priority to attend the dinners.
I will end this post with some wise words that Mom relayed to me minutes ago...
"Starting a new job is never fun. I always figure if I have found the bathroom it was a good day."
Tomorrow should be a breeze.
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