Over the last few months I’ve gotten to know a German expression that I’d never really paid attention to before… After submitting my dissertation in November and now finally having defended it on Monday (!), plenty of friends expressed concern that I should keep myself busy so that I don’t “fall in a hole” (in ein Loch fallen) that’s …
Happy Fourth of July to all my American readers out there! Hope you have perfect barbecuing weather and that the fireworks are beautiful. Today I get to combine the best of both worlds — decked out in stars and stripes for an Independence Day barbecue and then cladding myself in black, red, and gold for Germany’s quarter-finals …
It’s hard to believe that this week marks my sixth Germanniversary. Six years is the exact same amount of time that I lived in New York. It broke my heart to leave the city behind, but I was really ready for new adventures. It feels like a lifetime ago that I arrived in Bonn, before eventually making my way to Hamburg. …
A lot of my mental energy this week has been absorbed by having to renew my visa here in Germany. I let myself get worked up by all the paperwork and organization required, convinced that I will forget something totally vital. But there’s absolutely no reason for the worry because all of my experiences with Germany’s Ausländerbehörden …