It’s been a good long while since my last meme, so I let myself be inspired by this one about expat life over at Letters Home. If you’re living in an adopted country too, feel free to join in and drop a link in the comments.
How long have you lived away from your home country? Since June 2008.
Do you still feel like you’re just visiting? All the time, except when I don’t.
What do you notice the most has changed about your home country when you go back for a visit? Well, it’s only been a year, but having a new president sure does make life more pleasant.
If you were to move again, would it be back to your home country? That’s a complicated question. If it was just me in this equation, I certainly wouldn’t mind, but only if I felt like I had finished what I’d set out to do here, which I haven’t yet. It’s also nice to be near mein Schatz, you know. So, we’re staying for awhile.
Do you ever get homesick? Only during specific instances. Namely, when I’m craving sushi, missing my amazing friends, or watching political speeches.
If you read the news, do you read it in your native language or that of your host country? Still addicted to the NY Times website, but I occasionally watch the evening news here on television. I like comparing how differently the two countries often cover the same story — offers plenty of insight into all of our biases!
What do you like the most about Germany? Deliberateness. Environmental and social consciousness. The health care system. The (sometimes frustrating) specificity of the language.
What grates you the most? I wouldn’t mind if people weren’t allowed to get wasted on street corners or while riding public transportation or during parades or while sitting on a park bench at 9am on Sunday. In the U.S. we have this idea that, thanks to their general progressiveness and open-mindedness, Europeans learn how to have a non-disfunctional relationship with alcohol. Nothing could be further from the truth in Germany. I am so over public drunkenness already.
Did you speak the language of your host country before you arrived? Only a little bit, thanks to some weekly evening language courses in New York. But prior to my move, I also had the advantage of many, many hours of German immersion during visits with mein Schatz‘s friends and family. I like to credit most of my current comprehension to all that listening.
How long did it take before you felt comfortable speaking the language? I started feeling decent after a two-month intensive course in Bonn offered by my fellowship program. By now, I’m pretty much all German, all the time (although I still often prefer to speak English with mein Schatz). I’m not saying I’m particularly eloquent or anything, but I can get the job done.
If people switch to English when you speak to them in their language, how do you react? I try not to take it as a personal insult that my German is not good enough. But it’s only happened a handful of times, mostly during interactions that I know I can handle in German, so I continue speaking German out of pure stubbornness. There have been a couple of situations (appointments with an immigration lawyer, visa office, etc.) where I told myself that I would speak English if it got too complicated, but thus far, I haven’t really needed to. So far, so good (patting myself on the back).
What has been the biggest change you’ve had to make in leaving your home country? Wow, well giving up New York City was pretty tough. Hamburg has some pretty big shoes to fill, so I try not to let myself get stuck in the trap of comparing everything to NY because that won’t lead anywhere good (except when I’m comparing how much I’m saving on rent!).
If there were a button to improve anything about your expatriate life, what would it say on the button? Push here for soft, fluffy towels. Crunchy, air-dried towels are not my favorite thing. I managed in Uganda. I managed in Sierra Leone. But it Germany, life without a clothes dryer makes me cranky.