Arrived Alive

I am here!

The flight was so uneventful I won’t say anything except that compared to the Indonesia flights.. it was a dream! (way less time, way more leg room and way less instant noodles)

When I arrived I was met at the airport by one of the ladies from HR and she drove me back to my new place and then took me to buy a few essential groceries. Talk about a stressful experience! There is a very particular way to do groceries here.. you have to be organized, you have to be efficient and you have to be fast! So very very different from my Indonesia days.

I haven’t been here for long but every day or hour rather I’m starting to like this place a wee bit more. My first evening was fairly rough and I was cursing myself for not just taking a holiday in Europe first. What is with me moving to these crazy countries without thoroughly researching them first.. or at least visiting??? I think it was also a bit hard because I had spent some amazing time in Canada in July, surrounded by my friends and family. I was never alone for over a month and now I am very much alone. Well I got no friends… yet!

Friday we had our first day of orientation and it went really well. The people at the school seem really nice and friendly and happy to be here. Everyone is so helpful and the other newbies are fun too. There is a girl who is around my age and we’re both teaching the same subject, so that’s a blessing!

I have only just started exploring the city and figuring out the trams and buses. It’s fairly straightforward but I have a horrid sense of direction and so have gotten myself lost more times than I care to admit. It’ll come though. The nice thing is that whenever I get lost it seems that someone shows up who can speak English and help me out. This is a good thing and just another way I can tell that God is watching out for me. I am lost and lonely but I am not alone.

There are a couple things I need to do before I feel totally settled here. One is to learn German and the other is to buy a bed. OK so one may take a little more time than the other but both are important to my comfort and well being in Germany.

There is a really cool feel to this place. There are little bakeries and markets everywhere. I live about a 5 minute walk to the school and even less to the tram stop. Two tram stops North and I’m in a cool little village with little shops and things. Eleven stops South I’m in the busy downtown area.

Downtown is all cobblestone streets and outdoor patios and beer gardens. Everyone is biking or walking everywhere and I already feel like I’ve walked more this weekend than I did for a year in Indonesia. I am ready to embrace a healthy lifestyle.

Things are expensive.. very expensive. For example, yesterday I spent my life savings on an umbrella! Well if you know how I am with money.. my life savings isn’t really all that much but I was shocked at the prices! I do think an umbrella is an important investment though so I’m trying to get over it. I have found a few cheaper food stores and such so hopefully I can live within my means.

I think once I am a bit more settled I will really like it here. That’s what I think today anyway.