Blog Episode 2: Germ-lish

 Although we have only been here a week, I sit down to write this post and find myself struggling to select what it is I would like to write about. My writing hand has grown a new caulis from scribbling in my journal, and my camera roll would be busting at the seams if it harnessed physicality. 

The title of this blog post stems from my most recent adopted pattern of speech where I pepper in as much German as I know, then resort to English to fill the gaps in my sentences. My host family finds it hilarious when I give up, but this has turned into a game where I try to enter stores and complete transactions in German without them detecting that I am American. While specifically applied to language in the previous scenario, I find myself participating in this phenomenon in other aspects of my life as well. Applied only slightly differently, I have been eating "as the Germans do" as much as my schedule for the day allows, then filling in the gaps with my American dietary habits. I have enjoyed the trend of fresh vegetables and fruits being readily available, and have accepted the integration of high quality bread as a staple for daily cuisine. However, because im not sure I could make it a day without it, I convinced my host family to each try peanut butter, for apparently its not very common here. 

In other aspects of my life here in Germany, I have further welcomed the lifestyle components of transportation, punctuality, comfortable silence, and even air drying laundry. I adore my host family, and I'm very grateful for the patience they have shown me as I rockily adjust to their way of life. Not that the first few days were gilded, but I would say that I was immediately blinded by the culture shock and beauty of the scenery that I didn't instantly recognize the challenges I would face living abroad rather than simply vacationing here for a few days. I have embraced the challenges, such as the language barrier and public transportation with an eagerness to achieve normalcy in this environment. While that may seem a little over ambitious, I made my was across a few towns and up a mountain by myself within a few days; therefore, anything is possible. 

Here is us HOM students on our first day in the AIB! 

This is my sister Katharina and I on a bike ride through the local recreation trails! She is much better at navigating than I am, we don't have to talk about my crash. 

Every morning I have been starting my day with a plate similar to this, and believe me when I say I will be continuing this habit well into my return to the US.