Football Game

By football I mean soccer, of course!

Last night we gathered at Martin’s sister’s place in Cologne to watch the game between FC Bayern and FC Chelsea, aka Munich vs. London.

I’m no sports reporter, but it was a good game! Munich lost by 1 point (or something). It was a really close match throughout.

I was confused who I would cheer for. Do I cheer for Munich because my boyfriend is German and I live in Germany? Or for London because of Canada’s old colonial ties?

What a tough choice!

In the end, I decided to be anti-nationalistic and cheer for neither team. I like to think of myself as an individualist, so I cheered only for the individual men who I found the best looking. Regardless of team or country, because attractiveness is not bound by which team you play for, or which country you’re from.

But then I found it hard to decipher which ones were the hottest. Do I cheer for the conventionally attractive, of which there were many? Or the ones whose “personality” reached out through the screen. There was one guy from the London team who wore a thin headband. That, was HOT. A man who is not afraid to show his feminine side is always a plus in my books, but how does he fare against the VERY good looking German goalie?

So then I cheered for everyone. I’m friendly that way.

Survived my first German wedding!

Martin and I have been travelling a lot these days. We were at his parents’ place for Easter weekend, and last weekend we also went back to attend his cousin’s wedding. Here is a picture of us at the reception:

It was so much fun! And also my first German wedding. The big difference is that most German (and French) weddings are more casual/semi-formal and they have different wedding games. One game I saw was when the bride and groom was presented with a big banner with a painted heart on it. They had to cut the heart out with tiny scissors and then step through it together.

I was afraid there would be no vegan food, but it turned out that there was more than I could eat and it was SOOOO delicious. Couldn’t eat the cake though, which I’m sure was also delicious (Germans really know how to make cakes/pastries!).

Tomorrow we’re off to Hamburg for a few days. Martin has a work trip and guess who’s finally tagging along!!

Hope you’ve been well.

Expat Meme Part II

This meme was originally published by a Touch of Dutch here.

Long answers ahead…

What activities or routines do you participate in now, on a daily or regular basis, which you had never done before in your home country?

Commuting. Cooking. Language learning.

I used to live/work/play/study in one big city (Toronto), and never had to use regional transit. I now live 75km away from school and need to time my life well.

I also cook now! Martin and I made 2 curries (1 tandoori, 1 madras) and some parathas for dinner today. I also learned to cook Chinese food, because I crave it all the time. I can’t easily go out to eat Indian or Chinese food here, and if I don’t cook it myself, I would always be eating bread. So there’s no other option. I need to cook! As a result, my cooking skills have improved by a lot.

German classes to the tune of 13 hours per week is another big change. No one in my class really speaks English either.  When I took German classes in Toronto, it was  2 hours per week and we ALL spoke English to each other. The little German we did speak was littered with English adjectives, or merely English sentences translated word for word in German. Ooh. I can’t do that anymore. Not if I want people to understand me! Although I miss my German class buddies from Toronto a lot. *sniff*

If you will be soon or eventually going back to where you came from, do you feel you would be able to reintegrate well, or do you feel there would be difficulty? Please explain why you feel you would or wouldn’t be able to get along fine. And would you choose to return to the place where you came from, or would you rather try a new location in your home country? If so, where?

I’m not planning to go back to Toronto anytime soon, because I’m just too busy here with school and life. But I don’t think my 1 year away will hinder me from reintegrating back into the culture. At least I hope not! The only thing is, my English is suffering. It takes me more time to come up with words and I draw blanks a lot when I’m trying to describe something simple. If I did move back to Canada, I think I would want to settle somewhere out of Toronto. Not because I don’t love Toronto (I do!) but because I’ve spent all this time away, I’d be afraid of Toronto feeling too normal (boring) to me. I’d want the challenge of trying to make it somewhere else. It’d definitely have to be in a big city though. That certainly narrows it down for Canada by a lot!

Will you be living in the country where you are an expat for the rest of your life? For example, after you no longer need to be living abroad, if this is your situation, would you choose to remain in your host country? Or would you prefer to go back to where you came from?

Well, I am banking on the ‘rest of my life’ being a long stretch away. So I can’t really say if I’ll be living in Germany for that long. My gut instinct right now is No. While I like it here and would miss it a lot if I had to leave (I know because I’ve already left once!), I can’t shake that Canada feels more like home. At least in Toronto, my Mom is there and I love how it’s so diverse. So yes, I think I would prefer to go back to ‘where I came from’. But the more I get integrated into German culture, the more I’ll love it and be more comfortable here.

Name at least one thing you had assumed/stereotyped about the culture and/or lifestyle of the citizens before you came to the country abroad where you are living? And if you were to now explain how you feel about these same assumption, would you say your assumption was correct? Or do you feel differently, after witnessing for yourself? Feel free to explain what you now think or how you now feel about this.

The only thing I really thought about was that Germans eat a lot of meat. When I came here, I noticed it to be true. I guess I also thought that society here would be less sexist with gender issues, since they have a female Chancellor. But I actually find it to be more sexist here on an everyday level, which seems to be socially accepted.

Do you have experience living in other foreign countries beside the host country where you live currently? 

No. I did spend most of 2009 here in Germany, but it feels like it doesn’t count because I wasn’t really doing the same thing or had the same intentions. When people ask me, I tell them I’ve been here for 1 year since I moved here [for the second time] in September 2010.

What leads you to be abroad? Is it due to love, or do you have completely different circumstances?

Love and grad school. I came here to study so that I could be part of a network and do something productive, whilst being near Martin again. This was a good choice. Grad school currently is riding on my nerves, and can be an incredible amount of pressure. But being with Martin is so wonderful! He is really cute and sweet and it beats being across the Atlantic from each other.

Do you find yourself surprised by how things have changed while you were away?

No. I haven’t been away for that long, but I do get surprised at how things haven’t changed since I left. Maybe because I feel like I am changing so much, doing so much, experiencing so much at a rapid rate, while in comparison, things have stayed the same in Toronto.

Do you feel you have more knowledge and/or experience in, for example, worldly issues/topics?

I definitely feel I have more cultural understanding than I did before I moved abroad. I also understand first hand what it’s like for immigrants in a new country. Of course, I feel a little more well rounded with my opinions regarding environmental science and international relations, since that is what I study. For example, if you want to talk to me about the UN, I now understand more of what they do (or don’t do) compared to before when I had little to no opinion.

Do you feel personally or more culturally enriched by your experience[s] living abroad?

I feel both personally and culturally enriched by being here. I feel a deep sense of personal enrichment because I’ve always wanted to live abroad and learn another language, and that is exactly what I’m doing now.

While I feel so culturally enriched that I wish I didn’t feel so culturally enriched. I’m still at that point in my expat life where things are frustrating. I’m over the honey moon and novelty stage and really need to buckle down and learn. So a little less cultural enrichment couldn’t hurt.

Elf-Elf

Tomorrow I’m skipping German class to go to Cologne for Karneval!

It’s a HUGE street party where everyone gets dressed up, sings, and drinks Kolsch (Cologne beer).

I’ve swapped last years’ blonde wig for an electric blue one. Really excited!

I’m Cruisin’

Now that I have my German driver’s license, Martin has been teaching me to drive stick!

At first I hated it. Like I really found it stressful and didn’t know WHY anyone would choose standard when they could easily drive automatic instead.

Actually, I still don’t really get it but since Martin’s car is the only car I have access to, and it happens to be standard (and most people drive standard here), I must learn.

Just like I must learn German, you know? lol.

So yesterday I drove all around Duisburg in semi-busy traffic. I’m still getting the hang of it and I’m not super smooth yet, but I can drive without annoying people too much, and I’m actually starting to enjoy it. Soon Martin will teach me how to drive on the Autobahn.

We’ve also made an agreement that once Martin comes home from work, that I will be doing all of the driving. Like when we go grocery shopping or have to run errands with the car. That will be my responsibility to shuffle us around town.

I’ve just realized that Martin is quite clever. He’s training me to be his chauffeur!

 

Fast fließend

My German interview-test was today, and despite being nervous and crying about it last night (sorry Sweetie), it went well!

The test was to place me in a German class at the community college. I had to have a conversation in German. Nothing crazy, but understanding when other people speak is pretty difficult for me. They have to speak slowly, use easy words, and preferably with a neutral, unemotional tone. If they can repeat themselves 3 times, then even better!

I was afraid my German would suck so much that I’d have to start all over again. But I ended up doing okay. I even got placed at a level higher than what I was aiming for. Apparently I am one level shy of being fluent.

My tester said my German is very good for someone who has taken so few courses. She said she was surprised that I don’t normally speak German in my everyday life (i.e at school or with friends) and that my vocabulary is broad -  but that I still speak slow and my grammar is shaky.

So I’m now enrolled in a semi-intensive course (5 hours/week) from September to December. If I pass a test in December, then I’ll go onto the next level which is for fluent-speakers.

That’s NUTS. I’m SOOOO excited. My big goal is to be fluent in German. I still have a long way to go, but it feels good to be on the right track.