100 Days

Today marks the 100th day I've lived in Germany. What a transition it's been!

After submitting my paperwork on June 4th, I finally received my residence permit with permission to work yesterday...day 99! This means I'll start teaching business English at companies around the Stuttgart area in the next couple weeks.

While I'm still no where near fluent in German, I can now say important things like "Can I have...," "I need...," "Sorry, my German is bad." and "How much does this cost?" I'm far more confident today going out by myself than I was when I arrived in May. I used to be petrified someone would talk to me in German and I wouldn't know how to respond. Now I'm used to it and have some basic phrases ready to go!

Many people from home have asked me if I'm happy here. The answer is a resounding YES! I am learning so much about myself and about what's really important in life as I explore this new culture. When you grow up without an international presence in your life, you tend to think things are done the American way all over the world...WRONG! Now that I'm seeing the way Europeans live, I can analyze the differences and decide which way I think is the best for me. They have different education systems, governmental structures, recycling laws, and general ways of living. I know I've mentioned some of these things before but most places are closed on Sundays, there are bike paths everywhere, cars are much smaller here, people aren't attached to their cell phones or jobs 24/7, and energy usage is a big deal here! That all takes some getting used to, but allows me to determine what matters to me and what doesn't.

When I see Alfons put away his work phone on Friday evening and not check it again until Sunday evening or Monday morning, that's pretty telling that he wants to focus on what's going on at home on Saturday and Sunday. He knows that if his company had a real issue he needed to tend to, that they'd contact him at home. He doesn't need to carry both cell phones and check work email every few hours, like most people in the States do. That doesn't mean that he doesn't work hard Monday-Friday. It just means he knows how to separate those areas of his life from one another, which is nice!

And regarding cars here, did you know that all the car companies make a smaller model than the ones you've seen in the US? Ford makes a Ka, Nissan makes a Micra, and Toyota makes an Aygo and IQ (both smaller than my Yaris). While these vehicles probably wouldn't be successful in the States since people love their pickups and SUVs, they are great cars and are a good option here since parking is limited and the city roads are small.

So those are some of my thoughts on Day 100. Thanks for following the blog and here's to more great adventures in the next 100 days! Cheers!!!