Our First Year in Germany!

Wow, I can't believe it has been one year since Serge and I started this international journey!  As I reflect back on the past year, I am flooded with many different emotions.  This has without a doubt been the most challenging 12 months I've experienced in my 25 and a half years, but it has also been extremely rewarding.  When I boarded that plane one year ago, I was, in one word, terrified.  I had no idea what lay ahead of me, and I was so sad to be leaving my friends and family.  Serge and I were married only 6 months before we packed up and headed overseas, and I wasn't really sure how our relationship would be affected moving 5,000 miles away from everything we'd ever known.  Let me tell you, if you want to get to know someone really well really quickly, my best advice would be to move with him or her to a country where you don't speak the language and where you have a very limited local support system.  I guarantee you will become intimately acquainted in a matter of weeks! :-) Serge and I have gotten through so many difficult challenges this year, and it has only strengthened our relationship.  As Serge's mentor expressed to him during a recent meeting, "When this is all over you will feel so confident, knowing you can get through anything," and I think this concept applies to our marriage as well.  We have been each other's partner, counselor, best friend, and travel companion over this past year, and I am so thankful to be on this journey with him!

Our wedding day, April 2010.
I love you even more than I did back then, Serge!

We have certainly had our fair share of struggles.  Things we took for granted at home: picking up groceries, asking for help in a store, shopping on Sundays or after work, are all a challenge when you have no car, a limited vocabulary, and shops are only open during working hours Monday through Saturday.  But I have become quite resourceful, and reading body language and using context clues are pretty much my specialty!  And thank goodness for the iPhone!  Leo Dict, my metric converter, Google Maps - these make everything so much easier!  I miss my family every single day, and it is especially hard knowing my niece is growing and changing so quickly without me there, but Skype has been such a lifesaver!  I really don't know how people did this before the Internet.  Getting to hear my niece's laugh, gossiping with my sister, asking my mom for advice, these things are so important to me, and I have learned never to take my friends and family for granted.

Got a craving for McDonald's?
Okay, but it's a 45 minute walk there, and a 45 minute walk back!

This country is very different from home, and living in a small town with mostly older residents, has been challenging, particularly coming from a state whose slogan is "Smiling faces. Beautiful places." The smiling faces here are few and far between, and when they are initiated by yours truly to a passing stranger, they are usually met with a confused stare.  But the optimist in me sees this too as a benefit; a year ago the unreciprocated smile would've hurt my feelings.  Today my skin is much thicker, and I realize it's just not customary here to smile at passersby.  And that's okay.

In nearby Braunfels during our information trip.
Oh innocent, little, future American expats, you have so much to learn!

Sometimes I feel like the little German-engineered engine that could, as the mantra "I think I can. I think I can." helps me get through the tough days, particularly those which are cold and gray.  The weather has been way more of a challenge than I was prepared for, but getting to see all four seasons was something I had never truly experienced.  The leaves changing colors, the snowy-white Christmas, the fields of flowers in the spring, and finally the 18-hours of sunshine in the summer - it's something I'm very grateful I was able to see.  (Remind me of this in November when I complain that I haven't seen the sun in 3 weeks! ;-))

Colorful autumn leaves make hiking so beautiful this time of year!

I didn't have to just dream of a white Christmas this year; I got to experience it!

The spring flowers here are worth the wait!

Laying out on our balcony is my favorite summer pastime!

Serge and I both recently finished The Geography of Bliss, a book chronicling the author's attempt to find the happiest places on earth.  When the author travels to Moldova, deemed the least happy country in the world, he asks residents what they enjoy about their nation.  Each interviewee answers, "Well the fruits and vegetables here are very fresh."  Serge and I found that pretty funny because that's always the first thing he and I say when people ask us how we like Germany.  The produce is fresh, usually local, organic, and seasonal, and way less expensive than in the US.  But there are definitely more benefits to our life in Deutschland than just the fruits and vegetables at the market.  We also really love our butcher shop! ;-) Juuuuust kidding!

Picking up some fresh produce at the Saturday market

The main benefit of life over here is of course the travel!  Germany is very centrally located, the train system is excellent, and the 6 weeks vacation that Serge receives gives us the opportunity to see all that Europe has to offer!  After our trip to Austria next month, we will have traveled to 10 different countries in 2011: Germany, Italy, Croatia, Greece, USA, England, Portugal, Czech Republic, France, and finally Austria, which is definitely something I never thought I would be able to do.

Rome is just a short plane ride away!

And I love the way that Germans value vacation and leisure time.  Did you know that if you get sick during a day you've taken off work as "vacation," you get the day back in your vacation allotment?  And companies give their employees "Urlaubsgeld," which is a monetary bonus to be used when you're on vacation.  How awesome is that?!  Not to mention that it's unlawful for an employee to work more than 10 hours in a day, and you get an extra hour of vacation time for each hour of overtime you work.  Serge is one of the most hard-working men I've ever met, but I love that the German law forces him to get out of the office, eat dinner with me every night, and travel, travel, travel! :-) I also love the history, the culture, the wine, the coffee, the architecture, and the slower pace of life in Germany.  And my favorite time of all is quickly approaching... the Christmas Markets!

Sit back, relax, and enjoy an afternoon glass of Riesling in a biergarten. You deserve it! 

I have learned so much about myself, my husband, and the world in this past year.  I've seen things I never thought I'd see.  I've done things I never thought I'd have the time to do, like learning to cook primally and reading over 25 books, including all 1100 pages of Atlas Shrugged and a novel in German!  I'm strengthening my marriage and making a lifetime of memories.  I'm broadening my horizons and cutting down on my carbon footprint - all this walking, using public transportation, shopping with canvas bags, and recycling is totally going to earn me that QX56 when this is all over! ;-)  I'm learning to be more accepting, open-minded, easygoing, confident, and resourceful.  I'm becoming more appreciative of the little things in life and learning what's really important to me and what I want in my future.  This past year has been tough at times, but it has also been a blessing.  And I'm so excited to see what this next year of expat life has to offer!  Alles Gute zum Jubiläum, und viel Glück im nächsten Jahr!

You've come a long way, baby!