Feeling like a Foreigner

Today, I searched the web for an American blogger who had already published a few posts about their time in Germany. I wanted feedback for what I am going to expect next month. I will be living with two of my American friends for the first two weeks of the trip in Berlin. Then for the final two weeks, I will mostly be on my own. I am looking forward to this because it is something I have never done before. I see it as my ultimate freedom. A new country, new culture, new people with no constant iPhone and internet connection - just the freedom to roam the world.

The Resident on Earth blog is written by a woman named Jen who moved from the United States to Germany to live with her boyfriend, who she calls “The Mann.” I love her narrative style of writing and the subjects she addresses through her variety of posts on German movies, German food, German toilettes, and much more.

I want to share with you a post of hers, The Foreigner, that I really enjoyed and I thought pertained directly to my desire to prepare myself for a German life. She shares with her readers the experience she had returning back to the U.S. after a few months of living in Germany with The Mann.

German Architecture from Jen's blog.

At this point in Jen's life (on April 26^th, 2011), she is in a state of reverse culture shock. Although she was an American, who only lived in Germany for a few months, Jen felt that she was returning to her home country as a foreigner. The amount of high-pitched noises, different races of people, and bad fashion are a few of the things that shocked her as she entered the Chicago airport. She felt like an alien in her own country.

In Germany, Jen missed the ability to speak in a language she was familiar with. She had learned to tune out the chatter of the language she couldn’t understand. But here in Chicago, she was in a wealth of words, spoken and written, in her home language. Her freedom to express herself was unleashed.

As she was leaving the airport, she was disturbed by the “squawking TV” that aired CNN discussing Lindsay Lohan’s jail sentence. Jen felt nauseated by the stupidity of American news on pubic television. She realized how many TVs surround everyone's daily lives in the states. Jen felt overwhelmed by the constant newsfeed.

My favorite realization of Jen’s was her idea of money. To her the American money looked so bland. All the American bills were green and all the same size. In contrast, she much preferred European Euros' bright colors and variation in sizes according to its value. 

Following Jen's post, I recommend that you read the comments her readers have published below her post. They are heartwarming and easily relatable. It’s always nice to know you are not alone when you experience culture shock, such as Jen had. The most evident culture shock I have experienced was at the age of eighteen when I moved from Manhattan to Raleigh, NC to dance for the Carolina Ballet. As we all know, NYC is one of the fastest-pace city in the world. Raleigh, on the other hand, in a slow southern city where everyone takes their time doing everything. It took me about three years to start appreciating my new home city. I am forever grateful to NYC for bringing me up as a child to be a major multitasked in my adulthood. I, like Jen, don’t belong feel like I currently belong in either NYC or Raleigh. I want to live a life without borders and use every adventurous experience as a chance to mature in a unique way. I hope to travel the world in search for the place I can call home.

I leave for Germany in two days!