"What the fuck did I just get myself into?"

The first few weeks in Munich passed like a blur. I met my coworkers, started work, and got settled in a new city in a new country with a new language. I don't remember the fine details of the beginning, but they have mixed into an overall pleasant memory. It's funny that I can't remember the first few weeks here, but I clearly remember my first words upon landing in Munich. The plane was sitting on the runway and we still hadn't taken off our seat belts. I had spent the last ten minutes in silence watching the patchwork of farms and white houses with red roofs pass below me as we landed and trying to ignore the screaming child sitting three rows behind me. Still in a sleepy stupor, I looked out the window on the runway and said to nobody in particular:

"What the fuck did I just get myself into?"

It wasn't until I landed in Munich did I realize that I would actually be leaving for the summer. I'm a smart, I know. This fact probably would have dawned upon most people when they updated their passport or packed their suitcase. 14 hours of travel (and one connection through London Heathrow) later, I realized, "Holy shit. What did I just do?"

I enjoyed having Maggie and Ali come to visit because their culture shock and first impressions help me fill in my memory of those first hazy weeks. Maggie was stunned that German people looked stereotypically German - tall, broad shoulders, strong jawline, etc. Ali is surprised by some of their behavior - Germans have a very specific way of doing things, but they don't tell you what that is. You have to figure it out. For example, taxis are not hailed in the street, they are sitting at a taxi stand. You can't pay with a credit or debit card at the grocery store, and there's some sort of deposit system to get a cart to put your groceries in (which I still haven't figured out, so I just don't buy as much food at once and instead go shopping more often. Efficient, I know.) On the escalator, people stand single-file on the right and people walk up on the left. If you are standing on the left, even if nobody is trying to walk up and pass you, you'll still get dirty looks from older Germans.

All too quickly, my time here is drawing here to a close (for now.) Tomorrow is a national holiday - I plan to spend it sightseeing with Ali during the day and watching soccer with Thomas and Marcus at night. Monday is my last day of work, which will be followed by frantic packing at night and my flight on Tuesday morning. To answer my initial question - what the fuck did I just get myself into - I think I got myself into many embarrassing moments, new relationships with friends I've met here, a great job that I hope to return to one day, and many memories (even if they are a bit blurred from time to time.) All in all, this has been the best hasty decision I've made... ever. I'm going to give myself a pat on the back and finish some translations. Ciao :)


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