I should probably let everyone know that I am no longer in Munich, and therefore this will be my last entry on this blog. I will keep you updated about my other blogs, as soon as I create them.
The reason I am no longer in Munich is because 1) my Fulbright grant ended in July, 2) I had to come home to be the Maid of Honor in my best friend's wedding, and 3) I have no money to return... yet.
I'll get back there someday.
But as a closing, I thought I would share a list of things I learned, things I missed and things that I think are better suited for Germany.
Things I love about Germany:
1) Transportation
- a) U-Bahn, trains, Mitfahrgelegenheit
- b) Accessibility
- c) No DUIs
- a) Kids speaking it so clearly
- b) The feeling I got when I traveled to foreign countries where I didn’t speak the language and then coming back and hearing German again; feeling like I was home
- c) Just certain expressions — Naseduschen
- a) Very accessible but hard to find what you need
- a) Sushi, movie theaters, Thai, ice skating rinks; you name it, Munich had it
- a) Festivals, plays, Toytown gatherings, farmers markets, concerts
- a) Everyone rides bikes or walks
- b) They recycle EVERYTHING
- c) Solar/wind energy
- d) Water, electricity, gas conservation
- e) No plastic bags for shopping, or you pay for them
- a) Gardens everywhere, park benches, river areas, surrounding lakes
- a) Germans word hard and they play hard
- b) Really utilize and enjoy their free time
- a) They watch television but mostly news
- b) Isn’t as much of an obsession with TV/movies/celebrity gossip
- a) I have found great new music from there
- b) But sometimes I still feel like I am stuck in the 80s
- a) Germans are very educated
- b) They often know more about America than Americans do (and the world)
- c) They read the news (especially NEWSPAPERS)
- a) I love Bratwurst, Schnitzel, Brotzeit, beer, Spätzle, etc.
- b) But the “German” diet is not healthy, and I gained lots o’ weight
- a) They are very blunt, to the point of being rude, but yet you always know where you stand with a German
15) More cultural opportunities
- a) More chances to go to the theater, the cinema, or get-togethers with people of different nationalities
- b) You are always meeting new people who have a different perspective on life than you do
- c) So international
- a) Germany is SO old compared to the U.S., so there is more history, more important architecture, more people that were a part of the world and how it came to be
- a) There are so many high-end shops compared to where I am from
- b) People look so high class there, compared to America where a lot of people are fat and look frumpy
- c) All kinds of stores are very accessible
- a) All things in Germany are very efficient, from the trains to the paperwork
- b) Things work together very well
- a) Germans take better care of themselves (statt rauchen)
- b) Exercise on a very greater scale
- c) They do eat healthier, even though they have the option of eating unhealthy
- a) Mothers get money for their children and their employers are required to hold their jobs for three years after going on maternity leave
- b) So many public holidays (Catholicism) where people don’t have to work
22) Dogs
- a) Dogs are allowed everywhere
- b) Sometimes treated better than children
- c) Always so well trained
Munich compared to Vienna
Munich:
1) Cleanliness
- a. One of the cleanest cities in Europe, perhaps that’s why I love it so much
- a. Beer, Brats, and Tracht
4) English Garden
5) Festivals/holidays
- a. Oktoberfest
- b. Fasching
- c. Tollwood
- d. Starkbierfest
- e. Mai(baum)
7) SO SAFE
Vienna:
1) Heurigen2) Trains come faster
3) More touristy? (Both good and bad)
4) Very artistically cultured
a. More art museums, classical music
5) Not so far to the airport
6) Better weather?
7) Not so many dogs (good and bad)
8) But I basically loved it because of the group of people I was with when I was there (I spent my last semester of college on an exchange to Vienna in 2007)
What growing up in an American/NM/MT atmosphere caused me to miss (a.k.a. things I don’t like about Germany):
1) Water, water everywhere and not a drop that’s free
2) Free refills
3) Ice and real ice tea
4) Customer service
5) New Mexican scenery and good New Mexican food
6) Green chile
7) Driving (but only sometimes) and road trips
8) Density of city — small quarters in which to live
9) Backyards
10) I miss that need for entertainment, even though I wish I didn’t
11) Ziplocs
12) All-in-1 stores like Target and Costco, which make it very easy to eat healthy too
13) The German diet
14) Things in their original language, I hate dubbing; what’s wrong with subtitles?
15) German superiority
16) American politeness
17) Mounds and mounds of paperwork and having to get absolutely everything right or else no deal making/no leeway
18) Modern houses with real showers, microwaves, coffee machines, toasters, fast heaters
19) 24 hour stores/things staying open past 8 and on Sundays
Things I missed that had nothing to do with where I was:
1) My family/my dogs
2) Close friends
3) The modern look of the U.S. — no wires, poles, not so much construction all the time (this does have to do with Germany)
4) A routine
And from this experience, I now think some of the most important things in life are:
To surround yourself with your favorite people — people who are your true friends and want as much happiness for you as you want for yourself.
To be able to hold on to every memory you’ve ever experienced, good or bad, to relive them again or even just to learn from them.
To keep meeting new people to see if they can contribute to the happiness of your life or bring in something fulfilling that you don’t already have in your life — they don’t complete you, but you are a better version of yourself because of them.
Always be grateful and love life.
Live life to a fitting soundtrack.
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Thank you so much, Munich, Fulbright, Focus, The Interview People, and all of my friends and colleagues for making those ten months some of the best in my life.
Ich werde nie vergessen.
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