MY EXPERIENCE LIVING IN GERMANY SO FAR: Part 1

 

MY EXPERIENCE LIVING IN GERMANY SO FAR: Part-1

I arrived in Nürnberg, Germany, on December 24,2016 at 10am to start my new journey with my husband, excited but not nervous. Anyone really knows me knows that I love to take chances; I am a risk-taker nothing in life comes easy for me so I always choose my own destiny.

THIS HAS BEEN A DREAM: Never thought I would find the love of my life all  the way from Germany.

DIFFERENT LIFESTYLE: Coming from Chicago, it is a different world; skyline, high- rise building, living downtown on the 38 floors of a 42-floor building, doorman, uber or car service. At first a little different but I got used to it very quickly.

 I reminded myself of how blessed I was to get the opportunity to live my life as I see fit, to explore the world with someone who loves me unconditionally and wants only the best for me.

 WHAT ELSE DO I REQUIRE :

My biggest challenge was language. Thomas enrolled me in a private language school with small classes, a few months later, we got a letter from the immigration office asking if I would like to join government Integration school. Naturally, I did, it was one year of hard labour.

I learned German, pass all my tests and got my German ID, which is a must in order to live in Germany.

SPEAKING GERMAN :

 When you move to a foreign country, it's best to learn some of the local language. People seem to be a little more friendly and willing to help when you try to speak their language. My German is not perfect, but I am learning every day.

For me, I am doing well. I know all the people in my neighbourhood; the people always say hello to me. My husband always asks, who is that or where do you know them from? I always tell him you have to know who you are surrounded by. They say Germans are not friendly, but once they get to know you they are ok.

I am always so excited when my husband wants to go on a road trip because every city we visit the culture is totally different.

I realized that I can't tell all about my experience here on one page so I am going to make this a few parts.

 

MY FIRST FOOD BLOG: ON COOKING DURING QUARANTINE

Fünferplatz, Nürnberg

WHAT HAPPENS TO US DURING SIX MONTHS OF QUARANTINE 

How we rely on ourselves our neighbors and our friends and family, it was interesting to see the power of how strong we are without huge groups of people. The people who really matter in our lives. Some of us focus on our greatest strength, the strength we didn't know we have. "The possibilities are endless" needless to say.

LIFE MUST GO ON  

We still have to be productive even though life throws us these unpredictable curves .......I still wake up every morning feeling "blessed that I am still here. 

Every morning I do my regular morning chanting, get my exercise clothes on start my pilates via YouTube ( the girl with the pilates mat) then have a cup of coffee, read for a couple of hours call or send messages to people trying to find out how they are managing then I start planning what's for dinner, the good thing for us when this all started we decided to plant a little balcony garden with tomatoes, peppers and herbs one potato plant so now for tomatoes and herbs we just go to our balcony the funny thing we didn't even know we had a green thumb. So for our safety and good health we also decided to always eat at home we just go out for drinks to support our local business, now instead of shopping for shoes and bags, I shop for " cookbooks and kitchen gadgets".

Pics: from our balcony garden

The good thing about living in Nürnberg, Germany

We can always get fresh fruits and vegetables every day in our local supermarkets or grocery markets, most of the farms are local and most are within city limits, fresh food such as meat and vegetables and fruits are always in the markets.

What I learn about myself during this pandemic is that I really love to cook. My husband, he's my table judge like" Ina Garten and Jeffery," I am very interested in food and how some things work and some things don't. Cooking food for me is like doing magic so I was always excited to see the outcome:

Months later and we are under shutdown again

As much as Germans follow the rules some people don't, so now we are back to square one, wearing a mask nowadays is a must .... or you will die.... but there are still people who love to roll the dice.

Interestingly now we have to be creative, learn about the things we wonder about, read books we had on the shelf or table do the things you didn't have time to do.

But best of all we all want to live and be happy.

I read this somewhere the other day:

What is the purpose of life?

Is it happiness?

Absolute happiness misunderstood but happy.

Complete fulfillment or true happiness.