Living in a new country

I didn't find any thread about this, but if there is one that I haven't noticed, please delete.
I've moved to Germany, and so far it has been alright. I'd like to know if others have some experience about living in a new country. Was there any language problems? Did you adapt well? I moved right in the beginning of January, so everything is quite new to me...

Whoa, that's interesting, Hedwig. Though, I can't give you any advice, I'm afraid.
May I ask where in Germany (which state or the region) you live now?

I live in Brandenburg. I like the calmness of the countryside...

Hey, Hedwig, I know how you feel. Where did you live before? I'm a Canadian living in Switzerland and have been here almost 2 years.
Because I'm in the French part of La Suisse, I'm not having any language problems but if I was in the German part I'd have a hard time.
My girlfriend speaks both German & Italian so, between the 2 of us, we manage quite well on our travels but she can't understand the
Swiss/German dialect at all.

Adjusting to the shopping hours was my biggest problem since the stores aren't open at lunch, at night, on Sundays AND Monday mornings!
Another thing that took some getting used to was, what I call, "living the vertical life". We have hills and a mountain back in Montreal but here
in my Swiss town, you basically have to be a mountain goat to get around. I'm used to it know, though.

On the upside, the opportunity to explore the rest of Europe has been a big plus. The scenery here is gorgeous (as are the women),
there's some awesome skiing to be had and you can smoke almost everywhere!

Good luck in Germany and enjoy the sausages and beer!

you moved to Germany?

i dont think you would want to stay there, too much bad history.

sorry but when ever i think of Germany, i always get the image of Hitler in my head. eek

jamesdude said:

you moved to Germany?

i dont think you would want to stay there, too much bad history.

sorry but when ever i think of Germany, i always get the image of Hitler in my head. eek

Click to expand...

Dude that is messed up Germany is a country filled with a rich history and has wonderful people just because a certain party took over from 1919-1945 does not ruin the whole country Germany probally has alot to offer



Now you know.............


And Knowing is half the Battle

G.I. JOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

jamesdude said:

you moved to Germany?

i dont think you would want to stay there, too much bad history.

sorry but when ever i think of Germany, i always get the image of Hitler in my head. eek

Click to expand...

What was that?

Well, I lived in Germany for about 5 months, great experience, but it always was planned as a short time.
Living in other countries can have a hard side, but I think the richness of experiencing a whole new culture, and being somewhat forced to create a new world of relatinoships can be a great thing!
Plus, you seem to live twice as intense in the first months, till the routine takes charge.

Good luck!

jamesdude said:

you moved to Germany?

i dont think you would want to stay there, too much bad history.

sorry but when ever i think of Germany, i always get the image of Hitler in my head. eek

Click to expand...

You fail.

Stoo said:

Adjusting to the shopping hours was my biggest problem since the stores aren't open at lunch, at night, on Sundays AND Monday mornings!

Click to expand...

Funny enough, it kind of annoys me how over here... Everything's open all the time. God damn, city, sleep!

I studied in Spain for a semester, and I think one of the most useful things to know about was culture shock. If you are prepared for it, it's not so bad. At first, you're excited, then you get frustrated with how things work, then you adjust, and then you start liking parts of the new culture better than your own. http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2007/11/20/the-4-stages-of-culture-shock-and-how-to-beat-them/ is a good short explanation. Oh yeah, and there is reverse culture shock when you move back!

I had studied Spanish for years, but really, I had to learn a lot of things completely new. Classroom Spanish and the sort of Spanish you actually need to function in Spain are two different things. But you just kind of pay attention, and try not to speak too much English, and your brain eventually switches over. The first week I couldn't figure out what someone was saying when they asked if I had enough hangers in the closet, and 5 months later I was buying plane tickets and renewing my visa without too much problem. (There was a frustrating stage where I understood what people were saying, but couldn't easily respond. I am now convinced this is why 2-year-olds have tantrums.) I will say that during my 2-week spring break trip I spoke mostly English, and it really threw me off once I got back to Spain. So try to speak German, if you can. And people are much more likely to try to help you out if you at least attempt to speak their language. I had the Lonely Planet Europe Phrasebook for my trips to other countries, which was pretty useful. I also bought some children's books in Spanish to read, which helped the vocabulary. (Tintin was easy. Redwall was really hard!)

Adjusting to the different store hours took a while. Also finding your way on twisty slippery cobblestone streets in the rain. But yeah, it was fun. It's a totally different way to live. Different food, different cars, different clothes. It did help also to learn something about what kind of clothes Spaniards wore- no white sneakers, dress coats instead of ski jackets- because then I didn't feel like I stuck out so much. (you might not have this problem.) Eventually I could tell tourists just by their clothing.

The food in Spain was much different than what I was used to. I never realized how much I missed butter! But you have to just try everything. There's a lot of Spanish food I make now that I'd never heard of before.

Living in another country gives you a totally new perspective on your own. Everyone should do it someday. Good luck!