Friday, October 23, 2009

Words on the page

(Before I get on with other stuff, I want to share good news....I was able to obtain my residency (that process was MUCH simpler here than in Hungary) and have an appointment on Thanksgiving Day to get my visa...now, onward)

The moving process is a difficult one at times. Or maybe it’s not that difficult but it’s just MAJOR time consuming and at moments you feel like you get nothing accomplished. These past 2 weeks that I’ve been in Germany have been like that for me.

I was just asked the other day by a good friend (WHAT’S UP TAM?!) what it was that I was actually doing during the days. That’s a great question. I told her (and I’ll tell you now) that the best way I can describe it right now is for you to imagine yourself in the midst of writing a long research paper in college. You spend hours upon hours researching things on the web or checking out and reading books from the library, and then organizing all your research but you’ve yet to write a word on a page for the actual paper. You might feel like you haven’t accomplished anything because there are no words on the screen to show your work, but in reality you’ve done a lot. That’s how I feel each and every day here. I KNOW things are getting done, I just don’t have much to show for it right now.

So what have I done since I got here? I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit slowly inching my way to a carpal tunnel specialist’s office as I sit behind my computer researching things. Each day I look at the new apartments being listed...that shouldn’t take much time should it? Well, no, if you can read the apartment descriptions and you know where all of the German-named streets are in Berlin. I, however, do not speak German yet, so my plan of action is the same for each day....
1) search for apartments in Kreuzberg (the district that I’m going to live)
2) out of those, I copy and paste the address of each apartment into googlemaps.com to see where it’s located in Kreuzberg in relation to where we are going to focus
3) if it is close to our geographical focus, then I click on the apartment’s link which takes me to a detailed description of that certain flat...in German of course (“flat” is European word for apartment)
4) I cut that flat’s description’s web-address, navigate to translate.google.com, and paste the web-address there in order to translate the description from German to English
5) And I do that for each flat....VERY TIME CONSUMING AND FRUSTRATING!

Sidenote: The other thing you need to know about the way flats are rented out here is that when the owner (or rental agency) is going to show the flat, they announce it and EVERYONE who is interested shows up at that announced time....there are no private tours of the flats. So it’s very common that you are going to see this flat at the same time as 10 other people who are interested. It’s a very competitive process!

Other research that has been done besides looking for flats?....figuring out which mobile phone company I want to go with (and plans are NOT set up the same here as they are in the states), which bank to bank with, which language course I can enroll in (depends on where I’ll eventually live which of course I don’t know yet!). And again, all these pages are in German so the same process happens with trying to translate it all.

So, just like researching for your big paper, work here is getting done....I just don’t have any words on my page to prove it just yet. The important thing for you to know is that this does not discourage me because I know that this is the process. At the same time I hope it doesn’t discourage you because you aren’t ‘seeing results’. You and I both need to get used to that though, because many times “results” are not quantifiable in the type of work I’ve been called to! So you may not see it....but things are getting done and I’m encouraged!

Monday, October 12, 2009

A Flashback

I’ve forgotten many things about living overseas. I’ve forgotten what it really means to be 6 hours ahead of my family and friends....and EST television shows. Of course I told everyone that I would be that far ahead, but it didn’t really hit home until I was here and I had to calculate the 6 hour difference and how it meant that my day changes b/c I can’t just call people whenever I want. Or maybe, like last night, I have to wake up at 2:15 in the morning to catch a Colts football game that I really want to see.....one of the downfalls of being overseas.

Another thing I forgot is just how tiring it is living in a different culture. I love it, but it’s tiring! And I’m not just talking about jet-lag. In fact, I don’t even know that I really experienced jet-lag this past weekend. No, instead it’s the mental fatigue that displays itself as physical fatigue as I concentrate on every word that is spoken trying to understand every little detail. I remember going through this in Hungary, but being back in a culture I’m familiar with and a language I speak, read, write, and understand at the fastest of paces, I’ve forgotten what it’s like to try to get my mind to take the normal speeds of life and slow it down to an understandable rate. It’s nearly impossible when you don’t know the language, but it’s a mental thing that I just can’t turn off....I have to know what’s going on and I have to learn the language. And the only way I’m going to learn the language is to practice practice practice. So along with the practice will come mental fatigue....and it’s amazing to me how mental fatigue can become a gateway to physical and emotional fatigue as well. So, in the upcoming days/weeks/months/year(s) I expect to be tired....ALWAYS....and to rest up...OFTEN....but to NEVER give up or throw the towel in as I strive to live out this exciting adventure!

Friday, October 9, 2009

Arrival in Europe

I expected to see Jason Bourne as I strolled through the Frankfurt airport after the 8 and a half hour plane ride from Orlando. I don’t know why, but every time I’m in a European airport, I always think about him....Jason Bourne that is (which btw, the Bourne Trilogy is probably my favorite Trilogy of all time). Maybe it’s the little green sign with a guy looking like he’s running and an arrow pointing towards an exit....maybe it’s the different fashion....I’m not sure what it is, but that’s what I think about.

I can’t believe I’m actually here. A part of me is just dying to call or text all my friends, but the reality of not having a phone right now and then thinking that even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to call internationally, is slapping me across the face with each blink of my eye. It’s something I have to come to grips with...it’s reality now.

The past couple of days have been emotional ones. It was difficult for me to say “good-bye” (sorry...“see you later”) to all the friends that I’ve built close bonds with over the past year(s). From co-workers, to friends, to mentors, to mentoree, to family....not much of it was enjoyable saying ‘see you later’. But as I know I say ‘see you later’ I know that they are all thinking about and praying for me as much as I am thinking about and praying for them. They will all be missed, but as I have come to realize, God brings these friends around for specific reasons and times and I know that more friends will be brought my way and I will see my Florida friends once again too.

So, until later.....welcome to Europe!