It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve moved to Germany, and it’s still hard to believe that I’m actually here, more than ten thousand miles away from home, where I’ve lived for all of my life. It’s crazy to think that I’ve only had the thought less than a year before. And for all the preparations I’ve done, funnily enough it still doesn’t feel real that I’m actually here now. Back then, I told myself that it wouldn't be real until I passed the German exam, until I bought a ticket, until I got my visa, until I’ve packed all my things. And when I’ve achieved all of those things, it still didn’t feel real to me. When I was in the airport saying goodbye to my family, I was still thinking “Oh maybe they wouldn’t let me pass the gate, or board the airplane.” and even when that happened I still thought “Maybe they won’t let me inside the country, and I’ll have to fly all the way back home.” It’s only when I stepped outside the airport and stepped on German soil, breathed its fresh air for a few minutes, that I finally thought; “Damn this is actually real, I’m finally here, all of my efforts were not in vain.”

It’s a strange yet freeing feeling, being somewhere with entirely new people, who look and speak and act in ways you’re definitely not used to. Being in a strange land with new sights, sounds and even smells. The smell is actually one of the strangely different parts of the experience. Now I could close my eyes and recognize the smell of a german supermarket, or a german pantry. Even the people smell different, I read once that different ethnicities have their own distinct scent because of their diets. I wonder what we smell like to other people, maybe rice or Indomie instant noodles. Anyway everyone I’ve met here has been super kind and helpful, and I’m very lucky to have family that can help guide and support me as I slowly learn how to live in this new country. 

One more thing that still seems crazy to me, is that the sun only goes down at around 10PM during the summer, that’s just unthinkable to me. In Indonesia it’s been constant all my life; 6 when the sun rises and again 6 when it sets. So I’m out here having dinner with sunlight streaming through the windows, and even going to bed with the sky still bright outside. And it just hammers in the fact that I’m no longer in the same part of the world that I was before. Anyway, that’s gonna be the end of my first short update since it’s getting late for me, Auf Wiedersehen!