Honestly, how are you doing?
\nA: Honestly, like anything in life, I have ups and downs. I’m navigating a new city in a new country, and I’m still learning the ropes on the language. But I’m still optimistic, and learning as I go, and doing the best I can, which is the best anyone can do.
\nDo you hate it here, or do you love it?
\nA: In general, I love it here. It’s relatively clean, for every bad apple I’ve encountered there has been fifteen friendly and accommodating people that just want to help, and the food is sensational.
\nAre you homesick?
\nA: Well, yes, of course. There are, and always will be, times where I do something or see something and I wish I could share with my family. But that’s what pictures and the internet is for, and I have the opportunity to make new friends and family here.
\nAre things getting hard?
\nA:Depends on what you’re talking about. Things were hard the moment I stepped onto international tile, but challenges are the spice of life and help keep you on your toes. Of course classes are hard-I’m drained from just trying to understand my German classes before I plunge into class\u00a0seminars, and I often feel vastly unqualified to participate during seminar-but the best I can do is listen when I have nothing pertinent to say and try to integrate what I learned into the next session. Doesn’t mean I succeed, but I do have some interesting notes as a result of listening.
\nWhat is your temporal experience at this point? (For example: I don\u2019t operate on dates or days of the week)
\nA: Try, try, try. If I fall, I just get up, dust myself off, and keep going. My existence is juggling far too many things at this point and smiling while trying to pick up whatever I’ve dropped without breaking rhythm. I don’t always succeed, of course, but I try.
\nAre you remembering things? Can you access images and feelings and emotions at any point in this city?Are you unable to?
\nA: For the most part, yes. I remember things of priority, but sacrifices have to be made. I’ll remember to read the week’s readings, but forget to buy toothpaste. I can remember some landmarks to get home if I go on autopilot, but lately remembering the city’s topography\u00a0on top of everything else is a tall order.
\nAre your habits changing?
\nA: I was never an early bird. That has been forcibly changed. Any new habits picked up are forced or for survival
\nWhat is scaring you?
\nA: Showing up to class late, not having a bus pass, \u00a0getting so sick I have to miss class, and of course, the ever looming shadow of failure.
\nHow do you handle being alone?
\nA: If you go to a bar, You’re never truly alone. And you hear some interesting stories. infants and drunks never lie.
\nWhat could you possibly do in a strange place to truly calm down? (For example: when things get bad, I go into antique shops to assuage my anxiety)
\nGet out of the street traffic, close my eyes, take a deep inhale\/exhale, repeat as many times as necessary, then open my eyes and troubleshoot until I get clarity.
\nIs class stressful?
\nA: I mean, it’s an upperclassman class abroad. That’s to be expected. It’s not so bad that I’m tweaking out in an alley somewhere, though. As long as I don’t screw up too majestically, I can handle it.
\nWhat kind of thoughts are you thinking? There\u2019s usually a pattern there.
\nA: Man, what I would give for a a drink right now (Answer: about \u20ac1:80).\u00a0Also, Where am I? I think I took a wrong turn…
\nDo you miss anyone (it\u2019s ok to not)?
\nA: I miss my friends and family back home, and the solid grasp\u00a0of the English language. But once I go home I’ll miss German charm and the smorgasbord of meat options.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Honestly, how are you doing? A: Honestly, like anything in life, I have ups and downs. I’m navigating a new city in a new country, and I’m still learning the ropes on the language. But I’m still optimistic, and learning as I go, and doing the best I can, which is the best anyone can … Continue reading »<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3224,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"geo":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ofbloodandbeauty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1107"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ofbloodandbeauty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ofbloodandbeauty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ofbloodandbeauty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3224"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ofbloodandbeauty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ofbloodandbeauty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1107\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ofbloodandbeauty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ofbloodandbeauty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ofbloodandbeauty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}