How Germany Completely and Totally Changed My Life

I know most of the time the titles to my posts have almost nothing to do with what I write.

But I felt like germany is an experience that deserves a real title, maybe once. Or twice.

Okay.

The thing is, is that the way in which Germany changed my life is so indescribable, so unable to be placed into words-- especially English words, that I think I will always be perpetually dissatisfied with this post-- real title or not.

Okay.

When I think of Germany, I think of strength. Not really because all germans are strong, but because I feel like you must learn to be strong if you are to succeed in a place that is completely new and very different. I can see in my mind's eye this picture:

Julie is walking home from Kaisers to her small apartment in charlottenburg. The sun is setting in the park across from her house, and the clouds are moving in. It'll probably be raining tomorrow. She has in her grocery bag, milchbrot, nutella, vanilla jogurt and rasberries. She's thinking about how she can still feel the cobblestones through her shoes, and how tired she is from the long day of walking and german and museums that happened. That is somehow-- life changing.

Or try this one. Julie is hiking by herself down a path by Neu Schwanstein. She sees a waterfall, and laughs out loud to herself-- simply because she is so happy to be surrounded by the creations of God. She wants to get closer so she climbs down the rocks until she is at the base of the falls and can walk in the water that is pouring down the face of a member of the Alps. The sky is blue and the trees and hills roll together to create a fairy-tale view that any artist would covet. This is also-- life changing.

Or getting on a dirty train alone, trying to decide how best to say-- sorry, is it okay if I put my bag there? Or going into a book store and trying to think about how to say-- I don't need a bag, I'll just put that in my back pack. Or walking alone down Friedrichstrasse and tapping a German on the shoulder and asking them which way to Gendarmenmarkt. Again... a mosaic of small things that changed my life.

Or maybe the people that I grew to love. Or the food I got to eat. Or the rare germans that spoke the language so beautifully and clearly that it almost brought tears to my eyes. Or that moment, when you find Rittersport for sixty cents instead of eighty five. Or find a great doener at hauptbahnhof. Or discover the fastest way to get from Alexander Platz to Zoologischer Garten. Or sitting in church on sunday and hearing the gospel truth-- still true in german. Or arguing about where to get Eis-- and whether it would be worth a euro to spend on one scoop.

This is germany. And somehow, someway-- the muesli, and the train stations, and the sounds that the u-bahn trains make when the doors close, and how dirty you get when you touch something at alex, and how long it takes you to get home at night, and the linden trees and the bayerish farms and... the annoying tourists-- made me stronger. Better.

I hate to say goodbye. Bis, Spaeter, Deutschland. Du gefaellt mir wunderbar. Und ich vergesse dich nicht.