My time living abroad in Germany is slowly coming to an end. 11 1/2 years is a long, long time to fall in love with my expat homeland and became fully integrated into the culture. There are many things I have both struggled to adapt to during my time here and have fallen head over heels in love with. Leaving behind both is a bit bittersweet and as the time comes to an end, it’s making me a bit more emotional. Here is my list of favorite things I will miss about Germany!

So, you’re time living abroad is coming to an end and you’ll be returning home. Whether you loved every minute of living abroad or if there were a lot of ups and downs, you’ll want to take the final days and weeks to soak up the last moments, take a mental picture to remember it all. Living abroad changes you and challenges you, so taking the time to reflect as well as the time to soak up the final moments is essential to closing a chapter in your life.

After recently spending 7 weeks in the US, trying to decide if we wanted to move back, I realized how much I have changed in my 6 years living in Germany. Life in Germany is so comfortable, easy and relaxed. There is Ordnung to everything that we do here and over time, the rigid rules Germans live by eventually become daily habits, you hardly notice that they no longer bother you, but more that without them you don’t know what to do with yourself. When you leave the country for an extended amount of time you suddenly find yourself aching to get back as quickly as possible.

There are just some things that can never be explained no matter how many times someone asks “Why?” You do things in your life over and over again because that’s how you grew up and you never thought twice about it. You just did it. But when you leave everything you know, your comfort zone […]

It’s common knowledge, or at least it should be, that when you move to another country there are bound to be many, many differences in culture, customs and traditions. But sometimes, you just don’t know HOW big the differences are until you’ve been there long enough to make a huge a** list of all the differences between home and your adopted home country. What American comforts are you willing to give up to live in Germany?

The smell of a turkey in the oven, stuffing on the stove and a pumpkin pie sitting on the counter all blend into that one mouth-watering aroma all Americans look forward to every year. That is, if you have the goods. 

Thanksgiving is that beautiful time of year where we all come together to rejoice in another bountiful year, good health, best friends and a loving family. But sometimes, we’re not always home for the holidays and being gone during this time of year can make for some of the lowest points in the life of an expat.

No matter where I go and who I meet, there are always the standard questions everyone wants to know about America because I’m an American. Sometimes I feel like a monkey behind a cage, everyone looking inside wanting to look at it and ask questions about why it’s doing what it’s doing. But I remind myself, everyone is just curious about the American culture and people, and they want to hear it straight from the source.

  Moving abroad, out of your comfort zone can be both one of the most exhilarating and terrifying moments of your life, but it’s an experience I highly recommend to anyone looking to land on their own two feet. Going into the unknown, alone, to see what the world has to offer will challenge you […]

If you’re considering moving abroad, then you should probably prep yourself for the emotional roller coaster that comes with becoming an expat. You need to know what you’re in for before you make that final decision to book a one way ticket. If you’re about to read this blog, then you’ve probably already made that final decision to book a ticket and just doing your research.

Since moving to Germany 4 6 years ago, I continuously seem to have one main conversation whenever I meet someone new. It goes something like this:

Friend/Student/Stranger: “Where are you from?”

Me: “I’m from California”

Friend/Student/Stranger: “WHY did you move to Germany?”