After spending about five months in Germany (and the past two weeks in Dublin and London), it certainly felt weird touching down at Newark airport last Friday.
I had been awaiting July 23rd with very mixed feelings, as it marked my official departure from Freiburg. On the one hand, I was obviously excited to be heading to Dublin, where I would be seeing the U2 concert, but at the same time I had to say a final Tschüß to Freiburg and my German Mitbewohneren (suitemates). The hardest part about leaving though, was my uncertainty over how much I would miss the place I had called home for the semester. I felt as though it should be nearly impossible to leave Freiburg, that I should have become so attached to the culture and the people that even the prospect of a U2 concert shouldn’t have been able to console me. With the whirlwind of departure logistics it did not hit me that I had actually left until several days later.
Having left over two weeks ago, I can now reflect with a bit more perspective on the specific aspects of das Leben Deutschlands (German life) that I already miss.
1. Die Sprache (the language). As you can probably guess by the frequent appearance of italics throughout this post, I really miss having the option (and often the necessity) of speaking Deutsch. It is strange and somewhat frustrating knowing that not everyone will understand me if I slip into German for a word or phrase. I find myself contaminating my English with inadvertent “sch”s and wanting to put the verb at the end of the sentence. My “De-nglish” (the endearing term the other Americans and I came up with for our mixture of Deutsch and English) is definitely nearing perfection. So I suppose it is my De-nglish that will be getting in the way when I try to readjust to life at Colgate.
2. Öffentliche Verkehrsmittel (public transportation). Public transportation in the States leaves a lot to be desired, especially in comparison to continental Europe. I have gotten rather used to the idea that I can hop on a train and be in Switzerland in half an hour, or go to France for an afternoon of shopping. Even just getting around Freiburg, a reasonably small city, is considerably more convenient with the Straßenbahn (street car) and buses. Getting into the car for the first time since being back felt oddly unnatural after my five months of total reliance on public transportation.
3. Das Essen (the food). I think that there is a common misconception in the U.S. about German food. I’ve already found myself getting sympathy from people asking about my time in Germany, for the food they imagined I’d been forced to eat. I was quick to assure them that, on the contrary, all of the delicious German specialties I’d enjoyed were eaten quite voluntarily and eagerly. I consumed my fair share of wurst (sausage) and broadened my horizons quite a bit in terms of bier (beer). I admit that I was never hard core enough to order Schweinshaxe (pork knuckles), but I have added spätzle (a kind of noodle), Schweinsbraten (roast pork), Pflannkuchensuppe (pancake soup), and other such long-winded delicacies to my list of favorite foods. Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) is a meal (yes, a meal) on which I pride myself on becoming an expert. I think I will find it a tough adjustment back at Colgate not having Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (black forest cake) readily available.
The list could go on, but I think it’s clear by now that I
miss Germany. I am very excited to get back to Colgate, but I am also eager to
return to Deutschland in the near
future.
