Arrival - 10th February 2009
So, I finally went and did it...
Like the proverbial rodent, scurrying from the sinking stern of the SS Britannia, I have moved to The Fatherland... Well, the English Royal Family moved to the UK from Germany, so I figured this is our revenge. Anyway, the UK has been part of Greater Germania for years ;-)
I'm now in Munich, where everything except gas stations closes on Sunday. Apparently. Not really what you want when you arrived at 10:30 on a Sat night and have no food! Fortunately, there is a restaurant to grab some nosebag just around the corner, which does appear to be open. I shall go and sample their Wiener Schnitzel when I finish this mail. But, this is not the USA; you can't just walk out of your front door and snag a hearty breakfast in a diner... Sigh...
The flight was German, so it actually arrived early, the train was German, and on time, the taxi from the station was German and the driver prattled on at me about bier, assuming I was similarly Teutonic. I understand German perfectly, can speak it, albeit a little rusty, but prefer not to unless I have to... must be my Prussian ancestory...
The snow appears to have followed me and is seriously hampering my attempt to find out where the hell I have to go to get to work.
Like the proverbial rodent, scurrying from the sinking stern of the SS Britannia, I have moved to The Fatherland... Well, the English Royal Family moved to the UK from Germany, so I figured this is our revenge. Anyway, the UK has been part of Greater Germania for years ;-)
I'm now in Munich, where everything except gas stations closes on Sunday. Apparently. Not really what you want when you arrived at 10:30 on a Sat night and have no food! Fortunately, there is a restaurant to grab some nosebag just around the corner, which does appear to be open. I shall go and sample their Wiener Schnitzel when I finish this mail. But, this is not the USA; you can't just walk out of your front door and snag a hearty breakfast in a diner... Sigh...
The flight was German, so it actually arrived early, the train was German, and on time, the taxi from the station was German and the driver prattled on at me about bier, assuming I was similarly Teutonic. I understand German perfectly, can speak it, albeit a little rusty, but prefer not to unless I have to... must be my Prussian ancestory...
The snow appears to have followed me and is seriously hampering my attempt to find out where the hell I have to go to get to work.
Settling In - February
My last scribbles were penned the day after I arrived and, I have to say, at that time, although excited, I was a little bewildered, lost, forlorn, and wondering whether I had made a huge mistake, or lucked into the best situation ever. The latter remains to be seen; the former, well, read on my children of darkness.
Due to my recalcitrant nature, I had only allowed myself one day to settle in before work on the Monday morning. My reasons were two-fold. Firstly, I had been looking for any excuse to NOT come. Secondly, for reasons that I shall not belabour you with, I was pretty much flat-broke!
So, I left it as late as possible. No time to think about things, get myself lost in work. In retrospect, the decision I made was the correct one. I know what I’m like and had I come here days before I did, I would have been lonely, alone, and it would have skewed my view of Munich, my new life, and hampered my chances of settling in. I’m like that.
Work, I knew from the interview, would be all right. I know my job and I’m bloody good at it. The people I was to be working with I had already met at the interview and didn’t expect any difficulty fitting in. As always, there is that transitional period where I am new and have to understand the jargon, find out what they have already done, where they want to go, and who everyone is. I am not happy until I know enough to talk to people authoritatively and, confident in my own mind, that I am not talking execrable bollocks. Then, there is that other basic issue of knowing your way around the local area, the office, and being in a different country, fitting in, generally. It’s not easy. It usually takes me a while to truly become myself, because contrary to popular belief, I am quite shy - until I feel secure. Then again, part of what I love about my job is that I do get to do different things, most of which I choose because I don’t know anything about them when I start. I suppose that that is my way of doing something that scares me.
What has come as a surprise is how quickly I feel at home here, both in work, and out of work. It has not been all free beer and chicken though. I have issues with money; I am hopeless with it. I don’t think I’m extravagant, nor am I mean. I am, however, unable to keep the cash from haemorrhaging from my bank account. That’s my cross to bear; it’s a blessing and a curse!
Click here for the next bit
Due to my recalcitrant nature, I had only allowed myself one day to settle in before work on the Monday morning. My reasons were two-fold. Firstly, I had been looking for any excuse to NOT come. Secondly, for reasons that I shall not belabour you with, I was pretty much flat-broke!
So, I left it as late as possible. No time to think about things, get myself lost in work. In retrospect, the decision I made was the correct one. I know what I’m like and had I come here days before I did, I would have been lonely, alone, and it would have skewed my view of Munich, my new life, and hampered my chances of settling in. I’m like that.
Work, I knew from the interview, would be all right. I know my job and I’m bloody good at it. The people I was to be working with I had already met at the interview and didn’t expect any difficulty fitting in. As always, there is that transitional period where I am new and have to understand the jargon, find out what they have already done, where they want to go, and who everyone is. I am not happy until I know enough to talk to people authoritatively and, confident in my own mind, that I am not talking execrable bollocks. Then, there is that other basic issue of knowing your way around the local area, the office, and being in a different country, fitting in, generally. It’s not easy. It usually takes me a while to truly become myself, because contrary to popular belief, I am quite shy - until I feel secure. Then again, part of what I love about my job is that I do get to do different things, most of which I choose because I don’t know anything about them when I start. I suppose that that is my way of doing something that scares me.
What has come as a surprise is how quickly I feel at home here, both in work, and out of work. It has not been all free beer and chicken though. I have issues with money; I am hopeless with it. I don’t think I’m extravagant, nor am I mean. I am, however, unable to keep the cash from haemorrhaging from my bank account. That’s my cross to bear; it’s a blessing and a curse!
Click here for the next bit