For those of you who have been asking for updates on things....well here it is (from the beginning)...
From the first time that I met Niklas I wanted to go back to Germany with him - however, only knowing a person for a day and wanting to travel across the world with them is 1. extremely creepy 2. extremely aggressive 3. extremely unlikely. Well....6 months later here I am! Who woulda thought?! Actually forget that I asked that because anyone who knows me, knows this is something pretty typical of my spontaneous, aggressively creepy nature! (haha...kidding?)
Since about May I had been emailing different recruiting agencies in Germany and having little success. They all wanted me to know German - which as I'm learning is not so easy. Sure many words sound the same, are similar in nature, but let's not even get into the grammar and proper pronunciation of words...yikes! In July, Niklas and I travelled to Punta Cana where oddly enough we met some nice German people, one of which said she'd help me find a job! How amazing! When we were all finished our vacation she called around different schools for me (that were close to Nik's house) and she ended up landing an interview for me! I was so extremely happy and thankful for this kind gesture of a virtual stranger (sure we shared some great times in Punta Cana - but she really went out of her way to help me, something I will always cherish). I have my interview tomorrow (Tuesday) so I will see how it all works out (fingers crossed)!
Going back, again, a little. Niklas went back to Germany July 29th :( As soon as he left I naturally felt a little lost without him. He's such a great person, one who I was just not ready to say goodbye to. Sooooo....after weighing MANY options and thinking of every possible life scenario, I decided it was worth a shot to travel across the globe to be with him. We had talked about it many times before and his parents said I was welcome to live with them. After having broke the news to my parents the August long weekend, I got back to London the holiday Monday night, booked my one way ticket and went to work Tuesday and gave them my two weeks notice. The next two weeks would prove to be demanding, from organizing all of my documents, to tying up the loose ends on a few things, to even packing, it was all rushed and tiresome - obviously worth it though! As I laid many nights awake in the two weeks before I left I just kept thinking over and over of what my dad said to me when I asked him what he thought of my decision - life is all about taking risks and if you don't take the risk, you'll never know....YOU CAN ALWAYS COME HOME! It's so true! I pretty much have no major commitments that were holding me in London and if I can make a decent job situation out of teaching English here, why not do it?! Not to mention I get to be with Nik :)
My journey was a long one - starting from early morning-ish travels to Toronto with some great people (family friends who were bringing their daughter to the airport for her to start her own amazing journey- exchange in France!) I'm so thankful that the transportation arrangements worked out so wonderfully! My dad picked me up from the airport to hang out for a bit since I had a long wait (flight wasn't until 1035pm). It was so great to see him before I left- sad my mom couldn't be there. Saying 'goodbye' to him was the first time I actually cried about leaving- everything had just been overwhelming and it was finally hitting me that I was LEAVING! As soon as I got to the airport there seemed to be hiccup after hiccup- but thankfully nothing major. The flight over was awful, so much turbulence, ignorant neighbours, no sleep, bloody nose, TOO HOT air....it was awesome to land! But then another wait and short flight. Seeing Nik in Frankfurt was so great! Finally we were back together! I felt like I was in a dream though- having been so tired from everything. I told him I felt like I was in a movie. Everything here is obviously so different. Having never travelled to Europe, I figured this would be the case, but it's back to learning new things all over again- atleast it's not AS bad as arriving in Korea - all my baggage made it this time, nothing was broken or lost. I got to his house and his parents had made me a welcome sign, him and his brother even hung a Canadian flag on the flagpole outside of their house- talk about feeling so welcome!! It was great to finally meet his family! We shared a few beers, chatted and then finally I slept. The next morning we ate breakfast together on the patio and I unpacked. In the afternoon there was a soccer tournament Niklas and his brother played in. I went to watch with his parents. It was a beautiful day, we drank lots of beer together and I was able to chat with many people. It's funny because everyone I meet says they can't speak English, but they can. Everyone that I have met here has made me feel so welcome! I'm extremely lucky that I've come into such a great situation. My only obstacle, thus far, is the job situation, which as I said, I'm hoping to figure out this week. I know there will be other obstacles with language and being homesick, not having a clue where I'm going, not to mention driving - when I get the courage to do so...the roads here are unbelievably narrow- so much so I could consider them all one lane practically! At the end of the day though I'm sticking to getting the most out of this experience, it's a risk that so many people who I've talked to before coming here were envious of - and I'm so fortunate to be able to do this and have such a great support system here and back home - I can't express how kind and generous his family has already been to me!! Home is always just a phone call away! xo *hoping to post pictures soonish*
