Culture shock is always a big part of pre-departure discussions when you study abroad, and for good reason. It is a real thing, and very few are immune to its effects. You have to be prepared for it to hit, and ready to work through it or you will very quickly become disillusioned with your current situation.
Since I have uprooted my life a time or two before, I know myself and how I react in these types of situations. They always say that culture shock (AKA, mild depression characterized by rose-colored lenses toward anything and everything related to home) hits you about a month in. I am unusual in that it hits me almost immediately, and usually resolves itself within the first 2-3 weeks. Usually the best cure, at least in my experience is to stay as busy as possible, develop some sort of routine, and find friends.
The routine aspect is set. During the week, my days are spoken for from 7 AM to 5 PM, with some free time in the late morning/afternoon. Evenings and weekends are my own.
The harder part has been making friends. I'm a fairly outgoing and friendly person when I need to be, but when 80% of your time is spent with a family and your knowledge of a county's language is absolutely minimal it's a bit difficult. You have to get creative.
Not that I am letting this get me down. It's character building for me to be content with just me, gives me time to write, and is allowing me to get to know this family more quickly. I also will be starting a language class in November, which should open up my social circle quite a bit.
And in the meantime, I am lucky that another girl who I went to Valpo with is in a similar situation as an au pair in France. So, this coming weekend, we are headed over to Munich for Oktoberfest, and then the weekend following we are meeting up in Paris for an event called Nuit Blanche. And thus my European tour will officially begin!
I truly am enjoying Germany, despite the waves of homesickness. Each day is a learning experience, and I'm learning patience (people tell me that's a virtue...still think it's overrated) as I deal with the frustration of being immersed in a new language daily. Grocery shopping takes about three times as long as it should, and I get lost all the time. But each day I do a little better than before, and that's all anyone can really ask for, right? And I truly am learning the language more quickly than I would have thought was possible. If you really want to learn a new language, immersion is the answer.
Kornwestheim is so stereotypically quaintly European that I love just wandering around. There are enough cafés to occupy my coffee obsession and give me somewhere to go and hang out on weekend. Still need to check out the gelato place, though..
Anyway, here are some photos that I took around town on Sunday. Enjoy! Auf wiedersehen!
The streets of downtown Kornwestheim. It is not fun to navigate a van through there.
My current favorite cafe. I'm going to write the next great American novel here.
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