life update
Nov. 26th, 2018 11:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaixoRead under the cut, because it’s boring A.F.
Basically, I’m in Berlin, hitting the ground at speed.
I’ve been approaching this life change in phases. It’s the answer to the age old question, right? How do you eat an elephant?
Bite by bite.
Last week was phase one, which started on Tuesday morning (I landed Monday afternoon). The basics of phase one was: local address, local phone number, local bank account and registration (Anmeldnung?) That’s largely sorted. This is me doing it with A2 level German (barely beginners), and where I’m staying (a village an hour out of the centre of Berlin by train) not many people speak English.
We have tortourous conversations, and end the exchanges with strained smiles.
Never mind, I want to tell them. I’ll get better.
Especially since I inadvertently nicked an envelope from the post office in my village. I need to apologise, and pay for the envelope, before I get threatening letters, because I’m sending off some postcards in time for the Christmas post.
I spent last week criss crossing Berlin for SIX HOURS to get my pay as you go SIM card registered to my passport and tied to my address. As well as sorting my bankcard with an account popular with English immigrants.
That was deeply unfun in many ways.
This week, it’s phase two: it’s rewriting my cv (it’s four years out of date, because I’ve floated into jobs via contacts and networking, so I haven’t had to do that stuff in years. YEARS) and applying for everything running. Or cycling. Or… you get the gist.
There’s a particular way the Germans do their C.V.s (Lebenslauf) as well as a cover letter. My German is terrible, but there are English speaking jobs where I am, but still, this is how I am to do it.
In terms of couple dom- I’m pretty much on my own in Berlin - in that I’ve left my SO behind.
He’s coming over to visit at Christmas.
The lad honestly didn’t believe I’d actually book a flight and uproot my life to Berlin, although I’ve been telling him for the past two years that I’d be looking to leave the UK.
He is still in shock about it, and trying to understand that as someone who’s from the community of Windrush and seeing May’s wreckage first hand, and the Tories crowing about wanting to strip dual nationalities of their British citizenship, I wasn’t going to hang around. Also, since I was a ‘remainer’ according to Theresa May, I was a citizen of no where, because I felt more European than British. So, yeah.
History is filled with the obituaries of people who’ve stayed in one place too long, I said on Saturday. Booked the flight on Sunday, to leave Monday the week after.
After much thought, he has booked an apartment at Alexanderplatz for Christmas week.
So, we’ll see how we go.
BUT - I’m not alone!
I’m living in a loft, sharing property with a couple, their high strung toddler, an Irish border collie and three cats with various stages of anxiety. I have two German language tandems that I’ve spoken to off and on for the past eighteen or so months, so they’ve been helping me with all the bumpf and strange translations.
I’ve met a Polish woman in the village over, and we’re looking to meet up for a coffee this Wednesday.
There are two notebooks in my possession- one for everyday German, and the other for ‘official German stuff’. As in, things to do with my rental contract, my phone, employment details and health insurance. The ‘everyday stuff’ is pretty much my reciepts, and various things I encounter on the train day to day.
Basically, my mantra at this point is, “I’m making it work”. No matter how crappy or challenging the situation in front of me, I’m all, “I’m making it work.” My German friends are rather aghast at the whole thing, of me picking up and pretty much coming over alone to take up space with a couple that I’ve met via Twitter, and only face timed them on the Saturday before flying out on the Monday but ehh. If you don’t ask in this world, you don’t get.
After a long time of not asking, I’m learning to ask, and telling myself that a NO never killed anyone. There are other things I’ve learnt in the space of one week, but this is long enough, and probably of interest to anyone but me.
And that’s fine too!
Eventually, I’ll look up the local football teams, etc. But I really need to get a job first, and get the language asap.
Basically, I’m in Berlin, hitting the ground at speed.
I’ve been approaching this life change in phases. It’s the answer to the age old question, right? How do you eat an elephant?
Bite by bite.
Last week was phase one, which started on Tuesday morning (I landed Monday afternoon). The basics of phase one was: local address, local phone number, local bank account and registration (Anmeldnung?) That’s largely sorted. This is me doing it with A2 level German (barely beginners), and where I’m staying (a village an hour out of the centre of Berlin by train) not many people speak English.
We have tortourous conversations, and end the exchanges with strained smiles.
Never mind, I want to tell them. I’ll get better.
Especially since I inadvertently nicked an envelope from the post office in my village. I need to apologise, and pay for the envelope, before I get threatening letters, because I’m sending off some postcards in time for the Christmas post.
I spent last week criss crossing Berlin for SIX HOURS to get my pay as you go SIM card registered to my passport and tied to my address. As well as sorting my bankcard with an account popular with English immigrants.
That was deeply unfun in many ways.
This week, it’s phase two: it’s rewriting my cv (it’s four years out of date, because I’ve floated into jobs via contacts and networking, so I haven’t had to do that stuff in years. YEARS) and applying for everything running. Or cycling. Or… you get the gist.
There’s a particular way the Germans do their C.V.s (Lebenslauf) as well as a cover letter. My German is terrible, but there are English speaking jobs where I am, but still, this is how I am to do it.
In terms of couple dom- I’m pretty much on my own in Berlin - in that I’ve left my SO behind.
He’s coming over to visit at Christmas.
The lad honestly didn’t believe I’d actually book a flight and uproot my life to Berlin, although I’ve been telling him for the past two years that I’d be looking to leave the UK.
He is still in shock about it, and trying to understand that as someone who’s from the community of Windrush and seeing May’s wreckage first hand, and the Tories crowing about wanting to strip dual nationalities of their British citizenship, I wasn’t going to hang around. Also, since I was a ‘remainer’ according to Theresa May, I was a citizen of no where, because I felt more European than British. So, yeah.
History is filled with the obituaries of people who’ve stayed in one place too long, I said on Saturday. Booked the flight on Sunday, to leave Monday the week after.
After much thought, he has booked an apartment at Alexanderplatz for Christmas week.
So, we’ll see how we go.
BUT - I’m not alone!
I’m living in a loft, sharing property with a couple, their high strung toddler, an Irish border collie and three cats with various stages of anxiety. I have two German language tandems that I’ve spoken to off and on for the past eighteen or so months, so they’ve been helping me with all the bumpf and strange translations.
I’ve met a Polish woman in the village over, and we’re looking to meet up for a coffee this Wednesday.
There are two notebooks in my possession- one for everyday German, and the other for ‘official German stuff’. As in, things to do with my rental contract, my phone, employment details and health insurance. The ‘everyday stuff’ is pretty much my reciepts, and various things I encounter on the train day to day.
Basically, my mantra at this point is, “I’m making it work”. No matter how crappy or challenging the situation in front of me, I’m all, “I’m making it work.” My German friends are rather aghast at the whole thing, of me picking up and pretty much coming over alone to take up space with a couple that I’ve met via Twitter, and only face timed them on the Saturday before flying out on the Monday but ehh. If you don’t ask in this world, you don’t get.
After a long time of not asking, I’m learning to ask, and telling myself that a NO never killed anyone. There are other things I’ve learnt in the space of one week, but this is long enough, and probably of interest to anyone but me.
And that’s fine too!
Eventually, I’ll look up the local football teams, etc. But I really need to get a job first, and get the language asap.
