March 27, 2012

I’m baaaa-aaaack! I’ve been back in Germany for about two weeks now, and I felt like sharing some things that have crossed my mind lately. (This is probably because I have a huge exam coming up, and like nothing better than to blog when I should be doing productive things.)

I really don’t like Cologne. But the fact March means the beginning of shorts-season and tree-budding almost makes me forget that I’d prefer to be pretty much anywhere else in the world.

When I sit back and compare what I ate in Canada in comparison to my German diet, it’s no wonder I gained 7kg back home. Eating out, eating junk food, and most importantly, eating when you’re not hungry, really does a number on your waistline.

Sometimes I wonder if, coming up on my fifth anniversary of first moving over here, I’m becoming too German. I’ve had professors tell me I “look too German” (and to stop that), and have had a few Germans tell me I’m more German than they are. Today, my German-ness is peeking through again. There are four men in suits standing outside my window, and I just spent the last fifteen minutes staring at them, wondering what in the world could bring men in suits to my suburban ghetto.

I missed the hell outta Maxie.

Unfortunately, I seem to have caught the Finland-bug again. Funny, I get homesick for Canada, and I get homesick for Finland (mostly just E.). I don’t know why this is. It could have something to do with my low threshold for 99.8% of Germans I know and Germany, in general. Or just the fact 99.8% of the people most important in my life are either in Canada or Finland. Or something.

I don’t stay in one place for very long. I know this about myself, and blame it on the fact I’ve never really lived anywhere longer than two and a half years since I was 18. For someone so adverse to change, I sure do like to bring it upon myself. This brings me to two points:

1. Since it’s not feasible to move with one year left in my MA, I moved my rooms around. Yes, my bed is now in my office, my couch in my kitchen, and my bedroom empty, but it’s satisfied the change-bug for the time being. No, I don’t care that my flat now looks ridiculous.
2. There are two factors determining where I do my PhD: if I like the faculty and there is room for my specialty there (duh), and if I can manage to stay in that particular place for three to six years. The latter is the one giving me the most mental trouble.

My CrackBerry is a godsend. Too bad I’m on it all the time and am pissing everyone off with it.
I’m tired all the time in Germany. I don’t know why this is. All I do is nap. Some people say it has something to do with the stress of living in another country. I like to think it has to do with the fact Maxie’s farts are so toxic, I slip into a coma multiple times per day. (Sorry… I bet you can tell what just happened halfway through THAT sentence…)

Bah. I have nothing to say. I’m tired. Time for a nap.