My long-awaited arrival in Bremen has finally come and to be honest I am very grateful to be here. I always feel that the anticipation of a future plan is much worse than the actual occurrence itself. It is stressful leaving one beloved place (a.k.a. Freiburg) and going to another, because all the ‘what if’ questions swarm endlessly around in your head, and you just want to get it over with. It was such a great feeling to walk into a fully-stocked apartment after the long journey up to Northern Germany. I realize more and more each day how lucky I am for this opportunity – there will probably never be another time in my life that I have the chance to live in another country without having to worry about finding a place to live or basic amenities to live with. Our dorm is located about ten minutes from the University, which has an endearingly strange mix of 70’s style architecture and buildings made almost entirely out of glass.

More and more each day, we are all adjusting to life here. We have gone grocery shopping, cooked edible meals (big sigh of relief there), and all the other day-to-day necessities. The most important change I have noticed, however, is that life here is slowly becoming more than just something to adjust to – it is becoming something to enjoy. The city itself is one of the most beautiful places I can imagine; it almost seems unreal. I could wander along the cramped, store-lined European streets for hours on end, and then head to the river and spend days there as well. Pittsburgh has a very enjoyable walk along the Monongahela – the path down the Weser reminds me of that small part of home. It is a city that is at once large and small – large enough to be conducive to lots of wandering, and small enough to be readily familiar.

Our temporary, year-long housing is also becoming more and more home-like. I moved everything in my room around (have to love a good feng shui). My roommate and I bought a little pumpkin for our dorm to celebrate autumn. And our once-in-a-while “family dinners,” where everyone brings a dish, have made us all bond. I think that, when abroad, there has to be a balance between places – between an old home and a new. Slowly but surely the two merge together in memories and experiences, each becoming a home in its own right, one no better than the other.