Two Months Too Long

Two months today since I moved to Germany, which means almost two months since I last blogged – eeeek! Apologies! I could list a long line of excuses, but I’m sure you don’t wanna hear it as much I don’t wanna write it.

Frankfurt has been treating me exceptionally well and I’ve not once been homesick. It’s the complete opposite experience to the 18 year old Alisa who dreaded every weekend of her first semester at uni- I honestly can’t even believe that was me. But after four years at uni, including studying abroad, I am, as usual, always out and about. This was not what I was expecting as I only knew one person in Frankfurt when I arrived, but it seems to be in my nature.

Stepping out of my comfort zone

I have gone from having a jam-packed diary for weeks on end in London to making plans just a few hours before heading out in Frankfurt-ganz spontan! I’ve been invited out through friends of friends and attended even when my friends aren’t actually going. To be honest, it’s just like when you go anywhere where you don’t know everyone there; chatting, drinking and getting to know one another- sometimes you stay in touch, sometimes you don’t. Someone said they admire how much I take myself out of my comfort zone, but maybe the ‘uncomfortable zone’ is my new comfort zone, because I don’t think twice about it.

Keeping up with the arts

I’m still a geek for the arts and although my blog has taken a de-tour from the theatre and exhibition theme (for now), believe me, I am still a keeno. Mum, I know you’ll be pleased to read that after my teenage years of rolling my eyes every time you suggested going to a museum. Last weekend I visited the Georg Baseltz exhibition at the Städel Museum and also took a look at the contemporary art, where I learnt about Die Brücke (The Bridge), a German art movement formed in 1905 who used art to escape the contraints of modern middle-class life. Pretty cool.

The good and the bad

So what am I hating and what am I loving? I am loving the convenience of living in the centre of a small city. I can be everywhere and anywhere within about 20 mins and don’t have to think about the outrageous taxi prices if I miss the last U-Bahn. I walk to and from work everyday, which is a real luxury compared to the London commute (although let’s see if I’m still saying that in the thick of winter) and the travel and rent prices don’t break the bank either!
Talking of banks, this has been my only struggle, if you can call it a struggle at all. You have to sign on the dotted line after paying by card, and that’s if the shop actually accepts card. Oh, and to top it off, it’s not as if you can withdraw cash for the nearest cash point either, it has to be from the place that you actually bank with. Hello!? It’s nearly 2017!?

So what’s next?

People still ask what my plan is, how long I will be living here and how often I will visit London, but the truth is that I don’t know. In the spirit of Georg Baselitz, I’m rejecting the pressures of a conventional life, living for the moment and enjoying every part of it – wunderbar!

“I was born into a corrupt way of life, in a corrupt world, in a corrupt nation, in a corrupt society. And I didn’t want to implement a new way of life. I had seen more than enough of the convention.”
GEORG BASELITZ, 1995