Adventures of an Expat in Deutschland

Herzliche Grüße an euch alle! Hearty greetings to you all! Today marks one year since I arrived in Hamburg, and what a year it's been! Much of my energy over these past twelve months has been spent on integrating into German society and culture - learning how to navigate the transit system, how to shop and read ingredient labels and recipes (including converting my favorites into metric and adjusting for local ingredients), and of course, learning the language (an ongoing process). Clarke and I have been slowly building a new network of friends, which is really helpful. We've connected with the Mennonite church here, and I'm now regularly working in the church gardens. I really miss gardening, although I do have eight planter boxes hung along our balcony and window railings with flowers and herbs, but it's not the same thing. I'm happy to have the opportunity to maintain and re-envision the church gardens, which have been somewhat neglected for a period of time. Cla...