I’ve arrived!
So after three car rides, two bus trips, one non-stop flight and a total of 19 hours of travel, I reached Duesseldorf yesterday morning, on Saturday, December 17th, 2016!
After my mom and I landed, we had to go through passport control- my least favorite part of traveling. I was really nervous about this for the past month or so because of visa requirements but it ended up being a really pleasant experience. Because my American passport allows me to enter and stay in countries within the European Union (Germany included) for up to three months without a visa, I did not come with one (even though I plan on staying for five months total). I anticipated that the passport control police would interrogate me or not let me come in (just because I mentally prepare myself for the worse for no reason sometimes) but the gentlemen I saw was the nicest guy ever! After he said hello, I told him that I would be here for five months doing an internship and that I will apply for a visa within the next three months. He smiled, said wow, stamped my passport and said have a good day! So the “hardest” part was over!
My very kind landlord picked me and my mom up from the airport shortly after, gave us a quick driving tour of the Stadtzentrum (City Center) of Duesseldorf and then let me into my cozy apartment. My mom and I then sat and had tea, coffee and cookies with him and his wife and lots of translating and switching back and forth between German and English went on during the next hour, which is always fun!
My amazing landlord already set up my apartment for me!
Then I unpacked my two suitcases, relaxed for a bit, got some take out pizza from this amazing Italian restaurant two minutes away by foot, did a little food shopping and just soaked it all in. It feels good to be back in one of my favorite countries in the world but I can already tell how different it is this time. I feel so much more independent and linguistically prepared than other times I’ve visited, but I also feel a little shocked that this is all really happening after starting this process over a year ago! Thankfully I have some time to reflect, continue learning and have some fun before the real work starts in a few weeks!
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So glad things went smoothly! Looking forward to learning about your experience with social work in Germany, Cherice!
Thanks Laura! It was definitely a great first day! There will be more to come soon!
Cherice, Great to see you are now ensconced – I look forward to reading lots more posts! Thanks for doing this – it feeds my interest in international social work and I hope to learn more about how Germany – a more socialist society – cares for its members.
My Independent Study course that I took this past semester allowed me to focus specifically on Social Work, as well as social services available in Germany and I found it to be quite interesting and different from how things work in the states. Therefore, I too look forward to learning more about and participating in this system. Thanks for the post Pat and please excuse my delayed response!
So excited for your journey this semester!! I can’t wait to read all about your experiences! Love to you!
Thanks for reading and commenting Rebecca! I appreciate your excitement and I am excited (and nervous) too!