After a few hours of traveling, I arrived from Düsseldorf to Cologne. I was going to spend my first days in Germany and I was really excited about what it could be.
Table of Contents
Some Impressions during my First Days in Germany
The Neighborhood
My neighborhood was neat and the street had the shape of a spoon, located in the Brück neighborhood in Cologne. Right away, I had an important culture shock: there were no walls nor fences in front of the houses in the neighborhood. I realized later that this was truth for all or most neighborhoods in Germany. I soon understood that there was more security than in Ecuador. For example, my family's bicycles were left outside on the front facade; that is, in the front door and without a padlock or chains.
The only neighbor that I got to know and talk to was with my neighbor Claudia, who was a classmate at the high school Otto Hahn Gymnasium, where I would later study.
The place where I was going to live
The house had a basement, a ground floor, 2 upper floors, a back garden and a front patio that sometimes served as a parking lot for their two cars. 4 floors in total. Wow! There was located the cupboard where the food of the house is kept, the laundry and a general cellar.
In my house in Ecuador, there wasn't a basement and for me this “room in the basement” was a bit new. My entire house had only 1 floor and only 1 room was in the second floor.
No Pets, for the first time
Something novel to me was that, despite having a garden, they did not have any pets. They didn't like them and also wanted the freedom of being able to travel without having to ask somebody to take care of the pet while there were away.
Since I was born, there were one or two dogs in the house. I found it interesting to have this new experience, although I was not going to be very happy about it. Something was missing for me.
Occasionally during the first days in Germany, a pigeon came to visit the window of my room. It was the neighbor's pet from 3 or 4 houses away. I didn't know there were the possibility to tame such animal. This reminds to a episode of a animated cartoon series “Hey Arnold!“
A religious difference
My family from Brück also had no religion. I was born into a religious family of Roman Catholicism. The religious customs that I had, such as going to mass on Sundays or blessing food before a meal, they did not practice.
Heat!
It was summer. It reached a temperature that I wasn't used to it, above the 35ºC.
In Cuenca, which is located in the mountains at 2500m above the sea level, such temperatures are never experienced there. However, on the coast of Ecuador you could feel such heat, (almost) all year long plus some humidity.
My Room
My room was located on the last floor (the third from the ground). I had a small window, bed, desk, couch and a wardrobe. Above everything else, a map of Germany!
The only 2 electronic devices that I brought from my homeland, was my iPod and my photo camera. The iPod served for 2 important purposes, listen to MY music and storing my files, such as pictures. Lucky for me, my brother actually had 2 stereo speakers in his room.
They borrowed me a computer that was from my host brother. It was a slow bulky computer with Windows XP, all in german! I was thrilled to see the entire OS translated. Of course of the computer was to be a mean to comunicate with my family, friends and with other germans as well. Once I explore the new computer, I logged to my Hi5 account and checked my e-mail.
Drunken Girls making out?
I got a surprise when I was exploring the Pictures folder. I saw to girls making out with a cup of champagne. The picture wasn't downloaded from a random site in the internet; it suggested that this two girls were friends or classmates of my host brother. This “social rite” isn't common in Ecuador, although I have seen women do such in TV (because you know, everything is possible in TV). It was funny to see it.
A few more guests
The first days in Germany were spend with other family members. The Brück family had other guests besides me. My older host brother was studying in Bielefeld; My host cousin was studying in Marburg; My younger host brother was going to leave to Ecuador in a few weeks to spend his exchange year, just like I was doing in Germany. After a few more months, it would be just my host parents, my host sister and me. I was going to miss them very much.
A visitor from Thailand
The first days of August, my host sister from Brück arrived from Thailand. She went to visit her exchange friends and family. With my family we went to pick him up from the Cologne main train station because international flights are almost always cheaper from Frankfurt. When she got out, she greeted her family affectionately and when she came to greet me, I greeted her as a person from the countries of East Asia would greet. She laughed and hugged me. This is the typical greeting there (with its respective variations).
In my family from my homeland, I had 4 brothers (all male). What would it be like, to have a sister for the first time? It was strange indeed. The first weeks, I felt that I need to be more delicate with her. Afterwards, I realized that she did not have a filter in her daily speak, so it was really necessary .
A Letter from my Parents
My parents were also very loving, sending me emails with many tips to better deal with strangers. This email I received during my first days in Germany on July 30, 2008:
How did you do on your first day of arrival at the Germanias. Here we miss you a lot but we know that you will be happy.
All the uncles have asked for you. They have called to know how you got there.
Your mom asks you to arrange all your clothes neatly in the drawers and shipowners assigned to you and that you leave the gifts that you have not delivered in the suitcases.
The first moments are very important to create an excellent impression and a good future relationship. Therefore you must be very cheerful, smiling *, kind and collaborative. Above all, collaborator. Be attentive when they talk to you and take interest in everything they tell you and show.
Read these tips * and put them into practice. Print them out * and save *.
Tell your younger brother from Brück that we want to see him here. Let us know when he arrives. Why don't you buy about three mustards for Paul to bring if possible, first ask * him. Don't buy if he can't.
We love * you very much, pray and ask the Lord for many blessings,
Father.
Jetlag
The day I arrived, it was overwhelmingly hot. This got worse the fact that I was already feeling sleepy at 5pm in Germany. If I would have waited awake until 9pm, perhaps the “Time Zone Shift” o “Jet Lag” syndrome would have been damped. But I didn't hahaha. At 5pm I was already so tired that I told my host family that I was going to sleep.
I woke up the next day at 3am. Even if I tried, I could return to sleep. What I did was to sit on the couch in my room and wait for the sunrise. It was a very nice experience that I think I haven't done it until that day. Maybe I was at my bedroom window for about 3 hours before I went downstairs for breakfast. This experience was repeated during my first days in Germany.
In summer, in the hemispheres north and south, the days in summer last longer, therefore before 6am I saw the sun rise.
voyageLlama's Index of Content
Click on the following link to browse likewise content in the blog in voyageLlama. This index will help you see what you are looking for in a bird's eye view.
Keep Reading!
- How do Americans think? A letter from an expat
In this letter, an expat living in USA tell us how do Americans think through his eyes and experience. Click here to read. - Study in Portugal, an exciting journey in this whopping World?Find reasons to study in Portugal from the perspective of Juditova. Is it appropriate for you too?. Click here to read.
- Phantasialand, an immersive theme park in GermanyPhantasialand is a theme park located near Bonn. The exchange students went there to enjoy the ride. Click here to read.
- Independence of Mexico nostalgic party in GermanyThe Independence of Mexico was celebrated by classmates during a nostalgic party in Germany but I had to avoid neonazis. Click here to read.
- Visit from a friend, a short connection back to homeDuring the exchange year, I faced loneliness a few times. Luckily, I got a visit from a friend from my country. Click here to read.
