Today is a public holiday here in Germany. We are commemorating the “Tag der Deutschen Einheit“, or the Wiedervereinigung , in English it´s the Unification Day.It´s a public holiday reminding us that since 1990, Germany is one again as a country and is not divided in East and West anymore.

I came to Germany in Summer of 2016. I really don´t know what to expect ahead of my life here. “It´s another Expat adventure!” I said to myself. From the train from the Netherlands, heading to our new “Heimat” in Deutsch, in Southern Bavaria, my mind is busy trying to figure out everything.I was impressed by the train system and all these new things that I see. After quite sometime living in the middle East, esp. in Kuwait, Europe, and Germany is a totally new world to me. Ohh and the German language–it´s an alien language that makes my head spin.

Never did I ever imagined in my whole life to be living here, let alone that after 8 years, my life with Der, Die and Das would come to a productive integration–that I would finally have the German nationality or locally known as Einbürgerung.

But is it really worth it?

Come to think of it, i remember as a kid dreaming about Amsterdam and Germany but never in my wildest dreams that I would be living here—let alone speaking German, doing my first Art Exhibition here, and even obtaining a German citizenship! As I recall, one of the song that is in our wedding soundtrack was “Das Beste” by Silbermond. Now I finally understand the lyrics, before i only enjoy the melody.

Anyway, I mentioned in the Title ” Der, Die and Das” and my life with them.Der, Die Das are German articles. They are not just denoting the gender of Nouns but they are inseparable with every Noun. Have you noticed yet, sometimes I think German destroys my grammar and I am always writing now nouns capitalized which I don´t do with the English language, exclusive of proper nouns of course.The last eight years of my life was a mixture of happy, sad, crazy, boring, exhilarating and rollercoaster life.I´ve always loved changes but moving to Germany was something.

No kidding, the German language is hard to learn but also a lot of fun. Learning the language as an adult has it´s challenges of course.Going back to school to learn German as an adult is a nerve -racking experience, but then at the end , it´s beautifully rewarding. Up until now, I am still continually learning, non stop. New friends and job, new environment, new culture, new neighborhood, new food, and allowing German language to possess every sanity of me has been my new life cycle.

Since moving to Germany is unplanned, I needed to have a plan to find my new purpose. I realized that for me to survive here in Germany, I needed to speak German.My daughter who was born in Kuwait and barely speak when we moved here is now fluent and has been correcting my grammatical mistakes especially when it comes to the Cases, Gender and Verbs. Growing up in the Philippines, English was my second language and I must say that as along as you have the interest in learning, then there´s no such thing as impossible.

German is widely spoken in Europe, nowaydays, I have no fear when we travel around Europe because knowing German becomes very handy. For non-speakers, like me before, it was such a surprise knowing that with this Germanic language, everything has a Gender, and the corresponding definite article for it. Der for masculine, Die for feminine and Das for Neuter. All nouns have gender here! Compared to English-the common ” THE ” has three types here and in order to learn German, you should learn to know all the gender of Nouns to be able to use them. But actually, it´s okay to make mistakes. I have learned through my mistakes and that´s the best part of the journey.

Believe me, some Germans have no English translations at all. Anyway, I am sharing this personal experience because I find it really worthwhile to share. Any foreign language or new culture is possible to learn if one really wants to. I learned the language because I wanted to, I wanted to integrate and live here as a normal person and that means coping to daily routines of life. Sitting there in the classroom and learning the basics in a German way is both humbling and empowering. I am so grateful that I took courage to take the Integration courses and push myself to integrate in the local culture.

Germany is not a perfect country, of course there isn´t. Germans are no perfect neighbors as well. They are generally private persons, conservative, and very consumed with education, functional living and professionals.They will tell you directly if you did not separate your waste properly –“Das gehört eigentlich in den Restmull,nicht in den Gelbe Sack” ! my neighbour told me. Here I have mastered to cope with the German unpredictable weather like owning more than 3 types of Jackets, or more! More like learning to dress up to the weather and forget about fashion. Here it´s all about function.

Germans are somewhat direct, conservative–yes here in Bavaria they are.They even say “Servus, Grüß Gott”, instead of Hello and on Sundays, you definitely cannot do your lawn, and play loud music. Sundays are Ruhetag, or Silent Sundays–meaning shops are closed, no shopping, which is exactly the opposite from where I grew up where Sundays are family time and malls are open.

My life with Der, Die and Das have taught me to pack my own groceries blitzschnell or so fast like a struck of lightning because here, nobody packs your groceries and you need to bring your own bags! The cashiers are really something, they are trained to do their thing so fast to keep up with them. Small talks are not always encouraged and politeness is observed by using Du or Sie when adressing people.Speaking of Termin or Appointment, it is the golden rule here when meeting up or visiting friends and other household.Without having a Termin, it is considered impolite to just barge -in and coming unannouced.I have learned so much from living here and I think I have grown so much by adapting to my new environment.Loving Germany is another thing but hating it is also exhausting.

As a mother, raising your child with Der, Die and Das is another adventure. I am so glad my kid is raised in a secure environment who values freedom, security and have a high regard on education. Freedom and playtime is encouraged at a very young age. From Kindergarten days, children are encouraged to be just playing outdoors and no stress on learning how to read, count or write, all pure fun! No matter the weather is, we bring our children outside–in the outdoor classroom. With the good health care system and health insurance, we have access to a worry -free medical services and so on and so forth.

Is my life with Der, Die, Das really on a greener grass side of life?

I can proudly say Yes.

Photos above are from my trip in Berlin, the capital of Germany where I first learned hands- on the history lessons that I´ve learned from the book .It was a great jourey so far.To Germany, it is good to know you.If I ´ve got you curious about Bavaria, please check out these drool -worthy places. I am telling you, Germany has beautiful nature.

Herzogstand, from above I see you.

Königsee, the King of all Alpine Lakes in Bavaria

Breathtaking Eibsee

The Royal hike to Neuschwanstein Castle

Wiedersehen, Tschüß!