Stories from my life and travels as an American immigrant in Germany!
Reverse culture shock is the experience of returning to your home country after living abroad for years, and feeling as though you no longer belong. In March, I finally went back to the USA to visit my family and friends. It had been over three years since the last time I’d been in America; so, needless to say, this trip…Continue Reading
Frankenmuth, Michigan is a small town settled in 1845 by German immigrants from the Kingdom of Bavaria. To this day, Frankenmuth continues to pay homage to their roots, even though the Kingdom of Bavaria is long gone. This tiny town of 5,000 sees over 3 million visitors per year, and is the most popular vacation destination in Michigan. I loved…Continue Reading
View of the city from the Brooklyn Bridge.
I feel like a broken record saying this, but: it’s been a while, hasn’t it? A lot has happened since my last update! Up until two weeks ago, my husband and I were extremely busy planning for our move to Germany. It’s been stressful, but I’m very happy to say that the hard part of getting documents, moving logistics, and…Continue Reading
For the last few days of our vacation, we stayed in the Historic Core of Los Angeles. Our AirBnB didn’t seem to have the best insulation, as you could hear every conversation (and screaming match) on the street below, even though we had the windows shut tight. Thankfully, we brought ear plugs, so the arguments that went on well past 4AM…Continue Reading
After a long drive through Death Valley, we spent two nights in Las Vegas. I had been to Las Vegas about 10 years prior, on a trip to visit with family. I had told my husband on several occasions that he needed to see Las Vegas before we left the United States. I regaled him with tales of “huge fountains,”…Continue Reading
If I had to sum up the first day of our vacation/double honeymoon in a single picture, it would be the one below. It’s just one of many that I took of this bird across a half-mile stretch of Venice Beach. Was it actually the same bird? Well, as my husband pointed out every time I said, “there he is again!” it…Continue Reading
It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? The past few months have been busy with wedding planning, visiting with friends and family from Germany, the wedding itself, and a double honeymoon with my husband’s best friends. It’s been stressful, but also a ton of fun! Today, I’m going to share some of the photos I took at the Henry Ford Museum in…Continue Reading
Jan and I spent this past weekend in Grand Rapids, Michigan with some friends who were already in the area to attend GrrCon. Coincidentally, the conference coincided with the tail end of Art Prize, a massive, yearly art festival that lasts two months and brings together artists from all over the world. Art Prize is free to attend and set up all across…Continue Reading
This past Sunday, I took my little sister to the Toledo Zoo in Ohio for her birthday. Zoos always make me feel a little conflicted, yet, never so conflicted as to not go, it seems. I do appreciate the conservation work that they do, of course, but is it really fair to these wild animals to live in such small spaces? I often…Continue Reading
This Labor Day Weekend, my boyfriend and I drove 4 hours North to camp at Hoeft State Park. “Going up North” is a very popular Michigan pastime, so when my boyfriend asked why I had chosen this particular park, the short answer was “they still had openings.” The long answer was that only two of the parks with open sites had…Continue Reading