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All Things German In California

"Sprechen Sie Deutsch" - California Neighbors

Deutsche Auswanderer rund um Los Angeles für ZDF Sendung gesucht

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Christiane Hübscher, ZDF -Journalistin in der Bay Area sucht interessante deutsche Auswanderer für  TV-Portraits in der Sendung “Hallo Deutschland”

“Liebe Deutsche in Kalifornien, ich bin ZDF-Journalistin in der Bay Area und habe schon mehrere TV-Portraits über deutsche Auswanderer in und um San Francisco gedreht. Weil das beim Zuschauer so gut ankommt, suchen wir nun weitere interessante Deutsche anderswo in Kalifornien, vor allem in L.A.! Wer hat eine gute Geschichte zu erzählen? Dann gerne PM an mich.” (siehe auch FB post in CaliforniaGermans-The Group)

Hier ein paar Beispiele der letzten Beiträge, damit Ihr eine bessere Vorstellung habt, wie sowas aussehen kann:

Deutsche Lehrerin in SF:
https://www.zdf.de/…/hallo-deutschland-vom-23-mai-2017-100.… (ab Minute 19:01)

Deutsche Biergartenbesitzerin in San Jose:
https://www.zdf.de/…/hallo-deutschland-vom-15-mai-2017-100.… (ab Minute 30:07)

 

Image: © ZDF.de

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Practicing German with Siri

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Practicing German with Apple’s Virtual Assistant, Siri

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Apple‘s  iPhone it turns out is not only an esthetic jewel but also a helpful source for practicing some daily German!

My husband recently upgraded his iPhone to the latest version, and gave his old phone to our 10-year old, who has eagerly been waiting for calling an iPhone his own. He happily grabbed his prey, and for the next hour or so he seemed to have completely disappeared.

Looking all over the house for him we finally stopped short in front of his room. Behind closed doors we heard his voice and someone else’s. Surprised my husband and I drew closer wondering who had come to visit him. We certainly didn’t hear the doorbell ring.

Listening in to the conversation we heard him speak German!! The conversation went something like that:

“Hallo”  – “Siri grüsst Dich ebenfalls.”

“Wie heisst Du?”  – “Siri. Es ist mir ein Vergnügen.”

“Wie geht’s?” – “Mir geht es prächtig.”

“Bist Du ein Mädchen?”  – “Ich verstehe nicht.”

“Bist Du ein Mann oder eine Frau?” – “Ist das relevant?”

“Was machst Du?” – “Ich mache die Hausaufgaben für meinen Weiterbildungskurs.” (eine eifrige Siri!)

“Was ist Deine Liebelingsfarbe” –    “Meine Lieblingsfarbe…, naja, wie soll ich das in Deiner Sprache ausdrücken? Eine Art grün , aber mit mehr Dimensionen”

“Was ist dein Lieblingsessen?” – “Ich rede nicht so gerne über mich”.                ODER  Siri antwortet vorwurfsvoll: –  “So was solltest du Deinen Assistenten eigentlich nicht fragen.”

“Wem gehörst du?” – “Entschuldigung ..das habe ich nicht verstanden.”

“Magst Du orange?” –  “Das möchte ich lieber nicht sagen.”

“Hast du auch mal Bauchweh?”  – “Das kann ich nicht beantworten.”

“Erzähl mir einen Witz” – “Zwei iPhones stehen an der Bar… Den Rest habe ich vergessen.”  

Manchmal hat Siri aber auch einen Witz auf Lager, dann klingt das so: “Auf der Wiese: Schaf zum Rasenmäher: “Mäh!” Sagt der Rasenmäher: “Du hast mir gar nichts zu befehlen!”

After having been somewhat reluctant to hand our child another digital device I had to revise my opinion. Apart from practicing his speaking skills, he also listens to Siri’s pretty well pronounced German, and he can improve his writing as well since one can also read the answers in German on the display.

Of course, should you like to go beyond the basic German Q/A s, you might still want to consider taking a real  German language course…  🙂

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Photo Credit:  © Apple Inc.
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Die waltende Stimme

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Die waltende Stimme

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A Drabble (story of 100 words) by Merrill Lyew Emanuel
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Wir bewegten uns auf dem Berlinertordamm in Richtung Borgfelderstraße. Die Hitze lag flimmernd über dem Straßenpflaster. Aber die gebietende Frauenstimme kommandierte unbarmherzig,

“…noch acht Kilometer geradeaus“.

Wir standen seit frühmorgens auf den Beinen und die Erschöpfung machte sich in unseren Gemütern bereits deutlich bemerkbar.

„Wir kippen alle gleich um.“, murmelte eine Kollegin hinter mir.

Ich sehnte mich nach dem Feierabend bei einem kühlen Glas Alsterwasser. Schließlich befanden wir uns auf der Billstedter Hauptstraße. Unser Ziel war schon deutlich zu erkennen.

„Jetzt sind wir da.“, atmete ich erleichtert auf.

Ich drehte den Zündschlüssel herum und endlich verstummte auch dieses nervige Navigationsgerät…

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©Merrill Lyew 2016
Image: Pixabay.com

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Merrill Lyew EmanuelAs a recent retiree, Merrill Lyew Emanuel now has time for his old and new hobbies. Within his hobbies are writing fan fiction in German, solving chess puzzles, repairing things at home that are not broken, doing a little bit of social media, reading every and anything that looks like a book, traveling a little, and taking snapshots with his mirrorless camera.

Having lived in Germany, Costa Rica and the USA, he is fluent in the languages of these countries. As a professional geographer he traveled profusely throughout Latin America. He is living in Southern California for over thirty years. Find more of his work at http://www.merrillius.net

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Verpasste Kindheit

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Verpasste Kindheit

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A Drabble (story of 100 words) by Merrill Lyew Emanuel
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Im Sekretariat der Hochschule wurde ich gebeten, erst einmal Platz zu nehmen und zu warten. Kurze Zeit später betrat ein Polizist das Büro und forderte mich auf, ihn auf das Revier zu begleiten, es gebe dort eine wichtige Angelegenheit zu klären.

Arglos folgte ich dem Polizisten, weil ich mir keiner Schuld bewusst war; ich nahm an, dass es sich lediglich um ein Missverständnis handelte.
Im Polizeibüro holte ein älterer Wachtmeister eine Akte aus dem Regal und zeigte mir ein vergilbtes Blatt – ein Fahndungsplakat mit meinem Konterfei als fünfjähriges Kind. Unter einem Fahndungsfoto stand der Name des gesuchten Entführers: meines Vaters…

© Merrill Lyew Emanuel

Image: Pixabay.com

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Merrill Lyew EmanuelAs a recent retiree, Merrill Lyew Emanuel  now has time for his old and new hobbies. Within his hobbies are writing fan fiction in German, solving chess puzzles, repairing things at home that are not broken, doing a little bit of social media, reading every and anything that looks like a book, traveling a little, and taking snapshots with his mirrorless camera. Having lived in Germany, Costa Rica and the USA, he is fluent in the languages of these countries. As a professional geographer he traveled profusely throughout Latin America. He is living in Southern California for over thirty years. Find more of his work at www.merrillius.net——————————————————————————————————————

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Berliner Rundfunk 91.4 needs 'Berliners' living in California

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unnamed-2Are you from Berlin and made California your home?

A new radio show on the Berliner Rundfunk 91.4 is on the look out for ‘Berliners’ who have left Berlin to live in California!

They are especially interested in how many years it has been since you’ve left Berlin and if you are missing your home city Berlin.  In fact what do you miss the most? Do you still have family in Berlin? What brought you to California and what are you doing professionally here?

But most importantly they would like to know if you are planning on coming ‘home’ to Berlin for Christmas, and if you would like to visit someone over there, or if you particularly miss someone special over there.

If you are interested in sharing some of your life story with the Berliner Rundfunk 91.4, please contact editor Helena Daehler at helena.daehler(AT)berliner-rundfunk.de

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Image: Neue Berliner Rundfunk GmbH und Co. KG

 

Studying In the U.S. Goes Beyond the Classroom

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Kathrin equestrian

Education Beyond the Classroom

With graduation being three weeks away, my mind is currently on a constant rollercoaster ride.  Will I find a paying job?  Will I love what I will end up doing? Will my work permit be approved?  What if I don’t find a job?  I know that I am ready to go back into the workforce, but I am also very aware that I will very much miss my time at California State University, Fullerton.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not someone who enjoys sitting over homework for a couple of hours during the day or writing 4-6 page essays, but I certainly loved sitting in my classes with like-minded people, becoming really good friends with some of them. I will miss the environment and the opportunity to partake in extra-curricular activities, a thing that is not really common in Germany, at least not when I was a student more than 10 years ago.  

When I moved out to Southern California as a student, I first attended community college before transferring to a 4-year institution.  It was a good way to save money, but looking back at it I wish I could have attended Cal State Fullerton from the beginning.  My community college in particular didn’t offer any extra-curricular activities.  It also was split up into several smaller campuses around the Orange County area, with no main campus.  I started out as a Business major and knew early on that I wanted to transfer to Fullerton once I had met my course requirements due to the fact that the school offers a business concentration in Entertainment and Tourism studies.  But during my time at Coastline Community College I had a very tough semester that made me rethink my major.  I realized that my strengths lay more in creative writing than in business; therefore I decided to change to Communications instead.  I love that this major, just as with Business, offers a lot of areas to get a job in.  I have always been very interested in the entertainment and tourism area, but I also like hospitality and nonprofit organizations.  And since Cal State Fullerton has one of the best communications programs, I was able to still stay true to my decision to transfer to this institution after the first two years of college.  

After I worked my way through community college and collected all the necessary credits, I finally moved on to Fullerton in January 2014.  I first wasn’t aware of the amazing selection of campus clubs the school had to offer until I took an online class during the summer term 2014, where I met a fellow classmate who recommended to join CSUF PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) where I would be able to meet like-minded students and industry professionals.  I was very much looking forward to the upcoming fall semester to join the organization.  I was very impressed what the organization, which is run by students, had to offer: speaker panels, workshops, mixers, agency tours and fundraisers.  I stayed in the organization for one-and-a-half years, making valuable connections and new friends.  At the same time as I joined PRSSA, I also got to know about the university’s equestrian team.  I have participated in horseback riding throughout my youth and into adulthood, and I was more than eager to sit back in the saddle.  After the first equestrian club meeting I was sold and joined the team.  The only downside with this club was the fact that you had to pay a lot extra, such as the riding lessons, the fee to register with the sports inter-club council, and the riding competitions if members decided to participate in those.    I was part of the team for a whole year, helping out at horse shows and enjoying barn days together with the team.  Unfortunately, due to time constraints and the cost, I was unable to continue with the team, but in my heart I still wish I could be a member and jump in the saddle from time to time.

I didn’t stop taking advantage of what the school had to offer after that.  Instead, I joined the Communications Inter-Club Council in August 2015 for one semester.  The council is involved in event funding for the communication clubs as well as travel expenses, based on a set budget for an entire school year.  Members got to debate about whether or not to fund certain projects.  It was a great opportunity to get more involved with the school and get an insight in dealing with a budget and finances.  You also get to learn the Roberts Rules of order, which are being used in certain professions in the job force as well.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t continue my time with CICC during my last semester due to the fact that I landed an internship where I had to work on Mondays, the day when the council usually meets.

Since I have been very interested in entertainment and tourism for a while, it was more than logical to me to take a closer look in what the Entertainment and Tourism club had to offer.  I had previously heard really good things about the club, so I started attending events during the fall 2015 semester.  Since I wasn’t a paying member at that time, I still could attend the panels, but wasn’t allowed to network with the industry professionals.  Therefore, I decided to become a member this year, and am able to take full advantage of networking workshops, industry mixers, and networking with the pros.  I regret not having joined this organization earlier in my school career and maybe become involved more by joining a committee.

After all though, I am very grateful that I was able to be a part of four campus clubs that have further enriched my personal as well as my professional interests.  I can only recommend any future student to take as much advantage as possible of those opportunities while attending college in the U.S..  Not only are they a great way to meet like-minded people and industry professionals, they also look really good on resumes.  Many employers are looking for certain levels of experience, and a campus club definitely counts as such.

Images : ©Anne-Kathrin Schulte
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Anne-KathrinAnne-Kathrin Schulte, is a contributor for CaliforniaGermans.com. She writes on her personal experience of the American Dream as well as on working as an au pair in CA. She was born and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, where she completed her degree as a state-approved Kindergarten teacher. After her au pair engagement in the US and a quick return to Germany she decided to attend university in California and moved back to the United States. She lives in Southern California since 2011.

If you would like to contact Anne-Kathrin, please send an email to californiagermans(at)gmail.com and place her name in the subject line.

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Adventures of a German Au Pair in the United States – Secret CA Travel Tip

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Dumont Sand Dunes – One of Many Hidden Travel Gems in California

One of the things I love living in the state of California is all the beautiful travel options this state has to offer.  There is San Francisco, a very diverse city full of life with amazing charming cities such as Monterrey or Carmel close by.  Down here in Southern California, we are blessed to have San Diego close by, as well as getaway spots such as Palm Springs or Temecula.  But then there are these retreats that might not be advertised as much as the above mentioned hotspots, but which are definitely worth experiencing.  Today, I would like to share one of my top vacation gems that I can recommend to anyone who likes adventure and a unique getaway.

I probably would have never done one of these vacations if it hadn’t been for my local friends.  Yes, certain travel recommendation guides and websites point out the must-sees, but I prefer experiencing the kind of vacation you won’t necessarily find in one of those guides.  One of these getaways included a trip to the desert, which I undertook with a couple local friends back in February 2013. My friend David was having an upcoming vacation to the desert with his family.  It was something they were doing every year at that particular time and this year David extended the invitation to some of his closest friends. I was beyond thrilled when he told me about this opportunity.  I have never traveled to the dunes before, and the thought of riding quads and hanging out in the middle of nowhere for an extended weekend with a group of fun friends was very appealing to me.

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So, on this particular Friday night in February of 2013, a group of eight friends rented two RVs for a 72-hour trip to Dumont Sand Dunes, a place located about 30 miles north of Baker, CA.  The ride took us about 4-5 hours without any heavy traffic since we left late that night from Huntington Beach.  We arrived in the desert at about midnight, and people were still out having BBQs in the sand.  I instantly loved the atmosphere; it was very chill and laid-back.  There wasn’t much more for us to do the first night, so we went to bed with the plan to get up early and join in the fun.

The next day was full of adventures, some more unplanned than others.  A couple of my guy friends took one of the Jeeps out for a ride along the sand.  Still, this was so unbelievable for me:  We were in the middle of literally nowhere, surrounded by huge sand dunes people used as their playground for a weekend.  I was fascinated and loved it, especially since it wasn’t your average vacation.  Those are the events that count for some of the best memories, at least in my opinion.  Once the guys got back, it finally was my girlfriend’s and my turn to take a ride with the Jeep.  My friend Derrick was driving and he didn’t go easy on us, but in a good way.  We sped off from our little camp, bumping on the sand along those giant dunes.  We were having a blast until…, yes, until the car got stuck!  Of course this had to happen when Derrick was with us girls only who couldn’t help much but try to get a gazillion-pound car out of a bunch of sand.  Thanks to it being a holiday weekend, many friendly people were around at the same time, and as they saw us struggling with our situation, we got approached by many helpful hands that offered us assistance.  In a matter of probably 15 minutes, the Jeep was free, but something was still not right with it.  It suffered some damage that needed to be fixed by a mechanic; so unfortunately, the vehicle was out for the rest of the trip.

That didn’t stop us though from having the time of our lives.  We rode the dune buggies and dirt bikes, enjoyed some really great BBQ around our nightly campfires, played cornhole and card games… All in all it was a great time.  On our second day we got the opportunity to witness a dune buggy race in which David’s dad partook in.  The disciplines seemed super crazy to me.  Contestants raced up a very steep sand hill (and with very steep I mean very steep, almost a 90 degree angle), and whoever did it the fastest, won.  It was really amazing to watch, but I concluded that never in a million years would I be sitting in that thing racing up the hills.  I’d rather leave that to the boys.  

That same afternoon, my good girlfriend Bea and I decided that it was time to be at least a little bit girly during this trip.  So we drove to a little market in the middle of the desert which was really just a couple stands where you could buy clothing and fun things, in the middle of nowhere.  I kept laughing about this absurd but oh so awesome scenery.  So off we went, shopping our way through the desert, ending up buying clothing and food.  What can I say; it made this trip even more special than it already was.  

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On our last day, some of the guys decided to go sand boarding.  They had been planning this all along and had brought their snowboards all the way from Orange County with them.  We onlookers were staying at the bottom of the giant sand dune, while David’s dad dropped the crazy sand boarders off on top of the hill with the dune buggy.  The scenery was just hilarious, watching the guys coming down the sand mountain with snowboards.  It was such a fun experience, even though I didn’t end up doing it myself due to being way too clumsy to even attempt such an ordeal.  

The next morning, we left during sunrise to make our way back to Orange County.  Seeing the sun climbing up through the sand dunes towards the sky made the scenery look beyond gorgeous.  I am not going to lie, leaving was bittersweet, but I was also ready to wash all the sand off that I brought home with me from the trip.  If anyone ever has the opportunity to experience going to the dunes, I can highly recommend it.  If you plan on doing so, I would recommend going early or late in the year since it can get really hot during spring and summer.  We went at the perfect time, and I would definitely do it again… Anytime!

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This story concludes the “Adventures of a German Au Pair in the United States” Series.
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Images: ©Anne-Kathrin Schulte
Disclaimer: Names in the story may have been changed to protect people’s privacy
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Anne-KathrinAnne-Kathrin Schulte, is a contributor for CaliforniaGermans.com. She writes on her personal experience of the American Dream as well as on working as an au pair in CA. She was born and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, where she completed her degree as a state-approved Kindergarten teacher. After her au pair engagement in the US and a quick return to Germany she decided to attend university in California and moved back to the United States. She lives in Southern California since 2011.

If you would like to contact Anne-Kathrin, please send an email to californiagermans(at)gmail.com and place her name in the subject line.

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Adventures of a German Au Pair in the United States – Back in California Continuing the Dream

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2016Apr-AnneKathrinPaddleBoard

Continuing The Dream 

After I received the “green light” for being accepted to start Community College in the fall of 2011, I was beyond thrilled and eager to get all additional necessary documentation together so that I could move back to the United States.  The next big step, as with the au pair application, was to apply for a visa. This time for the F-1 student visa.  So I had to head back to Frankfurt to pay the U.S. Consulate another visit, this time however with a little more apprehension than the last time since I just had lived in the United States for an extensive amount of time.

But that wasn’t the actual problem during the interview with the agent.  He was more concerned about the fact that I had a male friend in Huntington Beach, the city I was planning on moving to after I paid it a wonderful visit in the summer of 2010.  I should have said “no” when the agent asked me if I knew anyone in Orange County… Unfortunately, this thought didn’t cross my mind when I was being asked that question, instantly regretting it.  Oh boy, did I have to pay the price for this.  I can’t even start explaining through how many different emotions I went at once: from excitement to complete terror, anxiety, nervousness, breaking out in a sweat, but trying to keep a cool face throughout the investigation.  I was being bombarded with accusations that the guy I knew was my boyfriend.  When I answered the question with an honest “no,” I was accused of wanting to marry the guy.  Another straight “no” from my side for that one.

Next was the question if it would be a family member of mine.  Again, “no.”  The tip of the iceberg was when he asked me if I was perhaps pretending for the guy to be my father, but secretly being a guy I was about to marry.  It was beyond strange, and all I intuitively wanted to do was to yell at the officer, which would have definitely cost me my visa.  Therefore, I answered all questions in a calm manner, even though my hopes of receiving a visa at that certain time and day vanished more and more by the minute.  Inside of me I saw my dream of moving back to the U.S. fall apart, until I heard the male voice saying:”Your visa got approved, Ma’am.”  I was in shock.  “Really, are you sure?” I wanted to reply, but instead I just said “Thank you!” and left the building with my documents as fast as I could.

Outside of the consulate I took a deep breath of relief, having just survived the most terrifying investigation.  On my way back to Düsseldorf from Frankfurt I kept recalling the conversation and couldn’t believe I received the approval.  Never in a million years would I ever again tell an immigration officer that I know a male friend in the United States, even if it is totally harmless.

After I recovered from this scenario, I realized that I just hit another major personal milestone in my life: I was really going to move back to the United States, this time Southern California.  Once I booked my flight for July 21, 2011, it became even more real.  During the last months in Germany I tried to spend as much time as I could with family and friends, especially because this time, my stay in the U.S. would be much longer.  But I was ready to get out of Europe and live in a culture that I believe is much more suited for me.

Forwarding to spring 2016 I can say that I am living my personal dream.  It wasn’t always easy, I have to  be honest, because coming to the United States as an international student is a whole different experience than being here as an au pair.  It took me a while to make good friendships with genuine people.  Don’t get me wrong, many people were super friendly right from the beginning, but not many of those people I met at first were really standing up to their word of helping me out.  I became more careful of whom to trust, but in the end it all paid off.  I cannot imagine to ever move back to Europe.  I am in love with my life by the beach and being active.  I picked up paddleboarding last year, and it has become one of my greatest passions.

As for my professional career, things are looking pretty good.  I will be graduating from one of the best schools with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications in May.  I am currently working for a television network in Los Angeles, doing a publicity internship and getting to know more about the work world.  My work permit is in process, and I am looking for a job after college.  Life has treated me pretty well, and I am beyond appreciative that I had the chance to come back to America to live my own personal American Dream.  And so far, I refuse to wake up…

To be continued…
(Next Wednesday: Read the last segment of Kathrin’s adventures who is now back in CA )
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Image: ©Anne-Kathrin Schulte
Disclaimer: Names in the story may have been changed to protect people’s privacy
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Anne-KathrinAnne-Kathrin Schulte, is a contributor for CaliforniaGermans.com. She writes on her personal experience of the American Dream as well as on working as an au pair in CA. She was born and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, where she completed her degree as a state-approved Kindergarten teacher. After her au pair engagement in the US and a quick return to Germany she decided to attend university in California and moved back to the United States. She lives in Southern California since 2011.

If you would like to contact Anne-Kathrin, please send an email to californiagermans(at)gmail.com and place her name in the subject line.

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Adventures of a German Au Pair in the United States – Finding a Way Back to the U.S.

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hands of World Pixabay stokpic

Working My Way Back to the United States

My au pair time was officially over.  The realization hit me every day I was living back in Germany.  Even though I had started a new job as a kindergarten teacher that kept me pretty busy, I found myself reminiscing at least once a day about my life in California.  I missed it so much!

I felt bad about it because I was finally close to my best friends and family again, but then again my au pair stay had changed me and my life forever.  I had fallen in love with traveling the world, and even though I hadn’t been really good with settling in other places before my cultural exchange, my desire to leave Europe and immigrate somewhere far away grew ever bigger after my U.S. stay.  I am not the only person that felt like that; many of my au pair friends experienced this kind of travel fever.  Some of them eventually became flight attendants for long distance flights, just to get out of Germany every so often.  Even I applied for a position as a flight attendant once while being back in Europe.  

It happened in late 2010 when I had worked for more than a year in the kindergarten institution where I had been responsible for taking care of children between the ages of 7 months and 6 years.  Even though no one day was the same at work, I felt like I needed a break from my routine.  I was so very hungry for traveling on a consistent basis, specifically long distance, but it was just too costly to do so only for leisure.  Therefore, I looked up long distance flight attendant positions one night and found an opening for a well-known German airline. With no hesitations, I instantly applied, hoping to hear back from the company anytime soon.  My prayers were heard; I received an email with an invitation to a telephone interview.  I was beyond thrilled, imagining myself being up in the clouds already.  But, as life usually goes, all came different.  

One night in December 2010, my dad approached me.  In general this wasn’t really surprising since he usually liked to lecture me every once in a while about my life and the choices I made, but this time it was different.  I had been living with my parents since I had moved back from the United States due to the fact that I was unsure of where my future would take me. So until I had figured that out I could stay with them.  On this particular night then, my father came all the way up to my room, mentioning he wanted to talk to me.  All I thought at that moment was ‘Oh great, not another lecture I don’t want to hear at the moment.’ But he actually was about to nail it this time.  Without hesitation, he told me that he had noticed my being so unhappy for most of the time, and he wanted to know why.  So I told him straight to his face that I hated being back and I didn’t feel at home in Europe anymore!  I know those were harsh words that I threw at my father’s face, but I had been frustrated for a while with living back in Germany, with no clue how I could make my way back to the U.S..  

To my surprise, my dad was very understanding, and we had a really good conversation.  I told him that I knew that one of the ways of going back to the United States was to attend college there, which I had thought of for a while since I wasn’t very happy in my profession as a kindergarten teacher.  My father told me that if that was what I really wanted, he would help me make my dream a reality.  But he had one condition: I had to find a college major that would guarantee me a good career.  I cannot describe how relieved I was, first about having opened up to my dad and second of course about his response.  I instantly started researching schools in the Orange County area, specifically around Huntington Beach since I had been there on vacation in 2010 and had fallen in love with the laid-back lifestyle.  

I eventually found a college in Fountain Valley that I liked.  Over the next couple of days I gathered the paperwork together that I needed for the application and started filling it out.  I was super anxious when I did that because I was afraid that one piece of the wrong information would mess up all my chances of getting into college in the United States.  But luckily, my story had a happy ending.  In April 2011, when I was in Huntington Beach on vacation, I stopped by the college to ask them about my application process.  When the lady at the counter told me that I had been accepted to start attending school in the fall of 2011, I was beyond happy.  I was finally about to work my way back to the U.S., and this time, hopefully, without ever having to leave again…

To be continued…
(Next Wednesday: Read about Kathrin’s “living her dream” since being back in California)
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Image: Pixabay.com
Disclaimer: Names in the story may have been changed to protect people’s privacy
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Anne-KathrinAnne-Kathrin Schulte, is a contributor for CaliforniaGermans.com. She writes on her personal experience of the American Dream as well as on working as an au pair in CA. She was born and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, where she completed her degree as a state-approved Kindergarten teacher. After her au pair engagement in the US and a quick return to Germany she decided to attend university in California and moved back to the United States. She lives in Southern California since 2011.

If you would like to contact Anne-Kathrin, please send an email to californiagermans(at)gmail.com and place her name in the subject line.

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Adventures of a German Au Pair in the United States – My Life Back in Germany

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My Life Back in Germany After a Grand Welcome Back

It was bittersweet touching ground in Germany after an almost 12 hour flight. On the one hand, I was of course excited to see my family and friends again after more than a year away.  But, on the other hand, I was already homesick for California.  But for now I tried to keep a positive attitude and just enjoy seeing everybody.  And boy, did I see  everybody!  I mean, I knew that my parents were going to be there to pick me up, but I didn’t expect quite the entourage they had in tow with them.  

Before I was able to see everyone however I had one major challenge to face. A challenge, that every au pair I talked to had: going through German customs after a year of living in the United States.  Man, was I nervous once I had my four pieces of luggage loaded onto my cart!  I for sure believed that the customs officers would pull me over after seeing what I came back home with.  “Stay cool, they might not even notice you,” I kept telling myself.  But, yeah, how would they not notice me pushing a cart with all these suitcases piled up.  I reminded myself not to look at their faces when passing the officers.  I kept looking  straight ahead and just smiled, and “tadaa”!, I made it successfully through the customs without anyone going through my luggage.

I instantly relaxed after this burden fell of my shoulders and marched ahead towards the sliding doors that would open up to the arrival area.  Well, what can I say…, before I was able to spot anyone I just heard loud yelling from a crowd of people that came from the area I was supposed to go to.  I heard familiar voices especially my  dad’s, who always loved to sing the loudest back in the days when we all went to church together, so it wasn’t hard to identify his voice throughout all the yelling, and when I eventually turned my head toward the loud crowd’s direction, I spotted a whole bunch of familiar faces.  

I can barely remember how many of my closest friends and family actually made the effort to show up at the airport to welcome me, but I was positively overwhelmed with such an amazing turnout.  These people all just had come out because of me, me ‘little’ Kathrin who just got back from a longer trip to the U.S. I am not going to lie though; it felt really good to be the center of such attention once, just as if I had landed from a successful exploration trip to the moon or something like it.  Once I pushed the luggage cart towards where all the yelling and cheering came from, I finally realized that actually over sixteen people of my family and friends had gathered at the airport and waited for me to come through those sliding doors.  I was so happy to see all those faces and couldn’t wait to tell them about my adventures at my “Welcome home” party my parents threw for me that afternoon.

On the 15 minute car ride to my parents’ home I was excited to see what might have changed in my hometown since I had left more than a year ago.  But, to my honest surprise, not much had actually changed.  It dawned on me that while I had certainly grown up more throughout my au pair experience it didn’t mean that everything else in life had gone through changes as well.  The streets of Düsseldorf still mainly looked the same, and so did the house I grew up in.  This wasn’t a bad thing, I just kind of expected or rather had waited for things to be different since my own life had changed so drastically.

Once we arrived at the house I had grown up in, I let go of those thoughts and just enjoyed having good German cake while catching up with friends and family. Despite the jet lag I made it through the day until  the evening before I fell into bed and was fast asleep. The next couple of days went by pretty quickly. I met with all my friends who couldn’t be at the airport when I arrived and just had a great time catching up. But soon I realized that this wasn’t California anymore, and I had to get back on my feet.  Deep in my heart I was so homesick for the United States that I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it for long here in Europe. But at that moment, I had no idea of  how I would be able to move back to the United States.  

Once I started to fully understand that , I fell into a big hole.  I started being miserable and couldn’t find the motivation to apply for jobs. I kept complaining to my friends until one of them gave me the kick in the butt I needed at that time.  She was the one telling me to start applying now and that she wouldn’t want me to come up with any more excuses.  At  that same moment, she brought out her computer and told me: “Here you go; you won’t leave my house until you drafted an application and a resume.”  And boy, did she mean that!  She was sitting with me all afternoon and night, helping me to get back on my feet.  And thanks to her and her support, I was able to find a job as a kindergarten teacher in less than a week.  I knew that this wasn’t supposed to be my “last chapter in life” yet , but for now I had to settle until I was able to continue living my American Dream.

To be continued…
(Next Wednesday: Read about Kathrin’s search to find a way back to to a life in the United States)
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Image: Pixabay.com
Disclaimer: Names in the story may have been changed to protect people’s privacy
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Anne-KathrinAnne-Kathrin Schulte, is a contributor for CaliforniaGermans.com. She writes on her personal experience of the American Dream as well as on working as an au pair in CA. She was born and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, where she completed her degree as a state-approved Kindergarten teacher. After her au pair engagement in the US and a quick return to Germany she decided to attend university in California and moved back to the United States. She lives in Southern California since 2011.

If you would like to contact Anne-Kathrin, please send an email to californiagermans(at)gmail.com and place her name in the subject line.

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