New Beginnings...

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

                                                                                 -Lao Tzu

So... here goes nothing!   I'm as new to Munich as I am to the world of blogging. 

Most who know me well, know this is a dream realized for me to work and live in Germany.  And it's honestly one of those dreams I thought would never be realized... but I'm VERY thankful it has been and grateful to those who supported me in this opportunity along the way.  Can't say with 100% certainty yet if it was the "right" decision, but it certainly "felt" right for me at this time in my life.

Preparations - there were many - in a short amount of time to get me to this point and I have to - again - thank my family & friends for getting me here (love you).  Saying good-bye was the hardest part of all...

... the traveling part was pretty straightforward.  Flying direct to Frankfurt from Seattle is the way to go!  10 hours and no 5-hour layovers to contend with - then another hop, skip & jump (or 3-hour train ride in this instance) and - VOILA - you're in MUNICH (properly spelled "München" and pronounced "mune-chen"). 

Getting established is another story altogether and I'm SOOOOOO thankful to have my colleague/roommate, Simone, by my side every step of the way because I can tell you for a FACT it would've been so much more difficult to navigate on my own.  Just a few of the things that are slightly different: 

• Renting an apartment... German rules & processes for renting are quite different from those in the US
• Registering in the town you live... you have to go to a government office and tell them you're now living there
• Commuting... learning the train and S-bahn system can be a challenge if you've never used them before
• Work Visa... (this is probably the same everywhere)... but go to government office, take a number and wait for HOURS
• HAPPY WHEN IT'S ALL DONE & YOU'RE OFFICIALLY A RESIDENT!

Oh, and can't forget SHOPPING... for all the misc household items you won't have.  =)

Well, those are some of the happy beginnings of this journey of mine... not sure what sort of things I'll blog about but I'm sure random thoughts will pop into my head.  I mainly want to journal my experiences and take down some notes of the random experiences of living abroad...  and if there's anything you should be curious about, don't hesitate to give me ideas!  ;)

Going to bed with loving thoughts of family, friends & home!