Alles ist fertig

I've now done all the important stuff on my checklist:


My Checklist

1. Go to Germany
   
2. Figure out customs, language
   
1. Find food
   
2. Find beer
   
3. Find more food & beer
   
3. Enter financial marketplace
   
4. Verify insurance
   
5. Find living accommodations
   
6. Get visa
   
7. Chill
   
1. Party
   
2. Relax
   
3. Hang out
   
4. Zapp
   
5. etc.
   

I picked up my residence permit this morning, which validates my privilege to live here in Bamberg during the next 12 months, if and only if I remain enrolled at the Otto-Friedrick-Universität Bamberg. Those restrictions seems fair to me, considering I only had to pay 40€ for this privilege. (After all, I didn't come here to practice my cooking skills upstairs. . . .)

Now, I need to start thinking of this place as "home," if only for a few months. I am an invited dinner guest at the Big German Culture Table. That means that the people around me come from cultures different from mine, but we are integrated into the same culture now, if only partially. That's an insane concept, but the tafelwine is good, so I'll keep my mouth shut.