Next Chapter: Munich

Hello everyone, my name’s Enrica and I’m Italian, even though most people say I don’t really look like one. I have never really understood why and I don’t know if it’s a positive thing or not. Anyway, I like to think I’m a citizen of the world and my life is a story made up of many chapters.

I have travelled a lot and lived a lot of cities. I was born in Rome in 1997, I moved to a very small town by the sea, called Riccione, when I was just three years old and in the last few years I have changed three cities just to study. It is hard to sum up my life in a single post, so I’m going to focus on the last and current chapter of my life: Munich.

I have always loved languages and being able to communicate with people from different countries, and it is no coincidence that I am studying Communication Science and Culture. Tearing down linguistic and cultural barriers was always exciting and challenging to me, but unfortunately not with German. It felt so unnecessarily complicated and complex, so when I found out I was going to spend my exchage year in Munich, I freaked out… just a little bit. 

I was scared of not making friends, not understanding the language and a year is a very long time. Now, after eight months living here, having met some of the most amazing friends I could ever ask for and having spent an exorbitant amount of money on beer, cake and chai latte, I can say I am living the best chapter of my life so far. Germany has surprised me in so many ways, it is impossible to explain how I feel.

This is me feeling very thankful for the amazing experiences lived so far in Munich and waiting for my tea and cake.

I feel very inspired by all the opportunities the university and this city are giving me. I am really not sure about what I will do with my life, but I know I want to keep what I have found here. People from all over the world, the art in the museums and galleries and the music in the streets, all of this is part of me now, a very important piece of me that I would regret not having, if I had chosen to stay in Italy.

I have just three months left in Germany, which are actually two and a half, but I don’t want to think about leaving, I’d rather lie to myself and make believe it is not going to end. I don’t belong to a single place, there is too much beauty in the world to be seen and felt to pick just one city. But I have to admit, the sunshine creeping in through my curtains in the morning, the city lights at night, the chaotic buzz in the Ubahn, the birds chirping when I walk back to my apartment after a long day…. Everything feels like home here and I like it.