You can take the girl out of the island, but you’ll never take the island out of the girl
Authors
Hi there! I’ll take a wild guess and say you don’t imagine where I can possibly come from after reading those first words (little hint: read them again), but as I’m introducing myself, I might also tell you something more!
My name is Alejandra, but I ALWAYS go by Ale. ALWAYS (the capital letters are intentional). If we haven’t met yet, I advise you to call me Ale (you’ll get bonus points for that). It’s not that I don’t like my name at all… The thing is that the ONLY person in the whole wide world who calls me Alejandra is my mother when I mess up (which is pretty often, to be honest), and I prefer not to associate my new friends with the fear of hearing “ALEJANDRA, WHAT DID YOU DO NOW?”.
I was born 20 years ago in a small Spanish island near the African coast: Gran Canaria. It’s a breathtaking gem in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean (sounds cliché, but I really don’t know how I got so lucky to be able to call it home!). So now you may understand the whole “island girl” thing. You may also be able to tell I’m from the Canary Islands because of my all-year-round tan (a true mood booster in the winter). And although I miss swimming in the ocean while enjoying the sun and +25 degrees in the middle of November, I love rainy Germany! I’m not joking, I’m really passionate about it! I’ve probably lived more rainy days in my past trips to Germany and in this first month here in Munich than I have in my entire life back home. Seriously!
However, it’s not the first time I’ve moved from my beloved island… I went to Madrid two years ago to pursue my dream double degree. I’m studying Advertising and PR + Marketing in a city that stole my heart, despite being nothing like my hometown. However, I always think of Madrid too when I talk about home. The people, the food, the streets, the warmth, the atmosphere… Indescribable and unforgettable, like Spain!
My initial intention when I graduated high school was moving to Germany to study here in Bayern (I’ve been in love with this country for as long as I can remember), but I decided to stay in Spain. I don’t regret my decision; I knew life would take me back to Germany. I’ve always felt so connected to it… I guess it’s because I spent most of my teenage summers in different parts of the country and I made some of my fondest memories here. Plus, my best friend is German, so that was another excuse to come! So, when I had to choose my Erasmus destiny, I didn’t think twice: “LMU München it is”!
I would like to convince myself that I don’t have any expectations, but I would be lying. I have always thought that expectations do “kill” the experience, but this time, they’ve been exceeded. I have been here for roughly a month and I don’t plan on buying a return plane ticket soon! It’s a feeling of constant joy, every day I discover something new about Munich and myself and I feel more and more at home. I don’t want this to end!
My plans for this next year here? Meeting new people, improving my German, getting to know the culture more deeply, drinking a lot of beer (to compensate for the cancellation of the Oktoberfest, thanks Corona!), eating Bavarian food until I throw up, getting lost in the city and taking mental pictures of everything so that I never forget how welcomed I felt when I landed here!
Thanks a lot for reading!
¡Hasta pronto! See you soon! Bis bald!
Alejandra