Finding home and leaving it

Hello for one last time, and welcome to a very soppy and nostalgic post (sorry for that).

First arriving here, I really did not know what to expect from the incoming months and this city. It was pretty stressful, having to settle in a new home, still having issues with class registration and trying to understand if it is reallyyy necessary to go register in Bürgerbüro. But I promise for the ones thinking about doing an Erasmus, that all the months drowning in paperworks, close to giving up, worth it.

I’m quite bad at staying alone, so the first days were not the best but I still enjoyed going around the city by myself. It was a relief finally meeting new people (thanks to this class actually), that will later become dear friends. That’s why I love meeting new people : how could I imagine that these random persons I spent an afternoon with in the Englischer Garten would become so important. 

I’m not going to tell you all about Munich, if you want good tips go on Google or follow @daysofmunich on Instagram, they really helped. For me, Erasmus was more about the people and a global profound experience that could not be described by only relating every sightseeing in the city.

That is what these Erasmus months means to me : 

It’s building strong relationships; traveling around; being here for eachother; explaining your culture and what you love and discovering your friend’s one. 

It’s also saying we should visit museums on Sunday and never really did; sitting in the luggage area in a crowded train for Berlin during hours; sliding down Olympiapark hills on a kid’s sledge; missing the last U-Bahn home and meeting a nice taxi driver; eating at Italian restaurants far more than in German ones; then starting to learn Italian on Duolingo instead of improving your German; trying to introduce a typical dish from your region and completely ruin the recipe; studying nothing for the whole semester and panicking right before the exams; doing a snow battle with strangers on the street; partying on a Saturday evening and having a trip to Chiemsee the next morning; or starving because the fridge is empty and you forgot it’s Sunday; learning that the Queen of Denmark abdicated, and at the same time learning they had a Queen; scolding Riccardo for being late but you can never stay mad at him; learning some people actually like listening to Jul; being amazed by all the talents Giada has; making nightmares about silverfishes; promising we’ll visit each other’s countries; saying goodbye.

The truth is this farewell post is not really one, as I’m also staying for the summer semester. On the contrary to my friends, who all leave in the following weeks. Without them, the second semester will be like beginning another Erasmus again, and going through the same patterns of stress and apprehension than when I first arrived.

I was recently thinking of what my home was now : the place I was born in, my childhood home, my home university city, or the place I currently live in ? 

I think I don’t see home necessarily as the place where you come from, or have been living in for a long time. I see it more as a feeling : it’s where I feel the best and where the people I love are. Home is deeply embedded in the memories I cherish. For that, Viktoria, Sua, Giada, Riccardo and Rebecca are going to take a little bit of my Home away with them.