Quiet

In the recent days it was quiet, very quiet. Not talking and not listening. Being on your own, pacing from one site to the other. Imagination goes wild and rumour grows along the way.

Hoping that one day you can come home, switch off and fall into someone arms. Feel secure and at home, nothing ever will break the silence. The thoughts in your head swirling around, trying to find a way into the open. Maybe they will destroy or maybe they will build.

New ways are crossing your way every day without you knowing it, in silence you walk along the path you believe is destined for you. You might believe in fate and that everything happens for a reason. You might believe that whatever you do is because you want it to happen. We will never know; questions that never will be answered, no matter how often you ask. Should you ask them at all? Is this supposed to be like this?

Quiet. Not very often, but it does happen. Your soul (if you believe it exists) and mind come together and be quiet, go hand in hand together until one day your path separates them once again. Who will you listen to when both are quiet?

The light rises and the darkness falls behind you, looking ahead and not back. Open your eyes and wait with anticipation for what is coming into the light, what will now be visible to you. Like a child that looks at a lolly and hoping you will give it to him.

We will never know, never ever. Quiet. That’s the way it is. Do you dare to make a sound?

A German in America – Chapter two

The time has arrived and I am leaving America. Two fantastic weeks were spent in Georgia. It was a fantastic experience to see the America way of life. I certainly learned something new once again and look forward coming back.

During the last week I had the chance to experience a Baseball Game live in the Turner Field Stadium of Atlanta. It was a work outing and once in a lifetime opportunity to see something like this since Baseball is not very popular in Europe. It was fun and I enjoyed myself very much watching the game, while talking relaxed and munching my HUGE hot dog.

Besides that we went once after work to a Scottish-American Pub for some drinks and food, but since most have a family at home, the evening wasn’t very long.

Some things I would like to mention about the mentality, culture and hospitality in Georgia. I have met some really lovely people that you cannot classify as typical American stereotype.

People here are very welcoming and no one really had a problem when you talked to them. They are actually the ones that always initiated the conversation, no matter where you are.  I have not experiences one rude person during the whole time. 

Everyone was friendly, too friendly. It gave the appearance of being shallow. If someone asked how you are, they are not really interested in hearing what you have to say. As we say in German, a floskel.

The stereotype must come from somewhere, and even though it was different to what I had imagined, in a positive way, there were still those that represent the type perfectly. And I am not judging, just stating what I see. Overweight, I am talking here about obese, not chubby, cheeseburger and chicken wings eating loud Americans. But don't you have those everywhere in the world?

I also realised that the throw away culture here is very strong. Instead of fixing broken things they just buy it again, the supermarket are overfilled with thousands different types of brands and the kids are overloaded with the latest gadget. They don’t understand why someone would not want to have a smartphone (as it is the case for me). Certain people did not understand when I tried to explain the difference from the mentality e. g. we don’t have a problem drinking from the tab or bring our bags for shopping or even worse, don't have a problem with shopping at charity shops.

For those the American life is the way to go and interest in a different culture or point of view is non-existent. Lucky those people were not the majority I have met!

The mentality in general is very straight forward; however there are taboos, such as talking about sexual topics. I don’t have a problem to discuss certain things; however most people looked at me awkwardly when I mentioned for example visiting a strip club (which unfortunately I did not get a chance to do). And religion is for most people a big part in their life, whether or not they believe in God, they still go to church every Sunday because that is what society expects.

Overall I enjoyed my time in America and plan to come back to different, more popular areas. Thanks to everyone who made me feel welcome and was part of this experience.

I have again a few more trips planned for the future, some are booked already, and others are still in the making. As usual, read you next time and may I meet you somewhere in the world :)

Inspiration

Long have I longed for something I can identify myself with, my true self. Is there a true self? I guess so. Exploring and experience all possible up and downs in my life has been so far the only thing I have done in life.

Sometimes with envy, sometimes with passion I look at other people, human beings that are strangers to me. It amazes me every time someone I don’t know manages to inspire me simply through words, movies or pictures.

Recently I came across a blog that did just that, inspired me out of the blue. http://equivocality.com/ is someone that started his blog over 7 years ago. I have no idea why he started or what he wanted to achieve with it, but he did what he wanted to do and does it in an amazing and awesome way.

People that are creative in any way fascinate me. They have the power to awake emotions, feelings and inspire. Change the world if you like.

Since a very young age it was my dream to become a writer, to be eloquent, have a huge imagination and be able to create a vision in someone’s mind that wasn't there before.

It fascinates me to see and hear when people are able to recall historical dates, recite specific sayings or poems, recalling artists and their songs and knowing a lot of different Authors and their books. It would take me a lot of studying to be able to do that. This made me realise how shallow my interests really are and how lazy my brain is to be willing to remember all the things I learn along the way.

I have a passion for traveling, exploring different places. A passion for reading different books, however most of the times I am not able to recall the names of all the places I have been to or remembering the titles of the books I read, even if it was a really good book.

But what I do remember are people, not their names or birthdays, but who they are. People that left a mark in my life, that were able to change it for better or worse. Just to figure out what to do with this kind of talent is difficult.

In the future I continue to write my blog and in my notebook and leave my notes all over the place, but given that English is not my first language and I feel uncomfortable writing a long story in German pretty much makes it a challenge to become a successful author. Even though I will never give up that dream, I certainly will focus on living my life.

In the past I always needed reassurance that I am good at what I am doing. That whatever I write is brilliant, my pictures beautiful and my movies stunning. In my mind I know that is not the case, but getting the approval of someone to be good at something gives you a different perspective of certain things. The only thing I really want is being good at something. It certainly is a work in progress and maybe one day, only maybe, I will have figured it out.

Until then people will keep inspiring me and help to grow whatever it is that grows. There are so many more things I want to be able to do, such as taking dance lesson, learn an instrument, being able not to turn red when laughing and a few other things. What I am missing is the passion to really follow through with everything that is in my mind. The freedom I am experience throughout this chapter of my life is great and I will never lose it now that I have found it.

With this written of my mind I go to sleep and dream about chocolate mountains, melting into a river that rushes through my mouth.can identify myself with.  can identify myself with.

A German in America – Chapter One

The time has arrived and it will be my first time in America. It is just a business trip hence I am just being in Atlanta, but it is still an opportunity to experience the southern part of America and its people. I am very excited to see new places and have some great adventures.

I love my job; I like the people I work with. The tasks and responsibilities match my knowledge and challenge me in a good way. The job opens new doors for me and I like that fact that it brings me to other places.

I am going to stay for two weeks in Atlanta and look forward to the humid heat and the recommended soul food. I made a few plans and hope to meet new people.

How life goes zigzag (Random)

Every time I start writing a new blog entry I look back to my previous one and think about what had happen since and what is worth to share with you and what I shouldn’t mention.

Of course every single minute and hour in my life is important to me but it would be a bit too much to mention all the little things that make me smile every day. But a few things I do want to share.

Since my last update I moved into a house share with some lovely people. Even though I have not really got to know them yet because of my constant absence, I do believe we get along. My room is next to the kitchen and the cheapest in the house to ensure I will always have some money left for trips.

Some will never understand why I prefer to spend all the money I earn on trips instead of a nice little flat to live on my own. Others do understand and support me all the way.  I started with traveling pretty late compared to others, but for me it was just as the time was right. I have to give all the credit for my change of life to my sister, without her I would not be where I am now in life. I wouldn’t have all the wonderful experience and adventures; I would have never met all those lovely people. Thanks to the support throughout the last 8 years from my whole family and friends that keep asking when I come back to Germany. I learned that home is where you heart is and not your belongings. I am happy, truly happy.

When I walk and drive to work in the morning I look at the other people that surround me, walking in the same steady speed in the same direction. The feeling of mainstream is strong, but every single person I pass during my short trip are dwelling in their own world, battle their own fights and live their dreams by overcoming their own battles. I used to tend to think about myself a lot, what other people think about me, how others perceive me. They think the same! They don’t care what I look like or how I behave, they are curious what I think about them. What goes around comes around is a very true saying. Be nice and people are nice to you.

 

Watching the people spilling out of the train like cereals from a carton is fun to watch and gives me a little tingle every single morning. I don’t mind being squeezed in with hundreds of others, every single one of them has their own story and I would love to hear some, get inspired. Unfortunately in today’s society, everyone is looking down into their book, listening to music through their headphones. Everyone is captured in their own little bubble. I will start and approach people more often; a friend of mine helped me finding the right way to do so.

Walking slowly and taking in the surrounding with a clear mind I must say I start to love London, love the fact that I live in such a multicultural city where you can experience every single day something new. That I pass every morning the landmarks of London makes me smile and it certainly helps coming into the office with a big fat smile and good mood.

Once upon a time my live had been driven by the thought to have the latest technology gadgets and fancy schmancy stuff, today I am driven to see and explore the world and live my life to the fullest. I try to get out as much as possible, try as many different foods as available. Go out and see different art expeditions, music event, performances and meet people. I learned not to say no to an invitation and not to cancel last minute because I feel lazy. I truly can now say my live is awesome in the way I want it to be. Every single step I took brought me where I am today and therefore I would like to say THANK YOU to every single one of you of whom I had the pleasure to meet along the way. Thank you John, who is still with me every single day in my thoughts, you taught me to be positive in every single way. You are still missed and mentioned in our conversations whenever your friends get together. May you rest in peace, we are grateful that you were part of our lives.

This was it for today; this was all I wanted to share for now. As others already said, it is not important where you want to go, but the journey you make to get there.

Read you soon my lovely readers. May life be with you!