GERMANY - Expat Contests

Expat Blog Awards 2013

10 Tips for Expats Moving to Bavaria

I want to share 10 of my best tips for those planning on moving to Bavaria. Bavaria is unlike any other place in Germany. It is beautiful, safe, and has that small town charm. But, there are some tips you will need to understand while navigating your way through this part of the country or initiating a move. These are all tips that I had...

Writing Contest March 2013

13 Things Americans Should Know Before Moving to Deutschland

Forget about personal space. Get accustomed to strangers standing close enough to breathe down your neck and skip you in line before you can say, "Entschuldigung." Be a good hausfrau. The sidewalk in front of your house is directly correlated to your social acceptance in the neighborhood. Shovel and salt it before 8am if it snows and make...

Expat Culture Shock

Culture Shock: Nudity in Germany

When it comes to culture shock, of all the things Americans will find the most ‘shocking’ (heh) when coming to Germany is the complete absence of being shy when it comes to nudity. In Germany nudity is a normal part of life. Under everyone’s clothes you are naked, after all, so why be shy about showing a little skin? This is evident in...

Writing Contest October 2012

Fourth Grade in a Foreign Country

Thankfully, there was a smile at the end of the first day of school. Following the smile our daughter told us how some of the girls in her class took her by the hand during class break and showed her around. The morning of the second day they took her hand from mine and as they went into the school. Just maybe, I thought, I won’t feel...

Expat Blog Awards 2013

Just 10 of Many Reasons Freiburg (Germany) is Perfect for Traveling Families

Just 10 of Many Reasons Freiburg (Germany) is Perfect for Traveling Families Since September 2010, our family has called Freiburg im Breisgau home.  We moved to Germany in search of adventure… and a paycheck that America just wasn’t possible during the worst of the economic recession.  We arrived in Freiburg that fall with seven...

Expat Blog Awards 2013

The Strangest of German Customs

Often, those moving to Germany from America, will at first feel quite at home. You are dressed relatively the same as the locals. You can order beer without learning any new vocabulary.  And if you don’t open your mouth as you walk down the street, you might be able to blend in.   But the longer you live in Germany, the more you will...

Writing Contest March 2013

Top 5 German Habits You'll Pick up (Against Your Will)

Don't know about you, but I've always liked the expression embracing a new culture. It sounds peaceful and reassuring, and when I planned to come to Germany I used to think of myself as a Pocahontas in reverse ready to absorb and confront with open mind and arms this new teutonic world. I soon realized, though, that if Pocahonts had known...