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Jun. 22nd, 2009 08:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
prosodicTwo friends of mine in Germany are leaving within the next 10 days or so.
One is going to Valencia, Spain. The other, to Greece.
It's been days filled with emotional goodbyes and the madness and stress that comes with moving. I remember this well. Communicating with both of them about how they're feeling right now has brought back a flood of emotions regarding my own departure and how difficult and confusing that was. In many ways, I've never gotten over it. Germany was where I finally felt true contentment for the first time in my life. It took awhile to get there, but I got to a point where I could wake up every morning and feel gratitude for the way my life turned out. I haven't felt that way since we left, except for brief moments here and there.
In the middle of the chaos, my Spain-bound friend takes the time to reflect, rather poetically, I think, on the beauty of her everyday life in Germany. What she is going to miss, it's palpable. She and her family have really integrated themselves into village life and the entire NATO community there, much more so than most people do. I have no doubt that she'll do the same in Spain and I am looking forward to reading about her journey there.
My Greece-bound friend, too caught up in moving, has only given me fleeting glimpses of her life as it stands right now. She posted something on her Facebook the other day that struck such a deep chord in me, because I could relate to it so profoundly, that I felt tears stinging my eyes.
Lance and I talk about going back. When our assignment here is over. Maybe. It just won't be the same. After these two leave, I will only have a few friends left there. In a few years, most of them will likely be gone. Going back would truly be starting over, and I don't know if I can do that again. Somewhere else in Europe, maybe. Just not Geilenkirchen.
One is going to Valencia, Spain. The other, to Greece.
It's been days filled with emotional goodbyes and the madness and stress that comes with moving. I remember this well. Communicating with both of them about how they're feeling right now has brought back a flood of emotions regarding my own departure and how difficult and confusing that was. In many ways, I've never gotten over it. Germany was where I finally felt true contentment for the first time in my life. It took awhile to get there, but I got to a point where I could wake up every morning and feel gratitude for the way my life turned out. I haven't felt that way since we left, except for brief moments here and there.
In the middle of the chaos, my Spain-bound friend takes the time to reflect, rather poetically, I think, on the beauty of her everyday life in Germany. What she is going to miss, it's palpable. She and her family have really integrated themselves into village life and the entire NATO community there, much more so than most people do. I have no doubt that she'll do the same in Spain and I am looking forward to reading about her journey there.
My Greece-bound friend, too caught up in moving, has only given me fleeting glimpses of her life as it stands right now. She posted something on her Facebook the other day that struck such a deep chord in me, because I could relate to it so profoundly, that I felt tears stinging my eyes.
Lance and I talk about going back. When our assignment here is over. Maybe. It just won't be the same. After these two leave, I will only have a few friends left there. In a few years, most of them will likely be gone. Going back would truly be starting over, and I don't know if I can do that again. Somewhere else in Europe, maybe. Just not Geilenkirchen.
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Date: 2009-06-23 06:51 am (UTC)I remember your writing at the time about how much you loved living in Germany, but how ready you were to have a dog, own a house, and be in a position to get back to your education/career. Now you have those things!
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Date: 2009-06-23 02:26 pm (UTC)