Saturday, July 25, 2009

Berlinostalgia

As my kvetching about the glacial pace of my Spanish visa proceedings has taken on some pretty apparent tones of desperation, the Director has asked me if I really think Spain is the country for me. And he's asked not once but twice, which, coming from a German, qualifies as a really unforgivable invasion of privacy but which I, as American, take as a possible indication that this acquaintanceship could in, oh, let's say 10 years or so, become a lovely friendship. The word's still out on which country I should (in a perfect world without boundaries) be in, but practical reasons have made it Spain for the time being.

And so, as of today I no longer officially live in Berlin; I've abgemeldet (un-registered) from the residency list. I'll admit it, I dragged it out until practically the last minute: my residency permit in Germany expires at the end of this month. I'm feeling inexplicably sad and nostalgic. A year and a half ago I was so eagerly making plans to get the hell out and start my exciting new life in Spain. But maybe, just maybe, this will be the last time in my life that I indulge in thinking that the next move or change is the one that will finally make my life perfect.

So, until I give Madrid exactly as much time as I did Berlin, I'm withholding judgment. Given that I'll be back in Berlin in November for at least a month, maybe more, that means it won't be until at least a year from now that I weigh in on Berlin vs. Madrid. Stay tuned...

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