*sigh*
Don’t get me wrong. I adore Wales – I love how we’re never in the World Cup so everyone supports ‘Anyone But England’, I’m loving the weather right now and I especially love occasionally hearing a bit of Welsh while walking through Cardiff town centre… but my goodness, I miss Germany terribly. Family and friends time has been great, but I’m really feeling a bit of the old Heimweh* right now.
Part of it may be that I’m being a little bit lazy now I’m at home and have far too much time to overthink things. Perhaps it’s also a case of reality hitting me, hard, since I’ve arrived back in Wales. A lot of people I started Swansea University with are leaving and heading either to their respective home towns or to completely different places where they’ll embark on their ‘grown up’ life. It’s made me realise that I need to make some decisions about where I want to be this time next year, whereas this time last year I knew that I’d be in Germany in a few months.
What a depressing post this is turning out to be!! Any of you just back from a Year Abroad and feeling the effects?
*That would be homesickness. Even though Germany’s not my mother country, I feel that’s an appropriate word.
Hey, I just stumbled on your blog from self-stitched-september. I know exactly how that feels as I came back to Germany in March from a semester in France. I wish I could have stayed longer, my life seemed to be so much more active there than it is here as I’m only writing my thesis right now. However, I have kept in contact with several, have already visited them and had them visit me which made things easier. I hope it works out well for you too! It’s nice to hear that you enjoyed your time in Germany
Hey Julietta, thanks for popping by! Ohh it’s a horrible feeling isn’t it? I felt like Germany and I made a real connection (sounds like I went on a 9 month long date with the country!!) and I really can’t wait to head back. Good luck with your thesis!
Hi, just found your blog via sewretro. I too have been abroad for a year to study at a UK University. And I too had heimwee (which is the Dutch version of heimweh)! It was kinda weird for me, as I didn’t think I’d miss my country as much as I would. But about sewing… I find that John Lewis has quite a nice selection of fabrics and patterns. Have you been there? And how does Germany compare to the UK fabric- and patternwise?
Hi Suze! They opened a John Lewis here in Cardiff not long after I moved to Germany, and I love it so much! Most of the fabric shops in Cardiff are out of my way a little, so it’s nice to have a one-stop shop for bits and bobs that’s fairly close to the train station at least! Actually, the John Lewis section reminds me a lot of my fabric haunt in Germany, which was also in a massive department store, but it had more of a selection than the Cardiff John Lewis does. There’s not so much of a difference because all the companies sell the same patterns except in different languages , and more often than not, if I bought a pattern, the instructions would be in English with a German supplement inside! The biggest difference was probably where Burda Magazine was concerned, I found it easier to get a hold of in a normal newsagents in Germany, whereas I think I’d have to go have a proper look here! Also the BurdaStyle.de website had a lot more patterns than the now defunct English language version.
Oof, big comment! Have you found any big differences between Dutch sewing and British sewing?