Tschüs, Berlin

141 days.

20 weeks.

5 visitors from America.

4 European city mini-vacations.

3 Chelsea Handler books.

2 hairdryers that almost caught on fire.

1,000,000 hours spent watching American TV shows.

My biggest takeaways from my time here:

• Germans find me funny. Oh wait, that's not saying much.
• Germans can sound so gruff when they speak, but even the most macho guy's voice raises two octaves when he says tschüs (goodbye, pronounced like choo-ssss). It is precious.
• Germans do not think it is weird to include a lot of exclamation points in professional correspondence. More does not mean more sarcastic. It is kind of refreshing!
• Germans love apple juice. Actually they love all juice. I am not much of a juice drinker. Even as a child, it was not my beverage of choice. I find it a little unsettling, to tell you the truth. I was never going to fit into this society.

Yep that's about it.

I will miss having a flat with windows showing off the sunrise each morning. I will not miss having a flat behind a school where children wake me up with their "joyful" screams each morning.

But seriously, I have loved living in Berlin. The city, itself, is cool. "Sexy but poor." Part of me wishes I'd taken more advantage of it (only one night did I stay up until sunrise), but the more dominant, lazy-old-woman in me is happy with my choices. I mean, why leave your apartment when you have so many rooms to wander between, so many compartments to hole yourself up in, so many different places to sit! I was rich with chairs!

The experience of being here was far better than I expected. I worried I would waste it, that I would come back the same. But I've changed. I am so damn mature now, you won't even recognize me. (hahah. lolz.) But, seriously, though, while not exceedingly mature, I am at least different. My expectations for work, relationships and myself are exponentially higher. I've seen what life has to offer, and I realize what I deserve.

Maybe it wasn't all perfect, but these past five months were much needed. Forced to move somewhere without the security blanket of The BFF. Expected to elevate my professional skills. Required to get out of my comfort level and connect with people despite the language barrier.

I will miss Berlin. But I am excited to come home. Get the confetti and streamers ready. USA, USA.