Expectations & Reflections

Don’t be fooled by the cloudy sky, the weather has been warmer than ever.

My run today spanned the pebble trail which accompanies the Düssel River (after which the city is named).

But now onto the story of the day, for which this post is titled.

It is safe to say that a majority of my classmates in my german language intensive course are immigrants – if not refugees, certainly foreign and making a new home in Germany. (Of whom, of course, I am an outlier).

Today in class, two young 22 year old women (I’d still call them girls, although they are both already married) who came from Egypt, gave a presentation in which they discussed their experience moving to this western german city.

And the main takeaway: Germany had always been portrayed to them as a sort of ‘promised land’ where jobs are ensured and life maintains a constant state of perfection. After all, the grass is always greener…

But with definite dissatisfaction and discouragement, they both described to us how extremely difficult their lives have become. 

They speak no English and still broken German, making communication an obvious difficulty. They told stories of how poorly many natives have treated them, in both word and deed.

Before they can begin searching for any type of job, they must begin classes at a university, and before they can do that, they must learn either German or English. And for this reason I now sit next to these two girls from Egypt in my class and pass along their story now.

The buses are filled with immigrant mothers and children. The street adjacent to where I currently live contains a play structure, where these children often play. And in the supermarkets you would see these mothers with strollers and children walking nearby.

There is always a difference between expectation and reality. 

Und so ist das Leben.