It's the little things

The thought struck me again in Hamburg last weekend as I was looking at a plug socket.

I'll expand a little - I've been out of the UK now for over six months. Two months in Patagonia and four here in Berlin. And in all that time I don't really think I've really suffered from culture shock. Well, there was one point about two months ago when I was in Germany but seemed to be spending all my time looking for job adverts in Britain. Until Tina pointed out that I really should try and give this country a bit of a chance. Well said that woman. Now I'm much more immersed in life here - I'm working here in a bilingual English/German firm. Still, it doesn't seem to be the big things that trigger off heimweh in me: language, culture etc.: it's the little things. Like plug sockets: they're different. I've spent my entire life not even seeing these things until now - the mundane has become glowingly present, and this then forces me to see everything in a new light. It feels like such a gift.