The Last Post
This is my last update before we get up very early tomorrow morning and start making our way slowly back to the other side of the world, trying not to watch too many crappy aeroplane films on the way. I'm sorry that I'm not staying longer and getting more settled so I could keep writing, but it's time to go back for a while. This is the third time I've lived overseas though, so I'm sure it will happen again soon in the future.
For some reason German has many different words for pain. For example:
Heimweh = "home ache" = homesickness
Fernweh = "far ache" = the yearning for somewhere far away
Nahweh = "near ache" = the feeling of sadness that comes when you return home to find it is not as you remember it
When I am not in Berlin I feel Fernweh and there are lots of things I miss, and it's hard to explain but it's like the more time I spend here and learn about Germany then the harder it is to go back to somewhere where those things aren't really relevant. A friend of mine told me your nationality is not just your passport but where you have lived and what's important to you, so I do feel a little bit German. But then of course I am a Kiwi, a sixth-generation one or something like that, so that part of me is important too. I can look at it positively and say that there are two completely different places that I love and feel at home in.
Back in NZ I plan to find someone I can practise German with, so I don't lose it, and I'd like to be able to do some more translating too, because it's fun and challenging. I will have a new blog and I'll post the link here when it's up for those who want to see what I'm doing in NZ (for those who want to read about Berlin, the two blogs I like are Berlin Blog and Berlin Bites.
So thanks for dropping by and sorry I have to rush off, but feel free to hang around and turn off the lights on your way out.
Auf Wiedersehen.
Haere Ra.
Kiwi in Berlin
PS For those of you who blog, this article is kinda scary - someone fired from moaning about his boss on his personal blog.
*looks back nervously through blog archives*
For some reason German has many different words for pain. For example:
Heimweh = "home ache" = homesickness
Fernweh = "far ache" = the yearning for somewhere far away
Nahweh = "near ache" = the feeling of sadness that comes when you return home to find it is not as you remember it
When I am not in Berlin I feel Fernweh and there are lots of things I miss, and it's hard to explain but it's like the more time I spend here and learn about Germany then the harder it is to go back to somewhere where those things aren't really relevant. A friend of mine told me your nationality is not just your passport but where you have lived and what's important to you, so I do feel a little bit German. But then of course I am a Kiwi, a sixth-generation one or something like that, so that part of me is important too. I can look at it positively and say that there are two completely different places that I love and feel at home in.
Back in NZ I plan to find someone I can practise German with, so I don't lose it, and I'd like to be able to do some more translating too, because it's fun and challenging. I will have a new blog and I'll post the link here when it's up for those who want to see what I'm doing in NZ (for those who want to read about Berlin, the two blogs I like are Berlin Blog and Berlin Bites.
So thanks for dropping by and sorry I have to rush off, but feel free to hang around and turn off the lights on your way out.
Auf Wiedersehen.
Haere Ra.
Kiwi in Berlin
PS For those of you who blog, this article is kinda scary - someone fired from moaning about his boss on his personal blog.
*looks back nervously through blog archives*
posted by Shona @ 5:00 PM
4 Comments:
At January 12, 2005 at 6:42 PM,
Craig said…
I'll miss checking in on your blog for the latest update on your adventures there. I had wanted to suggest a possible destination for a daytrip. I understand that another Kiwi in Berlin has bought and restored a three hundred year old manor house which I think is quite close to the village where my German ancestors may have lived for several centuries. His website says he's made it into some kind of cultural institute in cooperation with Yale, open to the public by invitation only. Good luck in your future travels. Your writing is lively and enjoyable.
At January 12, 2005 at 11:00 PM,
Christina Branson said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
At January 12, 2005 at 11:04 PM,
Christina Branson said…
Shona,
I've been lurking on your website for several weeks now, after finding you on Blog Explosion while looking for Berliners (my boyfriend lives there). I very much enjoyed your accounts of Berlin, and I wish you good luck back in New Zealand and I can't wait to read your net blog. :)
Chrissy
At January 14, 2005 at 12:46 PM,
Vivi said…
I'm so glad to know that you will continue blogging! Best wishes and safe travels. :)
Post a Comment
<< Home