1. Monatsrückblick

Unbelievable but true: the first month of island fever is over. To be honest, it's totally bizarre to me because on the one hand it feels like I just got off the plane three days ago and on the other hand it feels like I've been living here forever.

Overall, I'm really happy here. The landscape takes my breath away every time and every time I look out at the sea from the lecture hall window I can't believe where I am. I also feel more and more à l'aise with my French and the motivation to keep improving it continues to be great. My shared apartment and I get along really well and have already had a few trips and evenings together, and I'm very grateful for that. I believe that if you don't feel comfortable 'at home', no matter how beautiful the landscape is, it won't do you any good. The huge pool in the shared apartment is also a huge plus point, that has to be said :D

I'm slowly feeling like I've arrived, it actually took longer than I thought - for the first three weeks I felt absolutely distant from my own reality, very strange. Homesickness is actually not a problem at all, because modern technology means I don't feel 9,000 km away from my loved ones. You can keep in constant contact and hear everyone's voices at all times, which is very nice.

But of course not everything is just rose-colored unicorn land :D

Although I've gotten to know a lot of people here that I really like, I still feel a bit alone and disconnected sometimes. Sometimes I feel like I'm the last person people think of here when it comes to invitations or outings. Of course that's not really the case, but there have been situations in which it was exactly like that. I think it also has a little to do with the mentality here: sometimes plans are made that are certain for me, but then they are simply canceled again, usually without communicating it early on - maybe I still have to work on my German precision and... Work in compliance with the rules :D

The only other thing I find a bit unfortunate here is that it is quite difficult to come into contact with locals. I know a few now through my roommate Nanou, but there aren't too many. But I think and hope that this will perhaps happen even more in the next few weeks, because I now have a sports course every day at the university. In these you almost automatically start a conversation :)

Overall, I'm currently at a 7/10 when it comes to my level of satisfaction (during hikes or by the sea this automatically becomes a 12/10, don't worry :D). You just shouldn't forget that from now on I landed miles away from home, on a strange island with a strange culture and strange people and have only been here for 4 weeks - sometimes everything takes time.

I will do a little summary after each month, because it is important to me not only to publish beautiful pictures and exciting stories here, but also to actually report realistically about everything :)