Decade retrospective of the 2010s

It's almost time. Not only is 2019 coming to an end soon, but an entire decade! I've been thinking a lot in the past few days about everything that has happened in the last 10 years, and it's really a lot! And now I'm sitting here writing it all down... 10 years ago, I was still in school and the student representative. In 2011, I graduated, briefly studied teaching in Augsburg, and then worked at McDonald's for six months. Then two months in Costa Rica, followed by a 2.5-year apprenticeship at Lufthansa, six months of full-time shift work, and then three years of study. Since then, more than a year has passed. So, 10 years can be summarized in 4-5 lines. But that wouldn't do justice to everything and it would be a bit too short for a decade retrospective.

But let's start from the beginning: In 2010, I was only 18 years old and in the 12th grade at Gymnasium Weilheim. English and geography were my favorite subjects with two great teachers. However, I was more occupied with my role as student representative than with studying. My fellow student representatives Karo and Tobi were great. We had a wonderful time. Unfortunately, Tobi has passed away, but I often think about the time we spent together. His picture hangs on my wall in my current apartment, and I am grateful to have spent so much time with him.

When I look through my photos from 2010, a lot has happened: proms, dance courses, a study trip to Sorento, a vacation at Tropical Island, a second trip to Eastbourne in England, and so much more. Somehow, we had a lot of free time during school days :)

However, this chapter came to an end in June 2011. On June 25, 2011, I received my diploma and attended the prom. For some unexplainable reason, I thought it was a good idea to start my studies on June 26, 2011: geography/physics teaching. It was a total fiasco. As far as I can remember, I spiritually withdrew in late July. The new goal: apprenticeship. At first, I was unsure about where to go. Freight forwarder or event management? The latter was off the table after an unsuccessful internship. I was actually fired without reason after less than 2 weeks and they almost didn't want to pay my salary. So, event management didn't work out, and I decided to enter the logistics industry. By the end of 2011, I had secured an apprenticeship position for 2012 at Lufthansa Cargo. However, I needed to bridge the time gap, so I started working at McDonald's.

The photos from 2011 also tell a lot: 18th birthdays, road trips to Duderstadt and Berlin, a vacation at Lake Garda, Oktoberfest, and the first of many trips to New York (this time with my mom). After many years of not going to the USA, 2011 marked the first of many trips to the USA in this decade. More on that later.

2012 started off slowly. Lots of frying chips, cooking burgers, and making McNuggets. But halfway through the year, things really took off. First, two weeks in Thailand - mostly on Koh Samui and a small part in Bangkok. As if that wasn't enough, I then went to Costa Rica for two months, where I learned a lot. For those who don't know, they speak Spanish in Costa Rica, and at that time, I didn't speak a word of Spanish. I couldn't even say a simple "hello" (Hola - the H is silent). No problem, I had planned to attend a 4-week language school. The only problem was that my host parents didn't speak a word of English and still don't to this day. There are many funny anecdotes from the first few weeks, like when I sat at the table with my host mother on the second day and we learned colors. She pointed to an object and said "red" and I repeated. So, on the day we learned colors at the language school, I was the expert :) From 4 weeks in language school and 4 weeks of saving turtles, it turned into 6 weeks of language school and 2 weeks of traveling through Costa Rica and Panama. Every weekend, we were in other beautiful places. I have numerous pictures on my Facebook profile, each one more beautiful than the last. I had a wonderful time with my host family (by the way, the children, all in their mid-20s to 40s at the time, could mostly speak English! What luck!), got to know and appreciate their customs, attitudes, and food. Compared to Germany, Costa Rica is quite poor, but the people are incredibly happy and content. It takes about 4-6 weeks to hang a flat-screen TV there because the old tube TV still works. And if you only have one TV, only one can break. It's logical that you have a lot less stress then. And there was rice with beans. A lot of rice with beans. Sometimes rice with beans for breakfast, rice with beans for lunch with meat, and rice with beans for dinner with different meat. Or rice with beans with pasta and sauce. Sounds strange? It tastes delicious and makes you gain about 5-10 kg in 2 months! Costa Rica was a great time. We had our weekly routine - posting pictures at the internet café on Mondays, a day at the cinema, a day at a bar, and traveling on weekends. All carefree. I met so many wonderful people. Saw so many breathtaking places. Found a second family that couldn't have welcomed me better. I'm happy to still be in contact with some of them, even though our lives have taken different paths. I think I should write another blog post about it, there's so much to tell. Let me know!

However, that still wasn't enough vacation for that year. We had a 10-day sailing trip in Croatia planned. Unfortunately, after 2 months in Costa Rica, my bank account was pretty empty, and despite it being a party vacation, we needed to be careful with our spending. I had won the trip in February at a Super Bowl party in Munich, but we still had to pay for transportation and alcoholic beverages. So, my Eastbourne buddy Jan and I took the train to Split... A hellish trip, even though I had traveled by buses in Costa Rica that would never pass safety checks here. The outbound trip was not a problem. Once we arrived, we realized that the majority of people on board the small ship were Australians and New Zealanders. And for them, alcohol in Croatia was so cheap. They would even give away a whole bucket of Zombie cocktail because (surprisingly) it was quite strong. But the Germans can handle it without a problem. Again, we had great landscapes, amazing parties, and awesome people! Then it was time to return, and it was less funny. First, a train delay of more than an hour. And the announcements were only in Croatian. I don't speak Croatian! But no problem, the connecting train in Zagreb would wait, RIGHT? IT DIDN'T! It was 11 pm in Zagreb. The train didn't wait! The Croatian Railways employee didn't care. Her shift was over. The next train was at 5 am. Money for a hotel? Too precious. So, we did some sightseeing with our luggage until about 1 am and then slept on the platform for 4 hours. What a great idea... We had to pay for the tickets ourselves and didn't get our money back for months... Oh, how I love the train.

But then the seriousness of life really kicked in. In early September, I started my apprenticeship at Lufthansa together with Thomas and Susi. As it should be, we spent several weeks in Frankfurt getting to know the new environment, terms, and systems. And then it started. Working in LH uniform in light shift work (6 am-8 pm). After less than 4 weeks, I overslept for the first time. I arrived at the 6 am shift around 7:30 am. Man, was that embarrassing! More about that next year.

What else happened in 2012, what do the photo albums say? A concert in Munich. Here's a short anecdote: Sitting cross-legged on the floor for 45 minutes can cause both legs to fall asleep, and when you stand up, you just fall back down and people think you're drunk! New Year's Eve in Vienna, Wok WM at Lake Königssee, sightseeing in Frankfurt.

2013 was a bit less eventful. A full year of apprenticeship with everything that comes with it. Training in Frankfurt, various departments, and even a domestic assignment in Frankfurt. The latter was one of the highlights of my apprenticeship at LCAG. We were able to be right there during the loading of cargo planes. As always, with my favorite apprentices, Susi and Thomas :) And of course, vocational school - with the well-known teachers Mr. Gröber and Mr. Würffel. Always a highlight of the week. Due to the location of Munich Airport, I moved to a shared apartment in Attaching at the end of 2012, where I spent most of my weeks in 2013. But on weekends, I still went home to Ammersee. Vacation-wise, I took it a bit easier in 2013. I only had a road trip to visit my grandma Marion in Duderstadt. Then I went to Düsseldorf to visit a former coworker and finally to my uncle and aunt in France, where my godchild and his older sister were also visiting. It was very nice, even though I didn't travel far.

In addition, in 2013, I went to the IAA in Frankfurt (very crowded with people, hardly any space on weekends), attended the juggler night at Kaltenberg Castle (highly recommended), and went to a BossHoss concert (also highly recommended)! Also, not recommended: A tonsillectomy. I tried it in 2013 and 2014 - not pleasant!

2014, on the other hand, was very eventful. Let's start with a brief summary: road trip through the northeastern USA; road trip through South Africa; NFL games in London and Baltimore; Materiakonzert; Neonsplash (once in May, once in November - both times not ideal for coming home drenched in liquid paint and having to shower for hours. It was still fun though!); Cro concert in Bregenz on the lake stage in approximately 35 degrees Celsius in the early afternoon (including a sunburn); and many cool things at work. WOW! Let's start with work. I was allowed to organize and accompany the introduction week for our new apprentices. Here, the new ones get to know the company, and since this was the first time it took place in Munich, I was assigned to this project. An exciting task! I also had my foreign assignment. Where did I go? Johannesburg, South Africa! I spent two weeks familiarizing myself with the work processes and took on a small project there as well. It was a lot of fun! On the weekends, I also visited downtown Johannesburg. The city has a very bad reputation, but I couldn't confirm it. I had a great time there, even though there wasn't much to see in the city. Afterward, my mom and I took a vacation for about a week. You have to take advantage of the cheap flights and opportunities. We drove in the left-hand traffic direction to Blyde River Canyon and then to Kruger National Park. A truly incredible experience, which deserves its own blog post. We saw so many unbelievable animals live and in the wild... Simply breathtaking!

But that still wasn't enough! My girlfriend and I went to the USA. The perks of being an employee at Lufthansa :) First, we explored the capital city. Since I had friends in DC at the time, accommodation and tips were already sorted. We had appointments for a tour of the Pentagon and Congress, as well as tickets for the Washington Monument. The few days were already fully planned before we even arrived. Simply great! Then we drove to Baltimore with a rental car. We had tickets for an NFL game of the Baltimore Ravens, so our time there was well planned. Otherwise, in my opinion, Baltimore doesn't have much to offer. That's where our next destination was much more interesting: Philadelphia. A fantastic city! There is so much to see. But the best thing about Philly is not its history or the Rocky steps (a must if you're there), but the Philly Cheesesteak! One of the best sandwiches I've ever eaten! Afterward, we returned to DC from there.

However, that's not all that happened in 2014. What else happened? My brother and I visited our grandma in Duderstadt. I went winter hiking with friends (although we only went to Andechs), and after my semester abroad, I visited Boston and New York (what an amazing time!). And I celebrated a farewell/birthday party. Thanks to everyone who was there, it was really nice with all of you!

In early January 2018, I went back to Heidenheim again. By this time, I was one of the "oldies". The 6th semester went by way too quickly, not only because we organized and carried out our study trip to Amsterdam. We had a full sightseeing program there! Perfect for a short trip! After our Halloween party in the first semester, this time we organized a Carnival party (and a Super Bowl party). We took advantage of the opportunity for our first two Ole Miss reunions. Two out of several this year. In the fall, we also went to the Oktoberfest and Wasen together. Definitely need to do that again! Another highlight was my visit home in June. I had a visit from an American friend I met in Mississippi. We went from Füssen to Salzburg, including royal castles and more! Sometimes it's amazing what's right on your doorstep but you never visited for years! Right after that, it was time to submit my bachelor's thesis. Its appealing title was: "New Conception of Continuous Seafreight LCL Groupage Traffic to the Southeast Region at Kuehne + Nagel." This made it clear that I would be hired in the seafreight department. After passing the last hurdle (the oral exam) in September, I finally completed my studies at the end of September. The certificate and the accompanying bachelor's ball followed in November. A wonderful conclusion to this amazing phase of life!

Oh, I almost forgot: In September, I moved once again. This time from Weilheim to a shared apartment in Landshut :) Other events in 2018: My cousin got married in August, we participated in the hobby kicker tournament in July (unsuccessfully), and I celebrated New Year's Eve in Paris! In addition, I took the TOEFL test and prepared for the GMAT - which I ultimately didn't take.

In 2019, hopefully the last moves took place. First, in February, to another shared apartment, and in September, to the first joint apartment with my girlfriend. So, there were 15 moves in the last decade... I definitely don't need that again. Even though many rooms and moves were only to furnished rooms/apartments, it was always stressful. In terms of work, there wasn't much new in 2019. We have a great team in the seafreight department in Langenbach, and my job as Assistant to the Regional Seafreight Management is a lot of fun! A few parties have turned into "cozy" dinners, which sometimes got out of hand. The best party this year was definitely my birthday party - because so many of my friends had the time and were there! We also continued to use our Ole Miss reunions to keep in touch and experience new things. This year, we went to Düsseldorf. Vacation-wise, two great events were on the agenda: We spent a long weekend with friends in Austria at a cabin. The plans for 2020 are already in full swing, which shows how much everyone enjoyed it! The big annual vacation was to Florida. A road trip with family and my girlfriend from Miami, to Key West, the Everglades, Tampa, and then back to Orlando and Miami! I could easily write a whole blog post about it. It was definitely a great adventure. You can find some impressions on my Instagram account. Let me know if you want to read more about it :)

Otherwise, almost every weekend in 2019 was somehow planned. This included the Heimspiel Festival in Weißenburg or the Kühne + Nagel soccer tournament in Hamm, near Dortmund.

And just like that, 10 years are summarized. Of course, there are still many experiences, activities, and friends that have not been mentioned by name. Some spontaneous ones that come to mind are the skeleton weekends at the beginning of the decade or the countless football weekends with the Starnberg Argonauts. At one point, we even made it to the GFL2. As you may have noticed, football is a very important part of my life, and the Argonauts play a huge role in that. Especially Wiggerl, Pezi, and Nici. If you're reading this: Thank you! But not only the Argos have accompanied my decade of sports. Bayern Munich Basketball and EHC Red Bull Munich were also responsible for exciting, but also disappointing moments. I always enjoyed spending my free time there.

And now a new decade begins - hopefully with many friends from the last one and some new ones too! As life goes, paths unfortunately often diverge. It's a pity, and it moves me more often than I would like to admit. To all those I haven't heard from in a long time and/or haven't contacted in a while: I'm excited to hear from you and see you! To everyone I hear and see regularly: Thank you for being there! I'm curious to see what the new decade will bring! Happy New Year!