As soon as I got off the plane in Munster, Germany my heart started racing. I was extremely nervous to be starting my journey here in Germany. Luckily, everything went smoothly. One thing that surprised me was that all the members of my host family hugged me when I got off the plane, which leads me to my first observation about German people: Physical touch is appreciated and they are not hesitant to shake your hand, touch you on the arm, or stand close you. Other than that, my memories of that first day in Germany are kind of a blur since I was extremely jet lagged. I don't think I experienced much "culture shock" coming to Germany. There are plenty of similarities and differences between Germans and Americans, but the most trouble I have found as been through translation.
The language barrier was a bigger challenge than I thought it would be. There are many common English phrases that do not translate well to someone who is learning English - which was the case with both my host sister and host mother. For example, when someone asks you to decide between two things, you should not say, "I don't care." In America, everyone understands that you mean either option sounds good and you would rather have the other person choose. If you say that in Germany, people will understand that as a rude phrase. I also have learned to slow down my English and use simpler phrases to be able to communicate effectively with my host family. Sometimes I feel like I need to carry a thesaurus around. There are also many instances where something does not directly translate from German to English or English to German. Navigating the language barrier has been a difficult, but rewarding challenge.