So, yesterday, I realized that my job here is actually a professional cuddler. I get to sit with this adorable child and cuddle him ALL DAY. My other duties in the job description include walks through the park and a limited amount of feeding.

Seriously...this is by far the most fun thing I've ever been paid to do.

But then I thought, "So, is it better to love what you do and not where you live, or love where you live and not what you do?"

Not that I HATE where I live, because I don't. I have a fabulous little flat in the city center of Dusseldorf. Can't complain. But it is still really quite difficult to make a life of my own here.

I went to an "Expat Meet-up" last night that I found online, and it turned out to be a pretty good time. I met loads of other English-speakers, which was definitely a relief, but it was still a bit monotonous...asking everyone you meet where they're from, why they're here, what they do...etc etc..and repeating the same things about yourself. But HOW ELSE do you meet people? There seemed to be a very common theme of young women who moved to Dusseldorf/Germany in general to be with their husband/boyfriend. And another thing I learned that I really appreciated....I met several Germans last night, and they truly are a very passionate and patriotic people. They love talking about the history of their country with the intent of educating others who might be interested. I found this really neat...seeing as so many of us Americans don't know our history as well as we should (myself absolutely being included...)

I learned that Dusseldorf was, and still is, a huge industrial capital for Germany. All of the tanks and weapons used in WWII were made here. And...also that D'dorf and Cologne were pretty much bombed to the ground during the war...so they rebuilt it with some pretty ugly motifs, since there was absolutely no money. The Altstadt of Munich, on the other hand, was rebuilt meticulously to resemble exactly what it looked like before it was bombed. Just...interesting... I loved listening to people talk about this.

This weekend I'm planning on going to see "Der Rosenkavalier" in Cologne, so that will be a BLAST...it's some of my absolute favorite music, but I've never seen it performed!