crafterm's weblog

Sandbar Farewell!

One of the things I'll miss when returning to Australia are the places I've hung out with friends at over the years. One place in particular stands out which is the Sandbar, my local bar, just around the corner from my apartment in Frankfurt.

So, with my last weekend in Frankfurt coming up, we'll all be heading down to the Sandbar for a farewell evening this Saturday, 9-9.30 onwards until...

If you know me, you're more than welcome to come and it would be awesome to see you, if you don't know me, I don't mind either -> the more the merrier. :)

Australia!

In February 1998 I made my first journey over to Europe to see our Frankfurt office here in Germany, and to work with one of our companies largest customers. That original trip was only going to be for 9 months, but it became something that turned into 8 years - yes, that's how much of an awesome experience it's been.

I feel like a different person to the Marcus that travelled all that way back in 1998. For some reason it doesn't feel like one long 8 year journey to Europe, it rather feels like 3 separate trips that have built on top of each other with some wonderful and great experiences and fun along the way.

So, after 8 years of enjoying an incredible life overseas, I'll shortly be returning to Australia to start the next chapter in the southern hemisphere.

It's hard to describe what it's been like living overseas for such an amount of time. It's been something of an life adventure that has felt so surreal and fulfilling. Europe can only be described as a drug - it's an addiction that's fuelled by it's vast complexion of detailed, historical and varied cultures.

Travel, language, currencies, culture and (lack of) distance makes Europe such an awesome place to be, and there's so much depth to what you can do while living here.

It's amazing to think that I've lived overseas twice as long as the time it took to get my University degree. So amazing that if someone had told me that for every day of study I'd be given two days living overseas in return, I'd have thought they would be crazy. After living it, it sure makes all those nights of hard study seem really worth it.

I'm also really grateful to have had the opportunity to work and live in a country where English wasn't the first language. It has been a challenge, but quite fulfilling being able to learn a second language with all of it's peculiarities and nuances. German is a hard language to learn, but it's structured and has many rules that help the beginner. It's also made me realise how lucky I am to have learnt English as a native language - as in comparison English feels so freestyle.

Working in Germany has also been a great experience. Over the years I've been able to work on site at some of the largest German banks, visit some of the largest German manufacturers and see scales of engineering much larger than most Australian companies/industries could afford. These experiences haven't been taken lightly and will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Australia is so far away from Europe it's hard for us Aussies to imagine making weekend trips to new countries and cities only a few hundred kilometres away, without investing a years annual leave into that once in a lifetime trip. Yet that's the lifestyle when one lives here.

When I first started University, my Dad had to drive me 500 kilometres from Mount Gambier to Melbourne 4 times a year (and drive himself back home, usually on the same day) so that I could study. Along the way there's only a few small towns/cities in rural South Australia and Victoria. That same distance in Europe takes you from Frankfurt to Paris. Similarly, the one hour flight from Melbourne to Adelaide (~900kms), takes you from Frankfurt to London.

There's many adventures and stories I'll be taking with me, and many people I'd like to thank for their friendship over the years while I've been here. To those of you that know me, it's been a real honour and pleasure, and I will miss you all dearly. I'm sure I'll be back to visit and spend more time travelling throughout all of our favourite places - and I hope to see you in Australia in the near future.

Australia is a fantastic place to be able to return home to, it's a country I've missed while I've been over here. Aside from my family and friends it's the lifestyle of living by the water, in an eternal summer, in a culture of sport and activities that manifests happiness and contentment. While realising that I will definitely miss Europe and it's lifestyle, I'm really looking forward to getting back home.