Germany The Deutschland Chapter 16 July 2024 Nothing in life fascinates me quite like the passage of time. At present, it is my favourite phenomenon in the Universe. The flow of time reminds me most of a river's current. Both can accelerate and decelerate. Some periods on our life timeline rush by with incredible speed, while others drag on unimaginably long. For instance, the last six months of my life in Russia felt like several years, whereas a year and a half in emigration passed quickly and unnoticed. And so, exactly six months ago, I concluded another chapter of my life to continue my journey on the pages of a new chapter called Deutschland. I arrived in Germany on a humanitarian visa (§ 22 Abs. 2 AufenthG), which was granted to me by the German Foreign Ministry due to political persecution by the Russian authorities for my anti-war activities. Many people mistakenly confuse this with asylum, but this visa has nothing to do with asylum: it is issued outside the EU, whereas to obtain refugee status one must be on the territory of one of the union's countries. I learned about my humanitarian visa approval at the beginning of October last year. Amusingly, this happened just a couple of weeks after ending a romantic relationship with my former beloved. This Universe has a funny sense of humour. Upon arriving in Germany, I settled in a small town called Bitterfeld-Wolfen, more precisely in Wolfen, in the Krondorf district. I spent four and a half months in a temporary flat while searching for a permanent one until I found an apartment in another area, Wolfen-Nord, where I am currently writing this post. Wolfen has a population of about 15,000 people, with 6,000 residing in my district. What struck me most upon moving here was how deserted the streets can be on winter evenings: it seemed that several times, walking across town from home to the station, I didn't encounter a single soul. I must admit that sometimes I feel melancholic and lonely due to the surrounding emptiness, but for as long as I can remember, I have spent most of my life in such conditions, so I can't say I'm overly saddened by it. On the contrary, there is something quite enchanting about it. Some of my friends and acquaintances scared me with stories about bureaucratic tribulations, the trials that all newcomers must face here, but I can't say that German bureaucracy has caused me much trouble. Yes, sometimes it can be challenging to respond to five or six letters at once, but this doesn't happen very often. After all, I have always wanted to be in a country where the state apparatus could be used as a tool to meet my needs: for instance, I discovered that you can buy various insurances here, ranging from legal protection insurance to personal liability insurance, to avoid paying for, say, accidentally scratching someone else's car or flooding the downstairs neighbours. Wolfen is part of the former GDR, and this is very evident in the behaviour of the people living here and in the local architecture. Honestly, I am not particularly thrilled about living in a place once touched by the Soviet state, and where the remnants of that state still linger. However, I find a small consolation in this: at least something familiar, even if sometimes aesthetically unappealing. This inconvenience is more than compensated by the fact that there used to be a factory producing film for cameras here, which I have already managed to acquire as a souvenir. It's quite an unusual feeling to think that I am now living in a flat where someone involved in the creation of this film might have lived. Wolfen-Nord is abandoned and forgotten, and apart from a rather dull park, there are no entertainments here. For this reason, I often head to the other end of town, to the Bitterfeld district, to relax. Bitterfeld has a wonderful lake called Großer Goitzschesee, and it is not called "big" for nothing: it is indeed very large. In photos, it sometimes even looks like the sea; at least some of my friends have asked which sea I finally managed to visit. It's a very calm, quiet, and peaceful place. I love arriving at this lake in the evening, climbing the observation tower, and watching the sunset from there. It's truly magnificent. The lake also has a small sandy beach and a promenade where you can constantly see teenagers diving into the water. This is especially relevant in the current weather, indeed. Although I still don't know what this new chapter of my life will bring, and despite not being sure whether I will stay here or move to Canada or Cyprus, I am very glad to have settled here in Germany. I continue to face new challenges and trials due to this latest emigration, but isn't that wonderful? It's an excellent game mechanic if we view our life as a game. Difficult, sometimes unbearably so, but always interesting and exciting, even if existential dread occasionally takes over. To hell with it, honestly. As long as friends are around. And mine are wonderful. Copyright (c) 2024 contact@renecoignard.com Powered by Weblog v1.18.9