Today was Flos and my second wedding anniversary. Looking back two years to that point when we just had won the Greencard and decided to get married in a little rush to make this dream come true, made today very special for us. Because today, two years later, we live what we always dreamed of and already achieved so much together in our new home the US.

The weather is amazing right now, so we decided to drive down to Laguna Beach and enjoy the sun. We took a nice walk at the beach, had a late all-american lunch and browsed through a few shops in Laguna. Enjoying little things like just driving to the beach, walking through the cold water with naked feet and just being amazed by California’s beauty made this day very special.

Marriage was just the beginning of our US journey, which we now fully live and enjoy! Saying yes to each other two years ago was also saying yes to our American Dream. And we both don’t regret either of these decisions!

This weekend we spontaneoulsy decided to do a little weekend getaway trip. Our german friends were going to Big Bear Lake for the weekend and invited us to join them. Flo had some work to do Saturday morning so we didnt get to hit the road before 12. My parents had been to Big Bear when they visited us in June and told us how beautiful it was. But the actual sight blew us away. Even the drive up there makes you feel like you are in another world. The landscape is beautiful and for germans like us crazily peaceful and wide.

We arrived at Big Bear at around 2 and were so happy to have done that. For us getting away from the city and being in a silent landscape feels so good. We totally enjoyed our weekend with nice walks and hikes, a visit to the little town center, a ride on the mountain slides and a great BBQ. If you ever have time and the chance to visit Big Bear absolutely do it! It’s amazing. But just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Today we went to the famous Rose Bowl Flea Market with some friends and spent a nice (and hot) day browsing around and shopping old stuff. Afterwards we decided to drive to Pasadena for lunch before heading back home. We had a great Sunday funday and Flo and I are really happy to finally have friends to hang out with over here. But the most important thing that again came clear to us today is that we have stepped beyond most of the language barriers we had since moving here.

In the beginning Flo and I both felt a little shy talking english, talking english in front of each other and especially talking english to each other. But this evening I actually realized that today I didn’t even feel like talking in a different language. Sure I sometimes miss a few words and have to ask for a few things, but talking english by now feels natural. And not embarassing or strange anymore.

It’s still pretty obvious that we are foreign to this country and our accent will probably stay that obvious for at least a few more years. But I feel like without being shy and without thinking about how each sentence might sound, we blend in a lot more than we did before! And that feels sooooo good!