To understand who I am and possibly why I am saying what I'm saying, I thought it would help to give a little background. I am doing it in English so that I can share it with friends in the UK. Maybe I'll add it in German afterwards.
Born in the 1960s, I grew up in Germany. I always liked languages and as a teenager my parents sent me on some language-related group travel; I ended up in Folkestone, near Dover, together with some other teenagers who I hardly knew. It was a bit of a mixed experience. After that I took part in the student exchange programme between the twin cities of Hanover and Bristol, twice. I loved this despite staying with a family outside of Bristol, in the sticks. They took me to some places that were well known in the UK but I didn't know anything about them at the time and I guess I was a bit blasé about them (typical teenager). Over time (and with more knowledge) I started to appreciate their efforts a lot more. I sadly lost all contact with the family.
After school, I decided to study languages at university. During that time I also spent half a year as a visiting student in Reading. At this point I was a bit more clued up and made sure to take part in whatever excursions were possible for me financially.
In 1992, after finishing my studies in German and English linguistics, I left my home town Hanover for the UK. I wanted to stay for three months in London. I stayed for three years...
I went there without anything apart from my suitcase. A friend recommended I should go and see if I would be accepted as a job seeker and I received income support without any fuss (which enabled me to rent a room). A little while into this, they put me on an IT course (email was still a new thing at the time!). After I had finished my run, I was asked to teach the IT course myself, and was eventually hired by a small tech company to do technical support for German customers.
Living in London was exhausting and I didn't like the city that much after the initial honeymoon period.
Life then took me away: the small tech company was bought up by another bigger one and they moved all of us (who wanted to go) over to the Netherlands in 1995. With the offer to double my salary that was a no-brainer. I stayed there for seven years (living first in The Hague, then Leiden), in which I also learned a bit of Dutch and met Frank who is now my husband.
Once again, work made a decision for me. In the early 2000s the company decided to move us all over to Dublin in Ireland, which again had a good monetary incentive, so Frank and I went along. I loved my job as a supervisor for a small web admin and translation team. After three years, I got pregnant and Frank had found a new job within the same company, but over in the UK. So another move happened, to a smaller town this time, and I stopped working and became a full-time mother.
Having a baby is a great way to get to know local people. We bought a house in Winchester, I made many good friends and we stayed there for twelve years. I was well integrated, even volunteering in school, for the local Scouts and as secretary for a local community group, met with local councillors every month to discuss community issues, after a while often knowing more about how things work than the people who lived there long before me... Life was fine even though there were some niggles (that I simply ignored as you get them everywhere).
And then the 2016 referendum happened. The result was something I had not anticipated and it gave me plenty to think about. One thing was clear: after 26 years living in other EU countries, I felt through and through European!
