On Living Abroad: A 50mm Diary

I’ve lived in Berlin for nine months now. The time I’ve spent here has passed by entirely too quickly for me to even make sense of it. Living abroad has been, luckily, gone better than I ever imagined. I never anticipated feeling so at ease and comfortable so quickly in a city I had only visited once before (which is mind boggling to me to write, let alone say aloud). I visited Berlin once, thought a move could work, moved, and finally, fell in love with the city in ways and feelings I didn’t think were possible for any other outside of my own in New York. I’m waiting for the honeymoon phase to leave me, though it hasn’t yet.

Though every day is far from perfect despite being happy, every moment, every experience, every tear, every smile and every second I spend living here, I will continue to cherish in my memories, in my journal, and of course, through a lens. Before I left NYC, Michelle gave me the first camera she ever purchased and lent me her 50mm lens so that I’d be able to say, “I have a camera,” as a means for me to start using it and documenting my experiences abroad for her and everyone else who wouldn’t be by my side to experience what I live and do firsthand.

As travelers, we’re always documenting. But when we were living together in New York, Michelle and I documented together. But since I left home, traveling is different for me. So here are my experiences, through a small camera and 50mm lens on what life is like abroad. I’m still documenting, writing and traveling as much as I did before, but also enjoying (and at times, struggling with) what it means to be an expat, an immigrant, and a stranger in a strange land that is finally starting to feel like another home. Here’s Part I of my 50mm lens diary since being abroad. All photos by me, unless I’m in them. 😉