Wide open spaces

The other day I was having coffee with my friend Eunkyung, who's in my German class. She’s from South Korea, and as far as our rudimentary German would allow, we were having a heart to heart about the difficulties of life in a new country:

Eunkyung: Do you find that life in Germany is similar to life back home in America?

Me: Yeah, sure, for the most part. I mean, I don’t have many friends here and so I don’t go out as much as I used to, but that’s OK, because the clubs kinda suck and all the American movies are dubbed into German anyway. [That sound you’re hearing is the the world’s tiniest violin playing the world's saddest song just for me!]

Eunkyung: No, that is not what I mean. I mean, is life the same here as it is in America?

Me: Yeah, sure. Is life so very different in Korea?

Eunkyung: Completely different. For instance, I have so much more space here in Germany than in Korea.

Me: More space? You mean, like you have your own room and stuff?

Eunkyung: Not just that. I can breathe and move around more freely. In Seoul, you’re always packed in like sardines. Everyone breathes on you, and coughs on you, and blows their nose on you, and elbows you in the ribs. You have no personal space. It’s really wonderful here, don’t you think so?

Me: [Laughs] Actually, I’ve never felt so crowded in my whole life!

Downtown Würzburg at noon on a normal Friday: