MUNICH, Germany - It's an interesting experience living a different life in an already familiar place. New things happen in old places, in different contexts, and with different people.
Before college, I lived in southern Germany for a year. Having already overcome the language barrier, subtle cultural nuances that I missed then begun to stand out more. This time, however, they didn't lead to homesickness or a feeling of cultural detachment but fed my interest for learning. These nuances are engrained into every aspect of German life and have enabled me to regard my own culture - and myself - with a certain sense of objectivity.
Political discussions, for example, are much more complex when more than two parties are represented. The political spectrum in Europe encompasses trends from Bolshevism to National Socialism and most degrees in between.
Not only are these trends commonplace in discussions among students, they are political reality. Seats in the German Bundestag are currently divided among six parties, guaranteeing multi-partisanship in all public discourse.
Students in Germany, in addition to their propensity for political activism, also take a different stance on living conditions than most Americans.
In true European style, everything is small. Few spaces, with the exception of bedrooms, are for individual use. Most students live in inexpensive apartment buildings ? la Nebraska Hall, with bedrooms stemming out from a common living space and kitchen.
I have been living with three Germans - Nina, Alkan and Philipp - in a small apartment on the outskirts of the city for the past seven months.
The biggest adjustment was similar to one I experienced my freshman year. After moving into a dormitory, I learned to cope with much less space than I was previously accustomed to.
Now I share a small refrigerator with three other people. We almost always have company, ensuring that our small kitchen is often anything but maneuverable (our record is nine people within the six-by-12-foot space).
And whether Nina is smoking in the kitchen, Alkan composing a new song in his room, Philipp playing "Sim City" on his computer or everyone is cooking together, boredom is a rarity.
Evenings are spent together around the kitchen table, making fun of our professors or playing Uno - the rules of which are modified so every time one of us swears or insults someone, that person has to pick up a card. By the end of the game, half the deck is usually in Philipp's hand.
Because so many of our friends still live at home, our apartment tends to be a popular meeting place. Although only four of us pay rent, there are almost never less than six people here.
From so many people comes an excess of humorous dialogue. To make sure the best remarks aren't forgotten, we've begun wallpapering the kitchen with Post-Its bearing the best Chuck Norris jokes, drunken realizations and some of my most memorable German slip-ups.
Next to our "Wall of Shame," an extensive collection of red-gold cigarette cartons reminds how expensive the habit can be. But mostly they just serve as an eye-catching swathe of color, adding to the kitchen's coziness.
A good friend from the States recently came to visit. It was the first time someone from home had come to see why I keep coming back to Munich. In our cramped apartment, we accommodated Melissa without issue.
This readiness to accommodate and accept anyone who walks through the door is a characteristic of my German friends that has stood out and impressed me since I met them.
It's certainly why our apartment is so beloved - it's not unheard of that friends will stay with us when they hit a rough patch with their families or roommates.
Of everything I have learned this year; every cultural nuance I have come across, this appreciation for people of all walks of life has been the most significant.
Then again, I wouldn't expect much else from a crowd in which half the people are gay, three-quarters from another country and all get their sense of the word "liberalism" from a social democratic government.
You can reach this columnist at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
