Moving in with strangers.

It's a little under a month until I leave, and I feel like things are pretty well organised. Just don't get me started on the list of things that could go wrong... but hey, it's not like I'm unwilling to take the gamble. This whole adventure is an exercise in me forcing myself into an unknown environment, which isn't something I do too often. Maybe I can call this "character building" afterwards... if I become a fan of cliche school-teacher phrases like that, which I sincerely doubt. And then there's the added bonus of being able to speak another language, which is relevant to further study. So it's most definitely a good idea.

That's not to say it's not daunting. I'm excited, sure. But there's a couple of things that still concern me, not least of which is the prospect of moving in with a stranger. (In my defense, I have chosen someone who appears to be a very friendly stranger, and whose English skills are awesome, so that I don't need to worry about how awful my German is going to be for a while.) And the room is reasonably priced, very near to the city centre, and a decent size - much better than some of the shoeboxes that I encountered during my searches.

My sister Jayne summed it up nicely: "So how do you know you're not moving in with an axe murderer?" Well, really, I don't. If Dexter is anything to go by, sometimes you don't know, and sometimes you really don't need to know. But that's me taking this example a bit too far. I suppose living compatibility is something that needs to be tested, and the only way to test it is to move in. I'm lucky that I lived with Ben and Dale for two years - we had a peaceful house, and I believe the only time anyone got seriously annoyed was me when someone ate all my pesto and put them empty jar back into the fridge. No one left my condiments empty after that though, so I guess my being sour for an evening had its intended purpose. ;)

Worst comes to worst, if my housemate and I decide that we don't like eachother, I'd like to think that we can amicably agree that I'll move out after finding another room. There's a point in life where you realise that the things you would have thought were a big deal many years ago just aren't a big deal anymore. (That's how you know you're getting old, haha!) I'd like to think that I can deal with problems as they arise, but that's not to say that I haven't written down the emergency contact that Matt has given me. It pays to be cautious. So, fingers crossed, and into the unknown. Still a few more things to organise before I go, not least of which is what to take. But hey, I have a place to live now, which is a definite plus.