Culture Shock

I'm really curious as to how I'll deal with culture shock when I get to Germany, or if I will go through this feeling at all.

You see, when I went to England I didn't feel any sort of shock about my new environment at all. Granted, I do know the language of that country, so perhaps that's why I didn't feel anything related to culture shock. But it was definitely different from America; I just didn't feel overwhelmed in a bad way by the differences. I loved learning about them! It was such an adventure. I'm not sure if I felt this way because I was only there for 10 days or because I speak English fluently, but I hope that my transition in Germany goes smoothly as well.

I am most worried about not knowing much German, because I know that being in an environment where English is not the primary language will be a huge adjustment for me. I have never been to a place where English is not primary. I am blessed to live in a cultural melting pot in the US, so I hear other languages all of the time, but English is always spoken because I live in America. And in England, English was always spoken because I was in the UK (not exactly the same as American English, but close enough so I can recognize it and easily talk to everyone). I guess I've been to Mexico, but the few times I went I never had to deal directly with the culture or the native people. I wonder how I'll react when I hear everyone speaking German instead of English all of the time. I know that many Germans, especially in the big cities like Köln, speak fairly good English as well, but they are not native speakers and they won't just go yelling English in the streets. I definitely need to learn more German, and really study hard when I get there. Thankfully I'm immersing myself in Germany, so I will have many opportunities to improve and then the language barrier will slowly go away.

I also don't really know what life is like in Germany yet. What are their grocery stores like? How do people normally travel? What do people do with their friends when they just want to hang out? When are mealtimes? What's the pace of life like? Things like that. I'm very excited to learn though, so I'm hoping that my excitement plus my experience with another culture previously are signs that my transition to German life won't be difficult.

I'm just really glad I found a family that is really nice and fun. I think that will make adjusting to German life that much easier. If anyone has any advice on dealing with moving to a new country, I'm all ears!