Well, it finally happened: I became German this week. Even writing this out is surreal. It is a culmination of years of living far away from my family, choosing another culture that is similar but truly different in almost every conceivable way, and living day by day knowing that my entire identify and livelihood was tied to my having a job and being a productive member of German society. Over the years, that last point has really started to grind against my inner peace: it is beyond a privilege that I, an Australian, can come to Germany and choose to...