A good friend introduced me to one of her sacred places in Hamburg, inside the Rathaus courtyard. It is a little oasis right in the middle of the chaos of downtown and one of my new sacred places now too.

Anyone who has lived abroad knows there is one inevitable condition that you’ll face—culture shock. This is my third time living abroad, and each time I hope I will avoid it, but it always manages to come back to bite me in the butt. But the good news is—it’s normal! And with any luck, you get through it and adjust. Just in time for reverse culture shock to set in when you get home! Here are a few thoroughly researched and tested (by yours truly) ways to deal with it.