One of the greatest things about living abroad is always the ability to learn about new cultures and customs of the new place you’re living or visiting. When I was a junior in high school, I moved to Stuttgart, Germany. It was the middle of January and the second I stepped off the plane, I experienced severe culture shock. Everything was different: the people, the food, the weather were all so very different from home.

It took a while but eventually I was able to cope with being homesick and actually learn to enjoy the new place I was living in. I loved my school and the public transportation that meant I could get basically anywhere without a car. I loved how safe the city was and I never had to worry about anything dangerous happening to me while I was out with my friends.

Fall has always been my favorite time of year, and being abroad didn’t change that. I learned to love new things about the season that made living so far from home just a little easier.

The weather in Germany was very shocking. I grew up in Alabama, where the weather can go from freezing in the morning to blistering hot at noon to rainy and humid in the afternoon. The weather in Stuttgart could do the same thing, but the temperatures were much more extreme. I had never experienced real snow until I moved there and the heat that reached the mid-nineties could not be combatted with our tiny air conditioner on wheels. Sometimes it was hot, and once it snowed about eight inches on my birthday in mid-October. Fall was the same as in Alabama; the temperature was freezing in the morning (but instead of just being a hyperbolic statement, it was actually below freezing) and hot during the day. This made it difficult to dress for but after a few days bundled up and sweating on my way home from school or in shorts shivering when walking to lunch, I managed to figure out the best way to dress in layers.

The festivals, though, were probably my favorite part. It was so different than where I grew up. My family and I loved always having something to do on the weekends. Oktoberfest was no exception. After my first trip, I bought a dirndl and went almost every weekend with my friends. We bought tickets to go inside the massive colorful tents. Inside, everyone was dressed in traditional dresses (the dirndl) and Lederhosen. People drank enormous liters of beer and danced on top of the long wooden benches that lined the inside of the tents. Music from a DJ or band boomed inside and everyone laughed and sang along. It was so different than any of my experiences with the very serious German men and women I had met on trains or in passing. Everyone was happy and smiling and able to totally let loose.

Fall is a favorite season of many. It comes as a relief from the hot summer and brings about good food and great times with friends in family. It’s good to know that this feeling is universal and understood no matter where you are.