Der Feuervogel aufersteht.

I'm back in my home state for the foreseeable future. My friend and VP classmate Beth T. offered me her guest room, where I am currently camped out with almost all of my things still in suitcases or plastic totes. That doesn't include the plastic totes currently in my sister's storage unit or the winter clothes/blankets/etc that wouldn't fit in my car so are still in Georgia. And whatever remains still at Ben's house.

I applied for an MA in older German literature (i.e. medieval lit) at the Freie Uni in Berlin, and I'm waiting very anxiously for the decision. Because of the rona, the application deadline was extended to 8/20 (from the usual early June), and their site says we should expect the decision in early September.

Of course, I'll have to take a language test (and get the highest score, yikes, ya girl needs to study again), and this test is only offered twice a year. Naturally, the next date is September 2, which, uh, I can't exactly make, being still in this stupid plague nation, and without the proof of admission to the university, I won't be able to get in. And I won't hear if I was accepted until ... after this date.

So my anxiety brain is running around in circles because this dilemma is basically unsolvable, and, thankfully, my prozac is still working because I can tell it to stfu because it's unproductive. Anxiety-me would have emailed the language center by now, asking in a very rambly, anxiety-filled way how I can resolve this problem in the event that I'm accepted. Sane-me says it won't matter until I know if I was accepted, so we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Srsly, this whole being medicated for anxiety thing is pretty fuckin great. I spent the first 40-odd years of my life with pretty severe anxiety that I never knew about (or didn't know wasn't "normal"). I still get anxious about things, but I don't go on the spiral anymore.

Anyway, if I get in, I'll be going over probably early October for a semester start 11/2. If I don't, well, I'll be stuck in this plague nation until we get our collective shit together.

I've decided I don't want to do a PhD. I want to write about language and linguistics for the general public, and I have a Really Cool Idea that I'll write up as an outline/proposal after I finish my thesis. Then I'll either submit it to a small press or send it to some agents. I could also potentially write it up as a pitch for a blog series at tor.com (which, somehow, strikes me as even more of a long-shot than selling the book proposal). I can do this without a PhD, so I will.

I still, however, want to move to Berlin. Not being a student means I can't just get a student visa, so I need to figure out how to get a work/residence permit. Berlin has an artist visa option, which I think is under the umbrella of Freiberufler (sort of like freelance but not quite, and is different from being self-employed, because, of course, TSCHÖRMANY). The criteria are rather picky. But I have 2 skills (one with certification) that fall under the umbrella: writer and language teacher. I can translate, but I don't have any certification, and Germany really likes people to have certification for their jobs.

What I don't know is whether being there on a Freiberufler permit would allow me to pick up a part-time job at, like, a bookstore or something. Because writing income isn't steady (especially if you haven't got a book contract and all) and I'd really like to have some sort of income so I don't just burn through my savings. There's a line in the details about wanting to work on an Honorarbasis, but I'm not entirely sure what that means. German bureaucracy is legendary for a reason.

There doesn't seem to be a "contact us with questions" email address on the page I'm looking at.

So. Anyway. Here is my current plan with timeline.

May 2019: finish my MA.

summer 2019: finish the novel I started before grad school AND write a proposal/pitch for the nonfiction, then send it out

academic year 2019-20: teach at UGA; continue to work on book(s); save money

May 2020: look for WG-Zimmer, apartments, and condos online; contact sellers/renters

late May 2020: go to Berlin for 10-14 days to view apartments (somehow have proof of financial security to show them because I don't think Schufa works on foreign accounts); hopefully sign a contract; open a bank account.

June-July 2020: pack up my shit & start selling furniture; start getting all the Unterlagen I can together; send boxes of small things over (maybe some books via international flat rate)

August 2020: off to Deutschland

September 2020: appointment with the foreigner office? It takes time to get through bureaucracy. (Though the site says they can give you your Stempel during the appointment...)

October 2020: pop over to Norway for a few days in case I need to keep staying on a tourist visa (it's outside the Schengen area); repeat as needed and with other non-Schengen countries that US citizens don't need visas for

Other things I don't know: whether I can do multiple freiberufliche Tätigkeiten (e.g. be a writer AND a language teacher); whether I can earn income from US sources while in Germany and how that affects taxes.

Also need to think about getting my cat over there (if I still have her).

What things have I /not/ thought about?

Updates: I googled Honorarbasis, and a quick skim of this page sounds like it's akin to contract work/freelancing here, where you are responsible for your own insurance and you have different tax rules to follow. But there seem to be language teacher jobs available on an Honorarbasis, so that could be a possibility.

And this looks fascinating. It's a co-op, and I have no idea how I'd even buy one, but I really like the plan. Coworking space!