Sometimes I Wonder

Sometimes I wonder what all I'm missing back home.

There are 3 fears, they say. Friends of mine have told me that people are afraid of missing out, rejection and the unknown. And through just one week I've experienced all 3 here in Germany, and I love that!
To experience all 3 over the course of the semester, I'd like to say I'd be growing as a person, growing closer to becoming a global citizen. But we all know that kids love to save time, and so do I. Instead of waiting a semester to experience these fear, I've had all 3 in just 20 minutes.

The bus, train, tram and public transportation is just fantastic in Germany. I can get to school in just 30 minutes, and have 4 different buses to take me there and home. But its fantastic not just for its efficiency and simplicity, but also for its character building! Where else could I grow as a person before my first cup of tea of the day?
            1. Fear of the unknown. Where does this bus go, when do I get off? How do I know whether Beuel        Bahnhof and Beuel Bahnhofsplatz are the same stop or not? (Turns out they're about 1km away from eachother) What do you mean my stop is Friedenestraße. Is that like a street or some local bakery?
            2. Asking for help is always exhilarating. Maybe they speak perfect English? Maybe they like talking to tourists and foreigners. Maybe they have that perfect snobby French accent that I love imagining?
(You siwwy Amewikans!)
            3. As for missing out, I'm working on learning German culture. But it's actually pretty similar to ours, there's not much to learn. Teenagers are still hooligans and everybody seems to be in a hurry. But when I think about how similar it is, it makes me think about back home. All the friends and family I wont see for another 3, 6 or even 10 months. And all that sweet tea I've been missing too.

This weekend was the first time I could calm down and adjust to this new place. Spending time with the locals - with my host-brother and his friends - watching some Batman and having a Sunday family dinner has put many things in perspective. We've been bustling, meeting, catching buses, ice skating, learning, Wikipedia-ing, reading, getting lost, sleeping (ALOT) and speaking in pieces of German for almost two weeks now, but didn't feel like I had settled in yet. But now I have.
At this moment, it seems that studying abroad isn't about doing something special and unique in another country for three months them coming back to the US and saying "Yea it was great", like some long-term vacation. It seems to be more that living in Germany, or Italy, or Scottland and Europe is just about the same as living in America. It's just about the same as home.
I still have fears, and homework. I still go to school and study, play piano, hang out with friends and watch movies.

In other words, for everyone whom I miss, Germany is great.
It's just like home.