Howdy! My name is Erin Zebrowski and I am a sophomore Biomedical Engineering student at Texas A&M. I've also had the exciting opportunity to be a part of the study abroad program in Bonn, Germany. I first became interested last year when BMES had a meeting about study abroad programs compatible for biomedical engineering majors. It was so cool to think that I could go to Germany while still working towards my degree. These past few months it's been pretty awesome to learn more and more about Germany and realize that I have a once in a lifetime chance to experience another culture and go overseas as not only a student, but as a part of a family that will be nice enough to take me in during my stay. I've only emailed my host family a few times, but from those emails, I'm looking forward to getting to know them better and living with them.
My feelings are so mixed right now, it's hard to even figure out where to start writing. On the one hand, I'm so excited to be going and have to opportunity to experience the world outside of the parts of the US that I've been fortunate enough to get used to due to my widespread family. It helps that I'm used to traveling from one end of the continent to the other (Texas to New York or New York to California) because of my family's need to expand to all corners of the US and our desire to stay in touch with each other, so I'm not so nervous about the actual traveling part. And the sheer excitement I get when I start to think about all the new and exciting things I'll be able to do and the stories I'll undoubtedly come back with makes me positively giddy. On the other hand, this will be the longest stretch of time I'll be away from any of my family and the fact that I won't be able to just call them up at any hour of the day or take a day trip to see them makes me anxious and a bit sad. All of the friends that I've made over my stay at A&M who aren't coming will be far away and I won't be able to randomly drop in on them or take part in the weird bonding things that I've become so fond of. To top it all off, I'll be going to a country that I've never been to before where I'm not intimately familiar with the language (I've learned a few things, but not nearly enough!). In the end, although I'm getting increasingly nervous as the day to leave approaches, I can't wait for this opportunity to grow beyond what I've always known and become something more.
While on this trip, I hope to learn more German that I do now, at least enough to understand most of what's being said around me. I also want to become a little closer to the host family that is so graciously letting me into their home, as well as becoming good friends with the people that will be sharing this awesome experience with me without losing touch with my friends back in Texas. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with my studying habits and make good grades, but I also want to be a bit more outgoing and actually experience the culture that is all around me in Europe instead of secluding myself into a little corner and studying my time away.
As my final hours of being at home wind down, I find my time being taken up by a flurry of last-minute packing and shopping, ensuring everything will be alright while I'm gone, early birthday wishes to my parents, and goodbyes. Despite all this activity, I can't wait until I can finally say howdy from Bonn.
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