In Conclusion, You Should Do It

First off, I'd like to say that I will not be nearly as helpful or conclusive as some of my friends in attempting to convince you to do this trip, so I suggest you read another blog. My arguments will seem counterintuitive and you'll think that I'm trying to trick you into a bad experience. The problem is that trying to summarize my time in Germany would be comparable to combining both my middle and high school experiences into a few paragraphs. I've changed, to say the least, though I can't say it's for the better. Regardless, after much thought and some time back in the US, I wouldn't take it back.

While I've been to Europe before, this was a completely different experience. I was essentially on my own to make every decision, and that was both good and bad. I've learned that I'm way less mature than I had thought previously, and I advise you to heavily evaluate the decisions you make while studying abroad. This applies to where, how, and with whom you travel; how you take advantage of your legal ability to drink; how you spend your money; and countless other things. Certainly, you'll make mistakes--I had at least five transportation mishaps that could easily have ended up way worse than they did--and I'm not saying to avoid any risk because that's all part of the experience. The only point I'm trying to get across is Don't Be Stupid. Or if you decide to be stupid like I did, then no worries! It will still be worth it because you just get to learn the hard way, and I think that drills in the lesson better anyway. I'd like to think I'm at least more intelligent than I was going into the semester, even if I am a bit jaded.

The entire program is a unique social experiment. Place eighteen or so science-minded students, ranging in age between 19 and 24, into an isolated room along with a TA, just a few professors, and maybe one of their significant others. Some of them have known each other for years, some are alone. Give them a sense of freedom in being able to do whatever they want for a semester. Sit back and observe. The shy kids open up. The strong personalities take lead. The ones who don't care keep on keeping on. People start to get closer, and things seem great for some time. But just wait, you'll start to see how some get almost a little too close and then one person doesn't have quite so much patience with certain quirks. That's when the drama starts. In a typical setting, you may not notice this slight difference in the social dynamic, but remember that this is like a very small high school. Everyone notices and everyone talks. That gets people to start taking sides, and woe to the one who ends up "in the wrong." This may have started as a complete misunderstanding, or maybe that person really did do something, but there's no turning back now. And this makes things complicated when people have planned travel a month in advance when things were still dandy. This forces them even closer and raises the heat that much more. (I'll interject with a suggestion to travel with different people each time, for many reasons that I won't get into.) All the while, everyone else is either experiencing their own drama, getting caught up in that of others, or just trying to avoid it all (which is a task in itself). And just to make the experience more pleasurable, school work starts piling up and the students remember that they're not just here for fun and games. They lose sleep, they get disappointing grades, they struggle with group members, and this puts them in a fantastic mood. Everyone copes differently and this only serves to provide more friction. At this point, they start missing home, alone time, friends, family, summer, alone time, cheap food, alone time, cars, free bathrooms, and chips and salsa. Oh, and alone time, did I mention that? So as grades drop and tensions rise, home begins to look much more appealing. Unfortunately these feelings mix with the grand memories that have been made over the past few months and the students are confused on top of it all. Until each student steps off their plane and waves goodbye to their semester-long companions, they aren't even in a position to sort out all the emotions.

At this point, I've had quite some time away from my study abroad fellows. I've reunited with my family and old friends, but frankly I miss being in Germany. Not even so much for the country itself or anything about it. Just because it was nice to always have some friends around (not to mention, friends who have an engineering and/or medical mindset are somewhat rare and always good company). The only way I make friends to be forced to hang out with them, and that's exactly what this program did. Drama aside, I had a blast and now I have some great people to be around for the next couple years of school (maybe even beyond).

You'll hate your life at times. You'll have regrets. You'll want to scream when you feel confused and lonely. You'll be scared for your life when you're stuck outside in the freezing cold at three in the morning, trying to figure out where you are on a screenshot of a map that will take you back to your creepy hostel in the woods. But you'll grow. While I don't consider myself a better person than when I entered Germany, that's only because I've learned so much about myself--good and bad. There are so many different aspects of the experience that will bring out the best and the worst in you. Not to mention, the trip sparked an interest in travelling that I didn't even know I had. In essence, studying abroad with this program will force you to grow up, and I say better sooner than later.