Let's talk about Germany

Countdown: 49 hours until I’ll be boarding a plane in Austin, TX to make the long journey to Europe. I’m sitting here at my parents’ kitchen table, coffee in hand, staring out at the dreary weather—the rain dripping off of the trees still clinging to some of their autumn leaves, the soft grey of the sky—and I feel utterly content. Taking the winter break off to spend time with family was a great idea. I’ve gotten the chance to put academic stress aside for a few weeks and just focus on being with the people I care about, which is a great way to start a 5-month-long journey into the unknown! It also has given me a chance to remember that the little things in life are awesome—like the extremely satisfying fact that I’m going to finish my favorite coffee creamer by tomorrow morning, which is my last day in Temple.

It’s weird to think that in approximately two days my idyllic days in Temple are going to be replaced by sightseeing, exploring, and (most importantly) studying!!! I’m thrilled to be going to such a strange place. Not to get too sappy and poetic, but last night I was playing Schumann’s About Strange Lands and People on the piano, which kind of put a score to my feelings about the trip. The song, if you haven’t heard it, is peaceful and resolved, but with a hint of minor uncertainty in the B section. That’s how I feel. I’m a little nervous, but mostly peaceful and ready to see new places and experience new things!

Since I can be a little paranoid, and paragraph form can be overwhelming, here’s a nice, organized list of my most pressing worries concerning the trip.

1.     MISSING MY FLIGHT. This actually happened last time I travelled internationally (also happened to be by myself!), and it was very terrifying. I’m flying with Ryan this time, and I doubt it will happen, but STILL!

2.     My hair straightener sets my host family’s house on fire. Self explanatory.

3.     Everyone will be better at soccer than me.

4.     Physiology and Biochemistry will be hard and I’ll be so busy and it will be hard to stay motivated!

5.     My reading retention will go down because I’ll be using eBooks and memory retention isn’t supposed to be as good when reading from a screen.

6.     My host family doesn’t believe in coffee.

Now, let’s follow that by the things that I’m most excited about:

1.     Going to Vienna! It’s been a dream of mine ever since I got caught up with WWI and WWII historical fiction. I’m sure it will be everything I think it will be and maybe even more.

2.     The music history and culture. Self explanatory. I’m staying within a mile of two performance venues, one of which is the Bonn Operahouse. I’m not even complaining.

3.     Playing soccer! There’s allegedly an AIB tournament, and if I don’t come back to the states at least 5x better at soccer, I obviously will have done something wrong with my trip to Germany.

4.     FOOOOOD. BEEEER. Trying ALL the things!

5.     Small classes!!! For the first time in my TAMU career, the professors will maybe actually know my name before I have to go annoy them in office hours. Always a nice feeling.

6.     Making new friends, through the program and just in life. I’m excited to learn about my fellow Ags on the trip, as well as other exchange students and my host family! I’m staying in the same house as a girl from another program, so I’m semi-nervous/semi-excited. I really hope she’s cool!

So those are the general thoughts of this child, pre-departure T-48 hours (yeah this took me a while to write). I’m off to try out this German restaurant, Hausgarten Eidelweiss, in neighboring Bartlett, TX. My dad is joking that he’ll make me order in German. Jokes on him—we might not even get any food if I have to speak German (add that to my list of fears!). I've been practicing some, so hopefully I'll know essential German words (coffee, bathroom, hello) by the time I'm physically in Germany.

Ok, Amy out. Or however you wrap up blogs. I'll be posting more later!