Nostalgia..

Well, I knew the day would come but I didn't realize it would come so soon. Here I am listening to some sappy nostalgic songs (Amie by Damien Rice if you want to feel the sadness like I am right now). Ok now that you're listening to a great song for these kind of feels, here I go.

As my time in Germany comes to an end, I mostly want to be sure that I don't forget the things that I learned here. Being abroad taught me some valuable lessons, both academically and personally. It's true when people say that study abroad changes you!

One of the first things that I learned coming here is that no stereotype is 100% true. I was worried about Germans being very unhealthy. What I found instead was that my host family cooked EXTREMELY healthily and were in much, much better shape than me. I think being around them helped me learn how to take care of myself better physically. I tend to get worked up and stressed about school and not take the time to exercise and maintain my well-being. My host parents really focused on maintaining a balance between work and fun; they worked very hard during the week but went running in the forest every Saturday and other such activities. I am going home much more health-conscious, and hopefully will be eating clean and exercising more (after my chick-fil-a and macaroni and cheese binge of course).

Also, the stereotype about German people being "too direct" and kind of mean isn't true either. Yes, my host family was very direct. But I loved it! It's actually kind of silly that us Americans circumvent the heart of an issue instead of speaking our minds sometimes. I think being more direct has helped me be more assured of my worldview and opinions on things instead of taking an on-the-fence stance on important issues. My host family and I often had intense discussions about politics, theater, art, culture, food, or anything else. I like the German attitude toward art and theater as a teaching and awareness tool. We were talking about how a lot of the German theater mentality is to provoke a discussion (aka controversial). I think that's very interesting, but also typical of the German culture. I don't think there's anything mean about getting to the heart of an issue and trying to resolve it--I think it's very admirable! So that's what I learned about the German stereotype.

Ok, the stereotype about drinking beer is totally correct though. I'm going to miss causally ordering a beer with lunch. Or two. Fortunately all that healthy eating kept me from gaining too much weight!

About myself, this trip has taught me that it's ok to take risks because they often lead to something better than you could ever imagine. I was nervous to go on this trip because it was asking a lot of my parents (financially and worry-wise I think) and it wasn't the most economical way to accomplish the classes I needed to graduate. I went into the semester thinking I would hopefully just pull up my GPA, see a few cool buildings, then come home back to "reality". I was going to look into applying for nursing school this summer because I was worried about not being competitive enough to essentially do anything else in healthcare. However, this trip provided me with an opportunity to revisit my career plans and not sell myself short by picking nursing, which I was doing just because it was the program I felt that I was most likely to get into. I was able to interact with people--both Dr. Wasser and enmodes--who saw my potential beyond just a GPA and resume, and they have given me the extra boost that I need to start thinking outside of just nursing as a career. I'm coming back to Germany hopefully this summer to intern with enmodes, and maybe research is now in the picture for a career. I'm so glad that I took the risk to come on this trip, and took another risk to intern with enmodes. I think this will be an amazing learning experience that I never EVER could have had if I had not come to Germany.

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Today was a really fantastic way to end the trip.

I started the day with a pensive cup of coffee looking out the open window to the verdant garden. There are huge trees towering over budding bushes and vibrant flowers, and the clouds rushed overhead merrily. I walked my usual route from my house to the Zentrum a little slower than usual, drinking in the beautiful springtime and the Rhine. When I got to the Zentrum, I met up with Hazel and we finally toured the Beethovenhaus, which was really incredible. I love how seeing the actual places that famous composers, artists, scientists, and historical figures were--it really makes history come alive!

Then, we went to the AIB for our final "classtime". We shared memories from the trip. A random tag-a-long person on our very first trip together (Frankfurt to Bonn). Running into a buoy with our raft because we didn't know how to steer. Our kick-ass dance at the beginning of the semester. The Dr. Schnabel tour in Vienna. And my own memories were rushing through my head: accidentally riding to the trainyard on one of the first days. Runs along the Rhine. Talking nonstop about cute dogs we saw (mostly with Ryan, Hazel, or Koi). Randomly getting currywurst or Dean&Davids for lunch. Our BIMS dance party during finals. There were so many amazing moments within the program, but what truly made this semester great was being with friends. I'm equally grateful for the small moments as the big ones.

After saying our official goodbyes (even though I'll see a lot of people on the bus tomorrow), Ryan, Koi, Garrett, Mitchell and me decided to do a "Bonn in Retrospect" tour. We went to the Bonnch Restaurant and grabbed a Bonnch outside, basking in the sunshine and enjoying good conversation. Then, we went to Tuscalo for one last Beethoven pizza, which is probably the best pizza I've ever eaten. Spinach, cheese, roast beef, chicken, and truffle oil. Thin crust, hand tossed. And bananan weitzen, which is banana beer. It's amazing. Then I went shopping for a few souvenirs, walked home again, and now I'm sitting here listening to sad music and admiring the fact that I actually fit everything into my luggage...

Tomorrow, Ryan and I will spend the day in Frankfurt, then we will fly out on Wednesday. Hopefully between now and when I get home I will have some blog posts to fill in the past few weeks. I would recommend never falling behind on blogging ever because it's so much to talk about and my fingers get tired. But it's totally worth it. I'm glad I have something to look back on about my trip.