Well, this is it. This will be my last official week of studying abroad in Germany. I feel like this trip has flown by, although everything feels like it happened such a long time ago. I feel like maybe its because I was such a different person back then, and that, since I've changed, my perception of time has also changed. Normally, we go through gradual changes in life, and thus, maybe since I've changed so quickly, time seems to have been accelerated and the past seems to have been so long ago. This final week was probably one of the most work intensive weeks that I have ever had in my life, and by the end of it, I was very burnt out and ready to move on with my life. Thankfully, my host family came to the rescue with a much needed study break, so I will begin my story there.
Two Sundays ago, while studying for finals and trying to finish all of my school work, my host mom and sister decided that Gunnar and I should take a study break and travel with them to Ahrweiler, a small little town that still has castle walls surrounding it and is a modern day vineyard town. Although I was a little hesistant to go at first, I was ultimately convinced to take a three hour break and go with them. The town was amazing! It was a very small, quiet little town, and the houses were actually built into the castle walls. The weather was beautiful, and it was amazing to see all the little surprises that the town had to offer from the beautiful, small little churches to the small fortress windows that offered a view to the vineyards in the distance. We then were taken to eat flatbread in an old monastery backed up to the vineyards that was converted into a restaurant. Gunnar and I went on a hike through the vineyards and enjoyed the great views of the city and the weather and were able to take our minds off of studying for a while. We also got to have one last outing with our host family. It was well worth the trip. I love my host family, and I am really going to miss them.
Finals went as expected. Overall, I would say that I felt prepared for them, but I did not enjoy them one bit. By the end of it all, I was just glad to be done and was happy with how I preformed over the semester. It is crazy to be done two weeks before anyone else, and it is sad that our trip had to end with such a stressful week. I am just glad that we got to go to Prague and enjoy a couple of days off before everyone else went home.
The following day, we got up and were escorted around the Bridge Museum by the owner, which was a really big honor. He was a World War II veteran, and it was amazing to hear about the war from someone who actually lived through it and was a piece of living history. We also had a delicious group lunch, our farewell party, and several other events in order to really get to appreciate all that we accomplished over the semester and say our final goodbyes.
I am very grateful for this trip and all of the opportunities that it has provided me with. I cannot stress how great this trip has been for me, both academically and socially, and I know that I am going back having met some of the best friends that I will have in my entire life. It will be sad to not see everyone every day back at home, but I am happy knowing that we all got to share such an amazing experience together. Until next time, I would just like to say thank you to everyone for such an amazing trip.
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