A lot of people that study abroad talk about how much fun they have, the cool places they go, and the friends they make in their program. Before going, I never really heard people from past study abroad trips talk about how much they loved their host families, which is probably why the most unexpected part of my trip was how close I got to my host parents. I was lucky to be with my host family. My host family had 2 kids close to my age, but they did not live at home and rarely visited, but I got to know my host mom well and I enjoyed mornings starting our day together, sitting in the evening and talking with her and going out with her. She was a lot of fun and played a big part in my immersion in German culture. I have talked to her several times since my return to the states and I miss her so much. When I left my American family in January it wasn't very hard because I knew I would be back in a few short months, but when I left my German family it was extremely difficult because I had to say goodbye to people I had grown close to, unsure when I would get to see them again. Without my great host family my experience would have been a lot different.
In addition to the German people I got to know, I also got to know the other people in the program very well. This group was really great and I am so thankful that I got to know these awesome people so much better than I would have just taking classes like normal at A&M. There wasn't much choice in who to hang out with because there weren't very many of us, but in my opinion, we were really lucky that we had such a great group of people to be forced to be friends with. I am especially thankful that I got placed in Bad Godesberg because there were 5 of us that all lived close together and it was easy to spend time with them. It is just sad that since we are all back in College Station doing different things it will be much harder to all spend time together like we did.
Not only did I learn a lot about individual people, I also learned a lot about people as a whole. Having only been in America for 20 years before this trip, I had a narrow frame of reference as far as society and world culture goes. I thought I was very open minded before, but my eyes were really opened living in a different country for 4 months. In Germany the pace of life was different, slower in my opinion. Also people spend more time together and work less. They have experienced more of the world, so they are much less ignorant in general about important topics; I never realized how isolated Americans were until I saw what was outside. It makes so much sense to me to slow down, spend more quality time with people, and experience the world.
I also had great experiences outside of Germany. Traveling to many different countries was an amazing opportunity. I was able to learn how to get around in places where I couldn't speak the language, and was able to experience even more culture outside of Germany. It was fun to see the differences in life in different European countries. This past semester I spent all my time in Western European countries, but if I were to go back I would really like to spend time in Eastern Europe. There would be such a huge difference in the east vs. west. I guess I will need to save that for my next trip over!
I also had great experiences outside of Germany. Traveling to many different countries was an amazing opportunity. I was able to learn how to get around in places where I couldn't speak the language, and was able to experience even more culture outside of Germany. It was fun to see the differences in life in different European countries. This past semester I spent all my time in Western European countries, but if I were to go back I would really like to spend time in Eastern Europe. There would be such a huge difference in the east vs. west. I guess I will need to save that for my next trip over!
This last semester made me realize how much I don't know about the world, as well as how much I want to go discover more about it. I learned a lot, made good friends, and left with a lot to think about. I am so blessed to have gone on this trip and I am thankful that Dr. Wasser started this program and enables young people to have that experience.
Bis später Deutschland.
P.S. I learned a lot of German while I was over there, but I have been doing Rosetta Stone in German so that I can communicate better when I go back!
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