Pre-Germany Thoughts

The thought of living in Germany for four months seems so different from my life right now that it doesn’t feel like it’s going to happen. This surreal feeling makes it hard for me to feel too anxious or excited about this upcoming adventure. I think that’s for the best! I’m sure that fitting my belongings into suitcases won’t be too great, and I bet I’ll be worried about missing my connecting flight when the time comes. What makes this even more surreal is that I’ve been planning to go on this study abroad since fall 2015. I had made up my mind that I wanted to take the plunge and spend an entire semester abroad, so I did my research and chose this one. I thought it was the best program for my degree plan and my older brother’s friend, Hazel, had gone on the trip and loved it. 

Fate would have it that later that semester my Big Event staff assistant partner was a guy named Harrison. He had gone on the Germany trip with Hazel, and encouraged me to apply. Through him I met Kunal, another Big Event staff assistant, who had also been on the trip. I attended an Aggies Invent Hack-a-thon the following fall. Kunal was there, and he introduced me to his other study abroad friends from Germany, Jane and Garrett. All five of these awesome friends of mine couldn’t say enough good things about the trip, and I was convinced.

Although I know several people who have attended this study abroad, I know absolutely no one going this year. I will be leaving behind a wonderful group of friends as well as extracurriculars that I enjoy at A&M. Of all the things I’m leaving behind, I know I’ll miss my family the most. But I also think that now is the perfect time to embark on this adventure. I’m excited to see the world, form new relationships, learn a new culture, and hopefully gain more confidence. It might even be nice to take a little break from College Station. See you guys in Germany!