Retrospective Blog Post

It has now been over two months since I returned to Texas from Germany. Looking back, I still can't believe all of the amazing places I went during my semester abroad. This was my first time in Europe, and I visited countries I thought I would only see in my dreams. I visited eight countries in total, including Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. I have never had the opportunity to travel like this, and I miss Europe already. I definitely want to go back someday.

Now that I am home, it is nice to see my parents and my cat, but I do miss my host family and their cat back in Germany. I predicted that I would find it difficult to be stuck back in the middle of nowhere again after traveling across Europe for four months. At this point, I have settled back into my small town routine and I'm just ready to go back to College Station.

My favorite part of the experience was being immersed in the culture. I miss riding the subway, navigating the streets of Bonn, and attempting to order food in German. (I only wish I could have become more fluent. I'm afraid that I might forget a lot of what I learned, so I'm using the Duolingo app to refresh my memory.) I also miss the bakeries, the chocolate croissants, and all of the Nutella-flavored foods that Germany had to offer. (My favorite being the ice cream, or Eis.)

Ultimately, I am so glad I decided to study abroad. I learned so much about the German culture and about myself. Before, I wouldn't have called myself adventurous, but I feel like this trip has instilled in me a feeling of wanderlust that I never even knew I had. It feels so surreal; coming from such a small town, I would have never believed that I would one day be able to explore the world like I did. I now have memories that will last a lifetime, and I hope that one day I can travel the world again. I would recommend this experience to anyone, even someone as introverted as me. I learned how to get out of my comfort zone and adapt to new situations, while also making some new friends along the way. It may sound cliché, but this really was the most amazing experience I have ever had in my entire life.