Well it's been two months, a week, and four days since I've come back from Germany and I have a constant mix of emotions about being back. I'm glad to be reunited with family and friends and I'm glad to have my car back so I can come and go as I please (instead of always checking on tram times) but most of all I am extremely sad that my study abroad experience is over. Living in Germany was a dream of mine that I had no idea I'd have the opportunity to take and right about now I'd do just about anything to rewind time and go back to January 11th to when it all began.
Often times, I go through all of the pictures I took while abroad with friends of mine and am soon overcome by a sense of nostalgia. From Karneval, to the Vienna and Paris Excursions, and all the little mini weekend trips we took to different cities, I can honestly say that those will probably be the best five months of my life. I'd like to also add that I was extremely fortunate to have been surrounded by such a great group of people while abroad, without whom I would have never been able to make some of the greatest memories ever. I remember showing up to Bonn on the first day, and walking for what seemed like half an hour (I was still a lazy American at the time) to the AIB and my only friend at the time was Angelica. Before taking this hero's journey, I was somewhat of an introvert and overall a pretty shy person. I was extremely lucky to have Angelica by my side because I honestly didn't know if I was capable of moving across the globe on my own but now that I have, I'm confident that I can. Also, I'm really glad that I decided to put myself out there to try and make new friends because it paid off! Ever since my first trip to Köln with Claire, Maggie, Rachel, James, Nathan, Kanci, and Kenneth, I have gotten better at talking to new people which was a huge obstacle I had to overcome.
On top of all of the trips and vacations I got to partake in while overseas, I'd say that another great aspect that I wouldn't trade for the world is being able to experience a classroom environment where the student to teacher ratio was so small. It also helped that Dr. Wasser and Madeleine were AWESOME. They honestly made learning fun again which is an aspect of education that kind of gets lost when a person reaches the university level. Other people who have studied abroad normally say "There's not much study in study abroad" but let me be the first to say, as a biomedical engineer, this just simply isn't true!! It took a lot of time management to plan everything out from an academic point and still be able to squeeze in trips and although sometimes the stress was REAL, I wouldn't have changed it for the world!
Since being back, without any exaggeration, I have convinced two other friends to study abroad in the fall! One of them was extremely scared to do so especially with some of the events that took place recently in the UK, but I convinced them that this is a journey everyone should take and to say no in the face of terrorism would give those terrorists more power than they already have.
I have also kept in touch with my host family whom I miss dearly. My host sister and her boyfriend have had several concerts (they are singers--on the rise!!) since I've been away and I wish I could have been there to support them. Most of all I miss my host parents who I can say, with confidence, are some of the nicest people in the world. It takes alot of courage to open up your house to a new group of students every year and they do it so well! I can't wait for the day when I save up enough money to go back and visit them again!
Growing up, I was always convinced that I was going to just stay in Texas and grow old here (even though it is so dang hot) . However as great as Texas is, my study abroad experience has taught me that there is SO much more the world has to offer. I have become a travel fanatic and am constantly looking for my next escape. I will say that I seriously can't wait to go back to college station this fall and be reunited with all of my friends that I made while abroad and I'm excited to see how the new and improved Austin makes it through his junior year of college!
I want to give a great big THANK YOU to everyone that went on the trip, as well as the faculty, because each and every one of you has seriously changed my life for the better. You guys ROCK!!!
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