Week 16: Departure

Week 16: Departure from Germany

Hallo!

I am sitting outside a McDonald’s in the Frankfurt airport and it has not yet hit me that I will no longer be riding the 66 every day or walking those same familiar steps to and from class. Germany has been incredible; an absolute dream. I could not have imagined my experience would be this life changing and I am so thankful for all of the adventures and fun.To describe my last few days in Germany I will start, as always, from the beginning.

On Monday, we all went on the farewell Rhine cruise. The weather was quite windy so I stayed most of the time indoors, but we had our History of Medicine “final” exam on the top of the ship, where we were split up into Harry Potter teams and asked questions about different lectures. My team, Slytherin, scored the lowest but there are no hard feelings J I am pretty sure everyone made an A in the class!

After that, we had lunch at a nice restaurant where we got served pork schnitzel. What a fitting last German group lunch meal!! I really did enjoy it. After lunch, we hiked to a Medieval Castle and toured the inside. It was very cool to see the torture chamber and tiny beds which the rich owners once laid. The excursion was a great way to end our time together.

Later that night, I finished up my studying for genetics then went to Tacos with the group to celebrate Deanna and Katie’s birthdays. We talked for a little while and ordered our normal cocktails and chips and guac then made our way to the club for one last dance. I went home early to get rest for my genetics final the next day, but felt very happy on the bus thinking about how we got to where we were and what the future lies for each of us.

Tuesday was my last full day in Germany, and I wish I could have spent it outside of the AIB but of course, the study abroad includes studying which means schooling. I took the genetics final exam which I think I performed well on then took surveys on the classes and did an exit interview with a Harrison. I liked talking in the interview because it was a good reflection of what my expectations were and what goals were met and it is something I had not previously thought about. I will elaborate on this more in my final post.

After all of the administrative stuff, I had lunch with the girls at Vapianos then went home to pack. Packing was SO difficult and since not everything fit, I donated some clothes to charity. Hopefully someone deserving can enjoy them J Luckily, my bag was not overweight meaning I will not have to spent 200 euros to bring it on the plane. I did good!

Later that night, I had dinner with my host family. Ingrid came from Siegburg to see me leave, and Sonja- unfortunately sick and very tired- emerged from her room to sit and speak with me during dinner. We shared wine and Margarita, Ingrid, Sonja, and I enjoyed our last meal all together, talking about how fast the time flew and counting the countered I had visited. The number came out to nine! I gave them each a present which was a picture in a frame of each of us together, and they loved it very much.

After that, I went back out into town to walk around a little bit with Katie, Artavia, Claudia, and Harrison. We ended up at Flynn’s reflecting on our first impressions of each other and how we became friend and it was really really nice. I ended up getting home late and decided to stay up until it was time to leave for the airport. Margarita saw me off and we hugged as I got into the taxi. My host family was one of the best parts of my stay here in Germany, and I know I will definitely see these wonderful people again.

All in all, Germany was a dream come true. I made many friends on this trip and I learned a lot about myself and what it is to be happy. I will be back here again and I look forward to the adventures that await me for the rest of my life J

Now I will get on the plane to see my dad in England. You will hear from me after I get back to America.

Until then, Auf Wiedersehen!