After leaving Germany for some time now, I can reflect on all that I have learned. It was a great experience, one that brought a lot of practical changes to myself. The biggest change that in my daily life is my newfound need to wake up early. Everyday now I always wake up at 7 in the morning. I learned that if I did not have consistency in my morning routine, I had the tendency to fall asleep in situations that I should be focusing. I was really surprised that this changed happened to me. Throughout my life, I have always slept in for hours, always craving that extra hour of sleep. Now I always feel refreshed when I wake up earlier and able to start my day sooner. Additionally, I think I became a lot better at communicating with people from different backgrounds. While I have travelled to many different places in the world, staying in Germany for such an extensive time really helped me talk to people in a more concise and straightforward manner. One thing I found really surprising, however, was how easy it was to communicate with the German locals. Even if they were not great at speaking English, I was always able to get my points across and understand what they had to say to me. I grew a lot when it comes to travel. Before travelling to Germany, I had never gone on an airport by myself. I would always travel with different family members, never really paying attention to how I get around or how to buy the tickets in the first place. Now I have a much greater understanding on effective travelling, I think that I have become quite skilled in the art of sleeping on an airplane floor. Now that my family will be traveling throughout Europe, I will actually be able to lead our trips and show all the different sights to see. Travelling to Europe gave me a new desire to always be doing something. While studying abroad, I really did not have time to just sit around and relax. There was always some way to fill the time. I never felt like I did absolutely nothing in any day on my trip. When I got back to Houston, however, I would sometimes feel bored. Now I have started picking up old hobbies to stay engaged, such as playing musical instruments. Finally, I was able to meet a lot of new friends and people to keep in touch with in Europe and back home. I am sure these will be great connections that I will be keep for a long time.
Overall, I would say my trip abroad was a great success. I was able to grow as an individual and learn all about the world around me. I was able to develop many great habits that will shape my future in a positive manner. Thanks to everyone who was able to make my trip a success, from everyone working with the AIB to my friends and family back home who pushed me to study abroad.
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