Waiting Area

It is currently 3:17pm and I am at the airport. I decided to write this post while I was just minutes away from boarding the plane (scheduled at 3:45) for two reasons; the first, because I procrastinate as much as possible, and the second, because I felt like this was the time where I would have the most emotions and thoughts racing in my head.

I have just a few academic expectations for this program. I am expecting that the classes will feel less like I am in school and more like I am at an internship, especially the History of Medicine in Europe since we will be traveling for it. I expect the class environment will be lighter since we will have no other friends (at least at first) than the people that are doing this program. The travel from the host house to the school I expect will be the most shocking, with having to travel by ourselves at our own times and in a city we know nothing of.

My personal expectations are even fewer. I truly do not know what to expect. I don’t know how I will react to the foreign language, the foreign people, the foreign culture. I only expect that I will have to force myself to get out of my comfort zone in ways that I haven’t before if I want to enjoy my time in Germany.

As a very shy/introverted person, my concerns are also my anxieties. I have already experienced the 180 degree change of cultures when I moved from Mexico to the US with only a 6 month notice.
My biggest concerns are that I will not learn the language well enough to communicate with the people, therefore I will become isolated to school and my room. I am also concerned that I will not get along with my host family, making me not even feel comfortable in the place I’m supposed to relax. And lastly, I am the most concerned about not taking the opportunity that has been given to me to the fullest and not allowing myself to explore the vast cultures that are at my fingertips.

With all this, ten minutes before boarding, I am terrified, ecstatic, nostalgic, and many other emotions at the same time, but I can’t wait to see what this semester has in store for me.