A bittersweet ending to an unforgettable adventure

The semester has come to a close and I feel unprepared to process all the different emotions that I have been feeling lately. The last couple of weeks I had started to feel more ready to come home. This was a good thing, because earlier in the semester I was having such a great time that I thought I would never be ready to come back. As May 6th approached I started getting more excited to see my family again and get back to College Station before graduation.

This week started with our excursion to Remagen. At first I had thought we were going to be biking IN Remagen, but I had misunderstood. We were in fact going to be biking TO Remagen. Even though I had hiked about 80 miles over Easter weekend I was still nervous that the bike ride would be difficult. Thankfully it was pretty flat the whole way and I even chose to bike back to Bonn afterwards when they gave us the option to head back on the train. I appreciated getting to be outside and soak up the views and the fresh air. 

Thankfully our tests this week went pretty smoothly and once they were over I was able to focus on getting to spend time with friends and do last minute shopping. The greatest thing ever happened on Saturday night. Someone had heard that there was going to be a firework show in a park in Bonn that evening and a big group of us went. It was so special getting to see the fireworks with everyone together. It felt like they were just for us; the timing could not have been more perfect. 

My initial thoughts from the end of the semester are still really jumbled up, but I am going to try and write some initial takeaways. It is funny to think back to myself at the beginning of the semester. I remember thinking in January before I left that if someone told me I could back out and get all of my money back I would have been probably said yes. This program felt like a big risk to leave my last semester of college, but it could not have been more worth it. I learned to not be afraid to take risks, more often than not they will lead to good things. I also did not expect to make any lasting friendships what so ever. When I first arrived in Germany and met everyone, I was shocked at how different we all were, and had we not been forced to see each other every day I do not think I would have been friends with anyone. I learned that it is so important to always keep an open mind. I have a bad habit of trying to put people in boxes; it's my way of trying to understand them. But this really does not allow for you to truly get to know someone. It also places premature judgements on them that may or may not be true. I am grateful that this opportunity opened the door to these friendships and I am hopeful that they will continue after the program. I also felt like I was discovering new things about myself that had always been there but were more noticeable in this environment. Back in college station my group of friends are all very similar to me and sometimes this leads to having certain characteristics that are in common and I don't notice them in myself very often. Studying abroad allowed me to notice different things about myself that I wouldn't have otherwise.  

I will miss Germany dearly, and hope to continue thinking about the ways in which I have grown this semester. This crazy adventure will stay close to my heart for a long time. 

Here are some pictures of the ordinary places I saw throughout the semester and some of the amazing people I got to share them with: