Pre-departure post

(I'm majorly procrastinating right now so prepare for this to be a long post lol) 

As the days before departure get closer, I get more and more excited. I finally started packing yesterday (which was pretty rough I'll admit). I realized I still need to make a *major* target run (that will be happening later today with my lovely sister). I have done most of my other shopping besides what I have decided I will buy in Bonn. I am definitely concerned about overpacking and underpacking all at the same time. I'm trying to find a balance between bringing everything I want but also staying under the weight limit for my checked bag. I've only started packing essentials so that will be a problem for later.

On the other hand, I'm getting to see some friends and family for the last time before I leave. I just got back from visiting my grandparents and extended family. My grandfather on my mom's side actually was stationed in Germany for the Military years ago. I've heard plenty of stories about his time over there from my grandmother, which seem to comfort and scare me at the same time. While I was visiting family, I worked on planning my spring break trip with my sister and cousin. They are flying to Germany the week before spring break (the week of my birthday) to explore themselves, and then we will all be going to Italy during actual spring break. It has been very interesting to plan an entire trip ourselves! Yesterday my family went to get lunch with Elizabeth's family. We both live in the greater Houston area so we figured it would be fun to meet each other's families before we head to another continent. It was very nice to meet her parents and I feel a lot better knowing that I have more people rooting for me. 

In regards to what I want out of this trip, I mainly just want to try new things. I know that sounds really basic and cheesy but I really want to just throw myself out there and see what happens. My mom always says 'you always need a good story' and that's what I'm hoping to get out of this. Hopefully, it won't be a story that has to be told to a therapist 20 years down the road (lol). Despite wanting to have a good time, I know it will sometimes be difficult. I'm sure I will miss my friends back in c stat and my family (including my dogs who are laying next to me as I write this). Elizabeth's mom mentioned at lunch yesterday that some days are guaranteed to be hard but you just have to look at the big picture and know you'll be able to make it out. I already know I'm going to crave tex-mex while I'm gone so I'm hoping we can find somewhere good enough to satisfy that (although I think it will be hard to find a substitute for HEB tamales and tortillas).

I've heard back from my host mom- she seems really cool! She has three daughters (two are older than me and one is about my age), two of which are in medical school, and one that is studying economics at the University of Bonn. Because of this, I think it will just be the two of us most of the time which makes me really confident that I can develop a strong relationship with her. I have been learning German on Duolingo, so hopefully, I'll be somewhat ok when we first get there. I know my learning curve will be much steeper once we are around people actually speaking German.