This is the end...

So the semester has now come to an end and it has been four months since I was in Germany. It is now time for reflection. I was remembering all the hard work I had done at the beginning of the summer to earn money to go to Europe and how worth it it had all been. I was working sometimes nineteen hour days doing grunge work, like polishing silver or mulching lawns, to earn money for my trip to Europe, but in the end all my hard work was worth it for all of the experiences and lessons learned while abroad. I left for Europe not knowing what to expect, but expecting the time of my life. My trip started off in London with a couple of friends of mine. I remember a feeling of excitement when we heard the announcement that London got the 2012 Olympics. The city was just one big party, but who would have known that the next day tragedy would strike and terrorists would bomb London. I remember having to evacuate a tube station and seeing the panic on everyone’s faces. I remember seeing a mother grabbing her child out of daycare crying not knowing if the rest of her family was safe. I remember finding out Ingrid had been on the train right behind one of the ones that was bombed and being stranded at work not knowing how she was going to get home. I remember the feeling of relief when all of us finally met up at a pub later that night to see all of us were safe. Instead of shutting the town down, like in the United States, Londoners were out at the pubs happy enjoying their friend’s company, happy they were alive and watching the news on tv. The next day I felt very brave along with a few other Londoners riding the tube in complete silence just remembering the tragic events from the day before. Once arriving in Germany, my host family was so wonderful. They were very interested in practicing their English and learning many things about America. My host mom cannot wait to come and visit. I enjoyed having to use the public transportation or walking because it gave you the chance to meet so many unique people. I remember meeting this one Aussie on the back porch of our hostile while in Vienna who had been back packing for three months. He said that in Australia if you have not done a “walk about” it is really hard to find jobs. Just random interesting people like this that teach you something new. I think that we as Americans miss out on a lot of that because we have less daily interaction with people. This is one of the things I really loved about Europe. I also like the fact that everyday something went wrong, whether it be I had to figure out how to order lunch in German or I missed my train and had to find my way through the city on foot. These little mishaps made me think on my toes and do things for myself which was actually very exciting. I also think as Americans our days are very routine and less is left to chance. I liked the excitement of thinking on my toes to get through the day kept me more stimulated and this is the second thing I really miss about Europe. This trip was a lot of firsts for me, first time abroad, first time to drink Alt Beer or a Mohito, first time to eat Turkish or Lebanese food, first time attempted to speak German. I also learned many things from this trip just being more independent to plan our own excursions or exchanging money or getting around strange cities on my own. I think I came back a more well rounded, learned person with many new friends. I was so happy to meet twelve new people who were basically just like me with the same goals and drive as I had. We were lucky that our group enjoyed each other so much. I even go to lunch with or speak with at least half of the group on a daily basis now. All in all, this trip was a trip of a life time and I took back many experiences that I will cherish for a lifetime.