With My Knapsack on My Back

This morning, I woke up to the sound of my dogs chasing cars. This is characteristic of a typical neighborhood scene in the booming metropolis of Mauriceville, Tx. Mauriceville, Tx, if its name was not indication enough, is a small town. A very small town.

Eighteen years of Mauriceville can affect people in different ways. Many find comfort in the cozy familiarity that comes from knowing all of the local business owners by name. Others appreciate the absence of local taxes. Some people just can't imagine living anywhere that doesn't have a Baptist church on every street corner; a town with more than one four-way intersection.

My dad is from Long Island, New York. There has been much speculation as to how a man who was born in New England, educated in the Midwest, ended up in Southeast Texas. Although conspiracy has not been completely ruled out, coincidence is the currently accepted theory.

Whatever the case, being raised by an alien to the town in which I have spent my formative years is the only explanation I can produce as to why I do not fall into any of the categories I previously listed. My home was a shelter from Mauriceville, and in my home I grew to have a wide-eyed curiosity for the world outside that four-way intersection.

From weeks spent in Washington, D.C., roaming the halls of the Smithsonian, to hours of paddling at the Olympic white-water rafting facility in North Carolina, to thirteen dollars spent in the Philippines for six bootlegged movies that had yet to be released in the States, the world abroad has met my curiosity with some uniquely awesome experiences.

I leave for Bonn in a week and two days. The biggest difference between this trip and my previous ventures is my independence and, thus, my responsibility. I represent a country, a university, and the History of Medicine program. As I enjoy the people and the history and the culture and the food and so on, I will have remember my responsibility to be a suitable representative.

Danka schon und gute nacht,
Andrew Reimers