That sums up my feelings towards the Germany trip well. I had a ton of eye-opening experiences in Germany, some due to being abroad, and some due to the independence that I had during our free weekends. I found that not only did I have to adjust to the new countries, but that I had to grow socially and as a leader. I'm still who I was before I went on the trip, but with a little more experience in, well, life.
I always envisioned a leader as someone who had their stuff on lock, who had things planned and could run an event or an organization smoothly, but it turned out to be much more than that. The people that I looked up to adapted to changes and integrated them into a plan, whether it was getting lost and not letting the group on about it, having sick students, dealing with a giant group with divided interests, or working with a hostel on a lost reservation. Of all the leadership positions that I've held, you'd think I'd have learned that. I guess I have to be beat over the head with repeat experiences before I learn anything.
Returning to Texas was a strange experience. We got off the plane in a semi-unified fashion and made it to the baggage claim together. I'd say that was where the trip ended: when we parted ways. The people on the trip with me, above all else, made this trip unique. No matter what we do, we can’t recreate the conditions and relive the experience – it’s gone. Even if we could all afford the time and money to go again in the exact same group, it would be a different experience. It should not be something that is missed, but something that will be treasured by all of us who share memories of the trip.
Readjusting to life in the States was not hard, but the differences stand out more now. The lack of a transit system, the water fountains, the giant supermarkets and superstores – even the differences in the educational systems. In a major full of pre-med students, it’s hard to believe that somewhere else in the world, med school doesn’t cost a dime.
I read my pre-departure blog to try and determine if the trip “met my expectations”. I guess in not really knowing what to expect, it did. It certainly didn’t disappoint. I survived the hostel, I got to know great people in my major that I may never have met otherwise, and I got that valuable reminder that complacency is rarely a state to be envied.
Thank you...
Kate & Katie, for putting up with me
Luis, for making sure I don’t die
Daniel & Evan, for your appreciation of fine beverages
Kelli, for team babysitting a foreign five year old with me
Chris, for showing me that cool trick with a coin and reciting the alphabet backwards
Nathan & David, for your comic relief
Sarah & Vazanny, for your refreshing optimism and patience
Gus & Andy, for listening without judgment
Michael, for impressing us all with the closest almost-fall I’ve ever seen in my life
Paul, for your zealous pursuit of all things German
Dr. Wasser, for continuing to inspire me
Nils, for being the best program coordinator we could have asked for
“There's been a change in me
A kind of moving on
Though what I used to be
I still depend on”
- “A Change in Me”, Beauty and the Beast
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