It's quite natural that I find myself at the kitchen table past midnight sitting down to complete my pre-departure post. I know that I might be sorry tomorrow morning when I wake up to board my 7am flight but nonetheless here I am: and I'm glad that I held off writing until just now. I've had 9 months to think about how I would feel right before leaving for Germany but it's not until now, 6 hours and 26 minutes before takeoff that I'm able to put everything into words. I count this program as an esteemed privilege to be a part of and I could write for hours about all of my anticipations, nervous anxieties, and childlike excitement, but seeing that I only have a few hours left, I'm going to do a quick summary.
I first heard of this particular study abroad program during my senior year of high school and at the time, though I hadn't even decided to attend Texas A&M, I was intrigued by the sound of it. I have always known that I wanted to study abroad but I just can't believe that this desire that I've had for a number of years now is suddenly taking shape and materializing right in front of my sleepy eyes. I think the thing that causes me the most anxiety is the trek to Frankfurt tomorrow. My flight leaves from Houston at 7 am and I have a 5 hour layover in Philadelphia before boarding my flight to Frankfurt It will be the second time that I've flown on my own but this is my first solo trans-Atlantic flight so I have a little bit of anxiety. I know that the hardest thing will be saying goodbye to my parents. They have provided so much for me in my life and I know that it's hard for them to let me go on my own tomorrow but I'm thankful for all of their love and support and I would not be getting on the plane in the morning without their unceasing help. This is by far the longest that I've been away from home and though I genuinely love to travel, I suspect that I will experience some home-sickness somewhere along the way. I know that we'll be busy learning and seeing wonderful places so I trust that I will be distracted from that most of the time, but I will be in pretty close contact with my parents through email and Skype throughout the trip. I also stagger a little bit when it comes to learning a new public transportation system, and being cut loose on the weekends(however exciting the idea is) but these are ways that I know I will be stretched and I hope to see that by the end of the trip I am a cool as a cucumber when it comes to hopping on a night train to Vienna.
Anxieties aside, I am chalked full of excitement at the fact that I get to live with a host family and truly experience what life is like in Germany. I have traveled abroad to England and Germany during high school and even stayed in a Castle on the Rhine. Aside from that, I've traveled extensively throughout the US with my family and through my church's student ministry on mission trips. I love to travel and given a long enough period of time without traveling, I start to miss it dearly. This will be the most extensive of all of my travels and will allow me to delve into a culture that's so different from mine. I feel so blessed to get to experience Germany this way and to get to know everyone well and develop new friendships, all while being given the opportunity to see firsthand a country that has shaped the world of medicine as we know it today. I am so exited to see everyone in Frankfurt and I look forward to the next five weeks of learning and adventuring together! I wish everyone smooth flights and safe travels!
Auf Wiedersehen Y'all!
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