Goodbye America

      The time has come to depart the all so familiar steamingly humid and unbearbly hot Texas for the cooler and very unfamiliar Germany. It seems wrong leaving America to go to another country right after celebrating the Fourth of July, but I couldn't be more excited to do it. I have always known that I wanted to study abroad upon coming to Texas A&M, but actually presented the idea of going to Germany to my parents as a sort of joke. Surprised when they said that they would proabably be willing to let me go, with a little more convincing and upon them talking to some family friends who have let their kids study abroad, they graciously agreed for me to go. They even saw it as an opportunity for a family vacation, so we (Dad, Mom, sister, and I) are going to Germany a few days early so that they can experience it themselves.
      For the past few weeks or so I have been asked the same question by numerous people: "Are you excited, nervous, or both?" I have responded the same way for each person, saying that I am extremely excited and not really that nervous. Whether it is true that I am not very nervous or that I am just trying to act like it I don't know. The whole idea of me actually studying abroad is still surreal. What I do know though is that I have talked to many different people who have studied abroad and people who are currently doing it right now, and they have all told me that it absolutely will be one of the best experiences that I will ever have.
     As for expectations, I defintely think and hope that there will be a pretty big culture shock. One of the main reasons I (or anyone) studies abroad is to experience other cultures. . I feel that I personally take a lot for granted in America, and although Germany is not like going to a third world country or even close, I think that seeing differences between cultures and learning about it's history will help me to not necessary appreciate American more but at least see it from a different view. Overall, I have no doubt this trip is going to be extremely rewarding and I can't wait to grow as a person because of it.