A Trip to Remember

It's been 8 weeks since I boarded my flight back to America, and I miss Germany more and more everyday. I never would have imagined that a trip could have such a huge impact on me, but it has.

After I left, I landed in Newark and went straight to Starbucks. I had to catch myself when I went to order in German, as I had for the past 6 weeks. Even then I almost said “Dankeschön” to the guy who handed me my drink! It was strange coming back to America and hearing English all around you after being immersed in the German language for so long. Oddly enough, when I landed in San Antonio and got off the plane, I recognized some people speaking German and it was so normal! Hearing people speak German in the SA airport is far from normal though. Originally, I had planned to go to Alamo Café for some good ole tex-mex when I got back, but sadly, my flight from Newark to San Antonio ended up being delayed 2 hours or so, and my only option was Whataburger. Not that I would consider Whataburger settling, but I just really wanted some queso. Luckily my thirst for some queso was quenched the next day. Adjusting to life back in the US was not very difficult, however my sleep schedule was thrown off for weeks. The last time I had been in Europe, I wasn’t affected much by jet lag, but since I had no time to sleep the day away before beginning class at 8am the Monday after I returned, I was quite tired for many days. I took lots of naps and finally got back on track. Overall, it was strange to no longer have public transportation everywhere, and I actually missed picking up a fresh Rosinenbrot from the Bäckerei on the way to AIB for class. Life somehow seemed simpler there, which is odd since that is probably the busiest I’ve ever been in my life. After being back for about a month, I made a visit to our local German restaurant in Boerne to satisfy my craving for some German food. I never thought there would come a day when I would crave sausages and sauerkraut, yet there I was. It turns out, their food is actually not as good as I used to think it was. Germans really do it best. I have no clue what they do differently to their sauerkraut, but whatever it is, we should figure it out because it’s amazing and difficult to replicate. Maybe someday I’ll find some bratwurst that lives up to my high expectations.

Even though I was only there for 6 weeks, Bonn became like a home for me. If you had asked me before I first left for Germany if I thought I would love it so much, I probably would have said no. That country surprised me in many ways, partially because adjusting to life there was so easy. I expected to be homesick the first week or so, and I wasn't, not even a little. All of the people, including my host family, were very nice and easy to communicate with; their lifestyle seemed so relaxed, and the food was incredible. I think oftentimes we think that Europe is a very foreign place, but really, it's not all that different from the way we go about our everyday lives here. Having this experience with study abroad allowed me to explore the country in a way that you normally can't when you are travelling. Being placed with a host family made all the difference in the world to me. You truly get to experience what their life is like on a regular basis. When you are travelling and staying in hotels and eating out for every meal, you miss out on a lot of the authenticity of the place you're in. It becomes much more special when someone welcomes you into their home to experience life with them for 6 weeks. My host family made me feel so at home with them. Dinner always took hours and hours because my host mom and dad, Anne and Gunter, and I would talk for so long! I definitely did not expect to enjoy living with a host family as much as I did. I figured it would be awkward and maybe slightly uncomfortable, and yet it was anything but that. There were a few nights that I was even left alone with just my host sisters, and Viky and Rike made dinner for me and hung out with me. It really helped me to forget that I was in a strange place with people I barely knew.

On top of that, I could not have asked for a better group of people to travel throughout Europe with. Europe itself is incredibly amazing, and it would be very difficult to have a bad time while you’re there, unless you just hate life, but these people are what really made this trip a once in a lifetime experience. Going into the trip, I only really knew one person, Gabe. I had known him for years and years, but knowing 1 out of the other 24 people that would be on this trip with me still was not very comforting. I was very nervous about making friends and finding people I got along with. In retrospect, that seems so silly, because it seems like I have known these people all of my life. During the first week, I can’t even tell you how many people asked Hailey and I how long we had known each other because they thought we were friends prior to the trip! Naturally, when you spend all day everyday with each other for 6 weeks, you get to know each other pretty quickly, but these people are friends for life. I cannot imagine what I’d do without them now, and I have this experience to thank for that. I will never forget the inside jokes, constantly giving Carter a hard time about only owning lacrosse clothing, getting stranded in the middle of the German countryside thanks to an incompetent taxi driver and our endless other grat tims. These people changed me in more ways than one, and I’ll be forever grateful for that. They helped me to let go of my OCD tendencies and just live life to the fullest, going with the flow, taking in each moment, and stopping to take a breath of fresh air every once in a while. I have always been someone who likes to plan things far in advance of when they will occur, and this trip forced me to be okay with making last minute decisions. Worst of all was when we spent 3 weeks saying “we need to plan our last weekend,” and then promptly waited until the WEDNESDAY BEFORE WE LEFT to book a flight. Probably have never been so stressed out in my entire life, but somehow I had faith that it would all work out; and it did. In fact I’d say a last minute trip to Mallorca for 200€ is a little more than just working out. That trip was amazing, and I’m sure we’ll never be able to pull off something like that ever again. I’m now convinced there’s no better way to bond than 7 hour train rides, navigating through foreign cities with a language and currency you do not understand, and picnicking beneath the Eiffel Tower. I will never forget all of the amazing memories I have with y’all. Thanks for being my people. I love y’all.

As I sit here writing this post, it is pouring rain outside, and has been doing so for the last 29 hours. Additionally, it shows no signs of stopping anytime soon thanks to good ole Hurricane Harvey. The good thing though is we don’t have to walk everywhere, so it’s quite soothing and far less of an inconvenience. It does remind me of one of our last days in Berlin though. We were in Alexanderplatz heading back to the hotel, it was pouring, and I had my Birks on. I remember the puddles were so bad I took my shoes off and walked barefoot the entire way back to the hotel for like 30 minutes. Probably super unsanitary, but at least I mostly saved my Birks. They’re still a little crunchy to this day, but that’s okay because it reminds me of the memories. It’s the little things like that which often cross my mind during the day and remind me of all the fun we had over there. I still compare every scoop of ice cream I eat to all the stracciatella in every wonderful European city we visited. Somehow Blue Bell just isn’t the same now. Everytime someone asks me if I miss it, I always tell them I would hop on the next plane back to Cologne, and I seriously mean that. Germany will always hold a special place in my heart, and I cannot wait to go back and visit, hopefully sooner rather than later. Until then, I still have all the memories, pictures, videos, and anecdotes from the trip of my life, so that I can relive it on a weekly basis. And trust me, I do reminisce about once or twice a week. I am so thankful that God blessed me with such an amazing experience and some incredible new best friends. As cliché as it sounds, this trip changed my life. I am a much more adaptable, independent, self-sufficient human being because of this experience. Sometimes it takes a little adversity to get you out of your comfort zone and help you to grow. Germany did that for me, and I’ll be forever grateful.

To the greatest place on Earth: you are deeply missed, and I will see you soon.

Auf Wiedersehen Bonn!