Danke Deutschland

It is hard for me to believe that I have been back in the states now for over a month and a half. It seems like yesterday that I was buying my plane tickets and panicking about what to pack. To say that those 6 weeks were some of the best weeks of my life would be an understatement. I think my friends and family are sick of hearing me talk about it, but how can I not talk about it?! Quite honestly, though, I think I was more terrified about going than I was excited. I was so nervous about going on my own to a foreign country because I had only ever been to Mexico once for a family vacation. So I was genuinely terrified of going. I even fully expected to be homesick and I was a little worried about being there for 6 weeks. But all of that got thrown completely out the window once I stepped foot in Germany. The culture and the beauty of the towns and countrysides immediately captivated me. I loved hearing all of the different languages and trying to use what remedial German I knew to communicate with people. Even on travel weekends when we would be in different countries where I knew absolutely none of the native language we would always be able to figure out a way to communicate. I think that is one of the biggest takeaways I got from this program; just being able to communicate with people that either do not speak the same language or that have different social boundaries.

I also loved how present history is everywhere in Europe. I knew before the program that obviously Europe has deeper history than the US and I was excited about that because I love history. But it absolutely exceeded my expectations in every way. To see a castle that was built over 600 years ago in person and actually get to go inside of it is an experience that is hard to fully appreciate just by looking at pictures. I also never thought that I would ever get to see the Berlin wall in person, but I didn’t just get to see it, I got to walk up to it and put my hand on it. It is not every day that you get to take a class and also simultaneously see the piece of history that you’re learning about in person. It is also not every day that you get to observe an open-heart surgery while listening to the surgeons converse in German. I can also say now that I helped the anesthesiologists catheterize a man before surgery in a German hospital.

My travel skills have definitely improved. I feel confident enough now to travel just about anywhere. I thought that traveling was going to be a scarier and much more difficult than it was, but it definitely proved to me that I am much more self-sufficient than I realized. I also gained an incredible insight into a completely different way of thinking. I have always felt like I am a pretty open minded person, but I don’t think until you have really spoken to someone with personal experiences with a point of view that you do not necessarily agree with can you really understand why people think the way they do. During the My Berlin day my tour guide presented some different points of view about politics and global issues and the discussions we had with him really opened my eyes even further.  I feel like now I approach situations with a greater understanding and acceptance of different view points.

I feel like I could go on forever about all of the amazing experiences I had on this trip but it would take forever. I know that my Hero’s journey has been nothing short of fulfilled. I also know that this program has changed me in ways I could have never expected, and I am sure it has changed me in ways I do not even realize yet. I met some of my best friends, and learned more about myself, and the world, than I ever though possible. I just want to say thank you to everyone who made this program possible. It was absolutely incredible. Bis zum nächsten Mal, Deutschland.