Duesseldorf Digest and Bonn Blog: Its Been 53 Days and I'm Still Crying

Before going on this trip, I though six weeks was going to be such a long time. Away from my home, away from my friends, away from my comfort zone, I assumed that by the time my trip was over, I would be more than ready to go home. Little did I know how wrong I was. My time abroad flew by, faster than I could have possibly imagined. I blinked and it was over. Every single day was a new adventure. It has been 53 days since the best adventure of my life came to an end, and let me tell you I am

STILL.

NOT.

OVER.

IT!!!!!!

Getting off the plane in Frankfurt, I was greeted by thirty strangers. It was terrifying, I was in Germany with people that I didn’t even know if I would like. But wow, there is no better bonding experience than studying abroad. You're together with the people 24/7, traveling through out Europe, and experiencing the world. We navigated our way through so many mishaps and misadventures together, how can you not love the people your with. When we were first got dropped off at the place that would become our home for the next six weeks my roommate compared or situation to “being dropped off for college all over again, except this time no one speaks english”, and she couldn’t have been more right. It was scary and new, but it was completely unforgettable.

Throughout the trip I learned so much, and not just academically. Before my trip, when people said how they “grew so much as a person” or “came back so changed” after their study abroad, I would politely say “how great”, and try my hardest not to role my eyes. Now though, after experiencing it for myself, I can agree with those cliche sayings wholeheartedly. I have to make a physical effort not to talk about my experience from my time abroad every second of every day. I learned so much responsibility while I was abroad, and learned what true independence is.

I was able to travel to so many amazing place while abroad. In total I got to visit 20 cities in 10 different countries. WHICH IS INSANE!!!!!! Never in a million years would I have ever thought that by age 20 I would have gotten to see and experience so much of the world. Another thing that I learned, is that seeing the world, takes so much planning!!!! Now I’m not going to lie and say that the entire trip was smooth sailing, there were plenty of missed trains, canceled flights, and just us being flat out bad at traveling, but we learned so much thought it all. I have a whole new appreciation for travel agents because planing a european vacation is hard work!! Even though we did have our mishaps when traveling together, those are some of my favorite memories from the trip.

One of the coolest parts of the trip was getting to learn about Europe’s history through a medical lenses. Our professor Dr. Wasser (if your reading this hello!) had so much knowledge on the subject and was so excited to share it with us. Partly what made the subject matter so interesting, was to learn from an amazing professor who was so passionate about the subject. I feel like I constantly find myself sharing things that I learned on my trip all the time. My poor parents probably now know more than they ever wanted to about the european history of medicine. (sorry mom and dad) Our learning wasn't confined to a classroom either, we went on so many excursions and saw so many things, that without this trip we may have gone our whole lives without experiencing.

After returning to the States I spent the rest of the summer taking classes and shadowing an oral surgeon. Although it was nice to be back, the rest of my summer paled in comparison to my German adventure. I love getting to share my amazing experiences abroad, and tell people how much my time in Germany meant to me. Germany and all the amazing people I met will forever have a special place in my heart.