"When the Student is Ready, the Teacher Will Appear"

As I write this blog post, I am in my room, back home in Fort Worth. I got back on July 16th, after spending 10 days on a road trip across Italy after my study abroad ended. A lot of things happened in that time span and I got to see a lot of incredible things. Towards the end though, I was ready to come home. It might have something to do with the fact that we got robbed in Rome. Someone broke into our rental car and stole all of my luggage and my backpack. So all of my clothes, electronics...  everything was stolen. I went to Europe with a massive suitcase, carry-on case, and backpack stuffed to the brim and came back with a hotel laundry plastic bag carrying three books, some pens, and a hair clip. I was really sad at the moment, but now I have had time to reflect on what happened. Everything is replaceable and the one thing they can never take away from me are the wonderful memories I made while I was abroad.

I miss Germany. A lot. My experience there was incredible and I have already set myself on figuring out a way to finesse my way back there next summer. After doing this, I cannot imagine spending a summer in Texas and not going out and exploring the world. There is so much out there and so many people to learn from. SO MANY EXPERIENCES TO BE HAD. 

Day 36 (July 1): The second to last day in Bonn. I am already missing Bonn. Walking around the town, I made sure to take everything in. We went to the Bonn University gift shop and I bought a sweatshirt to remember my time in Bonn (unfortunately this got stolen too :( I guess I have to go back and get another).

Day 37 (July 2): Our last day in Bonn we got out of class early and had time to spend with our host families. I was interviewed and then I went home. Carmen made us a wonderful last dinner and after Maddie and I gave her and Wolfram a gift. We gave them a framed picture of all of us at the top of Drachenfels (which she went and put in their room) and a thank you card. I am going to miss Carmen and Wolfram and the many talks we had. Carmen made me a more informed person and I am going to miss that. I am sad to leave my room on the third floor of their lovely home in Oberdollendorf. I also am going to miss the tram ride in the morning into Bonn. There is so much I will miss. 

Day 38 (July 3): I really like Berlin. We went to the Charite Hospital museum and got a tour around the city and it was super interesting. The whole city has so much history and it is crazy to think only 29 ish years ago the wall fell.

Day 39 (July 4): My Berlin Day. Today we got an architectural/history tour from Jan around Berlin's Kulturforum. I really enjoyed the tour and enjoyed listening to everything Jan had to say. Berlin has so much history and it is so apparent wherever you go. My favorite thing we saw was the library. It was so cool to see a place that I would probably go if I lived in Berlin. So many students where there and the architecture of the building was incredible. I loved it. At the end of the day, we got to give presentations on our respective days and I really liked hearing what everyone else did on their My Berlin Day. Sitting in the room, I started reflecting on all the things I had learned in the past 6 weeks and I started to get emotional. My summer could have gone so different if I hadn't decided to go on this trip. I was so lucky to have been able to meet so many incredible people and see so many incredible things. I don't know if I'll ever have another experience like this one and I think that's why I was crying. Its like the phrase... don't cry because its over, smile because it happened. In that moment I think I was crying because it happened and because it was almost over. 

Day 40 (July 5): Our last full day in Berlin. It was spent going to Sachsenhausen concentration camp and Musical instrument museum. This was a very sad tour and it was very eye opening to go there and learn about the tragedies and horrors that went on inside those very walls. After the tour, we went to the musical museum and our guide was awesome. She played a bunch of instruments for us and my favorite was a cinema organ that used to be used to make movie sound effects. After the museums, we got ready and then went to the Lebanese restaurant for our farewell dinner. It was a festive but sad occasion with awesome food.

The next day (July 6) I woke up early and caught a plane to Frankfurt where I started my next adventure to Italy. That is the end of this chapter in my life though. I will forever be grateful for being able to have this experience. 

A big thanks to my parents for sending me abroad, Dr. Wasser for setting up the whole program and being the best guide and professor ever, Professor Waltz for teaching me about sound and music, and Alexa for being the absolute best minion ever.

Well, that's all for now. 

Tchuss!