I miss Europe!!!

We are supposed to blog one last time, so here it goes:

I miss Europe, especially Germany so much!!! As soon as I got home I went into shock and wanted to get right back on a plane headed for Germany. It all of a sudden hit me how loud public places are in America and it was strange to hear English everywhere I went. I noticed how dirty American cities are and it was weird seeing so many SUVS and trucks. Being in Germany made me realize how wasteful Americans are and how we don't take as much care and value in our surroundings. Also, it was hard adapting to how hot it is in Texas and how cold it is inside because of air conditioning.
I do enjoy having free bathrooms and free refills once again. Meals are also cheaper here, even though the food isn't as good.

As soon as I got home, I organized my thousands, and I mean thousands, of pictures. I printed 500 of them off to make an album/scrapbook. I'm almost done. I've been showing everybody pictures. I notice how almost everything I say starts with "In Germany"...my friends and family are probably getting tired of hearing me talk about it so much. This trip was the best experience of my life. All of the culture, history, art and everything else was just so much better than anything you can find in the states. This trip made me more open-minded. One of the things I have noticed the most after being back, sadly, is that I have lost pride in being an American. I think that after hearing so many different perspectives about our country made me realize that foreigners are losing respect for us and we need to make changes to get our country back on track. I am still thankful to be from such a powerful and free country, but I don't want our country to be disliked by so many others.

Well, good luck to everyone this semester and I'm glad you all made it back safe and sound. I'm thankful to see so many of you around campus and to have classes with you!!! Hopefully we can always keep the friendships that we made!