3 DAYS!!!

It is so hard for me to believe that we will be in Germany in 3 days!!! I was the first person to sign up for the program about 9 months ago and I think it's just now becoming a reality that I will be thousands of miles away from home for 3 weeks! (This seems like such a long time for me to be gone, even though I'm sure it will go by quickly once we're there.) I am so excited about the entire program, but since the only time that I have been out of the country was right across the border to Juarez, Mexico for a mission trip, I really have no idea what to expect when we're in Europe.

Let's see...I feel like there are quite a few things that I am nervous about. Right now as I'm thinking about being gone for 3 weeks, I feel like the hardest thing will be getting used to not being able to talk to my family very often. I know I'm 21 years old and it may seem silly that I talk to my mom everyday, but I'm a momma's girl, so it will be unusual for me to only talk to her a couple times over a 3 week span. I'm sure when I'm over there I'll be busy and having fun and won't feel the need to talk to her or my boyfriend much, but right now it's one of the biggest anxieties I have. Another thing that will be a big adjustment for me is the weather there. I have lived in Texas all my life and never travelled any place that is really cold so it will be a completely new experience for me. I have both Under Armour leggings and shirts to wear under my clothes as well as warm socks, gloves, hats, scarves, and a big jacket so I should be fine, but I get cold really easily so I'm still a little nervous. I'm also nervous about pick-pocketers. However, I'm much more reassured after having the opportunity to talk to my friend's mom, who gave several helpful suggestions about how to keep everything safe. The language barrier also makes me slightly nervous. I have tried to learn the basic words that Dr. Wasser told us at our meetings, but I'm still not comfortable at all speaking German. I will definitely make an effort to speak German, but it is also reassuring that English is not a rarity there, so I'm hoping I will make it by fine.

I have never heard much about Germans or their lifestyle besides what Dr. Wasser has told us, so I don't really have any preconceptions about Germany or the people there. I'm thankful for all of the history lessons that Dr. Wasser gave us and the little bit of language that he taught us since I didn't know much about Germany before. I learned a great deal about Germany from these lessons and because of that I think I'm even more excited about the trip.

I am most excited about all the sites we will visit. I know this is a very general thing to be excited about, but the pictures of buildings in Europe that I've seen are spectacular and I can't wait to see them in person. I'm interested to see how we'll be accepted by the Germans and people in other countries that we're visiting. I'm very much looking forward to learning more about the history of medicine and visiting the medical schools and museums and hearing all of the lectures. I think I just covered generally what we're doing in the trip, so I guess I'm basically excited about everything!

I can't wait to see everyone in Germany in 3 days!! It will be incredible!! Now I think it's about time that I started packing!