Expectations

I find it hard to believe that I'm leaving the country in a few days. In some ways, I don't think I can be prepared enough for this trip: I came much too close to not being able to access my passport, I'm not sure what combination of coats and layers are weather-appropriate, and I'm definitely not at survival-level German yet. However, I came to realize that (perhaps barring my passport), material items can be replaced if forgotten, and I think I'm familiar enough with traveling for it not to be a total disaster. The cultural differences will probably shock me, but the trip is almost too brief for anything to be truly missed, yet long enough to reveal small differences that might go otherwise unappreciated.

During the summer before my freshman year, I attended a small 2-week freshman leadership seminar at the A&M center in Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy. It was my first trip overseas, and arguably my first out of the country. I made a point to try and speak Italian to the locals, took tons of photos, and wrote in a travel journal almost constantly. Looking back, I would do those things again, and plan to do them in Germany as well. As a result of my experience it Italy, I find myself expecting certain things of Germany: ice is scarce, the drinking culture is different, the countryside is beautiful, and coins are useful. So other than the geography and language, what makes these trips distinct?

I think it's the timing and the people . I don't mean to discount the value of visiting famous sites, nor to presume I will return, but taking the trip with these particular peers and taking it now largely determine what I'll gain from it. I anticipate memories, personal growth, eye-opening perspective on Americans and Germans alike, and of course, how Germany has shaped the course of medicine.

And...I admit I am filled with a bit of anxiety. I've never stayed in a hostel, and I definitely didn't travel with this degree of freedom in my previous trip. I'm pretty sure we'll be hopeless at Czech and mediocre at beginning German (about what you'd expect in month one of German I, perhaps). It's going to be a shock going from temperatures in the 80's to the 20's, and I'm going to miss my friends and family.

But ready or not, what the hell. Let's go.