Its Coming...

I’m sitting here in my living room after having enjoyed a nice Christmas Eve dinner thinking of what’s to come. As I worry about things I could have over looked, the weather begins to become a bit more of what I’m to expect in Germany. The air has cooled from an annoying 80 degrees to around 50, and the dark gray clouds have rolled in. Just as the anxiety of getting my final grades in had gone away the worse feeling of forgetting some important aspect for my flight starts to hit me. But its merely all in my head.

With all the nerves shaken off now I can look forward to what I’m to experience. The excitement is slowly taking over. I start to think about what the trip has in store for me. Celebrating the New Year in Bonn, seeing the Otto Bock facilities, are perhaps the things I look forward to the most. The weather, I’m sure much more intense than anything I’ve experienced being a native Texan, will probably be the most challenging part of this whole thing. But even with that to get used to I know my time abroad is going to be full of some awesome moments.

I am lucky enough to have been over seas before. It was the in the summer of 2005 that I was able to go to Rome and several parts of Germany for a catholic pilgrimage. One of the best parts of that trip was seeing the Cologne Cathedral, something I’m excited to see again. Although Rome was my favorite part of my time over seas, the hills and valleys of the Rhineland were a very close second. I remember being blown away by the steep slopes covered in vineyards. Of course the people were just as pleasant. It was great being around a different culture while still surrounded by those of my same faith. This time around I will have a great deal of freedom, which I must admit is somewhat intimidating, having to plan out the sites I want to visit and where I should eat. But that’s kinda what I feel this trip is for (besides learning the history of medicine) learning how to explore a foreign land on my own. I know this trip won’t be the same as my last, but I trust that the experience will be just as wonderful.