At that time, my head was full of questions: how would I get to my host university once I arrived in Bremen? What kind of language barrier would there be? Would I be able to travel on the weekends while also managing six courses and writing interesting articles for you all? I’ll be returning to Houston in a very different state of mind, knowing that, ultimately, I've accomplished what I set out to do. And more. I've woken myself up at 3 AM to get on buses or trains or planes headed to cities I had never even dreamed I would be visiting one year ago. I've said Moin (hello), Danke (thank you) and Tschüss (bye) nearly every single day, and improved my German so much since I started learning the language this June. And of course, I've had the chance to write about my experiences and answer your incredible (and sometimes funny!) questions. Studying abroad changed who I am as a person, and I think it will continue to change me even after I have left Germany.
Although I planned for months before my arrival here, one thing I didn’t anticipate was how much I would miss the friends I’ve made this semester when the time came for me to leave. If you remember my previous journal entry about interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds, you will recall that I’ve gotten to meet people here who I would never have encountered at an American college. I’ve learned so much about my friends’ educational, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, which has also forced me to reflect on my own privilege. For example, I would love for my friends to come visit me in the US, but since none of them have American passports, they would all have to apply for visas to enter the country, which is a time-consuming process.
