Eine Woche zu gehen!

In one week I will be somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean on my way to Dresden, Germany, where I will be spending 8 weeks taking classes to learn the German language and culture. As I begin to get everything ready for my travels, I am beginning to think that when I signed up for this in February I forgot to take a few important things into consideration...p

1) I have a completely irrational fear of flying. I have flown a few times before, and even though I know that logically it is one of the safest modes of transportation, I hate flying with a passion. This trip is going to be the longest flight I have ever been on, and there are 2 layovers (which means taking off and landing 3 times just to get to Dresden). I really should have took into consideration the fact that traveling half-way across the world would reacquire some airplane time before agreeing to this.

2) I have never been away from home for 8 weeks! Since I go to college so close to home, I tend to come home often. I think the longest I've been away from home is 4 or 5 weeks. I know I will miss my family, and more importantly my puppy! I also know that I will not be able to call home as much as I am used to.

3) I feel like I hardly know any German. I am going to a country to learn a language that I knew next to nothing of at the beginning of this year. I know to learn a language efficiently, studying in a country that speaks that language is the best way to pick it up. However, I have only taken 2 quarters of German so far, and even though it is expected for us to make mistakes while speaking, I don't want to look like a complete fool!

4) I am a poor college student: how am I going to go to Germany and not come back completely broke?

Despite these concerns I have, the fact that I am going to Germany, which has been at the top of my travel list for a long time, makes the concerns seem like nothing. I know I will have experiences of a lifetime and will learn much more than I could just sitting in a classroom in Columbus. I hope to make new friends and learn a little more about myself and who I am. Maybe it will take me traveling across the world for me to figure out what direction my life is heading in?

I don't know how often I will be able to update this, seeing as I will have classes to go to and homework to do. Hopefully I will be able to take the time to update at least twice a week. Warning: I tend to take many random pictures! Hopefully I will be able to explain some of the history and stories behind the pictures here so that when looking through my pictures on Facebook you don't see just a picture of a tree (Ecuador!)

One week to go! I am getting a bit nervous, but mostly excited for all the opportunities that lie ahead for me.

See you in a week!

Me and my puppy Maddie!