Coming home and final thoughts

Finally heading back to the states; it has been an amazing journey with unexpected complications although we have been able to handle it. Yesterday I spent the day in Chateau de Versailles and was marveled by the sights.  The grand Trianon and the petit Trianon were also beautifully adorned. It was all about the glit and glam.  Paris is now on my list of favorite cities, and I was quite surprised to find that the French were quite nice. I was even taken aback when someone at the train station helped me up the stairs with my bag. I had always heard horrible things about the French people, but I must say that I didn't experience it other than the occasional evil stare. I woke up early this morning to make sure that we would have enough time to get to the airport, but once we reached the train station we discovered that the train was delayed due to a suicide on the tracks. Christine was panicking that we were going to miss our flight. When the train finally arrived we had to fight our way into it and everyone squeezed inside, I had never seen a train that packed even in my experiences in New York. Luckily we did make the flight and had a couple of minutes to spare. Looking back on the whole trip, I come the realization that I have grown as a person and I met some great people in our hostels' (most of them were Australian). Traveling on my own was great so major complications,only a couple of scares. I definitely plan on backpacking through Europe again and I especially wish to go back to Germany. Hopefully I can do it again as soon as next year or maybe I can just study abroad.  As a way to end this amazing journey through Europe and self discovery, I would like to thank Mr. Lucien and Dr. Kleine for the advice and help provided in the class. Without their knowledge the trip would have been much more difficult. 

It's been a little over a week since Natalia and I set off on our own... And what an adventure it's been. From being with a portion of the group in Munich, to being extremely sick in Salzburg, my bank card not working in Rome, and learning today that even though I thought I was going to Spain I'm actually in Cataluña. I'm just surprised I haven't lost anything yet! I remember hearing the phrase "expect the unexpected" before leaving, but,  I'd never thought those words would be so true. When my debit card wouldn't work in Rome my first thought was crap, I have to call the bank and get this fixed and then I found out it was memorial day and I'd have to wait another 24+hours to get it resolved. Luckily, I had Natalia right there to help with some money so we could start sight seeing. Eventually, my card did work... It only took my Dad going to the bank and refusing to leave until it was fixed. Thank goodness for family. Even with the mishaps and craziness I've loved every second. I'm finally learning the art of taking things as they come and not worrying over every little thing. Europe is amazing and I can't believe I have to leave soon. I'm just not gonna think about it. Why should I? The streets of Barcelona are waiting to be explored and that's a much better use of my time. 

Influx of Wisdom

Now that we had flown the coop of chaperonal supervision, it was time to really prove how competent we all were. We were ready to go out into the world and prove how adept we were at navigating our way through the maze of Europe.  All I can say now is that we know better. All of a sudden there were no given tour guides to point out the important stuff around us and no Tatiana or Sarah to go to with any question that cropped up. There was only us. Before this trip I considered myself pretty much grown up. I work, pay my own bills, and can budget the hell out of my paychecks. I was smart. Now, after making a few mistakes and being at the mercy of locals who don't even speak the same language as I do but are willing to help regardless, I am wiser. Not to mention cultured. You can read about these things from a book, but until you hear the sound of an orchestra in a church or feel the ancient stone of a monument, you can't really experience it in a real sense.  That being said, this was THE most spectacular trip of my life, and I'm so thankful for all those who helped me achieve it. It was worth every drop of sweat and ounce of effort. After all, how else was I supposed to acquire any wisdom? 

Affirmation

The stars’ message finally broke through. Instead of my wishing upon them, it was them that were offering their best hopes for me on my excursion. Getting off at the train stations and placing my feet on the grounds of Köln for the first time just felt so right. I had bought a pair of boots specifically for the trip. My words to Dr. Kleine were: “My boots don’t resist the ground. They are very smooth.” He knew I wasn’t talking about the boots.

Somehow I didn’t feel as if I was in a different country. We were in Osnabrück for a majority of the time, and we visited Köln, Dresden, and Berlin. But my favorite place was Weimar. The beautiful old-fashioned town was adorned with statues of Goethe, Schiller, Bach and Shakespeare. Even the air had a scent of sophistication. I fancy myself Romantic (I should’ve been born in the 19^th century), which is why, perhaps, I was so drawn to here. My feelings about Germany so far can be summed up in Goethe’s own words: “Hier bin ich Mensch. Hier darf ich’s sein.” Here, I am   man. Here, I am allowed to be.

Mixed Feelings

My first time out of the country. Feelings of terror and anticipation filled my head. I know I had a reliable companion in Dr. Kleine to comfort me. He saw me cringe upon feeling the plane escalate into higher and higher altitudes, the wheels fold back up into the plane, and the acceleration downwards as the plane spiraled towards the airport. The first leg of the flight was over quicker than I expected. The second international flight took over a day. The up-side to this was that we were served some decent food, and we were able to watch exclusive movies and listen to some quality music (I opted for Tchaikovsky’s D Violin Concerto). A highlight of the trip was being so high above the clouds. Nighttime over the Atlantic at the apex of our course was a magical experience. Never before had I been so close to the stars and I did my best to appreciate their clarity; it’s as if they were trying to tell me something.

I've had a day to reflect on our journeys in Osnabruck. In such a short time we have accomplished so much. I remember back at the beginning of the semester when we didn't know each other at all. We bonded quickly as we spent each day with each other, be it learning a little German in our classes together or the long bus rides to our excursions to other cities. I find myself saddened that we have to part ways to continue our journeys elsewhere. I had just finally gotten used to living in Osnabruck. The culture, language, and people had made this experience one that I am going to remember for the rest of my life. Our German counterparts welcomed us with open arms and showed us how much fun we could have in such a foreign place. It sure did help that the Maiwoche festival was going on the same time as we had come. To see so many people in the streets having a good time with good food and drink made it even more appealing to explore the town during our spare time. I also really enjoyed all the history that we had witnessed in our museums and tours. We had experienced such a wide variety of them that there was sure something to catch the attention and inspiration of us all. I especially enjoyed our 3 day stay at Berlin. It was our longest stay at a city outside of Osnabruck and we got to experience so much of it from past to present. I never knew that I could learn the layout of such a big city so quickly. It sure did help to have such large visible buildings to help orient yourself such as the Brandenburg Gate, the Bundestag, and the Sony Center. I really enjoyed watching a soccer game at a local restaurant with the locals and coming back to the hostel at night to find a rave going on under the train station. Berlin truly had a lot to offer us and I cherished my time there. My silent train ride to Dortmund made it hard not to let my mind wander on the great time I for the program. Soon I will see my Aunt and Uncle for the first time in 15 years then onward to Bosnia!

My time with our class is up and now I am off on my own. It is sad to think that my days with USF are now officially over... Every closed door brings a opened one. Anyhow I find myself in a small village near Stutttgart called Heiligenzimmern and I have just met family that I have never met in my life before. A very small town and extremely German, from its own beer to a large and very elegant chuch! It is picture like, nestled between two large mountains, surrounded by fields and thick forrest. They are extremely hospitable and do everything in an extreme German fashion. Such as coffee and cake every afternoon and breakfast with pork, cheese, and ham, as well as eating pleanty of pork. They run a large pig farm here and own most of the town's fields. An interesting fact is that only one of them speaks english so it has been a challengeing time to communicate, but the little German I learned in class is being put to use and is helping a great deal. The past few days with them have been amazing, from a 165mph ride on the autobahn, to seeing a technology muesum, to visitng a castle and concert there, as well as going to a nuclear fission laboratory! All very exciting and interesting! I was also able to get a hold of a mountain bike here and I have been riding all over the place here, there is many mountains around here and bike trails all over them here in the Black Forrest. I am very thankful for everything my family here has done for me and it has really opened my eyes to my German heritage as this is the town where my family has been for hundreds of years. Next stop after this is to Munich and visitng my father's side of the family! I'll share that soon!