I find myself a few days into the Germany experience, yet everyday seems to serve as yet another form of culture shock. Not necessarily in a bad way, of course; the term “culture shock” admittedly has negative connotations associated with it, but thus far my experience has been anything but. I’m not quite sure what I was expecting when I left Tampa behind about a week ago, but needless to say, Germany has fulfilled my expectations and more than surpassed them. This first week has been non-stop. Since my arrival, I’ve made an abundance of new friends (both in my class group as well as my German Facetime counterparts), learned a plethora of information about the country and society as a whole, and most certainly improved my knowledge of beer! However, the most important knowledge I’ve gained thus far is in relation to the people of this country; being matched with my German counterpart has served as an incredibly enriching experience. Her name is Carina, and she’s actually rather like myself! Our senses of humor mesh wonderfully and we have a fantastic time when together. The similarities far outweigh any differences, and what differences that do exist between us are used to garner a deeper understanding of each of our cultures and societies. It has been a truly lovely experience.

Aside from festivities, the group and I are required to attend extensive German lessons; our German instructors describe it as a “crash course”. Admittedly, the name is more than appropriate. Overwhelming is a term that comes to mind, but the language fascinates me. Another classroom learning experience that was quite valuable was our lecture with Dr. Husemann, a very highly respected Professor from the university that presented us with a “social history” of his homeland. Hearing his stories and the personification of major events in German history that I had previously only read about in textbooks was very eye-opening. To further enrich the experience, we have gotten to participate in a variety of tours around the city. The sheer magnitude of the history of this area is nearly unfathomable. Germany truly is an enigma, and I very much so look forward to the continued unraveling!