It’s so hard to believe that the first part of the trip is just about over.  This was possibly the fastest two weeks of my life.  When I think back, though, we got to experience so much and I would not trade that for anything.  They say that studying abroad will open your eyes up to a new culture and that’s exactly what has happened.  We had so many assumptions of Germany and its people – some accurate and some not.   For one thing, I could not have imagined exactly how amazingly gorgeous it would be here.  As a Floridian, I am fascinated by mountains.  But it goes way beyond that.  The architecture is just so magnificent and there is so much detail.  Everything has a meaning behind it.  On our 5 day excursion to Weimar, Dresden, and Berlin, it was very apparent how different the cities could be even though they are all beautiful places.  Weimar had a small town feel to it that reminded me of Beauty and the Beast while Dresden was more elegant.  Berlin made me think of New York.  At first glance, it does not seem to be very clean in most areas, but when you look deeper you can see the history and the beauty.  The people in Germany are also a lot friendlier than I thought they would be.  I was told that they were not as willing to smile at strangers, but I have a habit of smiling at strangers that is pretty hard to break.  I caught myself nodding and smiling at locals and they smiled back for the most part.  I feel very welcomed here.  They are also very willing to help me when I struggle with my German – which happened often, sadly.  I love the fact that we are paired with International Face Time partners because I have learned so much from Imke since I have been here.  The best way to understand the current culture is to interact with our peers and the IFCs are perfect for that.  I will definitely miss not being able to practice German all of the time at home.  I have to teach my boyfriend German so that we can practice together J  I will also miss waking up to the sun in the morning.  I love the fact that the sun sets after 9pm and rises around 4am.  I think that is why Germans are more productive than we are.  I will not miss paying for the bathrooms, though.  I will also not miss not being able to find water fountains.  Still, though, these experiences collaborate to help me to appreciate Germany as well as America.  And that is the beauty of studying abroad.  I am so excited for the next two weeks because I truly believe that they are going to be just as eye opening as the last two weeks have been.  I am ready to take on Europe.