Just kidding, I am not nearly cool enough to write a bunch of blog entries in German...at least, not yet. But on September 2nd I will be on my way to Heidelberg, Germany where I will spend the next four months with the American Junior Year program. Hopefully I will return in December with a new ability to speak and write fluent German, but for now I'm taking it slow.
Anyway, hi! As you probably know, I'm Christina, known by most college friends as "Teenz" (occasionally Rosalie McMuffin or Natalie) and I'm here to tell you way too many things.
Why am I writing this blog? Originally I thought having a blog about my travel experiences would seem rather self-centered, because the things I will see have no doubt been documented by countless others. After thinking about it, though, I realized it's a good way to update friends and family all at once, rather than recounting tales on numerous Skype occasions. Plus, I admit that I'm writing to help myself remember everything, so I might be unnecessarily longwinded. (What else is new?) Let the blogging commence!
Just going to be living next to a castle, nbd.
I don't leave until the night of September 2nd, officially missing the Breaking Bad summer finale. Well, at least it's for a good cause! When I arrive the next day in Germany I'll definitely be overwhelmed, and it will most likely make me feel better if I write about it, but I have no idea what the internet situation is like. So as of right now I have no idea how often I'll be updating, but I'd like to think it'll be pretty frequent. (Knowing myself, it'll be annoyingly frequent, so don't worry about keeping up.)
Until then I am just trying to pack as best as I can while pretending I'm not suffering major anxiety. Currently my main fears about the trip are that there won't be Mexican food anywhere, and I won't find anyone who wants to go to Scandinavia with me. Silly, I know, but I'm not really worrying about the language barrier yet. I've taken German for two years at college and I get good grades in class, so hopefully that amounts to something. I went to see my professor when I visited Stonehill this week, and he made me feel a little more confident because we conversed in German. Still, I understand it better than I can speak it.
Actually, I am legitimately worried about one thing: my housing situation. We just got our assignments yesterday, and I am the only one from the AJY program in my building. Even more frightening is the fact that the building I'm in is far from the center of town. In fact, it's about a 45 minute walk. I freaked out a little (going to such a small school for the past two years, this concept is insane to me) and emailed one of the women in charge. She told me that I am near a few people in the program (though not in the same building) and there are shops within walking distance. I also get a bus pass so I can take a bus or streetcar to my classes. I'm trying to stay positive, but don't be alarmed if I hyperventilate into a paper bag at any moment.
So, I suppose that's it for now, as you probably don't care about my packing adventures. But, I will be posting more info before I go. For now, I will leave you with a song (I wouldn't be me if I didn't end each entry with a song recommendation or a funny clip) that you should probably listen to every day. Just give it a chance!
Oh, and feel free to post comments on my entries as a way of keeping in touch!
Bis bald!
