(The wall of a furniture store in Old Ellicott City,  April 2009)

The semester is coming to an end and getting all stressful, I need a distraction!

I've been thinking a lot about what I'm going to miss (and if I'm being really honest, a few things I won't miss) about life here when I'm abroad. 

Of course there are a few things that practically go without saying: I'm going to miss my family (and Sina!) so much I don't know how I'll stand it. Not being able to bother my mom a dozen times a day is going to be a stretch for me (thank goodness for Skype). I'm also really going to miss visiting with my extended family, so I've resolved to make my rounds and spend some quality time with everyone over the summer. 

I'd also say I'm really going to miss my friends, but everyone's so busy and spread out over the country (and the world!) that going abroad for a few months shouldn't add much of a noticeable break. On a related note, I'd like to mention how excited I am that Katharine, the love of my life, will be in the same time zone as me while I'm abroad, studying in Prague! 

Some of the non-human aspects of home that I'll miss surprised me. Although some days it can be a pain, there are a few things about driving to school everyday that I will miss, like listening to audiobooks in the car and taking the long way home through old Ellicott City. Although I'm also really looking forward to using the vast amount of public transportation in Germany (especially trains). 

I'm really going to miss my car. I thought about it just sitting in the driveway by itself, and it made me sad. I am not going to miss parking at UMBC, all the stop signs on the loop, or all the parking meters I routinely feed my change to. 

I am probably going to miss all the convenience of life in the United States, like going to CVS really late at night for some basic grocery items, at least at first. However, I'm really excited to spend some time in a country where 24-hour groceries are not as much of a priority as ensuring that clerks don't have to work that miserable late night shift. I also hear that I'm going to miss some basic things we take for granted in the U.S., like complimentary water and ice in sodas. 

I will probably miss catching up with American TV shows on the internet, but I'll get over it. I've decided that I'm blocking Hulu and all related sites for the duration of my stay abroad-- it would be such a waste to spend my limited time overseas tethered to my laptop!

That's all for now, I'm sure I forgot some things. Feel free to chime in. 

Here are a few reasons that I'm looking forward to Germany today:

1. Christmas Markets! (Weihnachtsmarkts) 

I can't wait to buy lots of little goodies to bring home and share. 

source for above

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2. Spaghetti Eis 

I'd never even heard of it before watching this Germany vs USA video. I actually can't believe we don't have this here. Anyway, what it is (obviously), is ice cream made to look like spaghetti. So clever! They funnel the ice cream into thin tubes to look like pasta, then top it with strawberry sauce to simulate tomato sauce, and even add shredded white chocolate on top to look like parmesan cheese. 

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Yeah, this is a short list for the moment, there are many more things I'm looking forward to-- I promise!

So while I'm obviously not abroad yet, I am really excited and highly anticipating this coming fall when I will be studying in Freiburg, Germany. (Through IES's European Union Program, which was so appealing to me because [1] it's based in Germany, and [2] there is a ton of travel built in since the learning focus is the EU.)

In fact, that excitement and anticipation is what led me to make this blog so... early. I've already completed most of the paperwork on the IES side, and am getting to the paperwork on the UMBC side and needed another way to channel my excitement. So here we are!

I'm looking at courses for the fall right now and am excited at the prospects. While Linguistics-type courses aren't readily available through my program, I will be able to continue with my German (and what better place, really), and there are some interesting classes about EU member states and immigration to the EU. What's really nice is that all the syllabi(?) for the potential course offerings are all up on the IES website for me to peruse and take into consideration in course selection. Not that I would let the number of required papers or in-class presentations influence my choices :) But really, that's so much nicer than going to classes the first week and having to assess the damage after it's already pretty much too late. I wonder how the textbook thing works in a study abroad situation? Since these classes are all through the actual program and not through a German university, I guess it would make sense that they'll have the books available for us to use or purchase. Maybe I'll do some research and figure out that answer. 

In other news, the list-making has begun. I can't help myself. Anticipation of major life changes results in the production of many, many lists. Packing lists, lists of places to see, lists of people to visit, lists of things to do and purchases to make both pre- and post-arrival. It's all very exciting to think about. 

The major task at hand now is to arrange my flights. Dad and I are going to fly over together in mid to late August (the program starts on 1 September) to do some traveling and get oriented. I'm lucky to have Dad going with me, since he's had a lot of experience living and traveling overseas. I think he'll really ease my culture shock. Then I have to figure out how long I can stay in Germany after my program ends and make flight plans accordingly. 

Tschüss!