Of course, if I was doing that, I would clearly be out of character. Instead, I am starting a blog, gossiping with Megan on facebook, and watching my mom try to put my dog in a bucket of water ("it's too hot! he needs to be in the bucket!"). To say I am under-prepared for this trip is a huge understatement. I can hear my parents reading this and saying 'I told you so'. And they did. But I'm sure this lack of preparedness comes as no surprise to anyone.
I'm actually kind of excited about how little I have prepared for this. It's all part of the adventure! I'm excited to face things as they come my way and problem solve.
So, now that we have covered my lack of responsibility, let me give a basic overview of what the next seven weeks will look like...
I fly out tomorrow and land in London Thursday morning. There I will be staying with a girl named Lissie. I met Lissie during my internship at Disney World. She is from London and worked at Kali River Rapids in the Animal Kingdom with my roommate. We had just become friends when my program ended, and I was sad that I didn't get to know her better. When I decided to go to Europe, I figured I would ask her if I could couch crash and figured the worst she would say way 'no'.
She didn't say no. In fact, not only did she say yes, but she has been so generous with everything! She is ready to go be a London tourist with me, even though she is a local. She is planning dinners and outings and events and more. I could not be more thankful to her! Lissie is honestly one of the most generous, kind, fun people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. I am so lucky that I get to spend 4 days in London under her wing!
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| Lissie (girl on my right) and us at I-bar in Orlando! |
After 4 days in London, I will jet off to Frankfurt, Germany, and take the train down to where I will be living for the following 6 weeks- Freiburg. If I make it to Freiburg (again, very, very unprepared), I will be living in an apartment with 4-5 other German students. No other Americans.
This is my biggest concern for the trip. I am not allowed to speak a word of English. I mean none at all. My professor in Germany told us that if he hears us utter one word of English, even if we are drunk at 2 am and say something, he will dock us points from the class. I assume a few weeks in this will be manageable, but where I am now, I am scared out of my mind. I speak enough German where I could MAYBE have a conversation with a 5 year old, as long as the 5 year old is patient and can get past my awful accent.
While living in Freiburg I will be taking two classes in German- Oral German and Swiss/Austrian Culture. We will be doing in-class lectures, as well as many field trips to places like Heidelburg, Meersburg, The Black Forest, etc. On the weekends, I will be traveling. Myself and 3 other students on the program all teamed up to plan weekend excursions. We have each been assigned an entire weekend to plan by ourselves, figuring out every detail from trains to hostels to activities. We will be visiting Munich, Berlin, Salzburg, etc.
The weekend that I was assigned to plan is our first one. While we are 'required' to stay in German speaking areas, mine is a bit of an exception. I am planning the Paris weekend. I know, I know, they don't speak German in Paris, but there was no way that I was going to fly all the way to Europe without visiting Disneyland Paris. Anyone who knows me know that's just not an option. I've met with Dr. Z and talked to Erin, and after getting some pro insight from them on the city, I am actually feeling pretty confident with the weekend. Paris is pretty much the one thing I have actually figured out. I just wish Megan Flanary was going to be there with me! It won't be the same without her :(
I'll use this blog to keep everyone updated on my adventure. I have no idea what to expect at this point, but I'm sure it will be entertaining. Feel free to comment on here if you have any suggestions on what I should do!
Until next time-
Meggie
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