Not Ready, Not Set, but Here I Go!

I’ll start out by saying that I’m not sure how I got myself into this blogging business.

If you have to know one thing about me, it’s how social media un-savvy I am. The last time I posted a picture to Facebook was well over a year ago, I have no Instagram or Twitter (wait—do college students still use that?) accounts, and I only remember that Snapchat exists when I scroll through my phone apps and become vaguely surprised that I still have it installed (only to appease my friends). Call me lame, call me boring, call me whatever you want, but the fact is that I’m not big on publicly sharing the goings-on of my life to an audience, even if said audience is just a group of my friends. So, why I agreed to blog this summer is completely beyond me, but since it’s a done deal, I guess I’ll just have to stick with it. (Despite my social media misgivings, I’m actually sort of thrilled that I get to do this. Maybe I’m just better at boring people with long essays than posting pictures to Facebook.)

Anyhow, to officially start off this post, I guess I need to introduce myself. I’m Sebrina and I just finished my sixth semester in college, with two left to go. You could say that I have some sense of urgency about my last year of freedom, before the real world hits, and that’s why this summer will be an important one. I was only ever in Germany once, for a short layover, which doesn’t really count; so, my time in Berlin will undoubtedly be chock full of new experiences—which is both immensely exhilarating and terribly frightening.

Thirteen days before my flight to Berlin, I will admit that I’m pretty scared. Not oh-my-goodness-why-I-am-I-going-to-a-foreign-country-where-I-can-barely-speak-the-language scared, but more of oh-my-goodness-what-if-they-don’t-have-my-favorite-yogurt-there scared. (I’m very partial to White Mountain Bulgarian yogurt.) I’ve realized that I’m going to a foreign country, where they eat German foods, speak a language that’s not English, and use a currency that isn’t the American dollar. That’s all fine and dandy, because they’re facts I’ve always known about Germany. But, in terms of daily life, what can prepare me for what I’ll find there?

In other words, I guess I’m scared of living in Berlin. I’m used to my large American kitchen, my nice American appliances, and my nice American car (actually, it’s a Honda, but you get the point). I’m not sure how well I’ll adjust to having a small kitchen, having to line-dry my clothes, and using public transportation or walking to wherever I need to go. Then again, maybe that’s just my typical American mentality coming through, and maybe I’ll actually adjust to all of these things perfectly, and maybe I’ll actually prefer the German way to the American way. But who knows? I guess only time will tell.

Despite these anxieties, I’m still excited for my impending adventures in Europe. My main goal is to go to Germany to strengthen my German skills--and I sincerely hope that I won’t cave and revert to English when talking to the local Germans--but even more than that, I want to see just how adaptable I am to unfamiliar conditions. Can I live in a foreign country for an extended period of time? Can I learn to not hop in my car every time I want to go somewhere? Am I going to be able to survive without White Mountain Bulgarian yogurt? Even if everything falls to pieces, at least I'll be able to enjoy some weather that isn't disgustingly humid (I'm talking about you, Houston). So, while I'm rather nervous the next two months, I think this will be quite the summer.