When I tell people I’m going to Germany this summer, the first reaction is always “Cool! Do you speak German?” To which I reply awkwardly “Uh…no…but it’s a program taught in English, it’ll be fine.” Hopefully it really will be fine! I talked to a girl who went last summer who had the same fear, and she said she had a great time, so I’m not too worried. Mostly I’m just excited to meet everyone and get settled in. We got a list of the other participants recently, and it’s a little bit of a bigger group than I expected (22!) but there’s a guy from my school coming, so it’ll be nice to have a familiar face. I’m sure over the seven weeks we’ll all become close through classes and travel and everything. I think the travel will be the best part, and it was really the deciding factor when I was choosing between study abroad programs. It will be really cool to learn about these countries and their issues while we are actually in them.
I leave tomorrow, a day before most of the other Americans, which means I’ll have to stay in a hostel in Freiburg for one night before the program starts. That’s fine, the seventeen euros I’m paying for the hostel is definitely worth the giant price difference for leaving a day later. After the trip I’m planning to meet up with a friend to go to Greece, which means I’ll also be coming home a week later then the rest of the students on the program. It’ll be a long trip overall, but I’m sure it will be an adventure. Hopefully I come back in one piece.
Right now I’m really excited, and a little nervous. Honestly everything has been so busy since I came home from school last week that I’ve barely had time to comprehend the fact that I’m actually going to be across the world so soon and for so long. I’ve done so much planning for it but I don’t think it ever hit me that it was actually going to happen. Well, whether I like it or not I guess I’ll have to face the reality tomorrow!
Susanna Bowers
<p><span style="color: rgb(29, 29, 29); font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(237, 237, 237);">Susanna Bowers grew up in Seattle, Washington before moving to the small town of Walla Walla to attend Whitman College. She is studying economics, and is very excited to get a more global perspective through the European Union coursework and field trips. At school, she is an intern at the career center and an active member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. In her free time, you will likely find her eating thai food, listening to country music, or hanging out with friends. She has been to Europe before, but only for short stays and never to Germany. She can't wait to be able to explore new places and meet all sorts of interesting people this summer!</span></p>
