Alex is abroad in Munich, Germany, until August 2009.

Any John Denver fans in the house?  Okay, so maybe my bags aren’t completely packed, and all of my clothes are still in piles on the floor, but I am mentally ready to go.

In about 24 hours I am going to fly halfway across the world (that is a rough estimate, I am horrible at geography), with two suitcases and a backpack, meet a stranger in the airport, be taken to my dorm room in a housing complex filled with 3,000 other students, and not come home until August of 2009. Am I nervous?  Absolutely.  Am I excited? Oh yeah.

I originally had those last two sets of sentences switched, so that I ended with the confession that I am nervous, but as I am writing this post I am realizing that more than anything else I am excited.  I have been studying German since the seventh grade, and mentally preparing for this trip for the last ten months.  I have fielded every possible question, from “Well, are you going to have any friends when you get back?” to “Will you be able to check your e-mail in Germany?” So these may be some of the more extreme examples, but this should give you an idea of just how ridiculous some of my discussions have been.  I’m ready to stop talking and start doing.

Part of the reason that I feel so ready is because I don’t have very many expectations.  I know the basic details of my arrival and program that I listed earlier, and that is about it.  Unlike my fellow study abroaders, who are only going for a quarter, I have the luxury of being able to settle into my country a little more: make myself at home, get to know the locals and explore Europe all on my own time.  My primary goal is to completely immerse myself in German culture, even if it means losing a lot of my American habits and customs.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my home just as much as the next person, but to me the point of this whole study abroad experience is not to try to pack every single article of my delightfully (disgustingly?) American clothing into my suitcases and figure out a way to make my straightener work in Europe; It is to pull me out of my own limited bubble of awareness, and let me see things from a more global perspective.  It’s so easy to get caught up in immediate surroundings, but this is my chance to change.

So what is it, specifically about my German college experience that I am so pumped about?  First of all, attending a school with a campus spread out through a major city, and living in an area populated exclusively by students.  I am sure that the public transit rides and the nights out in the “Studentenstadt,” student city, will result in some great stories.  And, really, how could I not include the infamous Oktoberfest?  I will be attending the real-deal, every college kid’s dream, beer festival in a beautiful city that just happens to be where I live.  In some perverse way I am also looking forward to all of the awkward encounters with my fellow students, through which I will learn German slang, and a wealth of other things, I’m sure.  Finally, I can not wait to see the German and European reaction to the U.S. election this November.  I have a feeling that the young people in Europe are more enthusiastic and knowledgeable about American politics than the average Northwestern student, and I am curious to see, specifically, their reaction.

The final reason that excitement is winning the emotional battle over nervousness is that I have an entire year to accomplish nothing other than living and learning in Germany.  Let’s be real, any break from the Northwestern world of pre-professional, intensely academic courses that ultimately give me book smarts, and a whole dump truck full of loans to haunt me for years to come, sounds like paradise to me.  I will miss many people at school, and I know that I won’t be able to recreate a year’s worth of friendship through e-mails and Facebook posts, but I can’t do anything more than hope that we keep in touch and pick up where we left off when I get back.

For now, though, I hope to make you more aware of the world beyond of Sheridan Road and Willie the Wildcat, one post at a time.  That may be more effective once I actually shove my life into suitcases, and get out of here. I’m leaving on a jet plane, and don’t know when I’ll be back again.

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