Pre-departure Jitters
In less than three days, I am leaving for my second semester abroad in Europe. I have not packed because I’m angry that airlines have decreased my baggage allowance. The paper I need to turn in for my summer internship grant is still not written. Naturally, I am blogging about how nervous I am instead of doing what needs to be done to prepare myself.
My second adventure in Europe is an IES Program studying the European Union based in Freiburg, Germany. Freiburg, one of the warmest cities in Germany (Yay!!), is in the southwest corner of the country, very close to the Swiss and French borders. My program also includes several field trips: “Berlin and the Baltics” (Either Estonia or Latvia); Geneva; Strasbourg, France; ”The EU Institutions and Western Europe,” which I suspect is Paris, Brussels, and maybe Luxembourg or The Hague; and “Central and Eastern Europe,” which should be Krakow, Prague, and Budapest.
I’m especially nervous this time around because I only have a semester of German, and I remember very little of it. France was manageable because I’d studied French for several years. I just hope that the locals are a little more understanding about a lack of perfection in their language than the French were.
But, to end on a good note, IES has successfully received all my forms (finally!), I do have housing, and I am totally excited to get to discover a new corner of Europe (or several!). I will write more to let you all know how I am settling in once I arrive on Monday. Bis bald! (See you later!)