Ich habe mein Herz in Heidelberg verloren.

I never thought that after two months back in America I could possibly still have such strong feelings about my time abroad.  Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined how huge of an impact this experience would have on my life.  I knew it would be a great time, but I always expected my return to America to be comforting.  I thought I would come back home, where I would feel like I belonged, and where I would continue right where I left off.  I would be happy to see all my friends I left behind.  I would keep working towards my goal of attending law school next fall and becoming a lawyer.  I wouldn't have any doubts.
Yet, here I am, one week away from the LSATs, three months away from graduation, trying to find a job to fill the gap before beginning law school in the fall, and totally disenchanted.  I'm going through the motions, but in my head I'm still stuck walking along the Neckarwiese and down the cobblestone streets of Heidelberg, exploring the villages and beaches of Greece and Morrocco, and experiencing cultures completely unlike my own.  I'm visiting ancient ruins and castles, trying new foods, and meeting some of the most amazing and interesting people I've ever met - but it's all in my memories now.  I'm not ready to accept that.  I got a taste of the world and now I need the whole thing.  Thinking about growing up and the monotony of working every day sitting behind a desk makes me sick.  I need to live my life while I still can.  I've never felt such a rush of excitement and passion as I have while traveling and living abroad.  I've never felt so alive.
So here I am, faced with a life changing decision.  Should I be responsible and continue on with the plan?  Or should I take my chances and follow my heart?  I would love to be back in Germany again, but is that really truly what I want?

Looking Back...

I can't believe it's my last weekend in Heidelberg.  I feel like this semester has flown by, but at the same time it feels like I've been here forever.  Knowing that I have to leave in 4 days is such a strange feeling.  When I first got here, all I wanted to do was go home.  However, I quickly met so many unforgettable people and made so many good friends that I can't imagine leaving.  Sure, this semester was a bit of a roller coaster, but it truly has been such an incredible experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Of course there were times when I felt homesick, but then I just needed to stop and look around at the beautiful city that I had the opportunity to call home for 5 months & the amazing people I've met and I quickly remembered how lucky I really am.  I could never have imagined doing the year long program when I had first got here, or even a month or two ago, but now I almost wish I did.  Now that I'm really thinking about having to leave, I've realized that this is the worst time to leave.  It feels as if I finally completely feel comfortable here and settled in, and then suddenly have to leave it all behind. It's definitely going to be hard, but hopefully I will get to come back soon & I will be able to stay in touch with all my new friends.

Road Trip!

Next up in my travels, I rented a car with a few of my friends and drove up through Luxembourg to Brussels and then up to Amsterdam and back down through Germany.  It was awesome! None of us really knew how to drive a manual car, which made for an interesting ride, but we made it there and back in one piece!  First we stopped in Luxembourg for lunch.  It was nice, but since it was such a spontaneous trip, we weren't really sure what to see, so we just walked around for a little.

Luxembourg, Luxembourg

After lunch, we got back on the road and headed to Brussels.  Upon our arrival, we were not impressed, to say the least.  The GPS took us straight through the ghetto of Brussels to our hotel, so from what we first saw, it was just a dirty city and we didn't know what we were doing there.

The beautiful Sun Hotel

But, for whatever reason, we decided to go out and walk around and hope for the best.  Somewhere along the way, we turned the right corner and found out why we were in Brussels.  There was so much beautiful architecture.

Brussels, Belgium

Brussels, Belgium

That night, we went to the Delirium Cafe, which is famous for it's enormous beer selection.  It won the Guinness World Record in 2004 for having the most different brands of beer (2,004!).

Delirium Cafe, Brussels, Belgium

The next morning, we went to the Grand Place to admire the gorgeous square while enjoying some Belgian waffles.  All of the buildings there are so intricate and incredible.

Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium

Belgian waffle in Belgium!

From there, we drove up to Amsterdam.  I immediately fell in love with the city.  Amsterdam felt like the perfect balance of city life with more rural aspects.  It just has an atmosphere unlike anywhere else I've been.  Although it's a city and there is so much to do, there are also beautiful canals winding through the city and flowers everywhere.  I loved the little brick buildings lining all the streets.  Many cities tend to have at least a hint of a cold, unwelcoming vibe, but not Amsterdam.  I really wish I had the chance to stay for longer than one day.  There are so many museums I wish I could have seen.  Hopefully one day I'll have the chance to go back!

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The Netherlands

Catching up on my travels

It's been so long since I've posted anything! I have been so busy here!  So much has happened since my last post.  I went to Berlin for a weekend with one of my friends from home.  We did a bus tour and got to see the Brandenburg Gate, the Wall, and the Holocaust Memorial, among many other things.  I wish I had more than one day there to see the city.  There is so much history there! I hope to be able to go back again before I leave.  Unfortunately, my friend took all the pictures and never sent them to me.
I also had the chance to go to Greece with some of my friends for a week! It was beautiful!  We stayed on the island of Corfu.  It was so nice to get away from the cold weather in Heidelberg and spend some time on the beach.  We also go to go on an ATV tour of the island.  I had the chance to go there when I was 14 and I've always wanted to go back.  Now that I did, I still think Greece is one of the most amazing places!  The food was fantastic too!

Squid stuffed with feta & tomatoes! Yum!

Corfu, Greece

Portugal was my next stop.  Maria, who I met in my Deutschkurs & who has become one of my best friends here, is from Chaves, Portugal and studies in Porto, so our friend Courtney and I went with her when she went back home to visit for a few days.  I loved it! We flew into Porto and then drove down to Chaves and stayed with her mom for 2 days.  Despite the language barrier (her mom only speaks Portuguese), she was very nice & welcoming! Chaves is a small town, so we went back to Porto for the next few nights.  We went to a festival that was at her school that week while we were there.  It was so cool! We don't have anything like that at my school in America.  Sadly, it wasn't warm enough for us to spend much time on the beach, but I still had to walk down and check it out.  It was so nice! Hopefully I will get the chance to go back when the weather is a little better!

Chaves, Portugal

Chaves, Portugal

Porto, Portugal

Porto, Portugal

Die Unterschiede

I've noticed many differences between life in Germany and life in America.  For example, don't expect anyone to wait in line for anything!  Germans don't seem to have any concept of lines.  Everyone just pushes their way up to the front, even if you were clearly waiting.  There are no giant supermarkets where I can go buy everything I need.  Many stores specialize in one type of thing.  I have to go to Rewe or Aldi if I want food, DM if I need personal products like shampoo, and an Apotheke if I need medicine or vitamins.  Another thing is that absolutely NOTHING is open on Sundays and holidays (except the stores at the Hauptbahnhof). Credit cards are not as accepted here as they are in America.  Many places only accept cash.  However, I still think the strangest thing is it's almost cheaper to buy beer than water!  You can't go out to a restaurant and get free water like you can in America.  It's also perfectly acceptable to drink alcohol in the streets, which is illegal in the U.S.  The transportation here is much better than in America, too.  It's pretty easy to get anywhere by train or bus and they are very reliable.  However, it's pretty easy to get used to these differences once you understand them.

Am Anfang

I have been living in Heidelberg, Germany for exactly one month now and it has been great!  When I first arrived, it finally hit me that I was in another country for six months. And I was all alone.  I thought I was crazy for coming here, but then after a few days I remembered how incredible this opportunity is.  I just completed the month long intensive German course the other day, which helped me brush up on my German, which was pretty rusty when I got here.  Over the past month I've had the opportunity to go see some of the incredible sights Germany has to offer.  Naturally, the first thing I visited was the castle in Heidelberg.  The view was incredible!

I also visited Freiberg for a weekend with the other students in the UMass program. We hiked up a mountain and could see everything. It was so cool!

The preparatory German course gave me the opportunity to meet so many people from all over the world.  I now have friends from Portugal, Italy, Australia, Brazil, and many other places.  It's really cool to be able to understand different perspectives of people from other cultures.  So far this has proved to be a very rewarding experience.