Good afternoon, y’all, we’re at T-minus 2 days before I fly out to Germany, and I’m nowhere close to being fully packed yet. I’m torn between packing light, so I don’t have to pay the extra baggage fees, and packing enough garments to clothe a small army, because what if the washing machine in our dorm breaks and my laundry detergent mysteriously disappears? I’m only going to be in Germany for a month, but apparently that’s enough for me to stress and create contingencies about what happens if the airline loses my luggage or whatever. Something else that I worry about is the safety in Germany itself. I know Germany is a relatively safe country, and I did download the Travel Oracle app so I can stay abreast of any major safety concerns happening during my program, but I’ve heard current political climate isn’t particularly favorable to people of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent, which is particularly worrying for me as an Indian American. I should be safe as an American even if there is anything going on, but it is still a major concern for both me and my family. On a lighter note, did you know that you could have studied a language since high school, and still worry about being able to form a single sentence? Because I do! Give me a book to read, or a short essay to write, and I will do so with a smile on my face, but every time I have a conversation in German, I forget almost every single word I’ve learned. So while I am so grateful to have the opportunity to practice my target language with native speakers, I can’t help but lament over the fact that carrying around a dictionary for daily conversation is not considered socially acceptable.
Anxiety over packing aside, I’d like to think I am set for the program! I did have a packing list and have acquired everything essential on it, and double and triple-checked my flight details. I’ve been on planes before, but I have never flown without my family present, so I’m a little nervous about that. Thankfully, I was able to get a direct flight to Berlin, which cuts out the chaos of transfer flights, and so long as I don’t lose my head with packing, I should only have one checked luggage to worry about. And barring any freak delays with my flight, I should be able to get to my Berlin accommodations with plenty of time to spare. I even have my arrival instructions printed out in case there’s an issue with WiFi or my SIM card once I fly in. Actually, just printing out any potentially important digital documents before you travel is a good idea, because you never know when WiFi or cellular service becomes spotty or nonexistent. Another fairly obvious pro tip is if you have chronic pain (or really any medical condition), make sure to keep your anti-inflammatory of choice and any other necessary medications or medical equipment in your hand luggage, where it can be easily accessed! I have chronic knee issues, and often have flare ups during really inopportune times, so I’m usually pretty good about keeping my knee brace in my bag whenever I leave the house. However, this time, I was about to pack away both my brace and my ibuprofen into my checked luggage before my mom reminded me that I may need it during the flight.
Every passing day, and with each task checked off my seemingly never-ending list, I can feel the program inching closer and closer. It’s not as though I’m dreading it- this will be the second time I will have been to Germany, and the country left a very good impression on me the first time I was there- but it is slightly surreal. This will be the first time that I will be in a foreign country, much less one thousands of miles away from the States, without my family. I wasn’t even this nervous when I came to Temple as a freshman, because I knew that my family was close enough that I could see them if there was an emergency. On a lighter note, I’m really excited to meet more people in the German program! I am an Interdisciplinary German Studies minor, but I tend to keep to myself a lot, and my major takes up a lot of my time, so I haven’t really gotten to know many people in the program. And as worried as I am being so far away from home on my own, I am so pumped to be able to spread my wings and flourish in Leipzig. I was also initially worried about going to Philly for school, and now my parents have to drag me out of there kicking and screaming over breaks, so I’m hoping for a similar experience in Germany. Being able to become fluent in German has been a goal of mine since I was twelve years old, and I am so excited to take the next step in achieving that goal.
Well, that’s all folks, I’m signing off now! Wish me luck with packing, and I’ll see y’all in a week, this time in Berlin! Learn more about studying abroad during the summer!
