The First Weekend/Week in Bielefeld

Hallo everyone!

It’s hard to believe I’ve only been here a week. I feel like the time flew by this last week, but at the same time I feel like I’ve been here for much longer than a week.

Last time I wrote, I had just finished an exhausting day of orientation. There was no time for exhaustion though; we did a lot that weekend!!

(Just so you know, I seriously lack the ability to summarize, especially in this first week which was so exciting and busy!…if you want a very brief statement about how this last week has been going, you can skip to the end)

That Friday night was the first Friday/weekend night for all of us exchange students, and my neighbor in the flat below mine invited some of us to come hang out with her and her flatmates, “very casual, not very many people will come” kind of thing. Which is how we learned something very important: if “just a few of us” are coming…chances are, all of us are coming. When each person brings their 4 flatmates…well, you can imagine how the numbers grow. But it was really fun! I guess you could call it a “party”, but we were all just sitting around in the living talking and getting to know each other. Of course, people were drinking, but it wasn’t a crazy college party scene. Alcohol is not a big deal here, to have a beer while with friends is like having a coke with friends: the hype and “rebellious” aspect is not here, I think it’s more mature. So I had a really good night talking to the other students and just enjoying their company.

On Saturday, the International Office had arranged a tour of Bielefeld’s botanical garden and farm museum. From our tram stop in the city, we walked about 20 minutes to the garden. The Sparrenburg Castle, Bielefeld’s “symbol”, loomed over us as we made our way in the grey morning. The botanical garden was very pretty, but it was a miserable tour because it was pouring rain! During the tour, I hung out with the 5 girls from France. It was awesome because I actually understood quite a bit of what they would say to me, although they often speak fast and have a Parisian accent. I really enjoyed practicing with them. After we all sped through the gardens, we decided on a change of plans: rather than go to the open-air farm, we went to a restaurant. It seemed like a pretty nice (Italian?) restaurant to me. When we ordered our food, they gave us a cellphone-like gadget that vibrated when our food was ready and could pick it up. I had never seen anything like it before! The pizza I shared with one of the French girls tasted really good after being in the rain all morning. After the restaurant, most of us went to a supermarket in Bielefeld. It was so odd to me because the supermarket was kind of like a Fred Meyers, but the building looked so old! The clash of old and new still boggles me. It was a really long afternoon, and the day still wasn’t over! ALL the exchange students had been invited to a party at another flat (during the Welcome Café , one of the mentors announced it) so my flatmates and I went to the party, along with the other international exchange students. It was really fun! It was different than just a “sit around and talk” party, there was loud music playing and many more people, but it was still really fun to just dance and see the other students after a long day. My flatmate from Japan, Momoko, was the life of the party and wasn’t even drinking! She’s really outgoing and just adorable, she hadn’t really danced before but was doing the Gagnam Style dance (I was dying of laughter and amazement) and just watching her made me want to dance! We’ve decided she’s our mascot. Unlike the other students from Japan and China, she is very outgoing and loves to talk to everyone, so she is very popular! She has a very friendly and giggly personality, and the entire room laughs with her instead of at her. I love living with her!

The Botanical Gardens

We had beautiful weather on Sunday, which was perfect for our trip to the animal park/zoo !! We walked through part of the Teutoburg Forest (a large forest across the region that is renown as the site of Roman battles or something like that) which reminded me of Juneau. I can’t wait to see the forest when the leaves start to turn colors! We walked through a clearing, past the open-air farm museum that we’d bailed on the day before, to the animal park. I had seen most of the animals before, but it was still a really fun way to spend a sunny afternoon and enjoy time with my friends. One thing that was really funny: we thought that it was hilarious that the word for “beaver” in German is “Biber”. In America, we make fun of Justin Bieber by calling him Justin Beaver…and it makes sense in German! My Italian companions were laughing too…we all thought it was really funny. Also, I discovered my favorite word in German (so far): Uhu. It means owl…which is adorable, isn’t it?! It’s the sound an owl makes!! And for some reason it’s even cuter when a German says it. After the zoo, some of us stopped at the open-air museum for some REALLY delicious cake and coffee. I plan to go back and check out the rest of the farm museum, but we were all so tired and the day had turned cold. The last half of the day we relaxed before our first day of class. Kari, my Finnish flatmate, said it best: “Everyone drank their beer last night and the supermarkets are closed today, so it should be a quiet night”.

Uhu :)

 

some fellow exchange students and I at the animal park!

Even after a laid-back night, 8:30am on a Monday is still awful. It helps when you’re surrounded by 40 people sharing your misery, though. We divided into our “sprachkurse” groups (I am in A1+…a somewhat advanced beginner ;) ). The schedule for the next few weeks is the same: we have language classes from 8:30am-12pm, Monday-Friday. I’m liking my class so far, but the first few days were really hard. Our teacher and our teacher’s assistant, who is pretty young, don’t speak English well at all. Which is fine, of course, unless you’re trying to teach a class of multiple nationalities and the only language we all have in common (for now) is English. You can imagine our confusion and struggle. Our teacher, Oxana, only spoke in German to us.  Trial by fire is great, but we were sitting there so confused.  I mean, it was pretty obvious that we couldn’t understand her German explanation of a German definition. She spent a large amount of time saying “Nein, nein nein!” and rolling her eyes the first couple of days. Even worse, her assistant is Chinese and her German is as hard to understand as her English. And she always comes up with awful games for us to play, that aren’t really games at all. Like, let’s count from 1-100 and clap every time there’s a multiple of 7! (Which is funny because none of us understood the game until we were at like, 49, and she just gave up on us). We all make fun of Giuseppe, a guy from Italy, and Juan, from Spain, because the teacher seems to be especially nice to them (both are classically handsome Italian and Spanish guys). When asked if he had a girlfriend (in German, of course), Juan answered “No”, and our teacher exclaimed, “WHY NOT?!” But over the first week, we all made a lot of progress! I can introduce myself and tell a little about myself and my family. I definitely want to practice more. The Language Center (I don’t remember the exact German name) at the university is really helpful, and I plan on signing up for a Tandem program, where I am matched with a German student and we help each other learn. They’ll help me with German and I’ll help them with English, spending equal amounts of time speaking both languages. I’m also really excited to make more German connections. One of the French girls has already asked that we be Tandem partners, too, so I’ll be able to keep practicing French! I also found out that I can continue to take French classes here, so if it works out in my schedule, I hope to do that too.

One funny thing I wanted to share: that first Monday was one of the exchange students’ birthdays. Many people cooked something from their home country to share at the party (hello, homemade Sangria, French cake, crepes, and Italian appetizers). Anyways, since two of my French friends and I didn’t have time to cook, we decided to just contribute drinks to the party. We went to a nearby supermarket and while standing at the tram station, we saw some Mormons. I was so surprised to see them! They asked me about them, which sparked a really interesting conversation about me and my beliefs. One of the girls stopped me and asked, “So according to your beliefs, you can have a relationship with God, just like you have a relationship with anyone else?”

Neither of them had ever been told that before.

So there I stood at a tram stop, holding a six pack of beer, explaining the gospel. I have to laugh at the situation, because I was silently praying, “Really God, now?” but it went well, I think, and I hope it happens again.

On Wednesday, the International Office put on a really fun event called “Speed-Friending”. We went to a house the university owns and sat in long rows at tables. Every 90 seconds, one side of the table moved, so that you ended up talking to a lot of people! We did this at UAS too, but I still thought this was a great event to do. The mentors were there too, so we got to know more Germans. Everyone is always so interested in Alaska! I think the only reason people remembered who I was at first was because I was from Alaska. It was a fun activity to do to get past the basic “what’s your name?” and the 90 seconds was always too short! Like I said, meeting more Germans was great too, because all of us exchange students hang out and live together. I really want to experience the German culture, which is hard when you don’t live with a host family. I think this will change when the semester starts and we have classes and friends outside of our small group, but for now I feel like we kind of have our own culture! After Speed-Friending we went to the bierkeller in the other student residence, Morgenbreede. It’s basically a bar in the bottom of the student residence (which sounded super strange to me!), but I only looked around and then left, I was so tired and it was just another place to have a drink. I had gotten to talk to one of the German mentors quite a bit, and had a really fun time talking with him and my Italian friend Francesca (plus he said “Uhu!”…So. Freaking. Cute.).

Friday was a “pub night” that the International Office had arranged- they had reserved part of a Mexican pub in the city for us! The food was general Mexican food, but we had a funny experience while ordering beer. My flatmate Federico, my friend Francesca, and I each ordered the same kind of beer. Or, at least we thought it was beer. When it came, however, it certainly was not beer! It was a super sweet drink of some sort. I didn’t mind, of course, I rather liked it, but my friends were definitely disappointed that they didn’t have a real beer to go with their quesadilla. After we were done eating at the pub, we walked around a bit and ended up going to the bierkeller in the third student residence (and furthest from the other two). The drinks were only 1 euro each, which everyone loved. In the end it was a really long walk home but a good night.

A bar we saw after pub night...the price was constantly changing!

In Bielefeld at night!

Our "beer"

Pub Night! 

Saturday was a really random day for me. I went with my Polish friend Jakub, my Spanish flatmate Federico, and my Spanish friend Sarah to an organ concert in one of the old churches in Bielefeld. I had never been before, and it was nice, but…it was an organ concert, haha. And then it was already Sunday! It was overcast, but made for nice weather for our guided city tour. My tour was in English and led by a very old woman who spoke surprisingly good English (usually it’s the young Germans who know English) and had us booking it through the city! She might have had 50 years on us but you wouldn’t know it. She was very knowledgeable about the history of Bielefeld, and our 2 hours weren’t even enough to cover/see everything! I was happy to see more of the old city(I had seen some of it the night before after the organ concert, finding our way back to the train station) and I always love historical stories. 

Exploring after the organ concert

The Rathaus (old town hall)

Where the organ concert was, the Nikolai Church

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Looking at Bielefeld from the Sparennenburg castle wall…the church with the twin steeples, Neustadter Marienkirche Church, is one of the landmarks of the city. The church with the green steeple is the Nicolaikirche. The old city used to lie between the two

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And here I am again, another Monday! It’s hard to believe.

Here are some really random things about my exchange that I’m loving:

• Getting a knock on my door at 11:30 at night to be told that Giuseppe (my Italian friend who lives below me) has made delicious Italian pasta and that it’s time to eat.
• Actually, just eating all of the new food in general.
• Learning really random phrases in other languages
• Everyone loves the way I speak English! I’m not completely sure (because she can’t explain in English), but I’m also pretty sure my German teacher has been telling me that I drawl.
• Finally learning all of flatmates names! Federico (Fede) is from Spain, Kari-Matti (Kari) is from Finland, Elisa is from Italy, and Momoko is from Japan.
• Listening to Fede and Elisa argue in their respective languages (they can practically hold a conversation without switching to another because the languages are so similar)
• Discovering that Momoko can sing opera! And when asked to sing, what did she belt? THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA! We totally connected over that and even though her English isn’t great, she asked me to play it while we were in the kitchen a couple days later. I also just heard her singing Les Mis, and earlier today she was singing “Part of Your World”…she is full of surprises and is soo talented! (Rachelle and Chrystal, it really makes me miss you though…I haven’t taught her the correct lyrics to “Part of Your World” yet…:D )
• Fede teaching our Polish friend, Jakub, Spanish…trust me, it’s awesome.
• NUTELLA COSTS LESS THAN 2 Euros…I’m going to get fat
• Candy is also really really cheap.
• All of my friends want me to bake for them! “American cookies” and brownies, to be exact. I need to figure out the metric system first, though, because all of their baking stuff doesn’t make sense. Why, America, WHYYYYYY

One night, my flatmates and I sat around our living room writing out tongue twisters in our respective languages and then passed them around, each of us trying them. Laughing and clapping ensued. It’s these small moments that are most special to me, these are the experiences I was excited to have.

It’s almost October! And we all know what that means in Germany…Oktoberfest! There are actually festivals year round but Oktoberfest is the most well-known and popular. My flatmates and other exchange students have been talking about going to Oktoberfest in Munich (the most famous place for Oktoberfest), but it’s so expensive to get there. I’d love to go, though. Munich is in the south of Germany and is one of the more traditional German towns . I would love to experience the culture in the south of Germany (I’ve heard it’s very different) and see this famous festival firsthand. 

My flatmates and I :)

Fede, Momoko, me, Elisa, and Kari!

Spain, Japan, Alaska, Italy, Finland

I am loving it here. I could talk all day about my experiences, but Momoko is currently playing the piano while singing “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion and I must go!

Tschüss! 

The First Chapter(s)

Prequel: The Last Alaskan Weeks

My last two weeks in Alaska were crazy. In Juneau, it was my last week of work and also move-in week, so many students came back to UAS. I met so many new people and then had to say goodbye. It was also sad to be reunited with all my friends in Juneau just to turn around and have to leave. That was what made leaving Juneau hard: seeing how easily I fell back into routine with friends and the familiarity I was leaving. I could just see how fun and comfortable staying in Juneau would be.  After leaving Juneau, I returned to Palmer for a week. I’m so glad I had some time to rest and just be with my family and some friends before leaving to Germany. I had time to take care of little things, like duplicating every single document I thought I could possibly need a copy of. I spent my last night in Alaska playing bingo (for the first time ever) with my mom and two of my best friends. It was actually very fun, and I literally wouldn’t have rather spent that last night any other way.

Before I knew it, I was saying goodbye to my family and my Palmer friends. I always hate leaving Palmer; since I left for college in August 2012, I think I’ve been home for a grand total of about 3 interspersed weeks. I never feel like I have enough time there. I was sad to go and I really hate saying goodbye to my mom (I know, I’m such a child... but what can I say? I love my mom) but I was also very, very excited of course! I boarded my plane to Frankfurt and looked forward to the adventure ahead.

Chapter One: Hanover

Well, first I should back up and say I made it to Frankfurt. There is nothing exciting about a 5-hour layover after not sleeping for an entire 20 hour flight. I watched 4 movies on the plane but somehow didn’t sleep. After my 5-hour layover (including a surprise gate change featuring yours truly, in which I then had to hike LITERALLY to the other side of the airport) I finally boarded my plane to Hanover, where I would spend the next couple of days with Felix and his family, whom many of you probably know from Palmer or his time in Juneau this summer. It was such a relief to see a familiar face. 

I spent four days in Hanover, mostly resting and hanging out with Felix and meeting some of his friends. On my second night there, we actually went to an American restaurant and had burgers, so I didn’t feel too out of place. I visited Hanover over Christmas break as well, but it looked very different in the late summer/early August weather! It was really beautiful when we went to the city, the lake was shining in the sunlight and there were actually people kayaking and sailing on it! Last time I’d been to Hanover, I’d seen the city by night and there had been a Christmas market with hot wine booths, so to see it by day was very different. Felix and I visited the old town hall on my second-to-last-day there. It was so strange for me to see such an old building with modern technology all around it. In the town hall, Felix showed me the models of the city of Hanover. There were four of them, each representing a different time period. The model of the city after World War II was very striking after comparing it to the other models (the city was destroyed). We had just visited a church in Hanover that had been bombed during the war but was never rebuilt to serve as a reminder of sorts, so I can only imagine what the entire city looked like. Felix explained that much of Hanover’s layout hasn’t changed, so the layout of some of the streets you walk today is the same that was walked hundreds of years ago.

The time in Hanover was wonderful, but eventually I had to step out on my own to continue the journey to Bielefeld.

Chapter 2: Bielefeld, the City That Doesn’t Exist

A small piece of background information about Bielefeld, the city I’m studying in: it doesn’t exist. Er, it does, but according to most Germans, it doesn’t. The city of Bielefeld is something of a joke in Germany, kind of how Americans refer to Area 51. Bielefeld is often joked about as a “government conspiracy” or a place where they hide alien spacecraft. The joke is a real thing, it has a name: “The Bielefeld Conspiracy”. Look it up! It's funny. The joke is that, well, the city of Bielefeld’s existence is a conspiracy! There are 3 questions to ask "Do you know anybody from Bielefeld?", "Have you ever been to Bielefeld?" and "Do you know anybody who has ever been to Bielefeld?"and the answer is uaually always no…if you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you’re just part of the conspiracy! Apparently, the city council in Bielefeld actually had to release a statement saying that the city is real, but the timing was poor as the statement wasreleased on April Fool’s Day. So many people thought it was funny that I was going to Bielefeld.

Needless to say, Bielefeld definitely exists. 

My first day here was exhausting. I made it to Bielefeld without much incident, although I must say: public transportation scares me. I had only ridden a train a couple of times before, and the thought of being alone on one gives me anxiety. This is something I really hope to overcome and one of my goals of studying abroad is learning how to use public transportation such as metros, trains, and buses.  I had contacted an ISEP student who goes to the university through the ISEP Facebook group, and she SO kindly had offered to meet me at the main train station in Bielefeld and take me to the university. I was so, so thankful that she met me there because, like I said, using public transportation alone makes me scared and anxious. We then took the metro to the university stop, which is right by the university.

My first impression of the university: huge.  And that it most likely could actually hide an alien spacecraft.

Obviously, it is very different than UAS. It is a huge, silver building that looks more like a mall or an airport than a university. While it is intimidating, it is also pretty convenient: everything is in the same building at the university. The main hall has a cafeteria and multiple places to eat, a bank of ATMs, a bakery, a post office…like I said, it’s like a mall/airport. There’s a swimming pool at the far end too, which seemed funny to me, just to have a swimming pool right in the university. Right now it’s relatively “empty” because the semester hasn’t started, but there are still more people than at UAS. The university is huge because all the faculties are in the same building. This is unusual for universities here, because a campus can actually be spread out through different buildings all over a town.

So there I was, in this enormous building dragging my 47-pound suitcase (no seriously, dragging…one of the wheels became very un-rounded in Hanover and rolling it was now out of the question). Anne, the former ISEP student, helped me find the International office, where I did paperwork and housing contract stuff. I felt disgusting meeting my coordinator and all these important people while dripping sweat from hauling that suitcase around, but hey, they probably just figured I was from Alaska and we all live in cabins without running water anyways. Anne gave me a fantastic tour of the university!

Afterwards, Anne showed me the way as I dragged that suitcase on another walk to the student dorms, which are actually very close to the university! My apartment is on the third floor, so I was murderously glaring at the spiral-y stone staircase and envisioning my chiropractic trauma when another exchange student appeared and offered to carry it up for me! I was very thankful but also sad for him and his back.

My apartment is a flat shared with 4 other international students. We share a kitchen and 2 bathrooms (or actually, 4…they split the shower from the toilet here).  I really like my room, we each have our own sink and mirror in our rooms so that makes getting ready and sharing common bathrooms easy.  As I mentioned, I live with four other international student. I actually have not met a single ISEP student here, everyone is with ERASMUS, a European exchange student program. If I could spell my flatmates’ names, I would write them… but I can’t.  But I CAN tell you the important things: I’m living with a girl from Japan, a girl from Italy, a guy from Spain, and a guy from Finland. And then there’s me! So we are a very international flat, haha.

I barely had time to drop my stuff off in my room and change out of my sweaty clothes before going to a welcome café for international students. We met the international office team and had some tea/coffee and cookies. All of us international students gathered in a circle and they had us say our name, where we were from, what we study, and something that makes us unique. Surprisingly, I am the ONLY one from the U.S! And definitely the only one from Alaska. There are people from all over Europe but nobody was from the U.S. There may be more coming later but so far, everyone I’ve met is from Europe, except a couple people from Mexico and Canada. Of course, lots of people asked me about Alaska and how I ended up in Bielefeld. Some complimented me on my English (“Did you learn it in school?”) and were surprised to hear that English is spoken as a first language of many in Alaska. Some asked me which part of Alaska I was from (“Are you from the French part of the English-speaking part?) but I told them that was Canada. Someone asked what kind of currency we use (obviously I told them that rocks and moose teeth serve as our currency). All in all, every time I say I’m from Alaska, I’m met with a surprised look and questions. Some people don’t know my name yet but just say “Oh, you, from Alaska!”

After the welcome café I went to the city with some other students and their mentors. There is an old part and a new part of the city. We were in the new part, but I caught glimpses of the old part and from what I saw, I think it must be pretty. My main mission was to buy the toiletries I hadn’t brought with me, which was actually kind of fun because there are stores completely devoted just to things like hair and skin stuff. I was really surprised though! Some brands that are so cheap and common in America are expensive and “newer” here, and vice versa! Also, there is no stick deodorant…

The day was long and exhausting, but not over yet! I have a student mentor here, Ozan, who is here as a resource and helper for me. He had to work during the café so I hadn’t met him yet. I met with him at 9, it was nice to meet him and talk with him for a bit. I was invited to a party about a million times, but I was so exhausted from my long day, basically sleepwalking, that I returned to my flat, unpacked, and went to bed. I was in bed at 10, excited for our first day of orientation at 9 am the next morning.

Today, Friday the 13^th, was our first day of orientation. In the morning, we had basic “welcome” presentations and registered as students. The process seems to take a while, and I won’t have my ID until next week (which is a real bummer since it gives me free transportation on the metros etc…conquering my fear will have to come next week. Also, my apartment’s wi-fi doesn’t work until next week so I have to be AT the university to use any internet, which isn’t so bad, just inconvenient). We had a short tour of the university (my tour with Anne was much more in-depth, but they’ll do more over the next weeks). I ate lunch with another international student, a guy from France whose English was practically perfect, after we figured out the cafeteria. I had asked if they accepted debit cards and NONE of the staff knew what I was saying, one of them just handed me his phone with Google Translate pulled up. I met up with one of the students I seem to always be around, a girl from Italy. All of us international students took a German language test to find out which class we’d be in. For this first month, all we’re doing is our language classes and tours of the city sights. The “real” semester starts in October. Some people were nervous for this test, but I already knew I would be in the very beginner’s class, A1. I knew this as soon as I was at my Condor gate at the Anchorage airport and couldn’t understand anything around me. I had a German book I was going through this summer, so I can catch simple phrases and some words, but other than that I have no knowledge of German. I’m glad to be in the lowest level so that I can learn everything from the bottom up!

Right now, it’s Friday evening and suggestions for the night have been thrown at me all day! It is only my second day here, even though yesterday seemed to be a week long. I’m legitimately sore from dragging that suitcase. Although it’s been busy the last 2 days here and in Hanover, it’s been fun and exciting! This weekend we have some tours and I’m excited to get to know my fellow international students better! 

Who? What? Where? When? How?

Friends and family,

I’ve decided to writing about my year in Germany for a couple of reasons. I want to be able to look back a year from now and remember the little things. I also want keep everyone somewhat updated on my life, if they care to know. So that when I return, I won’t have to meet the question “So how was Germany?” with a blank stare. And lastly, because multiple friends have suggested/demanded that I blog. It was also suggested that I limit my use of Facebook and contact with home. I see the benefit in this, especially for the first month or so. I’ll definitely still be using Facebook and such but I feel like this is a more in-depth way of sharing my time studying abroad.

I’ve been asked by a lot of people why I chose to study abroad, and why I chose Germany. This requires a little explanation of myself and the program I’m going with.

While I’ve been blessed with opportunities to travel to a couple other countries, I have always been a visitor. I’ve loved travelling and experiencing new places, peoples, and ideas. Other cultures genuinely excite me, and that is why I want to be more than a tourist. I wanted to be fully immersed in another language, experiencing another culture firsthand. I feel like this is another kind of learning, a whole different kind of education that is far more enriching. I’ve wanted to be an exchange student since high school. However, this wasn’t a reality for me. I didn’t know how to get involved in a program, and I was afraid of the financial aspect. I imagined such an opportunity would be far out of my reach. I really regret not pursuing that, though. During my senior year of high school I became close with two exchange students to my high school. Watching them grow while experiencing Alaska was really exciting and I loved being able to share my life with them. The Danish girl was especially inspirational, with her open-minded attitude and the way she completely embraced life. I thought to myself, I could do that. I would make a good exchange student. As my friends went back home and other friends prepared to start their exchange/gap years across the world, I knew that this was a desire that wouldn’t just go away.

One of the reasons I chose to attend University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau was because of their numerous exchange/study abroad options. They really have a program for everyone. I was so excited to learn of the different options and that I would be able to make my dream a reality. I think I made an appointment with our study abroad coordinator in the second or third week of school, haha, I was just so excited. The program I’m going with, ISEP (International Student Exchange Program), has two different options. I chose to do an ISEP Exchange, which means that I’m paying the cost of attending UAS for one year to study in Germany. Which is freaking sweet! This means I can use all of my financial aid and scholarships, so my exchange is very affordable.

“Why Germany?” is a question I’m asked nearly every time someone learns I’m going. Many of you know that an important person in my life happens to live in Germany, but I can PROMISE you, he played a pretty small part in my decision to study abroad, I didn’t do this just to be closer to him.

 And the thing is, I didn’t really choose Germany. I mean, I did. But not really. The way ISEP Exchange works is that you turn in an application that applies to up to 10 universities. Because I’m doing the Exchange option, different universities are ranked according to the chance that I’ll get in. The universities can only accept students based on the number they sent out. Some are “excellent”, others are “fair” or “very good”. I spent a long time trying to figure out where I want to go; ISEP has so many different host sites! I knew I wanted to go to Europe. Like I told my coordinator, I honestly didn’t care where I went as long as I did, in fact, go. I was just so hungry for a new experience, and I honestly would’ve been fine for if she’d picked a random country and assigned it to me. That actually would’ve been a lot easier, haha. I also knew that I didn’t want to study in a country whose first language was English. I really wanted to learn a new language or at least put my 4 years of French to good use. I wanted to be challenged to learn another language and use it every day.

Unfortunately, the French universities required at least 4 semesters of university-level French, and I would only have 2 by the time I went. I really had my heart set on going to La Reunion, a small French-speaking island by Africa, but I didn’t have enough French. Some universities required students to be a junior during their study abroad year, and I wanted to go as a sophomore for degree requirements purposes. In fact, I didn’t think Germany was an option at all: I looked at the universities I was interested in and all of them either required 2 years of German or a junior-level standing. So Germany was out, or so I thought. In the end, I’d narrowed it down to universities in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Bulgaria. I purposely chose countries with challenging languages. I could’ve listed more, but these were the countries I felt passionate about going to. The university in Bulgaria is actually an American university and the classes there are all taught in English, so I thought that might be the best choice academically. However, the Netherlands excited me most.

I’m not sure why I looked at the German universities again, but I did, and stumbled across Universität Bielefeld in Bielefeld, Germany. It had an “excellent” chance of placement and offered English literature classes taught in English (which is what I need to take), along with German classes and a month-long orientation for international students. I also read that exchange students are partnered with mentors and that there are excursions, parties, etc with the International Office. Basically, everything I’d wanted and in a country I was interested in! And it was only an hour away from Hannover, where I’d visited over Christmas. It was seriously the most random finding, and I’d discovered it only days before my application was due. The one downside was that the university preferred juniors. I decided to just go for it. If I wanted to try to go there at all, I had to put it first on my list of preferences because I wasn’t a junior, and I figured if there was an “excellent” chance of placement, maybe they would consider me.

The process is a little complex: ISEP receives your application, and if they accept you, place you and forward your application to the university they choose that they feel will meet your academic needs and interests. The university then has to accept you. ISEP goes down your list of chosen universities until you’re accepted. So my Germany hopes could’ve been squashed right there if they had decided that this wasn’t a good fit. The waiting period wasn’t long at all, but it felt much longer than just a month or two! I honestly didn’t think I would be going to Germany. I actually started to get really excited for Bulgaria! I was thinking to myself, “Well nobody I know has ever been there, I’d probably have no reason to ever go there, why not?!” I really thought I would be going to Bulgaria, it seemed to match my needs and interests well and I would still be challenged . So when I got the e-mail from my coordinator saying I was placed in and accepted to Bielefeld, I was beside myself. It had been the longest shot, and that was why I’d had to rank it first. I couldn’t believe that I’d gotten my first choice, Germany!! My coordinator told me later that the German coordinator had actually called her and talked to her about me before accepting me, it was that close.

I know not all of you reading this share my Christian faith, but I can’t write about an entire year of my life and not talk about my God. I’m excited to see how God uses me and grows me. I do want to be a light, wherever I am.

So, here I am. I’m so excited for this next year! I’m a little nervous because I don’t speak any German at all (although I’m working on that a little this summer), but I’m not afraid. I am so excited to travel and meet new people from all over the world and have my horizons broadened. I look forward to the challenges Germany presents. Like I said, I’m excited to see what God does, but I’m just as excited for the other typical exchange student experiences: new friends, new classes, new places to travel, NEW FOOD, living in another culture, a new language, shopping, a new legal drinking age…the list goes on.

While I can’t even imagine what is to come, this is the year I’ve been waiting so long for. I believe it will be totally different from every other year of my life. I have never blogged before and I really will try to commit to it. This blog is in 2 places, mostly because I couldn’t figure Blogger out and then actually locked myself out… so I went with the second recommendation, a Tumblr account. Tumblr seems kind of fun but I’m pretty sure I’m using it wrong. If I decide that I like more one than the other, I might start to use just that one. For now, it’s in two places, http://brittleetogermany.tumblr.com/ and http://brittleetogermany.blogspot.com/

Off to adventure!

P.S. This song kind of perfectly matches my feelings right now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_7iOuCZNj0