Guten Abend von Deutschland!

I am officially in Germany, and settled. I love my roommates, although they speak VERY quickly so it is sometimes difficult to understand them. They are super nice, though, which is wonderful. They showed me today where I can store my food in the kitchen, and also the "Chore List" (I am an adorable South Park-looking character) which includes taking out the trash and washing kitchen towels. I love this city. I may never leave, honestly. I love my family and friends, and miss them desperately, but they can come here and live with me. This is paradise. Now, had I made this post a few days ago, I wouldn't have written those words. I was SO homesick the first and second days (although I kept myself preoccupied by hanging out with awesome people like Uli, Michael and Seita) and it was really, really difficult. But already, I am so at home and excited about exploring this place. I'm even thinking of going to Cardiff within the next few days! We'll see. I need to purchase some things for my room (some practical, some just fun so I can feel at home) but I'm also going to try to "spare meine Geld", oder for you English speakers, save my money. Anyway, I have explored the city a little recently, so I think pictures are worth a thousand words in this case. They are above the post, since Blogger is awesome (sarcasm) and decided to stick them up on top and remove any and all dramatic effect. The first two are from my campus, and the last is from the train ride TO Freiburg, in the very beginning. I have a lot more, but those will have to be passed around via e-mail and other formats, because I don't have enough time to put them all here.

Sidenote - I don't have access to my iPod right now, which is kind of killing me, but at the same time, it's nice to hear the sound of the city, particularly when the sounds are beautiful birds singing like they are in paradise.

Pre-travel Thoughts

I'm exhausted, so this won't be very long. I've got a lot of stress in my immediate future, but I think the payoff will be well worth it. It's funny how music can have this incredible calming power; I think it will be my saving grace on my flights. Well, that and Dramamine. The time has passed so quickly - this day seemed SO far away just a few weeks ago. Now, despite having thought I would give anything to get on the plane right away and get my adventures started, I wish I could have that time back. Having no real responsibilities every day, making my own schedule. . .it was rough living with just myself for these past weeks, but at the same time, it was important. I think I learned some things.

I thought this would be fun:
Expectations for my European adventure -
1. To learn a lot about another culture.
2. To better my skills at the German language.
3. To learn a lot about myself.
4. To gain a lot of confidence.
5. To be away from everything I know for a while, in order to gain a fresh perspective.
6. To make unforgettable friends and unforgettable memories.
7. To be flexible, open, and have an adventure.

Bye for now, America! And thank you, friends and family, for all of your love, support, prayers and enthusiasm - they will be with me in the next few days, which will be the hardest of the entire trip, I suspect.