Well, I have spent my first night in Gießen, Germany! I absolutely love it! I thought I was going to be homesick but I am not in the least. I know it's only been two days but it is so exciting meeting people from all over the world. Today I met people from Turkey, Greece, Russia, Hungary, Poland, Brazil, Japan, Korea, Georgia, England, North Ireland, Costa Rica, Spain etc. What I am so thankful for is that I have not been shy. I have just been talking and talking and making new friends!
I love my dorm room too! It's bigger then I thought. I have a bed, a large desk, a pretty big closet and a sink and mirror in my room. I share a kitchen and a bathroom that is just down the hall. I guess that my dorms are the nicest. At least, that's what everyone tells me. I sure like them!
I just got back from my first night at a German pub! I drank tea. I didn't feel like having any beer but I did try some of my friend's beer. I just don't like it! Ah well. It was so fun though! We went with a group of students from Northern Ireland. They were quite crazy but fun to be with. We went to an international student bar so we'll be going a lot I think. There was a foosball table and we had a big tournament with the Irish playing the Americans. It was such good, clean fun and a great way to get to know each other. I am so excited to grow in my friendships and meet more new people!
One thing that makes me frustrated though is that we all speak English. Some people have had no prior German and so that I understand. However, I feel like we will never improve if all we do is speak English. The course starts on Monday though and so I hope that after that we will be speaking more German.
My dorm is right by the pub and I still hear the Irish there having a good time. This is going to be a fun, crazy year!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Why Germany?
Okay, so to be honest this whole "study abroad in Germany thing" spawned from a trip I took to Germany as a seventeen-year-old in 2007. I went to visit my friend Madlen, who was our exchange student and is now one of my best friends. After returning from this trip, I was determined to major in German and study abroad there.
So when I graduated from high school I started off with German my first semester of college. Then I went to Guatemala. Afterward, I wanted to study Spanish but was too far into the German program. Then I went to China. Afterward, I wanted to study Chinese but, again, was too far into the German program. This whole last semester I've been struggling with how German is going to help me on the mission field. I felt like maybe I was diving into the wrong language, even though everything for this trip kept falling into place.
Friday morning of last week I got a glimpse of a way I can use my German! It was also a reminder that God can use any gift we have if we are willing to let Him work in our life.
An old family friend, Mark Bosley, came over to say goodbye before he heads back down to Arizona. He was once interested in Linguistics, my major, and loves talking to me about it. He told me that two excellent professors of Linguistics are teaching in Germany right now and one of them is an expert in African languages. I was so excited! Could this be the reason that I am spending this time in Germany? I would love to study under these professors! I probably won't graduate from college for another two and half years and I don't know if they will still be there; however, I'm so excited for the opportunities my studying abroad may open for me!
So when I graduated from high school I started off with German my first semester of college. Then I went to Guatemala. Afterward, I wanted to study Spanish but was too far into the German program. Then I went to China. Afterward, I wanted to study Chinese but, again, was too far into the German program. This whole last semester I've been struggling with how German is going to help me on the mission field. I felt like maybe I was diving into the wrong language, even though everything for this trip kept falling into place.
Friday morning of last week I got a glimpse of a way I can use my German! It was also a reminder that God can use any gift we have if we are willing to let Him work in our life.
An old family friend, Mark Bosley, came over to say goodbye before he heads back down to Arizona. He was once interested in Linguistics, my major, and loves talking to me about it. He told me that two excellent professors of Linguistics are teaching in Germany right now and one of them is an expert in African languages. I was so excited! Could this be the reason that I am spending this time in Germany? I would love to study under these professors! I probably won't graduate from college for another two and half years and I don't know if they will still be there; however, I'm so excited for the opportunities my studying abroad may open for me!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Two Weeks Left
Before I begin my first post, I would like to say don't judge my grammar! When I free write I don't really pay attention to rules. Just had to get that out of the way. :)
Also, I would like to say that I have created this blog as a place to share about my year in Germany with all those interested. :) I will be studying in Giessen at Justus Liebig Universität. Giessen is a small university town located 45min north of Frankfurt in the state of Hessen.
Exactly 2 weeks. In fact, I'm am writing this at 10am and 10am is when my flight leaves Milwaukee on August 20th. Weird. I can't wrap my mind around actually being gone a whole year. I don't think it has actually sunk in yet. Don't get me wrong, I am so excited! I know I have a full year full of adventures, trials, and challenges ahead. I am not only looking forward to growing and becoming an independent young woman through this experience, but also learning more and more about trusting the Lord.
Let's talk about Him. He has been more faithful in the last month than I could even imagine. Every little worry or bump in the road to preparing for Germany. He has cleared When I was worried about whether my scholarship would actually cover my study abroad, I got an email confirming it would. When I was worried about finding my way once I reached Germany, I got an email saying there will be a sign at the train station welcoming the exchange students. When I was worried further about having money in Germany, I found out that I was awarded a $2,000 Wisconsin Study Abroad Grant. These are just a few examples of how little by little God has shown me that I need not worry! He will take care of things.
This summer I worked at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission for six weeks for a program called City Camp. It was challenging and wonderful. The theme verse of the camp was Matthew 28:20, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." At first I didn't think too hard about the verse, it was just something the kids had to memorize and it seemed pretty explainable. However, I just finished reading through the book of Matthew and as it is the very last verse of Matthew I recently reread it. For some reason, all of a sudden it took on a new meaning for me. Duh! God is going to be with me every second I'm away. I could walk through fire and He would never leave my side. Leilah Korban and I always talk about how excited we are for our lives because God is with us! How bright our futures are because the joy and hope we have in Christ! Well, I am filled with joy right now writing this because I know that this is true!!
Okay, so that's about it for now. I will obviously be writing more once I get to Germany. However, I would like to ask one more thing. Can those who read this keep me lifted up in prayer? I would like to find a church and some Christian friends over there. Thank you so much.
Also, I would like to say that I have created this blog as a place to share about my year in Germany with all those interested. :) I will be studying in Giessen at Justus Liebig Universität. Giessen is a small university town located 45min north of Frankfurt in the state of Hessen.
Exactly 2 weeks. In fact, I'm am writing this at 10am and 10am is when my flight leaves Milwaukee on August 20th. Weird. I can't wrap my mind around actually being gone a whole year. I don't think it has actually sunk in yet. Don't get me wrong, I am so excited! I know I have a full year full of adventures, trials, and challenges ahead. I am not only looking forward to growing and becoming an independent young woman through this experience, but also learning more and more about trusting the Lord.
Let's talk about Him. He has been more faithful in the last month than I could even imagine. Every little worry or bump in the road to preparing for Germany. He has cleared When I was worried about whether my scholarship would actually cover my study abroad, I got an email confirming it would. When I was worried about finding my way once I reached Germany, I got an email saying there will be a sign at the train station welcoming the exchange students. When I was worried further about having money in Germany, I found out that I was awarded a $2,000 Wisconsin Study Abroad Grant. These are just a few examples of how little by little God has shown me that I need not worry! He will take care of things.
This summer I worked at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission for six weeks for a program called City Camp. It was challenging and wonderful. The theme verse of the camp was Matthew 28:20, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." At first I didn't think too hard about the verse, it was just something the kids had to memorize and it seemed pretty explainable. However, I just finished reading through the book of Matthew and as it is the very last verse of Matthew I recently reread it. For some reason, all of a sudden it took on a new meaning for me. Duh! God is going to be with me every second I'm away. I could walk through fire and He would never leave my side. Leilah Korban and I always talk about how excited we are for our lives because God is with us! How bright our futures are because the joy and hope we have in Christ! Well, I am filled with joy right now writing this because I know that this is true!!
Okay, so that's about it for now. I will obviously be writing more once I get to Germany. However, I would like to ask one more thing. Can those who read this keep me lifted up in prayer? I would like to find a church and some Christian friends over there. Thank you so much.
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