Eine Woche

With a week to go I have decided to finally begin my blog for my year in Germany.  After reading enough of these I decided to hop on the bandwagon and do what all the cool kids are doing.  Hopefully when I look back on this post at the end of my trip I'll be so much more cultured and all that awesomesauce!

It still doesn't feel real that I am actually leaving this country in a week to accomplish one of my lifelong dreams of studying abroad in Deutschland.  To answer everyone's questions:

1.  Yes, I am more than excited to go...but also quite nervous
2.  I will be living in Munich, Germany for about ten months
3.  My housing is the Oranges Haus in Studentenstadt (It's basically a dorm where I will live among other German and international students)
4.  I don't currently know anyone in my program (I do however have a few friends that live in Europe)

My program is called 'Junior Year in Munich' and is through Wayne State University.  It has been around for about 60 years and is America's oldest study abroad program to Germany.  Check it out:  http://www.jym.wayne.edu/

My goals for this year (in no particular order):

1.  Become fluent in the language
2.  Befriend at least one German student
3.  Shred gnar in the Alps
4.  Go to a Fussball game
5.  See the Fjords in Norway
6.  Travel to as many European cities as possible

The one thing I truly want most out of this program is to become a German student for a year.  I don't want to be an American living in Germany but rather an authentic German citizen...or as close as I can get to that.  I want to give up my American traditions and way of living and embrace everything that is German (unfortunately this includes going almost an entire year without my dearly beloved Taco Bell burritos!).  I'm sure this will involve a lot of awkwardness and determination as I immerse myself in a different language and culture.  In the end however, I know it will all be more than worth it.