Remember that time I was going to Germany...oh wait, that's tomorrow!

Well, it seems to me that I’m probably the last one to post about my pre-trip emotions. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but it seems to happen all too often. I’m also probably one of the last ones packed. Almost done now, and with 16 hours to spare! :)

This entire trip is going to be a new experience to me, since I have never been to Europe at all. I lived in Bogota, Colombia for a stretch of time, though I’m not sure that really compares to European society. I also have very little experience with the German language, so pretty much I’m just hoping everything works out for the best. If you asked me where the places that I am visiting on this trip, I can tell you Bonn, Berlin, Cologne, and Hannover. Other than that, we’re gonna go to places to do stuff. I’ll get the names later.

Everything seems to have panned out planning wise, though it was a close call. I managed to get on a flight over there with a couple other people in the program and even sit next to them too! For the free weekends, I am going to spend the first weekend in Amsterdam, mainly because we end up in the Netherlands (once again, city I can’t pronounce…) and it should be a relaxing trip since it is fairly close. To be fair, it’s easy to be flexible when you have never visited any of these places. The next weekend, I am just going to spend some extra time in Hannover. It will be fun, I’m going to check out a cattle clinic, and just enjoy the time there. I figure if I want to go somewhere else, I’ll swing a trip another time so that I don’t have to rush through the vast amount of history.

In general, I’m excited about most everything that we are going to do. I think that it comes from my lack of experience. I don’t really know what I should or shouldn’t be excited for, so I’m just happy to be going. I know that the zoo tours will be fun, and the seal rehab center is a sort of treatment that never even crossed my mind. And the mud-walking tour. I don’t even know what we are touring, but sometimes it’s just fun to slog. Who knows!

Alright, gonna finish this up and wrap up the packing. Monday’s almost here and we’ll see how prepared I am! At least I’ll just be happy to be there!

- Chris