Eek.

I have finally finished the giant list of things I had to do before leaving for Germany...except one thing...packing. I've laid out everything I want to take and I can tell you, it doesn't look like it's going to fit in my tiny 44 liter pack. After this, I'm going to go try and wrestle it all in there; should be fun.

So I'm excited of course. I'm also rather distressed about leaving my boyfriend, Brian, behind, but he tells me he'll be fine. I'm not convinced. He would love to go to Germany too, but it doesn't work out for him to come visit after the program. Neither of us has any international traveling experience, so part of my goal here is to learn everything there is to know about getting around Europe and the language. That way, I'll be able to take Brian back to Europe and we won't look like your typical confused tourists, yay!

Another reason I wanted to go on this trip stems from my passion for horseback riding. I've been interested in German culture since I had two riding trainers who were from there. Some of the best horses and riders in the world come from Germany, and I'm hoping to catch a glimpse of the English riding world there to compare to what I know here.

I've been working on the language a bit when I have time, and I really am excited to test it out. I'm thinking that learning German from an iphone translator app is probably not the best way to go about it, but that's okay. I'm sure it will make for some funny/awkward moments when I'm trying to have a conversation in German.

I don't know what else to say except that I'm ready to get this trip started!