1 Day Until Berlin!

Hallo meine Damen und Herren!

Es geht mir ausgezeichnet, denn ich werde morgen nach Berlin, Deutschland reisen! To translate that to English, I'm super enthrilled to travel to Berlin, Germany tomorrow! To start off, my name is Jennifer Nguyen, and I am a participant from San Jose, CA who will be going to CIEE's German Language & Culture program (Session 1).

I still remember the day when I spent almost an all-nighter filling out the application and scholarship application before it was due, and it's simply surreal to think that I've made it this far. The reason why I applied for German Language & Culture through CIEE is because my German teacher, Herr Lynch, has always embodied the idea of learning German and immersing one's self into the German culture. The skills, maturity, independence, and open-mindedness are just some of the things that are gained through studying-abroad that cannot be attained anywhere else.

To reiterate myself, I will be traveling to Berlin, Germany in order to utilize the German language that I've learned and to apply it in the real word, and with any traveling opportunity, I will embodying the idea of multiculturalism and finding similarities and differences between Germany and my home country, America. One of the most exciting parts of any trip is the food! Döner, Schnitzel, Currywurst...I want to try every single German food available until my belly can't take it anymore! In addition, I'll be able to live with a host family. Now that's something you don't get the opportunity to do very often.

Whenever my friends, family, and teachers asked me about my summer plans, I was always eager to tell them of my trip to Germany with CIEE. They cannot wait to hear the stories and pictures I'll have when I come back, and they wished me the best of luck for my trip. When I first arrive in Germany, I imagine my first day abroad being very intimidating and of course, culture-shocking. The familiar vibe of my hometown, San Jose, will be gone, and I'll be on the opposite side of the world, but as time passes, I'm sure I'll become more comfortable and adapt to the new environment, making sure that I embody every moment that I'm there.

As I'm writing this blog, I'm about 20-30% done with packing—maybe the excitement of traveling to a foreign country for a whole month is making me procrastinate on my packing, but I'm sure I'll be ready by the time I leave my house. As of today, I'd describe my German skills as an intermediate level. I'm definitely a lot stronger when it comes to writing, but speaking is a little tougher, but that's okay because I'll definitely be able to improve on that in the next month.

That's all I have for now. Attached to this blog are some images of some of the German events that my school has held, including Oktoberfest and Schnitzelfest. I absolutely cannot wait to see what the next month will hold for me.

Bis bald! Tschüss!