Somewhere Over the Atlantic in Seat 31C

So here I am, as the great duo Simon and Garfunkel once said in a song called “The Only Living Boy in New York”. There are about 10 more hours until I arrive in München, but I will first be stopping in London for a long layover. Well, all my stuff ended up fitting in two compact bags and I should have everything I need. So this entry is about expectations and my general thoughts going into my program in München.
1. Food and Drink– namely Döner (a Turkish Gyro-type sandwich), Knappers (a German snack with a waffle outer layer and chocolate inner layer), Wurst, Schnitzel, Brotchen (German bread that is best for breakfast with various cold cuts on top), the great street food, Bier, Apfelschorle (think sparkling apple juice), and fresh milk. Also you can add pretty much every food and drink to this list. To put it simply, German food is the best and there are no arguments against that.
2. Speaking German everyday and improving my German – This is something that I have missed for some time. In China I could not practice my German with other people, excluding some rare instances (to be expected). Now I will be in Germany for the longest stretch of time yet, so I expect to improve my German a lot. Taking all of my classes in German will help toward this end and being with other students who are motivated to improve their own German.
3. Living in München – This will be great because I have thought of perhaps living in Germany in the future. I almost positive almost 5 months living in München will do nothing to dampen this dream of mine. I hope to explore southern Germany, as I have not been there before, excluding München. I guess München will be alright, it was just named the most livable city in the world for the second year in a row.
4. Meeting other Germans and reconnecting with past friends – I still keep in touch with my friends from GAPP (German American Partnership Program), an exchange program in high school, so I hope to see them during my time in Germany. I definitely want to visit my host family again and see how they are doing. At the Uni I want to meet as many people as I can and hang out with Germans. This is the way I can improve my German a lot and Germans are just cool.
5. Not looking forward to the Euro – At this point the Euro is at an all-time high against the dollar, $1.537 = 1 Euro right now. So this will be a harsh reality after the past six months I spent in China where everything was so cheap. I hope to limit expenses where I can and not buy/eat out too much.
6. Looking forward to a Semester full of challenges and adventures – This semester is going to be difficult. I knew that when I decided on this program. Most likely, all of my classes will be in German and I will be taking regular Uni classes with other Germans. The language program is challenging, as I have heard and will push me to improve my German quickly. This semester will be one of adventure as well. I will undoubtedly be going on lots of adventures in Bavaria and having many new experiences. This is the fun part really. Every day will be an experience and challenge me to do things I have never done before. And that is why I am excited most about this Semester.
One other thing before I get some sleep before we land…the Brits use strange words and seem to not like Scotland too much if British Airways is any indicatation.