So I always said I wanted to keep a blog during my stay here in Germany, but I hadn't gotten myself to start. I keep a written journal, but lately I have slacked on keeping up with it, I need to start again. While I was traveling around Europe, I was really good and religiously wrote in it and I am so glad I did. So let's hope I either keep up with this blog or my journal...
To start off, I am studying abroad in Kiel Germany, its on the Baltic Sea in northern Germany. Everyone asks me "Why Kiel?" You are from Chicago and should have went to Berlin or Vienna. And I respond with, "Why not Kiel?" I wanted a change from a big city and something that seemed more traditionally german. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED Berlin when I visited but it was very big like Chicago. So I chose to study German at Christian Albrechts University at Kiel Germany.
And here I am. I came here knowing nobody. (Ok well I sort of knew Steffen, who came to U of I for a year from Kiel but I had only met him after his year abroad was over.) And I absolutely love it here! I live on the ocean and the beach (or should I say beachES seen as there are a lot here) and best of all, I live among Germans and live, breathe, eat, drink GERMAN! Germany is somewhere I have always heard of because of my grandparents and I grew up eating german food and always hearing/seeing pictures of Germany. So to finally be here is amazing!
Back to the idea of coming here not knowing anybody. At first I was really nervous and missed my family a lot. I knew nobody, spoke not that much German and was scared. Well it has now been a month and all those feelings are completely gone! I have gotten really close to my "flatmate" Linda. She is from Denamrk and we share a lot of the same interests which is good! We both came to this foreign country knowing nobody and hoping to improve our german and live in a different country with a different lifestyle and learn more about the culture here. She also shares my "let's see as much as we possibly can in the short time we are here" attitude, which is awesome!!! We have gotten a lot closer and we are already planning her big trip to the states where I will show her EVERYTHING! She always hears me and Steffen talking about Illinois, Chicago, and U of I and she can't wait to be a big tourist and come there too :-) I also will meet her family this weekend which will be exciting! She is lucky enough to be only a few hours from her home in Denmark which allows for visits from family and friends which is nice! I have also met a lot of Germans which is so cool! I get to do things like eat at a real german home or watch german tv shows at their homes (I don't have one here) which is really cool!
Well I have written a lot for a first blog, and need to go to sleep because I need to get up early tomorrow. We are going to Lubeck which is a town not too far from here. I'll write more tomorrow about some of the things I've been up to while being here :-)
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