This is it. I am finally at the end of the rope and the year is finally on the last stretch. I can hardly believe that this is it and this is my last hoorah. It is sad to come to the realization that I cannot study abroad forever and I have to come back to Earth. I know I should be realistic and remember that reality cannot be put on hold forever, but can’t I just keep dreaming? My alarm clock is ringing and I cannot ignore it any longer.

As I am slowly confronting the reality of leaving Munich and the friends that I have made on the program, I am coming to terms with coming home. I feel extremely anxious about coming back. I am worried about the adjustment period, who I will know, how things will be, and what in the world I will do after graduation. In my last month, I tried to use this time to reflect. I think about how I have grown as a person. I have developed a better understanding of myself, my abilities, and comprehension of the world. I have been able to see and do things that previous generations never was able to do. I had survived the storm of finals, said my last farewell to my friends that I have made, and goodbye to the city I feel in love with. It is a bitter sweet end, but a last visit with Jacobo was comforting. Being in the mountains near the small town Avión, a town with the peak summer population of 100 people, I had to accept the nature. Being a person that is tends to avoid nature like the plague, it was a challenge. Although it was a great way to practice my Spanish and to get to know his family better. I met his extended family at his grandmother’s 90th birthday party. Saying that I was thrown into the deep end would be putting it lightly. I walked into his grandmother’s party like I was walking through a minefield. I was not sure where to go and conversations in what seemed to be rapid fire Spanish was intimidating to say the least. I seemed to get through it pretty well. After the dinner, Jacobo and I decided to go into Vigo and see some of the sights. We went to the same hotel where his parents had their wedding reception. It was stunning.

Before I knew it, we had already driven back to Pamplona and we were faced with the dreaded goodbyes at the Bilbao airport. It is the moment that I always dread the most, but this was harder than usual. We had to part ways without any idea of when we would see each other next. The words “goodbye” never tasted so sour. Although the departure was painful, I was soon back in Munich, in my hotel room, and waiting for my flight back home. Where does the time go? How did this experience just pass by without any sort of warning? How do I translate my experiences into anyone else? Why do I have to go home when I am already home here? These are the questions that I still ask myself. I still have feelings of detachment from what is supposed to be considered home and have hopes for the future. Maybe one day I won’t have to try to be in the middle of the tug of war with my obligations at home and my home in Europe. Fingers crossed that the future will provide an avenue to go back.

It’s getting to the point when I can start to feel the time slipping through my fingers. I can hardly believe that ten months have actually gone by. I keep on thinking about going home and I wish I did not have to go home. I wish I could somehow stay here for another year. I know that it is not realistic, but I dream of somehow being able to pull it off. That would be a dream. Maybe one day!

I can tell that this semester is going like the last because I can tell that the professors are adding on much more work at the last minute. Hopefully it won’t be as bad as last semester. Fingers crossed!

This month, Jacobo came to visit me in Munich for the last time. The realization hit me pretty hard and was a little heart breaking. I wished that this was not going to be the last time. I know that is hard as it is now, but when I go home, it will be even worse. I’ll be lucky if I see him once every six months. I took him to the Munich Zoo. It was the first time he had been to the zoo and I think I was more excited about it than he was.

A few weeks after he left, a few of my friends from the program and I decided to take our Professor’s advice. She had always suggested that we take a small day trip to go Starnberger See. It was an easy trip with the train and absolutely worth it. We all grabbed a few beers, drove the boat out to the middle of the lake, bought a few bagels, turned on some music, and enjoyed the time together. I was so much fun and made me appreciate the fantastic opportunity that I have been given. This year and these people have been a gift. I am so grateful for them and the unexpected ventures that we have gone through together. This year has been much more impactful than I ever thought.

Check out my pictures from June!

My time in Munich is going by faster and faster. At least the weather is finally getting warmer. During May, my friends and I decided to go back to Austria and enjoy the day. It is always such an easy and fun trip to do! Anyone who is going to be in Munich, I strongly recommend a trip via Flixbus or with the train via the Bayernticket. It is wonderful! Classes are going really well and I really enjoy my courses. Also my friend Emma and I decided to go to Budapest, Hungary for a vacation. I was thrilled to go to my first country in Eastern Europe and get a taste of a new country.

The trip was a ton of fun! We got to meet people all over the world, especially from Australia and Iceland! We had a private room in the hostile and it was worth the little bit of extra money. Every night they had events and groups that would go out together and show us all of the great sites of Budapest. I had a great time with Emma and enjoyed all that the city has to offer!

Later on in the month, the program took us all to Vienna, Austria. The schedule was jam packed with activities like tours, dinners, nights out with people from the program, mine tours, and an evening at the theater. Not everyone could come with us, but it was a nice visit! I unfortunately could not meet us with a friend from Vienna, but we were able to find some great spots in the city!

May was a great month for travel and really enjoying my last few months abroad.

Like all things, my break came and went in a blink of an eye. I had my last week of break off and I was able to relax a little. I was able to sign on for a paid internship with Sprachschule Aktiv because one of my students liked me so much, she wanted to continue with the lessons. I was so excited and felt really proud of myself. I have really enjoyed working with her. It is reassuring and sweet that she has enjoyed working with me as much I have with her. I hope that I can make her proud! Before starting my classes again, I was able to book a flight and go visit Jacobo again. I stayed with him and his family. I was able to open up a little more this time and I have to just hope that I have made a good impression. While visiting with him, we decided to take a little day trip and went to Saint Jean de Luz. It’s a small town in France that extremely close to the boarder. We spent the day weaving through the streets, listening to the street performers, and eating ice cream. I really loved every minute of it. We sat and gazed at the water that seemed endless in front of us. At the end of the day, Jacobo surprised me and decided to go to one of his family’s favorite restaurants. It was a small, sweet restaurant tucked behind giant rocks and standing in front of the water. The sunset was one of the most stunning views I have ever seen. I just felt so happy and at peace. It was exactly what I needed.

In other news, we finally started the spring semester. The weather is still unpredictable, but the sun is slowly waking from its deep slumber. Once in a while, it will shine and defrost my toes. It is nice to know that the sun does appear in Munich sometimes.

Later on in the month, a few friends of mine from the program and I decided to go to Salzburg again. It seems to never disappoint! I took even more pictures of the gorgeous scenery. Check out my photos from this month!

Another month has gone by and I cannot believe it. I am in full swing at my job at Sprachschule Aktiv. At first, they had me doing “temp work”. I would have to help answer phones, answer questions, help with paperwork, edit the academy’s website and blogs, come up with blog videos, and help with after class activities. It was a lot, but I was happy that I only worked half day. Since then, I have been actually teaching my own courses. I am assigned certain students from any language level. I have to come up with my own course schedule, content, activities, and teaching style. It is great to see that I am able to branch out and have more interaction with students. I am disappointed that almost everyone from the program is either at home or on a travel adventure. The one positive thing is that my cousin Marissa is coming to visit me. Since she is vegan, I decided to bake her a cake in order to celebrate her visit. While she was in Munich, we decided to go to Salzburg with the Bayernticket. We surprisingly ran into other people from the Munich program and we spent the afternoon with them. March has not been a super exciting month, but it has made me appreciate the time I spend with the other students. I came to realize what an important role that my friends Ocean and Emma have played during my ventures. I miss them a lot.

Check out some of my pictures from this month.

So, this is it. It is February and we are at the end of the semester. I can hear the clock ticking and my nerves are really tense. We have to write the big literature paper, do all of my final exams, final papers, get some sleep, plan the trip with Jacobo, and stay calm. It feels like an avalanche of work just came crashing down and everyone is stressing. I am so nervous about everything. Fingers crossed that everything works. I at least have the trip with Jacobo as the light at the end of the tunnel. I am also hopeful that my internship goes well. I am planning on teaching English at Sprachschule Aktiv. I got a job there for the break between the winter and summer semester. It is not paid, but I am hoping that the experience is beneficial. ,

By the end of the semester, I was running on fumes. I was exhausted, the work load was overwhelming, and I was ready for the winter semester to finally end. It felt like the longest semester of all time. I am glad to say that I got everything done and turned in on time! It was such a relief. I was so thankful and proud of myself  that I was able to get everything done. I ended up doing pretty well that semester and I am really proud of all of my accomplishments. Now, I got to have fun! It was time to go to Italy! I took the train down to Milan and I was so excited. I met Jacobo at the train station in Milan and it was such a delight to see him. I met his sister and his sister’s boyfriend, which was good. A few days later, we left for Rome. We had a sweet apartment tucked away on a side street with a grocery store under the building. It was perfect. Unfortunately, during the entire trip, I was not feeling well. I think it was because of the stress from finals and not sleeping enough during that time, I had a horrible cold. So, the trip was not as relaxing as I was hoping, but we got to celebrate Valentine’s Day together, which was lovely. Although February was not my best month, it was worth the stress and all of the work.

That was February in a nutshell. Check out some of my pictures from my adventures.

So, the magic and wonder of the holiday season are now gone and we are back to reality. It feels like someone turned up the heat and everyone is feeling it. The course work at the institute increased dramatically and everyone is stressed out. It feels like we are all cramming the normal amount of school work into a month and a half. We all know that our finals are around the corner and all the due dates are creeping up on us. It is making me extremely nervous, especially the final paper for the German literature class. It is a 15 page minimum literary analysis of one of the books that we had to read during the semester. I am not excited about it.

There are a few highlights of the month. Jacobo and I decided to go to Italy during my break. I am so excited. I am going to meet his older sister in Milan and spend some quality time together. I keep on thinking about the future when we are not going to be able to see each other as often and it breaks my heart. Hopefully we will find a way to make it work. The second highlight of the month is that I am going to see my sister! Victoria is taking the Italy intersession trip this year with Dr. Manzari and I am really excited to see her. I am going to meet her in Rome and it will be nice to have some sister time with her. I was not able to have a much sister time with her as I was hoping because I need to work on homework, but it is always wonderful to see her.

Well, that was January for you! Hope you enjoy a few pictures from my adventures.

It’s finally December! This is my favorite part of the year. I am so excited to see all the Christmas markets, store decorations, and all the season has to bring.

First thing is first, I  went to go see Jacobo in Spain. I was incredibly nervous for this trip because this is my first time meeting his parents. I was so nervous that I barely spoke or ate. Plus, I was exhausted. Jacobo was two hours late picking me up because of a snow storm that came through. The weather in Bilbao was not bad, but once we left the city, I saw the roads and how bad they were. It looked like a snow globe. I felt awful that he had to drive through it, but I was so happy to see him. The weekend trip was short, but I really did enjoy every minute of it. I had really missed him.

Once I got back, I was able to have a “wine moms” night with some friends from the Munich program. During wine moms dinners, we would get together, make dinner, talk about the week and what was going on, and have a little wine. These are my favorite times. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that my friend Emma is a really good cook!

We later went to the Christmas markets around Munich and enjoyed all that the markets had to offer. The program had a special Christmas party and celebrated the festivities with food, stories, music, and laughter.

During the middle of the month, my aunt came to visit me to check in on me and bring me some things from the U.S. It was nice to see another familiar face. The week after Jacobo came to visit me. We spent the time exchanging gifts, going to nice cafés, and enjoying each other’s company. Plus we got to try an American Diner in Munich called “Mr. Pancake”. I would highly recommend it for anyone traveling to Munich any time soon.

As for Christmas Day, I decided to visit my German host family from my exchange in high school. I went to Mainz to see them for a few days. The trip brought feelings of nostalgia and comfort. It was wonderful to see them and their growing family. When it came to New Years, I decided to stay in. Most people from the program where gone and Jacobo was in Tanzania, so I just relaxed at home in Munich.

That’s it for the month of December. Hope to see you all soon and check out some pictures from the month!

November is finally here. It’s hard to believe how time seems to be flying by. Even though the homework load is less significant than at W&J, it still seems like I am just as busy. It is always this game of playing catch up. I do understand just about everything my professors say, it is another story to be able to do the work and understand the professors at the same time.

School is going well. Definitely better than the pre-semester. I have so much more freedom with my time and more flexibility with studying. I am relieved that that was the case. I am excited for the program Thanksgiving  celebration. Everyone picked what they wanted to make and bring to the dinner. I picked mashed potatoes thinking that would be the best move. I bought I think about 30 kilos of potatoes. Why any normal person would ask, well, this is why I am a language major and not a math major. I seriously overestimated the amount of potatoes people would eat and how much I could carry. I could not reach my house. I had to call my friend Ocean to come and help me carry the rest to my dorm. Luckily he answered and ran over. My back was in pain for hours. I began peeling and boiling the water. It took at least five hours. It was insane. I was later left with huge vats of mashed potatoes. I cannot look at another potato for a while.

Besides the mashed potato fiasco, I have been noticing that they are preparing the Christmas markets. I am very excited to see them soon! In other good news, I also booked my ticket to see Jacobo next month for the weekend. I am thrilled!

That’s it for November. Check out my pictures!

So, the pre-semester is finally over! I am so relieved. I am happy to say that I things went well! When we finished the last final, I felt like I could breath. Everyone later met up and had a beer to celebrate our success. We did not stay out too late since we were all going to Berlin on a program trip. The train was departing early, so we need to quickly pack and be ready. The train ride to Berlin was miserable. It was extremely warm, stuffy, and crowded. I sat next to one of the other kids from the program, Ocean. We were able to get to know each other better. The trip to Berlin was not what I was expecting. Everyone seemed to be tense. I think everyone needed a break from one another. It just seemed like Everyone  was sick of each other and desperately needed some space. So, the trip’s timing was not the best. Although, I was happy to break away from the pack during the free time. I was able to meet up with Rob and Wes since they were both from W&J and studying abroad in Berlin. I was able to catch up with them and hang out. It was nice to see some familiar faces.

I was able to capture some pictures from the tours. Although, the trip did not go as hoped/planned, it reminded me of how much I love Berlin. At the end of the trip, we finally got back to Munich and were able to enjoy our fall break. During the break, my boyfriend, Jacobo, came to visit me from Spain. I was so excited, but nervous to see him. It was the first time I had seen him in so long. It was nerve-wracking, but ended up being wonderful. It was an absolute blast. We had our first formal date at a Munich jazz club. We had cocktails, listened to live jazz music, and got lost in conversation for hours. I was happy to surprise him with the jazz concert. We spent the fall break together going to the daily farmer’s market, making dinners, and watching Disney movies. I was able to relax from the stressful pre-semester. After the week was through, we had to part our ways in hopes of seeing each other again. The winter semester started and my emotions were in a jumble. I was nervous because I did not feel like I had found my place with the rest of the Americans in the group and I was still unfamiliar with my housemates. I felt a little isolated, but hopeful about what the semester would bring.

That’s that for October. Check out my pictures below!