My time in Germany is very close to being over. Time went so quickly yet so slowly at the same time. Officially, this is the last blog post that my scholarship and school are requiring me to do, but that feels wrong, seeing as I’ll still be in Germany for just about 3 more weeks. So instead, I’m making this more of a normal journal entry, and then I’ll do a reflection post at the beginning of August when I’m actually heading back to the US. It just doesn’t feel right to make this my last post reflecting on my time when I still have just under three weeks left here. I still have final exams coming up, and that 4-day trek in Austria, and anything else that I squeeze in before I leave once my classes end this week.
Speaking of classes ending, this is my last week of classes for the semester. It’s insane. I actually have my first final coming up on Monday for German, but it’s mostly just a normal test for what we’ve been doing lately. I actually need to study for it, especially for the listening part, because that was my worst section on the last test. On July 30th, I have an oral exam for my US maximalist novel class, where we have to discuss two novels that we read in class and some other general questions. It shouldn’t be too hard, seeing as we pick the novels that we want to discuss. Then sometime in August, toward the beginning of my fall semester, I’ll have my oral exam for my Discourse and Processing class, which, as my lecturer has described it, is a free discussion about two papers, one that we discussed in class and another additional paper that is connected to the topic of the first article. So once again, it shouldn’t be very difficult. My last final project is a term paper for my Grief and Sorrow in Old English and Old Norse class, which is the one I’m most stressed about. Not because it has to be 15 to 20 pages, that’s almost nothing for the amount of time we’re given to complete it. I’ve written 25-page papers in half the time we’ve been given for this one, but it’s just that I’m not used to Old Norse sagas, which is what I’m focusing on for my paper, and I’m not used to the citing style. But it’s okay, I’ll just have to put a lot of time and effort into it. I actually really need to start close reading my primary text because this project will likely require a lot of secondary literature to fill in my gaps in knowledge. Also, this paper intersects with when the fall semester starts, so I need to have it turned in before then.
Follow-Ups on Last Post
In my last post, I mentioned hiking Nebelhorn, and unfortunately, it didn’t work out because German public transportation is very unreliable. I had a bus planned out to get me in plenty of time to catch the first leg of my travel. I even paid for a ticket to take an ICE train, but my bus never came, and ticket prices for the next ICE train had shot up. So I texted the people I had planned on going with to tell them I couldn’t go. Instead, I went on a ten-mile run in Tübingen. It was a really nice trail, and I hadn’t been trail running in a really long time. Trail running is my favorite part of the summer, so I was glad I could do it at least once. Unfortunately, I had been ignoring some warning signs for shin splints approaching that run and other hikes for a week at that point, and that run did my body in. So I haven’t been able to run since then. I would say lesson learned, but I learned nothing; it was so worth it. I got to pet a really cute cat during the run and see some gorgeous views.
In the last post, I also mentioned that I was going to a dinner with my German class. I was terrified, especially since I had to take two buses to get there, and it was in an area that I hadn’t been in since my first week in Germany. But I went anyway, and I had a lot of fun. My Italian classmate cooked us Carbonara with ingredients that he brought back from Italy. Another one of my classmates also brought a drink she made with lemon juice and condensed milk, so that’s what I had since I don’t drink alcohol. I had brought my water bottle because I was prepared for people to only bring alcohol or soda with caffeine, two things that I don’t drink. I know my decision to not drink anything with caffeine, including soda, is a little strict, so I chose to just bring my water bottle. Plus, my water bottle is my emotional support.
Recent Activities
I honestly haven’t done too much in the last two weeks, but I did spontaneously join a beach trip that someone had advertised in a group chat I’m in. To preface that, I did know the person organizing the trip, as she had organized the trip to the Open Air Museum that I went to a few months ago. I ended up knowing everyone who went on the trip as I had either been on other group trips with them or had gone hiking with them during my time abroad. It was a long train ride as we went to Bodensee, also known as Lake Constance, which is shared by three countries: Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The coolest part was that you could see the Alps right from the beach. I had brought my swimsuit but hadn’t changed into it because of the long train ride, so instead I spent my time wading into the water and skipping rocks. I love skipping rocks so much. Anyone who has gone to any kind of beach or body of water with me knows that the first thing I do is see if there are any skippable rocks near the shore. I found quite a few really nice round rocks that had the perfect weight distribution. I had to be really careful, though, because people were swimming.
Recently, I also took some time to go take some photos, which I will include in my weeks in photos because I’m extremely proud of them. I have already posted them on my Instagram because they’re honestly quite good.
Things I Need to Do before Departing
As my time in Germany comes to an end, everything is ramping up, and I’m not referring to school, as I’ve already discussed that. I mean, school is ramping up with assignments and pressure, but as an exchange student, there’s a ton I’ve had to do and will have to do in the next couple of weeks to prepare to go home.
The most stressful thing that I had to do recently was book a youth hostel for my last five days here because my lease in my flat ends on July 31st, but my flight isn’t until August 5th. Fortunately, I found a youth hostel in Tübingen that provides breakfast and isn’t too expensive. It didn’t take me long to find and book it either. On top of that, I had to make an appointment with my apartment building’s caretaker to return the keys and have my room inspected for the day I plan to move out, which sure doesn’t sound hard, but my caretaker doesn’t speak much English. Fortunately, I just had to email him, so I could use some translators and triple-check my German. Also, I’m much better and more confident at writing German than speaking German. I will have to wait around for a few hours before I can check into my hostel, but I’ll just find somewhere to hang out. I’ll probably just hang out on Neckarinsel, which is a little park area on the Neckar River in Tübingen. I’ve taken some photography there while I’ve been here.
I also have to request my transcript before I leave and fill out a form to unenroll in the University before I leave, saying that after September 30th, I’m no longer enrolled in the university. I also have to let my health insurance know that I’m leaving Germany and close my German bank account. So there’s still a ton that needs to be done before I leave.
Something I also didn’t really think about until today, when I was buying ingredients for tonight’s dinner, is that I need to either eat, use up, or get rid of the ingredients I have brought for recipes while I’ve been here. I might just ask my roommates if they want it, since why would I bring something like paprika or garlic powder with me back to the US? Also, I think I’d have to declare it, and that sounds like a major pain.
Future Plans
As I mentioned earlier, my last class is on July 22nd, which is Wednesday, but I don’t leave for two more weeks. I like to think that’s a lot of time, but some of that time will be spent on my 4-day trek in Austria that I keep mentioning, plus I have an oral exam one of those days, which I’ll need to study for, and I’m applying for Fulbright. And my Fulbright deadline, well, the one that my advisor set for me, is on August 1st. The national deadline isn’t until October. Either way, there are a lot of things I need to do before I leave on August 4th.
Some things that I know I want to do are go on quite a few more big hikes. I really want to go on more solo hikes before I leave; specifically, I want to hike some noteworthy mountains before I leave, such as Feldberg. I also really want to see another waterfall before I leave. I just want to spend some more time in Nature before I leave.
Not to mention the Austria trek for the hundredth time in this blog post, but I need to rent some hiking equipment for the trip, like some hiking poles and maybe some crampons. One thing that I want to actually buy because it would be nice for future hikes in the US is a thing called Hüttenschlafsack, which is a lightweight sleeping bag liner. I don’t know if I actually need crampons. I’ll need to check our route and look at the recent pictures on Komoot of our hiking route to see if it’s actually necessary since we will be going at the end of July, but honestly, you never know in the mountains.
My Weeks in Photos
I took this picture on the day that my bus never came, so I couldn’t go on this hike. Honestly, it made the whole unfortunate circumstance a little better because of how clear the reflection is. And this photo is unedited, so that’s pretty cool; think of how bright the colors could be.
These two photos were taken on my ten-mile run. It was so pretty; the photos didn’t do it justice.
Here is my German class during our dinner. Not everyone could make it.
Close-up on the Carbonara.
These three photos are from my visit to Bodensee, or Lake Constance. It just shows how clear the mountains were from the beach.
The next five photos are the photos that I’m quite proud of.
They could be a little bit more in focus, but I’m still proud of them since I haven’t had photos this close up before. It’s a little different from my typical wildlife photos.
As I said, this should be my last post, but it doesn’t feel right to have this one be the last post with so much left of my time abroad, so there will be one more that I’m not actually required to do for my school, but I’ve done plenty of posts not technically required. Also, since I’m paying for this domain, I may repurpose it if I get into Fulbright or for when my mom and I hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail. I’ve had too much fun writing this blog to make this the last post.
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