This is the beginning

Hello, friends, family, and Internet vagabonds, and welcome to my blog! I plan to use this as a way to share my adventures from the next eleven months.

For the short version of why the next eleven months are going to be so interesting, please reread the title of my blog. For the longer version, please continue reading this post.

I will be spending the next year in—you guessed it—Germany! I was accepted to this wonderful program known as the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX). CBYX was created as a way to strengthen ties between the United States and Germany, so each year 250 students from the US are chosen to participate in this 11-month exchange. Apparently, it’s pretty successful because the program has been running since 1983.

During the exchange, I will be going to school—the German equivalent of high school—and I am expected to immerse myself in German language and culture. The ultimate goal is to return to the US as a bilingual and more cultured young adult who can make wonderful German food and music recommendations.

For those of you wondering how much German I speak, I know somewhere between absolutely none and very little. I can say “Bier und Brot, bitte,” so at least we know I won’t starve to death. I like to consider this complete lack of German knowledge to be part of the adventure. Yes, it will make for some hard times throughout the year, but I’m sure it will also make for a lot of funny stories.

However, I will not be thrown into daily German life the second I land in Frankfurt to see if I sink or swim. Part of CBYX is a three-week language camp (this will be at Schloss Wittgenstein in Bad Laasphe). Pretty much, we have an extra three weeks to cram in as much German knowledge as possible before being unleashed on the rest of Germany.

Oh, and by the way, I leave for orientation in DC this Thursday, then off to Germany on Saturday. I don’t know where in Germany I will be permanently staying after the language camp. I (along with about 10 other students in the CIEE division of CBYX) do not have my host family placement yet. I should be getting it soon, and I will be certain to update this when I know.

This year is certainly going to be an adventure, and I can’t wait to share it with you!