Bis Bald! Goodbye Germany - For Now!

From up above, Marburg really is a beautiful city.

As some of you may know, my time here in Germany is coming to an end. To be specific - I leave this Thursday.  And I still can't completely believe it. For the past weeks, I've been treading through paperwork, packing, and saying my goodbyes. There's definitely a side of me who isn't ready to return, who wants another week, another month, maybe.

But I'm also ready to go home. It's time to start up my work again. And as much as I'll be glad to be in a familiar culture, speaking my native tongue, there will be things I miss.

A large part of my day is spent traveling, 30 minutes from my dorm to the city center. Everyday. But I'll miss the trains even more. Here it's so simple to travel long distances, and it'll be something I think about whenever I try to maneuver a trip from Knoxville to Memphis. The variety of Megabus-like services will  be stuck in my memory, too - as I've used both the Meinfernbus and Deinbus when traveling to Berlin and Munich. A loss of this vast public transit system is a loss of freedom.

There's also the food. I'll miss quick bites at the Lecker Ecke. I'll miss auflauf, curry wurst, schnitzel and döner. But I'm also excited to get back to inexpensive and more authentic Mexican and Chinese food.

Greek wine and a broken cork...but we
 found a solution!

The scenery in Knoxville is definitely a downgrade from Marburg. Don't get me wrong, Knoxville can be lovely. But it isn't a picturesque German city with a castle from the 11th century built on-top of a mountain. However, both cities require me to walk to school up hill both ways, so at least I'll get a work out back in the USA.

And of course, I'll miss the friends I've made here - both through my dorm and through my tandem program. :)  For those who don't know what a tandem is, it's a language exchange. You find a partner with the language you are learning, and for two hours you practice - one hour per language. I've really enjoyed my time with everyone here, and I only wish I could stay longer!

There is one major thing I've been missing throughout the experience - American higher education. This may sound strange, for the money Germans pay to the university, it isn't bad here. But it's very different.

First, attendance may not matter at all. There were some classmates I only saw twice - once mid semester, and once during exams. Second, none of my lecturers or professors graded homework, or even took it up. Sometimes nothing was assigned. Classes also went at a slower pace than those in the US. It was definitely more laid back, and although I liked not having to buy a textbook, I feel like I thrive better in a more regimented environment. And I remember more.

Three of seven dwarves outside of the
 Religious Collection building.

Exams are one last thing about the education system that I really do prefer in the US. Here there are no tests until your final - at least in my department. It was difficult to study, because there was so much anxiety about the pressure to do well. When I go back, I think I'll be much more relaxed about exams, since I know in the US I have a grade buffer.

And a small tip for those studying abroad: I would suggest studying another language when you're abroad. I know that sounds insane, but it really made a difference for me. I took an optional course in Russian through the Language Center. Everything was in German, and it proved to be more useful than my Sprachkurs (Speaking course, in this case for German). In addition to that, I found studying Russian through German to be simpler, because of the similarities in grammar, such as the case system.

Studying in Germany never really matched my expectations, but it was definitely a great experience- good days and bad. I can't really tell if it's "changed me" - maybe that will come out when I'm back home.