Finishing Up Winter Quarter

Hey everyone!

Not much new to report here but it's been a little while since I've written anything. Since Spain, I have written a few papers, played lots of travel agent instead of studying for finals, and created and presented my final presentation for German class on German beer. Only abroad would bringing in samples for my final presentation be ok haha. But it was actually really great; I teamed up with my other friend who was presenting on Oktoberfest. He brought in pretzels, I brought in Pilsener, and we had the whole class singing Munich drinking songs by the end.

I hit the Berlin clubs a little too hard last weekend and am now suffering from a wicked chest cough. Entirely my own fault for thinking I could write papers, go out, not sleep and not suffer any physical consequences. So yeah, I don't feel bad for myself at all on that one becauseI definitely deserve it but am definitely taking it easier this week.

The end of the quarter is coming with a lot of mixed emotions. As I think back to where I was when I first started the program and where I am now; in terms of everything I just feel like I've grown so much. I am really proud of myself for being thrown into a completely new environment where I don't even speak the dang language and just being able to survive. I feel like I have grown emotionally from being cut off from all things comfortable and familiar. It made me both more self-reliant and more reliant on strangers, because I had to be. I am also really sad to see most of the people from the program go. We'll have a new batch of Stanford students, but it just won't be the same. These weren't the kids I came here knowing no German and nothing about Berlin with. I feel like we explored, got lost, were confused, and ultimately triumphed together. They will definitely be hard if not impossible to replace.

In other news, I am superincrediblybeyond stoked to be going to Poland in three days. I am first going to be in Krakow for 4 days with my sorority sister Gigi. In that time we're going to go explore Czestochowa (famous religious site), visit Auschwitz, and hang around Krakow, getting to see all of thw stuff I didn't get to in the short time I was there over the summer. I plan on eating so much pierogi and bigos I need to book another plane seat for the ride home. : ) . Then during the 4 more days I have free on my own, I will venture to Zakopane (mountain town near the Tatras in the South) for 2 nights and venture out to my family town, Nowy Targ, during one of those days. Many adventures await me soon : ) ) ) ) )

I miss you all a lot (especially my family) and love u!!!!!!!