Friday, January 28, 2011

In the Beginning...

Hey gang! So here is to my first post! I'll be brief... the first step was setting up this blog. Hurrah!
Now that I have navigated the world of initial blog construction, let me outline the current game plan.

Me = Going to Germany in March (the 19th to be exact)
Me = Not coming back until September (with the exception of a brief return for two of my best friends' wedding)



I. Am. Excited.

In any case, I wanted to create some sort of "web-log" to keep track of all the surprises, experiences, and events of my trip to Germany.

I began my experience way back in 2007 when I decided to come to U.C. In fact, one of the main reasons I came to U.C. was because of its international co-op program (ICP).

Fast forward to August of 2010.... Starting that summer, I begin to take an intensive German language course in preparation from this trip... okay. stop. At this point, I realize I need to jump back even farther...

Rewind to 2002. I am in the 8th grade and we have to choose a foreign language to take in high school. I wanted to take Spanish because it seemed more practical to learn. Well, that class filled up and they needed students to "sacrifice" and instead take German. I volunteered half-heartedly, not realizing just how pivotal that one little conflict would be in determining my future. I took four years of German language in high school. Best class in high school. Best teacher in high school. My German teacher had a HUGE impact on me and my views on life in general. Because of that great high school experience (ask me about it later), I gained a hunger for knowledge of German culture and language. The ICP program at U.C. therefore captured my interest.

Okay... back to 2010. 6 weeks of German, 5 days a week, for 9 hours a day. Lots of German. Awesome.

In the fall of 2010, I continued my normal engineering courses with the addition of some more German. At this time I also began applying for jobs in Germany. I applied to several, but was really hoping for a job in southern Germany. To my great joy, in November God granted me a position at B.M.W. in München!

Since that time, I have been preparing for the trip and finishing up one last winter quarter class in German language/culture. I leave in seven... SEVEN... weeks. Ahh!!

So hold on... more to come when we near departure time...