Everyone back at LC are taking final exams right now, and are getting ready to go back home to celebrate the holidays with their family and friends. In Germany, it's a bit different. Instead of having a three and a half month semester in the fall and a three and a half semester in the spring with a month break in the middle, the Winter semester here goes from October to the beginning of February and then the Summer semester goes from April to July. So I am getting ready to have two weeks off for Christmas. I will not be going home though, nor will I be quite done with the semester yet.
When I get back from winter vacation I will have to write two papers (one that is 10 pages long, and the other which will be 15 pages long) and both will have to be written in German. I am getting incredibly nervous about that, but many people on this program have done it before me, so why won't I be able to do it as well? That's what I keep telling myself at least.
Also, even though it's hard to tell if my German is actually getting better or not I definitely think it has improved tremendously. It's kind of like living with a baby. You live with them every day and you don't realize how much it's grown until all of a sudden you look over one day and realize that instead of lying on their back, not really being able to do anything by them self, they are all of a sudden running around the house. I live with my German every day so I probably don't realize on a day to day basis how much it's getting better but then some times I have days where I realize, wow at the beginning of this trip I wouldn't have been able to understand any of this article in the newspaper, and now I am able to understand mostly all of it.
Any way, going home for Christmas, is really just too much money for me to spend on a plane ticket, so instead I am going to go celebrate Christmas in Wales and New Year's in England, with some friends of mine. I am incredibly excited. One thing that is really nice about studying abroad in Europe is that it is so easy, and relatively cheap to travel between countries. I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season and if you have any questions as always send me an email at drussosavage@lclark.edu
When I get back from winter vacation I will have to write two papers (one that is 10 pages long, and the other which will be 15 pages long) and both will have to be written in German. I am getting incredibly nervous about that, but many people on this program have done it before me, so why won't I be able to do it as well? That's what I keep telling myself at least.
Also, even though it's hard to tell if my German is actually getting better or not I definitely think it has improved tremendously. It's kind of like living with a baby. You live with them every day and you don't realize how much it's grown until all of a sudden you look over one day and realize that instead of lying on their back, not really being able to do anything by them self, they are all of a sudden running around the house. I live with my German every day so I probably don't realize on a day to day basis how much it's getting better but then some times I have days where I realize, wow at the beginning of this trip I wouldn't have been able to understand any of this article in the newspaper, and now I am able to understand mostly all of it.
Any way, going home for Christmas, is really just too much money for me to spend on a plane ticket, so instead I am going to go celebrate Christmas in Wales and New Year's in England, with some friends of mine. I am incredibly excited. One thing that is really nice about studying abroad in Europe is that it is so easy, and relatively cheap to travel between countries. I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season and if you have any questions as always send me an email at drussosavage@lclark.edu