Europe?? Why??

After introducing myself and telling people where I’m from, the most asked question that I get is, “..umm, so why are you here?”  Now, I know that it’s not normal for someone to just fly off to another country for the sole purpose of learning a language, so maybe I should go ahead and talk about why I’m here.

For those who have met me more than one time, most likely know that my mom was born in Mexico and has spoken Spanish to me my whole life.  I’ve never not understood two languages, and have always had an interest in learning another language.  When I was in high school, I took 3 years of French - but basically just used the class like so many others - as a blow off class to sit and ‘learn’.  I got to college and took two semesters of a Spanish class and was able to finally learn a little Spanish grammar, and actually became a bit more comfortable with speaking the language.  I downloaded Rosetta Stone (yes, illegally) on my computer and have the program with 27 different languages.  I had the desire to learn a 3rd language, but knew that the only way I would be able to truly learn the language would be to go and immerse myself. 

Sometime around the end of my Junior year, my parents suggested that I go overseas after I graduate.  I took it kind of as a joke at first and was set of going and getting my Masters straight after college like so many others.  But the more I thought of it, the more excited I became.  I thought to myself, why not go and do something that differentiates myself from every other college student with decent grades.  Sure, I graduated with two majors (one being International Business) and could already speak two languages - but with the way the economic crisis effected not only jobs, but also the amount of applicants to graduate programs, I knew I had to do something that would set me apart from all of my peers. 

I thought to myself that a year overseas and the goal of learning two more languages, would not only set me apart in terms of being capable of interacting with more people in this daily shrinking globe, but also give me an experience that I would never forget.  I believe that this is the type of thing that employers, application reviewers, and future colleagues will look at and see that I am not just like everyone else.  It has also been nice coming over and ‘breaking’ the American stereotype a bit.  I’ve met so many people here who have been impressed by the fact that an American would not just settle for knowing English, even though our language is the most powerful language in the world.  

The experience has been incredible so far, and I encourage everyone to step out of their comfort zone and just put themselves out there.  I’ve met people from all over the world and have learned the lifestyle of completely different people.  I’ve loved Germany and I can’t wait to go and enjoy the more laid-back style of the Italians in January.  This whole trip could not have been possible with my parents generosity or without God’s blessing.  I owe the world to them and I hope that I will be able to pay them back with the actions in the rest of my life.

Ok, anyways - that is all I’ve got to say about that for right now.  This past weekend we went to the Dom, which is a big fair that goes on here in Hamburg a few times a year.  It lasts about one month and is AMAZING for eating, drinking, and just trying a new things.  Here’s a few pictures from this past Saturday.

Me and my roommate Nabil

Nabil again

Afterwards, a few of us went to the Fischmarkt (which I’ve already talked about here)  This picture was taken at around 6am with rain all around us and the city port and a big ship behind us.

On Monday night, a bunch of us went to a Fondue restaurant.  There are a lot of people here from Switzerland, so I guess there’s been a general craving for some Fondue lately.  They found a Swiss fondue restaurant and were totally excited.  I’m thinking they were expecting a little more because it wasn’t EXACTLY Swiss Fondue, but I had a great time and couldn’t tell the difference, haha!  Here’s a picture of a few of us that were there.  Please ignore my face and instead of focus on the cheese, food, and wine.

That is about it for now.  I promise it won’t be as long the next time I post.  Hopefully I’ll get another post in sometime this weekend, maybe Sunday.

But to hold you over until then, here is a picture of me from when I was 17 with some long, blond hair on a Mission Trip in LA.  (I was telling some people how cool I was 6 years ago - and here’s some proof) Haha!

Until next time - God Bless!

17 November 2010 · Comments