Märchenpräludium

Soccer cleats... check.
Laptop... check.
Deutsch skillz... check....NOT
Passport... check. (with new photo (wa wa wee wa))

Sure, I've got all the items on my checklist. But really, who am I kidding? What could possibly prepare me for this summer? March 8 through August 18. What is that, over three months? 103 days?

Nothing, I guess. I might as well dive into the summer and immerse myself in the sea of paradoxical ambiguity that is the German culture, and pray that it's not the shallow end.

But seriously, what do I expect from this experience? I'm fortunate enough to have visited the "Vaterland" before, and each time has made a novel impression on me. It's like I'm an original document and the country is a freshly-inked stamp. And as any German knows, there's nothing like a good stamp.

This time as I venture into the Land of Fairytales, I'll arrive with the familiar hopes of maturing, mastering a language, meeting new friends and reuniting with old ones. But for once, I'll also settle down and stay a while. Come August, I might just feel a deeper connection with the German culture. I have experienced it before, but this time, I'll have lived it.

Farewell, friends and neighbors of America! I wish you luck and great success in your summer endeavors, whether they be classes, jobs, dance steps, breakthroughs, workouts, peanut gift shops, Rubik's cubes, music gigs, or simply enjoying life. May we all grow from these experiences and collect a few new stamps to show one another next fall!

Auf Wiedersehen!