Here it goes again
Well kids, if any of you read this anymore, I'm off to Europe again.
It was harder leaving this time than it was when I went to Germany. Several things about this year are going to be different than Freiburg, not the least of which is the fact that I won't be in school. I'll be working in a lab for the next year, doing things with which I have very little experience. I don't even really know if I like working in labs - I haven't done it since the summer after 11th grade, when I stocked supplies in my mom's microbiology lab.
This worries me a little. Since I'm not in school, I will have a harder time meeting people. I'm also nervous about the language barrier. When I went to Germany I was confident that I would be able to get along in no time, since I've been doing German since I was in junior high, and I had been there before. This time I have only two semesters of Swedish instruction behind me, and I've only spent a single day in Sweden (when I went to Malmö in the summer of 2007). Another thing is that when I went to Germany I started off by spending a week with Maren. This time I don't know anybody in the entire country outside of email contact, and I certainly don't know anyone I can lean on in case things get to be too much. Add these onto the fact that I have yet to find a definite place to live, and I am feeling more than a little apprehensive about things.
Obviously, it's not all that grim. I am looking forward to working in the lab, because I think it'll be a great learning experience, and my boss seems to understand my position. I will be meeting a lady on Wednesday to talk about renting an apartment, and my boss has told me that he still has an apartment available that I might be able to use (though he has yet to get back to me about the details). I'm financially secure because of my scholarship, and even if I hate the whole experience, it's only 10 months and then I'm back. Plus, I know a bunch of people all over Europe whom I can visit to break things up.
Still, I'm nervous, and this is the most into-the-deep-end thing that I've ever done. I just hope things will work out okay. I'll miss all of you guys, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all again this winter. I'll be posting here periodically (even if no one reads this) for the purposes of keeping a journal, and I'll try to stay in email contact as well. Talk to you all later, and take care.
It was harder leaving this time than it was when I went to Germany. Several things about this year are going to be different than Freiburg, not the least of which is the fact that I won't be in school. I'll be working in a lab for the next year, doing things with which I have very little experience. I don't even really know if I like working in labs - I haven't done it since the summer after 11th grade, when I stocked supplies in my mom's microbiology lab.
This worries me a little. Since I'm not in school, I will have a harder time meeting people. I'm also nervous about the language barrier. When I went to Germany I was confident that I would be able to get along in no time, since I've been doing German since I was in junior high, and I had been there before. This time I have only two semesters of Swedish instruction behind me, and I've only spent a single day in Sweden (when I went to Malmö in the summer of 2007). Another thing is that when I went to Germany I started off by spending a week with Maren. This time I don't know anybody in the entire country outside of email contact, and I certainly don't know anyone I can lean on in case things get to be too much. Add these onto the fact that I have yet to find a definite place to live, and I am feeling more than a little apprehensive about things.
Obviously, it's not all that grim. I am looking forward to working in the lab, because I think it'll be a great learning experience, and my boss seems to understand my position. I will be meeting a lady on Wednesday to talk about renting an apartment, and my boss has told me that he still has an apartment available that I might be able to use (though he has yet to get back to me about the details). I'm financially secure because of my scholarship, and even if I hate the whole experience, it's only 10 months and then I'm back. Plus, I know a bunch of people all over Europe whom I can visit to break things up.
Still, I'm nervous, and this is the most into-the-deep-end thing that I've ever done. I just hope things will work out okay. I'll miss all of you guys, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all again this winter. I'll be posting here periodically (even if no one reads this) for the purposes of keeping a journal, and I'll try to stay in email contact as well. Talk to you all later, and take care.