The Start of Something NEU: (Almost) Off to Germany

With just over 48 hours to go until I board a plane and take off for Munich, it still doesn’t feel real – which could explain why I’ve made no progress in packing a suitcase or stocking up on travel essentials like Advil, Chapstick and chewing gum. No worries though, I have invested in a new water bottle, so some progress has been made.

I knew I would want to study abroad at some point in college, and a Dialogue of Civilizations seemed like the perfect way to go about it. To me, a full semester abroad is a long time, especially when it means sacrificing constant television coverage of the Boston Red Sox or New England Patriots for a whole season (though I wouldn’t miss Boston winters too much!) There were so many Dialogue options, and I loved the idea of learning about things that particularly pertained to wherever I chose to go.

I’ve always been fascinated by the Holocaust. I’ve read non-fiction and fiction, watched documentaries and drama films, traveled to museums in Washington D.C. and Jerusalem and taken classes on the subject, and I just can’t get enough of it. Naturally, I’ve always wanted to travel to Germany and Auschwitz to see everything I’ve learned so much about in reality, so when I stumbled across the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Dialogue, I knew I had to apply for this trip.

I want to excel in my assignments and come home from my trip with a deeper understanding of the atrocities of the Holocaust, so I plan on taking careful notes while we’re on our day trips. I will ask questions and use my professor, my peers and everyone that we encounter to learn as much as I can. Hopefully, these plans will not only help me write my weekly essays, but allow me to remember what I learn and use it to help educate my peers and the community when I return.

While I’m abroad I also want to take advantage of every adventure I’m presented with. I want to put my cell phone away, disconnect from social media (with the exception of a late-night, back-at-the-hotel Instagram post) and really live in the moment. Who knows when I’ll have these incredible opportunities again?

I’ve never been abroad for more than two weeks, so I’m a little nervous about being away for a full month. I know that my action-packed itinerary as well as the incredible, passionate people I’m traveling with will keep me busy, and the month will (unfortunately) fly by. I can’t wait to experience German culture, make new friends and learn even more about a topic I’ve always been passionate about.