...and so the Journey ends.

Today is the day that I’m leaving these United States of America.

The last eight months have been incredibly enriching and fun and overwhelming and life changing. Coming here, accepting the BA Plus Fellowship, has been one of the best decisions of my life, no matter how hard it was sometimes. I’ve learned so much about myself, what I want for my  life and career and what I don’t. I’ve made friendships that will hopefully last for a long time. I saw a small part of this country that I’ve been studying for the last couple of years. And I’m definitely coming back!

It’s strange, in a way I feel like I’ve been here forever. The beginning of January feels like a lifetime away. Yet, at the same time it all went by in a flash. While I did get a tiny bit homesick at the end, eight months is not really enough. So today I’m leaving feeling rather bittersweet.

In my first couple of blogs I talked about all the differences between Germany and and the US. Let’s see where I stand now….

Sure, this is a country where you can order deep fried mac and cheese inside of a grilled cheese sandwich aka heart attack on a plate. This is also the country where people drink wheatgrass juice by choice. The US is certainly full of extremes, but at the end I learned we’re not that different. And I assimilated maybe a bit too easily ;). My personal experiences have always made me want to find a place to belong, and maybe I found it here in a place where everybody comes from somewhere else.

Academically, I learned a lot. It was very interesting and challenging to make myself look at things from different perspectives. My women’s studies class has confirmed my belief that if it was offered in Germany I would sit in the front row of every class! And learning about the theory behind the movement made me an even stronger advocate for feminism. The Global Leadership Center was an experience all in itself. Working with the OU students, who have become my friends, was incredible. It definitely was a rollercoaster of emotions, but at the end we all learned so much and presenting our projects in Washington DC in front of people working for State and Defense was a day to remember.

So all in all, I don’t want to miss this experience for anything. And I’m already excited for the new Fellows arriving in Athens in just a couple of months…

And I want to thank everyone (this might be the emotional part I warned you about) who made my stay here so wonderful. The university in Leipzig and the American Studies program for offering such a unique study abroad possibility. Ohio University for being so welcoming and trying to help us with everything. The students of OU, my friends, who showed us how to have a fun time in this small Appalachian town. My new friends from New York (who actually are from all over the world) who made a nine to six office job super fun. The city itself for embracing me and not spitting me back out. And my family for being so patience and willingness to stay up late so I can call them, for letting their eldest child go across the Atlantic without much resistance, and for making sure I had everything I needed when I decided to live in one of the most expensive cities in the world for the summer (I’m really sorry again! I’ll make it up to you, promise!)

So, this is it. Until next time America. You have been good to me. And maybe we’ll see each other a lot sooner than expected. I heard OU has a great International Development graduate program….